The Pallette Twins were brothers who lived in a secret hideaway under Slingshot Mountain, Virginia with their pet ape Li'l Dropout. The brothers were apparently identical. Their individual names were never revealed. They both had dark hair and thick moustaches.
The Pallette Twins were artists, and they also smuggled narcotics.
Chance Encounter with the Plentys[]
Diet Smith had brought B.O. Plenty and his family to Slingshot Mountain to visit B.O.'s birthplace. While in the Plenty family graveyard, Sparkle Plenty was abducted by Li'l Dropout, who apparently wanted to use her as a model. Smith and B.O. summoned Dick Tracy to help search for Sparkle.
Li'l Dropout took Sparkle though the secret passage to the Pallette Twins home. They assured her that they meant her no harm, and returned her to her family just as Dick Tracy and the others were forcing open their secret entrance. Tracy found the twins' living situation to be suspicious, and he took a discarded art sample out of their wastebasket before he and the others left.
False Sense of Security[]
With the visitors gone, the Pallette Twins continued their regular practices. They produced artworks for clients, some of which would be used to smuggle narcotics. They received a visit from their supplier, who provided them with heroin to distribute.
Tracy remained suspicious of the Twins and made arrangements to visit them disguised as J. Adam Padingham II, a known patron the arts. Accompanied by Diet Smith, Tracy distracted the twins while Smith planted surveillance devices around the studio. Tracy and Smith then departed.
Li'l Dropout discovered the surveillance equipment and alerted the Pallette Twins. They prepared to flee when the police arrived to raid their hideout. The twins tried to escape in a helicopter, abandoning Li'l Dropout. Dropout was able to jump onto the rear section of the helicopter, which threw it off-balance and caused it to crash. Dropout leapt to safety, but the Pallette Twins were killed in the subsequent fire.
Notes[]
- In artistic terms, a palette is a flat, rigid surface used for arranging and mixing paints. The Pallette Twins' name was consistently spelled with two Ls.