This week: John Malcolm!
John Malcolm is an archaeologist and the leader of the Malcolm Expedition in The Adventures of Captain Marvel serial (March 1941). The goal of the Malcolm Expedition was to find the Scorpion Machine and keep it out of the hands of the villain, the Scorpion.
His first appearance in print was Captain Marvel Adventures #2 (Summer 1941). It doesn't really count, but I'll mention it anyway. For one thing, he was called JAMES Malcolm. Normally that's not a deal breaker, but the more important reason it doesn't count is that it's simply a text adaptation of the first chapter of the serial - and specifically mentions the serial, so they're not even pretending this story is about the comics version of Captain Marvel.
His first actual comics appearance was as John Malcolm in Whiz Comics #22 (July 1941), which was something of a sequel to the serial. In the story, "Capt. Marvel and the Temple of Itzalotahui", Malcolm gets captured on an expedition to South America, so Whitey Murphy enlists the help of Billy Batson/Captain Marvel to rescue him.
To my knowledge, that's the only time he's appeared. But it's not the only time he's been mentioned. In Power of Shazam! #24 (January 1997), Spy Smasher tells Billy and Mary Batson a story about the Scorpion Machine, and Billy mentions that it was recovered by the Malcolm Expedition.
What I find most interesting about this is that most serials didn't have any sort of real impact on their comics. There are a few one-off examples here and there, but nothing major. Captain America never became a lawyer, for instance. But for whatever reason, The Adventures of Captain Marvel did, in several respects. I can't speak to why that is, but I find it fascinating.
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