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The Maestro (Four Favorites)
Supervillain from the Lash Lightning stories in two issues of comic book Four Favorites, #9 and #10 (February and May 1943). He experimented for years until he could control swarms of bees with his violin playing, then used them in robbing banks.
Originally he was Basilo Tosca, "...renowned musical genius and conductor of the concert hall orchestra..." in Metropolitan City. For some reason, he started down a path to crime, checking the reservation list of his concerts and tipping thieves off when Metropolitan City's wealthy are not at home. And also the bee thing.
He owns one of only three Houdivarius violins in America. Superheroes Lightning and Lightning Girl capture him, but by the next issue, he's somehow escaped, dyed his hair a different color, set up shop in Thunder Valley, gathered a collection of weird green-skinned underlings, and learned a new musical power: playing music so hypnotic, passing truck drivers drive off cliffs and crash. Then the Maestro's underlings gather the truck cargoes.
Lightning and Lightning Girl stop him, but Sherrif French over in Cumberland is in cahoots with The Maestro and lets him escape, so Lightning and Lightning Girl have to stop him and his minions all over again.
