Simon "Blaze" Cartwright

"The world contains two kinds of places: those Blaze Cartwright has visited, and those he intends to visit next." — The Apex City Tribune, 1937

Dr. Simon "Blaze" Cartwright is one of the most celebrated men of the modern age. Adventurer, explorer, physician, scientist, inventor, soldier, athlete, horseman, aviator, and public hero, he has spent decades appearing wherever danger, mystery, or opportunity may be found.

Unlike many adventurers of his era, Blaze has never hidden behind a mask or secret identity. His face is known throughout the world. His exploits are chronicled in newspapers and magazines. Schoolboys trade stories about his adventures. University professors debate his discoveries. Criminals, warlords, and assorted scoundrels have learned to dread the sight of him.

To some, he is a scientist.

To others, an explorer.

To still others, a hero.

To the public at large, he is simply Blaze Cartwright.

Motto

The personal creed most associated with Cartwright appears beneath the Cartwright family crest and has become famous throughout the world:

"I Can Do Anything To Which A Man May Put His Mind."

Supporters regard the statement as inspirational.

Critics regard it as boastful.

Blaze himself appears to regard it as a simple statement of fact.

The Cartwright Family

Blaze is a scion of the distinguished Cartwright family, whose members have served as explorers, soldiers, statesmen, scientists, and adventurers for generations. The precise genealogy of the clan remains a subject of considerable debate, owing largely to the tendency of Cartwrights to disappear into remote regions of the globe for extended periods.

Blaze rarely discusses his ancestry in detail.

When a reporter once asked whether he was related to every famous Cartwright in history, he reportedly replied:

"Not every one of them. Some of them were respectable."

Scholar and Physician

Though best known for his adventures, Blaze possesses an impressive academic record. He holds degrees in medicine, engineering, and the sciences, and has contributed to numerous fields of study.

His inventions range from specialized medical equipment and aircraft improvements to archaeological surveying devices and experimental engines.

Unlike many scientists, however, Cartwright has always preferred practical experimentation. His laboratories are often deserts, jungles, mountain ranges, forgotten ruins, or the decks of airships.

The Great War

During the First World War, Blaze served as a combat aviator and earned distinction as one of the conflict's most daring flying aces.

Stories from his wartime service are numerous and often difficult to verify. Official records confirm an impressive combat career, though many veterans insist the surviving reports tell only part of the story.

According to one persistent tale, Cartwright once landed behind enemy lines, rescued a stranded observer, repaired his damaged aircraft with salvaged materials, and returned carrying both the observer and a captured enemy officer.

Military archives remain inconclusive.

The observer always swore it happened.

Explorer of the Unknown

Following the war, Blaze devoted himself to exploration.

His expeditions have reportedly uncovered lost cities beneath desert sands, prehistoric valleys hidden beyond mountain barriers, forgotten civilizations, ancient tombs, and regions omitted from every known map.

Among the accomplishments commonly attributed to him are:

Discovering the ruins of a vanished civilization beneath the Sahara.
Circumnavigating the globe aboard an experimental autogyro.
Locating the legendary Tomb of the Serpent Kings.
Charting unexplored Arctic territories.
Surviving multiple encounters with pirates in the South China Sea.
Escaping from seven separate firing squads.

Historians continue to debate which stories are true.

Most agree the reality is probably just as remarkable.

The Lion of the Desert

Few Western explorers have earned the respect of the peoples they encounter to the degree achieved by Cartwright.

Throughout North Africa and the Middle East, Blaze is welcomed as an old friend by tribal leaders, guides, and caravaneers.

Among certain Bedouin tribes he is known as The Lion of the Desert, an honorific rarely bestowed upon outsiders.

One famous account describes a desert chieftain embracing Blaze and proclaiming:

"The Lion of the Desert has returned!"

The celebration reportedly continued for three days.

Defender of Apex City

Though his adventures frequently carry him to the far corners of the Earth, Blaze invariably returns to Apex City.

For decades he has stood against gangsters, foreign agents, saboteurs, mad scientists, occult conspiracies, giant monsters, and every other menace unfortunate enough to threaten his adopted home.

Unlike many public champions, Blaze possesses no extraordinary powers.

His effectiveness stems from intelligence, courage, physical conditioning, scientific ingenuity, and a seemingly inexhaustible determination.

As Blaze himself has often observed:

"The impossible merely requires more effort."

Public Reputation

No figure of the age attracts more speculation than Blaze Cartwright.

Newspapers follow his exploits with enthusiasm. Journalists attempt to interview him whenever he appears in public. Scholars dispute his theories. Criminals curse his interference.

The public remains fascinated.

Some believe half the stories told about him.

Others believe all of them.

In The Press

"CARTWRIGHT MISSING IN TIBET; RETURNS WITH NEW MAP, LOST MANUSCRIPT, AND MILD CASE OF FROSTBITE."
— Apex City Gazette, 1934

"LOCAL SCIENTIST PUNCHES MUMMY."
— Evening Bulletin, 1932

"PROFESSOR DECLARES CARTWRIGHT'S THEORY IMPOSSIBLE; EXPEDITION CONFIRMS IT SIX MONTHS LATER."
— Illustrated Chronicle, 1935

"DR. CARTWRIGHT RETURNS FROM AFRICA. REFUSES TO EXPLAIN RHINOCEROS."
— Apex Evening News, 1931

"If half the stories about Blaze Cartwright are true, he is the greatest adventurer of the century. If all of them are true, he has somehow lived three centuries already."
— The Apex Observer, 1937