The Crimson Clown is Delton Prouse, a wealthy young bachelor, able veteran of The Great War, explorer, and all-around adventurer who functions as a modern Robin Hood, stealing from the unjustly rich and returning money to helpless victims or worthy organizations. He dresses in a mostly red clown suit and uses a syringe of knockout drug (later this is replaced by a "gas gun"). Like McCulley's earlier "Man in Purple", who also stole from the unjustly rich, he frequently had to destroy his outfits to evade capture.