The Missing Man is actually Syd Mane’s, a young troubleshooter (synonymous with “technical support”) for Highe Industries. In the Missing Man’s first appearance in Pacific Presents #1 – The Rocketeer & The Missing Man, one of Mane’s bespectacled coworkers describes him as “the best troubleshooter around.” Mane’s possesses a special pair of glasses that, when worn, enable him to become mostly invisible. His facial features are obscured except for his hair, ears, mouth, and the glasses, while his arms and legs are partially visible. As the Missing Man, Manes–whose identity seemed to be secret even from his friends–works with Ma’s Detective Agency, which consists of Ma herself, her cat Ajax, a woman named Todi who dresses in 1960s fashions, and a man referred to only as “Old Timer.”
In his first appearance, the Missing Man attempts to recover a book containing the criminal dealings of Circle City crime lord, I. Headman, discovering that the book is also being sought out by Headman’s rival, the King. The King and his two thugs (“knaves”), Bo and Mo, as well as Queen Bee (see below) have strong-armed the King into handing over the book when the Missing Man intercedes. It is inferred through the dialogue that the hero has run afoul of King and his henchmen previously. .On the King’s command, Queen Bee uses her, ahem, superhuman humming to paralyze the Missing Man, allowing the King’s men to capture him. Headman uses the distraction to recover the book and escape, abandoning the Missing Man to his fate. Confident that Bo and Mo are competent enough to dispatch the hero, the King brags how he discovered the Queen Bee at a bar in Bellos; he observed how her humming evoked different emotional effects in the audience. The King also noted that he was immune to her abilities, and decided to use her unique powers against Headman To this end, he apparently murdered Bee’s agent, as well as her fiancé, Ned. The criminal deceived Bee into thinking Headman’s book was evidence of being a party to Ned’s “murder.” The King then returns to the abandoned movie set he uses as his base of operations, ordering Bo and Mo to kill the Missing Man. Predictably, the Missing Man escapes.
Enlisting the help of Ma’s Detective Agency, the Missing Man is able to find the King’s headquarters. The hero overpowers the King and his knaves, now garbed as knights, and is about to force the criminal’s surrender when Queen Bee again uses her powers against him. This time, however, Ma and Todi arrive with Ned, recently awaken from a coma. Learning the truth about the King, Queen Bee causes Bo, Mo, and the other knaves to be overcome with sorrow, while the King is ultimately defeated by the Missing Man and turned over to the police. Ma arranges for Bee to return to entertaining at a local coffee shop in order to finance her future with Ned.
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