Flattop (Dick Tracy villain)
Encyclopedia
Flattop Jones, Sr. is a fictional character
, a villain created by Chester Gould for the Dick Tracy
comic strip
and is the most popular one in the strip's history. His nickname
comes from his large head which is perfectly flat on the top.
Gould revealed little about Flattop's personal life in the comic strip, but the background references that he did give the character share similarities to real-life Depression
-era gangster Pretty Boy Floyd
. For example, Flattop claims in the strip to be a freelance hitman
from Cookson Hills
in Oklahoma
. The comic strip also references Flattop's involvement in the "Kansas City Massacre
," a 1933 incident in which Floyd was alleged to have been involved.
Flattop proves his value by quickly orchestrating a successful setup involving an argument over money to capture Tracy in the killer's car, to be transported somewhere where he can be murdered undisturbed. Fortunately for Tracy, Flattop stops just short of doing the deed when he realizes that if his employers are willing to pay such a high price for Tracy's death, then they would surely be desperate enough to pay much more. As such, Flattop decides to blackmail his employers for an additional $50,000 lest he release the detective with the information Tracy needs to arrest them.
Hiding in a boarding room while the transaction is completed, Tracy learns that a resident living with her mother downstairs downstairs is a WAC
who is learning morse code
. Taking advantage of an available piano
in the room, he plays it and stamps on the floor in code as if keeping time to his music, hoping that the WAC below, Margie Elong, will recognize the call for help. Sure enough, Elong and her mother get the message and alert the police.
However, even as Tracy's partner, Pat Patton, is preparing for a rescue; Flattop, having closed his blackmail deal, prepares to shoot Tracy while he's surrounded by his henchmen. On Flattop's count of three, Tracy interrupts the assassination by lunging at the killer and wrestles for his gun. In the struggle, Tracy manages to kill a henchman with a Tommy gun
, using it to kill the rest of Flattop's gang even as the police were storming the hideout. While the police tend to Tracy, the detective suggests that it be publicly announced that he was found dead, anticipating that Flattop's employers would contact the killer soon afterward. The black marketeers take the bait, call Flattop's number to invite him for a celebration and the police quickly arrive to arrest the lot.
However, Flattop escapes and becomes a hunted fugitive hampered by his extremely distinctive appearance. This leads to a long chase, during which Flattop stays in a boarding house while being extorted by the crooked child hiding him. The child drowns in a lake while skating with expensive new skates he buys with the blackmail money. This leads Tracy to the boarding house, forcing Flattop to flee. In a comic relief
episode Flattop decides to hide his $5000 in an old family album which he has hollowed out; when Tracy visits the boarding house to question the dead boy's mother about her son flashing $50 bills around town, a reporter in need of a good picture of the deceased finds the money in the album.
Flattop's finale lasts for six months beginning at the end of 1943. Flattop is caught in a chimney and stung by bees in a hive he disturbs there. He murders a street hawker to fake his own death and to steal his victim's ration cards, Flattop hides out in a hotel, but the ration cards blow out a window and betray his location. In desperation as the police officer reports this to headquarters, he hides in the room of Vitamin Flintheart, an aging actor.
After attempting to explain his trespass, Flattop assaults Flintheart and uses his makeup supplies for a disguise. Tracy, Patton and Flintheart continued the search and battle Flattop after almost being fooled by a child to whom Flattop had passed off his disguise in hopes of making him a decoy. Flattop is severely wounded, but successfully treated in custody.
Loathe to let Flattop slip into oblivion, Gould managed to find a way to continue the story. The comic strip details Flattop's escape from custody, the taking of Flintheart hostage, and his hiding in the harbor area. Eventually, on May 14, 1944, Flattop is drowned attempting to flee Tracy, after getting trapped between two struts of a replica of the Santa Maria.
