Danny Supeena was an attorney with amoral tendencies who specialized in insurance fraud. He had a number of criminal associates.
He was a heavyset man with light hair and a moustache.
Supeena became involved with the socialite playboy Johnny Mintworth, whose recent escapades had brought him into contact with Dick Tracy.
Exploiting Johnny Mintworth
When Johnny Mintworth was a fugitive from the law, he was brought to Supeena by some of Supeena's henchmen. Supeena offered Johnny the chance to make some money, and changed Johnny's name to "Bill Botts". Using a complicated device to drop a heavy object on Johnny's arm, Supeena used Johnny as the claimant in a fraudulent insurance claim.
When the insurance scheme was successful, Supeena planned a more elaborate and lucrative plot, in which Johnny would fake his death and collect on a life insurance policy. At some point, Johnny's mother Mrs. Ella Mintworth became aware of her son's involvement with Supeena and threatened to expose him. Supeena arranged to have Mrs. Mintworth killed by poisoning.
Supeena and Johnny went to a wharf area to establish in front of witnesses that Johnny couldn't swim. This would lend the insurance claim credence later when Johnny's body was to be discovered. One of the bystanders present was Junior Tracy, who would later be able to identify members of Supeena's gang.
On the day that Johnny was supposed to commit "suicide", he heard a radio report about his mother's death. After evading Supeena's gang, Johnny went to Tracy, and the two made a plan to lure Supeena into a trap. Tracy had Johnny dress as Mable Murmer, Supeena's fiancee, and visit Supeena's brother who worked as a projectionist at a movie theater. Johnny (in disguise) asked Henry Supeena to ask Danny to meet in the theater at an arranged date and time.
The Trap for Supeena
Henry reluctantly conveyed the message to his criminal brother, who had been preparing to leave town. Supeena arrived at the theater, but quickly recognized that Johnny was not Mable. Supeena went to the projectionist's booth and, turning a spotlight onto the seats in the audience, located and shot Johnny. Mintworth died almost immediately.
Tracy and the police saw where the shot came from and cornered Supeena in the projectionist's booth. Henry managed to slip out of his brother's grasp and run to safety, but Supeena remained in the booth, holding off the police with threats of further gunfire.
Tracy was able to return to the police supply room and fit a machine with "tracer" bullets. This enabled Tracy to surprise Supeena in the darkened room in which Supeena was hiding. Shots were fired and Supeena was wounded in the arm. He was taken into police custody and brought to a doctor.
Gangrene set in, and Supeena did not recover from his injuries. He wrote out a confession of his involvement with the Mintworths, including the death of Mrs. Mintworth, but was unable to complete his signature before passing away.
Shortly after Supeena's death, several members of his gang became the targets of the Blank's revenge plot.
Appearances in Other Media
1990 Movie Continuity
Supeena was not a character in the 1990 feature film Dick Tracy. He was a character in the prequel comic book tie-in written by John Moore with art by Kyle Baker.
In that story, Supeena was an attorney working for Pruneface. He visited B-B Eyes in jail, not knowing that he was actually talking to a disguised Dick Tracy. Supeena told B-B Eyes how to get to the Mole's hideout, which allowed Tracy to dismantle the underground criminal's operation. Later, when Pruneface was arrested, he was shown joining Supeena in jail.
Supeena was depicted differently than in his comic strip appearance, with thick eyeglasses and a dark handlebar moustache.