After his father committed suicide as a result of being ruined by the villainous banker Favraux, Jacques de Trémeuse adopted the guise of Judex and assembled an organization of ex-criminals and circus people to bring down Favraux and his lethal mistress Marie Verdier. He anticipated later pulp heroes and superheroes in many respects. He was a masterful fighter and an expert at disguise, and boasted a secret headquarters. In the subterranean passages beneath a ruined castle Judex had a base outfitted with technological gadgets. He also had a secret identity, as Judex (the Latin word for judge) is a nom-de-guerre he has adopted in his quest for revenge. Although the original "Judex" serial derived from the first "Fantômas" also directed by Louis Feuillade, the story bore several similarities with "The Count of Monte Cristo".