Case of the Black Dragon Society

Investigating the sounds of gun shots, the Human Torch and Toro catch a man fleeing out of a building. Stopping him with their flame powers, the man commits suicide rather than face capture. Searching his body they find that he is wearing the mark of the Black Dragon Society, a Japanese terrorist group. Going into the building to see what transpired inside, the two heroes find the dead body of Ray Thompson, a wealthy oil proprietor. Searching the office for clues, the Torch finds a bill of sale for the Wild Cat oil field in Texas to a man named Howard Smith. The Human Torch and Toro learn that Smith is still in New York City, and decide to pay him a visit. Doing so they find nothing wrong, however the Torch still finds Smith is a suspicious character. The two heroes decide to go to Texas to investigate further, unaware that a member of the Black Dragon Society has overheard them and intends to stop them.

Riding by train to Texas, the Torch and Toro are attacked by a Black Dragon member, who is prepared to face them with a fire proof costume and fire extinguishing weapons. Despite these, the terrorist is outmatched and flees out the speeding train. The Torch and Toro follow after him, but lose him in the woods and decide to continue on to Texas. Arriving at the Wild Cat oil field, the Torch gets a job as a worker so he can keep a close eye on the operation. On the job, the Torch sees a pumping station, and he and Toro decide to see where the pipeline goes. That night, using their flame powers they tunnel through the pipeline to find its intended destination. Suspecting this, the members of the Black Dragon Society plant bombs in the pipe to try and eliminate the two heroes. The heroes blaze into the mines and are blasted into the air. Only Toro is briefly knocked out by the blast, and the two follow after the men who planted it.

They follow the terrorists into a pumping station, and are briefly held back by fire retardant foam. This allows the Black Dragons to put on diving gear that allows them to travel through the oil pipeline. The Torch and Toro follow after them igniting the oil in the pipe. The leader of the Black Dragons seals off part of the pipe leaving his comrades to burn alive. The pipeline leads to a Japanese submarine, and when the leader of the Black Dragons falls into the oil hold, he orders the sub to crash dive right away. However, this does not stop the Torch and Toro from catching up. The two heroes then overpower the Japanese soldiers, and force the sub to rise out of the water. It is spotted by a US destroyer which takes the sub crew captive. There, they learn that Japan needed oil that was cut off due to the embargo placed by the United States.

Recurring Characters

Human Torch, Toro, Imperial Japan

The Canvas of Doom!

Steve Rogers and Bucky are are rushing back from a walk due to a rain storm that has hit. As they are heading back they spot the body of Colonel Howard and figure that he was struck by lightning. As the body is being recovered, Steve notes the odor of paint. While they are raising the alarm, a man known as the Artist has painted exactly the same picture of Howard. Knowing Howard is dead, he tears up his canvass preparing to paint a picture of his next target. This target is Major Collins who is invited to the painter's house to see a portrait. Collins takes up the offer and is shocked when it's a portrait of himself hanging from a rope. Suddenly, Collins feels compelled to do just that and later hangs himself from a lamp post in the street. This death prompts Steve and James to go into action as Captain America and Bucky. Getting a newspaper, they read the reports of Major Collins' death and learn that he too was found with paint on his body. Realizing that there is a connection between the two deaths, Captain America deduces that Colonel Rand could be the next target.

As they rush to Rand's home, Rand takes a taxi to the home of the Artist. Meanwhile, Captain America and Bucky are staking out Rand's home and turn up nothing. Deciding to leave, a car passes by and tosses a note out telling them to come to the address of the Artist to learn the fate of Colonel Rand. Arriving there, the Mad Painter unveils a portrait of Captain America stabbing himself. Compelled to do so, Captain America is given a knife, although Bucky attempts to stop Cap from stabbing himself. Bucky is knocked aside, destroying the canvas allowing Captain America to snap out of his suicidal trance. A fight breaks out between the two heroes and the Mad Painter, ending with the Painter being defeated. He reveals that his paints compel others to do whatever the painting suggests, and that Bucky is immune because it only affects adults and the Artist was immune because he is wearing a gas mask.

Not wishing to be captured alive, the Mad Painter then removes his false face and inhales some paint, killing him instantly. Much to Captain America and Bucky's surprise the Mad Artist was none other than Colonel Rand himself, leaving the two to believe that he was an enemy spy.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky

Terror Prison

Tolegate Prison has been the scene of a number of prison riots, prompting Bob Frank to investigate as the Whizzer. At the prison, the warden sees some of the most troublesome prisoners Pedro, Big Sam, and Vic Rommdo and warns them against any further aggressive behavior. All but Rommdo are compliant. Afterward the Whizzer arrives and offers to help quell any further prisoner riots. Putting on prisoner garb, the Whizzer is placed in a cell with Vic, who is less than happy to be given a cell mate. He attempts to beat up the Whizzer, who uses his speed powers to defend himself at first, but allows Vic to land a few punches so as not to give away his identity.