In a 1986 storyline, reporter Wendy Wichell approaches Dick Tracy with new information concerning Flattop and an incident in World War II
which was kept secret, and in which Tracy was involved. Before Flattop encountered Tracy in 1944, Flattop was hired by the Nazi spy Boche, aka Pruneface
, to kidnap FBI Agent Jim Trailer, a close friend of Dick Tracy's, and a scientist Trailer and Tracy were protecting: Professor Roloc Bard. Flattop's instructions were to kill Trailer and hand the Professor over to Pruneface. Bard warned Flattop that he will be shipped overseas to make deadly weapons for the Axis cause, which caused Flattop to double-cross Pruneface and auction Bard and Trailer off to highest bidder. Authorities in Washington, DC, ostensibly participating in the auction, authorized Tracy to negotiate while traced Flattop's call). Tracy and his partner, Pat Patton, broke into Flattop's hideout and freed Trailer while Flattop escaped with the Professor. Flattop tied Bard up in the same replica of the Santa Maria where he would later drown. Flattop's last appearance in this storyline was his meeting with Pruneface to collect his $50,000 and tell him where to find Bard. Pruneface swore that he'd kill Flattop if he ever dared to betray him again.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a villain created by Chester Gould for the Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
and is the most popular one in the strip's history. His nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
comes from his large head which is perfectly flat on the top.
Background of fictional character
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
-era gangster Pretty Boy Floyd
Pretty Boy Floyd
Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was an American bank robber. He operated in the West South Central States, and his criminal exploits gained heavy press coverage in the 1930s. Like most other prominent outlaws of that era, he was killed by law enforcement officers...
. For example, Flattop claims in the strip to be a freelance hitman
Hitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
from Cookson Hills
Cookson Hills
The Cookson Hills are in the eastern part of Oklahoma. They are an extension of the Boston Mountains of Arkansas to the east and the southwestern margin of the Ozark Plateau. They lie generally between Stilwell, Oklahoma, Sallisaw, Oklahoma and Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The area became part of the...
in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. The comic strip also references Flattop's involvement in the "Kansas City Massacre
Kansas City Massacre
The Kansas City massacre was the shootout and murder of four law enforcement officers and a criminal fugitive at the Union Station railroad depot in Kansas City, Missouri, on the morning of June 17, 1933. It occurred as part of the attempt by a gang led by Vernon Miller to free Frank "Jelly" Nash,...
," a 1933 incident in which Floyd was alleged to have been involved.
Appearances in comic strip
Gould's character leads a gang of three hoods and is known as an "Ace Killer" in one newspaper headline shown in the comic strip (having committed five murders). In the storyline in which Flattop is the featured villain, black marketeers hire him to eliminate Dick Tracy for a fee of $5000: five times his regular rate.Flattop proves his value by quickly orchestrating a successful setup involving an argument over money to capture Tracy in the killer's car, to be transported somewhere where he can be murdered undisturbed. Fortunately for Tracy, Flattop stops just short of doing the deed when he realizes that if his employers are willing to pay such a high price for Tracy's death, then they would surely be desperate enough to pay much more. As such, Flattop decides to blackmail his employers for an additional $50,000 lest he release the detective with the information Tracy needs to arrest them.
Hiding in a boarding room while the transaction is completed, Tracy learns that a resident living with her mother downstairs downstairs is a WAC
Women's Army Corps
The Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the US Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943...
who is learning morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
. Taking advantage of an available piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
in the room, he plays it and stamps on the floor in code as if keeping time to his music, hoping that the WAC below, Margie Elong, will recognize the call for help. Sure enough, Elong and her mother get the message and alert the police.
However, even as Tracy's partner, Pat Patton, is preparing for a rescue; Flattop, having closed his blackmail deal, prepares to shoot Tracy while he's surrounded by his henchmen. On Flattop's count of three, Tracy interrupts the assassination by lunging at the killer and wrestles for his gun. In the struggle, Tracy manages to kill a henchman with a Tommy gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
, using it to kill the rest of Flattop's gang even as the police were storming the hideout. While the police tend to Tracy, the detective suggests that it be publicly announced that he was found dead, anticipating that Flattop's employers would contact the killer soon afterward. The black marketeers take the bait, call Flattop's number to invite him for a celebration and the police quickly arrive to arrest the lot.
