History
In 1940, the daughter of retired actor Richard Stanton is kidnapped. In order to track down the criminals without attracting attention and endangering his daughter, Stanton dresses up as a "simple old lady" and successfully rescues her. Inspired by his victory, Stanton, who lives alone save for the company of his parrot Hamlet, elects to retain the old woman identity as Madame Fatal, one of the many heroes of that era who fought crime with no more than "her" native wits and skill. "She" appeared in the first twenty-two issues of Crack Comics.
As one of Quality Comics's stable of characters, Madame Fatal came into DC Comics's possession along with Blackhawk, Plastic Man, and other heroes, notable and not, many of whom have been depicted fighting crime alongside DC's own more famous golden age super-heroes. Madame Fatal does not seem to have appeared in any modern DC story, but "she" is known to be dead and largely forgotten by modern times; in JSA #1, at the Sandman's funeral, it is noted that "they buried Madame Fatal here and no one turned up for the funeral but the touring cast of La Cage Aux Folles." The significance of these funeral attendees is open to debate.
Skills
Madame Fatal had no superhuman powers but was a highly skilled actor, a master of disguise, and an effective fighter. "She" carried a walking stick that could be used as an offensive weapon.