Unknown to the Whizzer, there is a man simply known as "The Black" that is lurking around secret passages of the prison encouraging the prisoners to revolt. He now is going about telling the prisoners to riot at midnight and attempt to break out of jail. When word reaches back to Vic Rommdo, he decides to use this as an opportunity to eliminate his bunk mate by pegging the jailbreak on him. When midnight strikes, the Black gives one of the inmates a file to break out of his cell, and he uses it to free his fellow prisoners. A riot breaks out and when Vic and the other criminals attempt get a hold of some of the guards guns, they attempt to shoot the Whizzer. The hero drops his disguise and uses his speed powers to save himself and round up all the crooks.

Meanwhile, it turns out that the warden is really the Black and in the commotion goes out to stop the Whizzer. He catches the Whizzer in a net, and ready to kill him reveals his identity and explains that he learned that there was oil beneath the prison and so he instigated the riots in order to make the governor build a new prison, so that he could buy the property cheaply. The Whizzer breaks free from the net and uses it to round up the evil warden and the prisoners and turn them over to the authorities.

Recurring Characters

Whizzer

The Ship of Horrors

Off the coast of California, the Sub-Mariner is swimming home when he spots a ship where an all out mutiny is happening. Attempting to stop it, Namor is unable to stop the leader Daglio from shooting the captain of the ship. His efforts to stop Daglio end when the man creases Namor's head with a bullet, knocking him out. Not recognizing the Sub-Mariner, Daglio has the other crew members tie up Namor with chain and weights and toss him overboard. They then attempt to force explorer Lance Johnson to reveal the location of a sunken treasure ship that they were seeking out hoping to take the gold for themselves. When Lance refuses even with the threat of torture, Daglio and his men decide to torture his daughter Cecilia instead. This causes Lance to crack and give them the information they need.

Meanwhile, Namor revives and follows after the ship and catches up when they stop above the sunken ship. Realizing what they are up to, Namor waits until they send a diver down. Namor then attacks the diver from behind, strips him of his diving gear and puts it on himself. Finding the lost treasure, Namor brings it back up to the ship. When the gold is aboard the ship, Namor reveals his true identity and fights the mutinous crew into submission and decides to stay aboard until they get back to port.

Unwilling to give up the recovered loot, Daglio and his men decide to try trickery to get rid of the Sub-Mariner. To this end, he has the ship's cook start a fire aboard the vessel. While Namor is rushing to put out the blaze, Daglio and his men steal the treasure and attempt to escape in a lifeboat. Namor puts out the fire and goes after the crew, sinking their lifeboat and forcing them to return to the ship with the treasure. With the fight all out of them, Lance thanks Namor for his help. Namor tells him that he can repay the favor by taking a portion of the money earned from the recovered treasure and write a check to the U.S.O.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner

The Secret Tunnel of Death!

Adolf Hitler is furious at the constant opposition from the Royal Air Force of Britain and demands a solution to destroying Britain. The Nazi agent known as Doctor Dragon suggests to the Führer that instead of attacking by air or by sea, that they tunnel under the English Channel and attack Britain from underground. This plan is put into motion and a supply train is sent to the tunnel's secret location. This train however is derailed thanks to the sabotage efforts of the hero known as the Destroyer. Questioning the dying engineer he learns of the plot to tunnel under the Channel, but does not learn its location. The Destroyer then steals a Nazi supply truck and flees the scene.

Returning to his civilian identity of Keen Marlow, the Destroyer is followed home by Nazi agents who are under orders to trail him. When they burst into his home, he changes into the Destroyer and easily beats them into submission, but still fails to learn the location of the secret tunnel. Deciding to warn the English instead, the Destroyer breaks into an aircraft factory and steals a plane. He then uses it to bomb the factory and fly to England. He is forced to land and taken prisoner. Believed to be a Nazi agent, the Destroyer's warnings are ignored and that he will be kept prisoner until the Nazis release Florence von Banger. Shocked to hear that the Nazis have his fiancée prisoner, the Destroyer breaks free and swims across the Channel back into Nazi Germany.

There he locates the concentration camp where Florence is being kept prisoner and frees her from her captors. Putting Florence into a safe hiding place, the Destroyer follows the Nazis to the location of the tunnel but is cold cocked from behind by Doctor Dragon who has him tied up. Taken to the mount of the tunnel, the Destroyer comes around and breaks free of his bonds. He then knocks out Doctor Dragon and sets off an explosion that floods the tunnel, killing all the would-be Nazi invaders. With the Nazi tunnel plot foiled, the Destroyer then takes Doctor Dragon to Britain as a prisoner of war.

Recurring Characters

Destroyer, Florence von Banger, Nazis (Adolf Hitler)

Continuity Notes

• Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3 the appearance of the Destroyer is attributed to Kevin Marlow.