However, Flattop escapes and becomes a hunted fugitive hampered by his extremely distinctive appearance. This leads to a long chase, during which Flattop stays in a boarding house while being extorted by the crooked child hiding him. The child drowns in a lake while skating with expensive new skates he buys with the blackmail money. This leads Tracy to the boarding house, forcing Flattop to flee. In a comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
episode Flattop decides to hide his $5000 in an old family album which he has hollowed out; when Tracy visits the boarding house to question the dead boy's mother about her son flashing $50 bills around town, a reporter in need of a good picture of the deceased finds the money in the album.
Flattop's finale lasts for six months beginning at the end of 1943. Flattop is caught in a chimney and stung by bees in a hive he disturbs there. He murders a street hawker to fake his own death and to steal his victim's ration cards, Flattop hides out in a hotel, but the ration cards blow out a window and betray his location. In desperation as the police officer reports this to headquarters, he hides in the room of Vitamin Flintheart, an aging actor.
After attempting to explain his trespass, Flattop assaults Flintheart and uses his makeup supplies for a disguise. Tracy, Patton and Flintheart continued the search and battle Flattop after almost being fooled by a child to whom Flattop had passed off his disguise in hopes of making him a decoy. Flattop is severely wounded, but successfully treated in custody.
Loathe to let Flattop slip into oblivion, Gould managed to find a way to continue the story. The comic strip details Flattop's escape from custody, the taking of Flintheart hostage, and his hiding in the harbor area. Eventually, on May 14, 1944, Flattop is drowned attempting to flee Tracy, after getting trapped between two struts of a replica of the Santa Maria.
In a 1986 storyline, reporter Wendy Wichell approaches Dick Tracy with new information concerning Flattop and an incident in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
which was kept secret, and in which Tracy was involved. Before Flattop encountered Tracy in 1944, Flattop was hired by the Nazi spy Boche, aka Pruneface
Pruneface
Pruneface is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Dick Tracy, drawn by cartoonist Chester Gould.-Fictional character biography:...
, to kidnap FBI Agent Jim Trailer, a close friend of Dick Tracy's, and a scientist Trailer and Tracy were protecting: Professor Roloc Bard. Flattop's instructions were to kill Trailer and hand the Professor over to Pruneface. Bard warned Flattop that he will be shipped overseas to make deadly weapons for the Axis cause, which caused Flattop to double-cross Pruneface and auction Bard and Trailer off to highest bidder. Authorities in Washington, DC, ostensibly participating in the auction, authorized Tracy to negotiate while traced Flattop's call). Tracy and his partner, Pat Patton, broke into Flattop's hideout and freed Trailer while Flattop escaped with the Professor. Flattop tied Bard up in the same replica of the Santa Maria where he would later drown. Flattop's last appearance in this storyline was his meeting with Pruneface to collect his $50,000 and tell him where to find Bard. Pruneface swore that he'd kill Flattop if he ever dared to betray him again.
Characters created because of Flattop
As a response to Flattop's popularity, Gould created a large family for the character, all of whom were also equally bizarre hardened criminals. These included:- Flattop, Jr. - The son of Flattop, an engineering genius who had customized his car into an arsenal of equipment designed to keep him ahead of the law. His accomplice during his crime wave was Joe Period, who Flattop Jr left to be captured by Dick Tracy and partner Sam Catchem. Flattop Jr was driven insane by the ghost of a girl he killed, to the point that his hair turned white. He was killed in self-defense by Tracy's new partner Lizz Worthington who was also the sister of the girl who was murdered by Flattop Jr.
- Unnamed sister- Looks exactly like Flattop and Sharptop (possible triplet), real name was never given, but was referred to by Tracy as "Auntie Flattop". Took care of her nephew Flattop Jr. after Flattop drowned and like her other brother Sharptop, seemed like a law abiding person. She genuinely cared about her nephew and was heartbroken when he turned to crime.
