Nick Peron

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Captain America Comics #22

The Vault of the Doomed

Credits

Congressman Barlow receives a letter from Dr Eternity, who claims Barlows deceased brother John has contacted him. To his superstitious chauffeur Sam's distress. Barlow meets with Eternity Another client, a woman, arrives, frightening Sam. whose scream draws Cap and Bucky to investigate. Inside, his brother's apparition warns Barlow he must "come to the world of the spirits" that night, and Barlow collapses dead. Cap and Bucky rush in. but Eternity's assistant knocks out Bucky and brings him to Eternity's seance room. There Eternity claims the female client's dead son's spirit is trapped within Bucky. The woman rejects Eternity's claims, and he draws a dagger. Cap bursts in, but another assassin snares him in a noose. Outside, two Nazi spies, Eternity's employers, arrive and take Sam prisoner. The criminals lock Barlow's corpse, Cap, Bucky and Sam in a subterranean crypt. Tied up and forgotten, the female client escapes and releases the men. Cap and Bucky quickly knock out the criminals, unmasking Dr. Eternity as a wanted Nazi, and turn them over to police.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Nazis

The Sabotage of the Supply Trains

When supply shipments from the USA to Russia are mysteriously intercepted and scrap substituted for supplies, a US government official asks Torch and Toro to investigate. The two set out for National City, the most likely site for shipment interception. There. Nazi saboteur Beak has already targeted another train. When the train enters a tunnel. Beak gasses it. rendering those aboard unconscious so his men can drive the train down a secret track. However, hidden in a freight car, Torch and Toro resist the vapor's effect and confront Beak who uses a vapor gun to knock them out. Beak brings Torch and Toro along when the train pulls into a hidden trainyard for supply replacement. They recover and trap Beak and company in a "freight car" sculpted out of fire, then rendezvous with a second train to explain the proceedings.

Recurring Characters

Human Torch, Toro, Nazis

The Reaper

Sent by Hitler to undermine the USA. the Reaper, a supposed vision-receiving prophet, preaches an anarchic message against laws and police. Many people prove receptive and riot, but since Reaper is not technically responsible for their crimes, he is immune to prosecution. As Reaper's ideas spread, Cap and Bucky confront him at his office, and Reaper's employees attack. Although Cap and Bucky quickly knock them out Reaper calls the police and swears out a warrant. When Cap and Bucky depart through a window, they inadvertently crash through another tenant's window, and she too files charges. Later, while Bucky works elsewhere. Cap watches Reaper call upon his followers to revolt against the government. Cap challenges Reaper's anti-American sentiments, but the villain's followers overwhelm him. The mob marches on City Hall, but Bucky distracts them, displaying documentation that Reaper is a foreign agitator, while Cap confronts Reaper alone. Reaper flees into the subway. When Cap grabs his scythe. Reaper panics, landing on the track's third rail and electrocuting himself.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Nazis (Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbles)

The Cobra Ring of Death

Senator Ralph collapses and dies mysteriously Kumpf reports the death to his leader, the Ring. The next day, Steve finds General Lang dead, a cobra ring on his finger MPs arrest Steve, but he escapes with the ring. Laying low, he gets Bucky to seek the ring's source The search leads to Hugo, a curio shop owner whom the Ring has intimidated into providing the shop as a hideout. The Ring and associates emerge from the back and overwhelm Bucky. Muscular Toto hurls Hugo through a display window, leaving him for dead Cap. who Bucky had called before entering the shop, arrives and Hugo identifies Ring's other hideout on Shoal Island before dying. Cap bursts in there, but Toto strikes him from behind. Cap and Bucky are imprisoned together. While Ring sends Kumpf to distribute cobra rings to important figures. Cap and Bucky escape. They defeat the bundists. but Ring and Toto depart oy boat Following, Cap defeats Toto. forcing him to reveal the rings' secret and Ring's destination. Camp Vaterland. which Bucky has already infiltrated in disguise, wearing the cobra ring. The Nazis spot him but. before they can attack. Cap bursts in and orders Bucky to discard the ring Bucky complies, then the two outfight the bundists Only Ring remains, and when Cap knocks him down he brushes against the discarded ring and dies for the rings kill by strychnine. After warning the men on Kumpf's list of recipients, the two return to Camp Potomac.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Nazis

War Bond Vengeance

School is let out two hours early so that the students can attend a special performance by Carson Bells who is participating in a nationwide war bonds collection drive. Roddy colt notes that the actors appear to be too realistic and is the only one to realize that they were real Nazis. Chasing after them he loses their trail and finds the real actors being brought to the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning. Attempting to warn town officials of the fake out, they disbelieve him.

Roddy then goes into action as the Secret Stamp and trails the Nazis. The following day, the truth is realized and the movie studio that employs Bell offers a one million dollar reward for his safe return. Meanwhile, the Secret Stamp tracks the Nazis to a mill where they threaten to kill Bell if he doesn't arrange for his studio to pay them fifty thousand dollars to fund their spy operations.

The Secret Stamp comes to Bell's rescue and frees the actor. Dousing the lights, the Stamp gets unexpected help from the actor -- using his ventriloquism abilities, Bell makes it sound as though he is rapidly moving around the room confusing the Nazis in the dark allowing the Secret Stamp to easily defeat them. Rounding up the Nazi spies and driving them into town to be turned over to the authorities, the Secret Stamp tells Bell that his "friend" Roddy Colt should get all the credit.

The following day, Roddy is rewarded with the million dollars which he promptly puts into the war bond charity. Later after the charity is over Bell informs Roddy that the drive easily doubled the money that Roddy had initially donated.

Recurring Characters

Secret Stamp, Nazis