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Pantsy (full name unrevealed) was an underworld criminal who specialized in abductions and interrogations, though it was implied that he was also a contract killer. He was a slender man with dark hair, light eyes, prominent eyelashes, and a long stringy goatee.

The Record Recovery[]

Pantsy was hired to abduct "Warty" Weener, a criminal associate of Monty Morr. Morr had entrusted Weener with a phonograph recording with instructions on where to find a hidden cache of stolen money. Pantsy captured and interrogated Weener, who gave Pantsy the record.

Pantsy was annoyed to discover that the record only held part of the instructions on where the cache was hidden, making it useless without two other records. Weener claimed to not know where the other records were, but Pantsy believed that he was lying. Weener attempted to contact the police for help, but was discovered by Pantsy, who killed him.

Another associate of Morr's (Nitro Shorty) was in possession of the other 2 records and was killed in a car crash. The records fell into the possession of 2 high school girls - Janie Smith and Helen Brown. Pantsy was able to track down the girls and offered to buy the records from them. The girls, who had already been in contact with Dick Tracy and the police about the records, agreed to sell them to Pantsy.

Seeking the Loot[]

Now in possession of all 3 records, Pantsy decided to track down the hidden money. He did not trust the other members of his gang, and determined that they should all listen to the records together in a car. The recording described a long, circuitous route that took several hours to travel.

Unbeknownst to Pantsy, Dick Tracy had listened to the recordings before the girls sold the records to Pantsy. Tracy had gotten the instructions from the third record from Warty Weener before Weener was killed. This allowed Tracy to trace the route on a map and find exactly where the hidden money was before Pantsy could. Tracy, Sam and Lizz recovered the money, removed the evidence of their presence, and waited for Pantsy to arrive.

Pantsy and his gang found where the money had been hidden and were surprised to find that it was gone. At that point, the gang was confronted by Dick Tracy and the police and a shoot-out ensued. Two members of Pantsy's gang were killed, but Pantsy surrendered and was taken into custody. The entire incident was recorded by the police on one of Diet Smith's mobile television cameras.

Unlikely TV Star[]

The recording of Pantsy's capture was broadcast on television as a cautionary tale about criminal activity. The broadcast was shown in the jail where Pantsy was being held, and he became annoyed at looking foolish on television. Pantsy threw his shoe at the television set, breaking the screen.

Notes[]

  • Pantsy claimed to have studied drama for two years as a youth.
  • Pantsy claimed to be a radio DJ named "Jerry Garry" when he attempted to buy the records from Janie and Helen. It is not known if that was the name of an actual DJ in Dick Tracy's city.
  • When he first appeared, Pantsy seemed to have been hired by a larger criminal organization to find Warty Weener and recover the record from him. As the story progressed, Pantsy seemed to be working for himself as a the leader of his own small gang.
  • None of the members of Pantsy's gang (2 men and 1 woman) are ever given names, though they did have distinctive appearances.
  • The Pantsy storyline shares elements with previous storylines, such as the ones involving Spinner ReCord (evidence recorded on a phonograph album) and the second Mumbles storyline (a map in 3 parts, making each part useless without the others).
  • Pantsy bore a resemblance to Sticks Hepbeat.
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