- Blowtop - A brother of Flattop whose distinctive feature was an explosive temper that caused him to rage at the slightest provocation. Blowtop was responsible for the kidnapping of Junior Tracy and the arson of Tracy's home. Like his brother Flattop, he has dealt with Vitamin Flintheart, who traded his shirt full of money for a shrunken head. He served 20 years in jail and later reformed. He rejected his niece Angeltop's plan to kill Tracy with the Brow's son and was not been seen since.
- Angeltop - Angelica "Angeltop" Jones, the daughter of Flattop who has a head of equivalent dimensions, not including her fuller hair, sought to murder Dick Tracy in revenge for the death of her father and Policewoman Lizz for killing her brother. Angelica had arrived to do a television interview about her book My life as Flattop's daughter. Junior Tracy and Vitamin Flintheart were in the same studio, and Angelica's boyfriend, The Brow's son, shot Vitamin Flintheart. After a fire on the Santa Maria replica in the lake (the same place where her father drowned under) nearly killed her after an attempt to murder Tracy, she had plastic surgery by crooked Doctor Willis Carver, whom she later killed. She was arrested later and was killed in a shoot out in an aftermath of an intense manhunt after the murder of her soon to be ex-husband.
- Hi-Top - The son of Angeltop & an unnamed African American Jazz Musician who was murdered by Angeltop after she found out that he was planning to divorce her & also planned to take sole custody of the infant Hi-Top. Hi-Top is, consequently, the grandson of Flattop. He is the leader of a black street gang in Tracy's city.
- Sharptop - A third Jones brother (Flattop's identical twin) who grew up right, became a college professor, and was apparently possessed by the ghost of his brother during a seance held by Gravel Gertie's vegan, female chauvinistic, new age enthusiast niece, Crystal.
- Poptop - The beer-guzzling father of Flattop, Auntie Flattop, Blowtop, and Sharptop, the grandfather of Flattop Jr. and Angeltop, and the great-grandfather of Hi-Top. Considered the entire family a disgrace and kept his distance from them.
Other media
- An episode of the Dick Tracy radio show featured Flattop. Titled Flattop, this broadcast is now available for free from archive.org.
- In an episode of the early TV series starring Ralph ByrdRalph ByrdRalph Byrd was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, movies and television.-Early life and career:...
, John Cliff portrayed Flattop in a half-hour episode based fairly closely on the comic strip story. Rather than giving the actor a flat head, or a haircut that made his head look flat, Cliff wore a large beretBeretA beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat, designated a "cap", usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, or wool felt, or acrylic fiber....
that suggested a flat top.
- In the 1990 film adaptation of the comic strip, he is played by William ForsytheWilliam Forsythe (actor)William Forsythe is an American actor, known for playing "tough guy" roles. He is also a writer, and has several short stories that are set to be published.-Early life:...
. In this adaptation, he was a henchman of the main villain, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice (Al PacinoAl PacinoAlfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
) and is killed during a shootout with Tracy.
- Flattop appears in the Daffy DuckDaffy DuckDaffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
short "The Great Piggy Bank RobberyThe Great Piggy Bank RobberyThe Great Piggy Bank Robbery is a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short, produced in early 1945, and released in 1946. It was directed by Robert Clampett, and features Daffy Duck in Clampett's penultimate Warner cartoon and final Daffy Duck cartoon, produced shortly before he left...
", in which the animators portrayed several mini-aircraft taking off from his head, he is also seen among the dead villains falling out of the closet after Daffy shoots them.
- In The Dick Tracy ShowThe Dick Tracy ShowThe Dick Tracy Show is an American animated television series based on Chester Gould's comic strip crime fighter. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by UPA.-Summary:...
, he was played by Paul FreesPaul FreesPaul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
and Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
and was almost always paired up with B.B. Eyes in all his heists.