Hocus and Pocus

The professional names employed by a pair of likeable, ingenuous, gullible fellows, their real names are Doc and Flannelhead, who start out as street corner salesmen of magic books, only to have their lives transformed when a series of bizarre coincidences convinces them that they have somehow become gifted with magical powers. (Act No. 83, Apr 1945: "Hocus and Pocus... Magicians by Accident!")

Doc, better known as Hocus, is the brains of the outfit; he is a wiry little fellow with a moustache, eyeglasses, and an ever-present derby hat “who speaks like a college professor but has the trusting simplicity of a child!” His companion, Flannelhead, better known as Pocus, a brawny, dim-witted fellow who murders the King’s English whenever he speaks, “has the strength of an ox … and about the same I.Q.!” Together with their “mascot,” a white rabbit named Moiton (Act No.88, Sep 1945: “The Adventure of the Stingy Men!”), the pair inhabit a furnished room in Mrs. Flaherty’s Boarding House, somewhere in Metropolis (Act No. 83, Apr 1945: “Hocus & Pocus... Magicians by Accident!”). Superman No. 45/1 refers to them as “that hilarious pair of cuckoo conjurers” (Mar/Apr 1947: “Lois Lane, Superwoman!”), and, because their magical feats work only through either coincidence or the surreptitious intervention of Superman, they are frequently described as “magicians by accident” (Act No. 97, Jun 1946: “The Magician’s Convention!”; and others).

In April 1945, Doc and Flannelhead have been eking out a meager living giving magic demonstrations on street corners and selling books on magic to passersby—become convinced, through a series of freak occurrences and ludicrous coincidences, that Doc has somehow acquired the power to make whatever he wishes come true merely by reciting the wish aloud, accompanied by the phrase “Abracadabra... alacazam . . . hocus-pocus!” Complications arise for the well-meaning prestidigitators, however, when their magical abilities come to the attention of gangster Hijack Dorley, who wants them to use their supposed powers to help his gang loot a safe in a wealthy private home. Out of a sense of adventure more than anything else, Doc agrees to the scheme, confiding privately to Flannelhead that he intends to use his magic powers to return the stolen loot to its rightful owner immediately following the robbery. When Hijack Dorley asks his two new recruits to tell him their names, Doc replies that their real names are Doc and Flannelhead, but they prefer to be known professionally as Hocus and Pocus.