Captain America Comics #38

Aug 1

Aug 1 Captain America Comics #38

Castle of Doom

The FBI and military are investigating a series of connected occurrences: The escape of Japanese prisoners of war, the theft of airplane parts and ammunition and the tapping of an oil pipeline in Death Valley. The conclusion the authorities come to lead them to believe that the Japanese escapees are constructing planes somewhere in the United States and begin investigating the situation further.

Meanwhile, at an army base in Nevada, Steve Rogers and James Barnes are assigned to drive an FBI agent out to the oil pipeline to investigate. When they arrive there, they are attacked by an airplane with American markings and the FBI agent is gunned down. When the plane breaks off the attack, Steve and James go after it as Captain America and Bucky. As the two heroes trail some strange tire tracks, at a nearby castle the plane lands. There, the pilot gets out and explains the situation to his commanding officer. He tells his minion to go out and erase the tire tracks at the scene and eliminate any trace that will lead Americans back to their hideout.

Nearby, Captain America and Bucky come across the castle, which Captain America identifies as being owned by a local eccentric named Death Valley Pete who owns a secret gold mine in the area. They are soon confronted by guards in Mexican outfits whom they quickly identify as Japanese and fight back against their would-be attackers. Cap and Bucky are soon taken prisoner and brought before the Japanese commander, who explains their plot to use American planes to attack targets in the United States, confusing their enemies.

Cap and Bucky are then locked up below the castle where they find Death Valley Pete tied up. Freeing Pete, he agrees to help destroy the Japanese with a cache of explosives he had in his home, and reveals to them that they took over his home because his gold mine his hidden directly below the castle. The trio then begin making a large racket forcing the guards to check on them, allowing them to jump them and break free.

As they make their way to the dynamite store room they spot Japanese agents preparing their bombers for an attack. After rigging the explosives, the three men fight their way through the army of Japanese soldiers. Captain America orders Bucky and Pete to get clear of the castle while he takes control of one of the bombers. He uses it to prevent the others from flying out of the front entrance of the castle. However when the bombers turn around to go out the back way, Cap flies his bomber up into the air and crashes it blocking the back way out. When Cap gets clear of the castle Pete sets off the explosion blowing up the castle and killing all the Japanese inside. With the threat over, Cap and Bucky promise to keep the location of Pete's goldmine a secret.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Sgt. Duffy, General Haywood, Imperial Japan

Murder For Profit

The town of Happy Corner is terrorized by local mobsters involved in food bootlegging. The activities attract the attention of the Human Torch and Toro who investigate by posing as field workers until the mobsters attack again. When a local farmer is gunned down by some mobsters, the Torch and Toro drop their disguise and come to his aid, but are too late as he is already dead when they arrive. Chasing after the killers who are getting away in a car, the Torch and Toro cause them to crash. Searching the wreckage, they find one of the cars occupants still alive who tells them that he is working for a mobster named the Dagger who is operating from a camouflaged warehouse in the area.

While at this secret warehouse, the Dagger prepares his next shipment of black market food, vowing that anyone who finds the location of his warehouse will be wiped out. Soon the Human Torch and Toro arrive on the scene and wreck the Dagger's trucks and trap his men in a circle of fire. Chasing the Dagger into his warehouse, they are ambushed by their foe who sprays them with a pesticide that snuffs out their flames and threatens to kill them if they don't get fresh air.

While the two heroes are struggling to get out of the warehouse the Dagger attempts to make his escape with his ill gotten money, but the Torch and Toro soon recover and incapacitate his car, taking the Dagger into custody.

Recurring Characters

Human Torch, Toro

Frozen Death

Steve Rogers and James Barnes are aboard an American plane as it takes off from Aleutian Island when they are attacked by a squad of Japanese fighters. Entering into an arctic region, the choppy weather forces their pilot to land his plane or risk a crash when their tail gets damaged.

While the pilot fixes the plane, Steve And James decide to try to reach the base on foot. As they traverse the frozen wasteland, James falls into an crevasse. Steve goes after him and the two change into Captain America and Bucky before beginning to search for a way out. However, the ice under their feet soon gives way sending the pair falling through to a hidden tropical jungle. The pair are shocked by what they see and are soon confronted by a strange creature with a Japanese man riding on its shoulder.

The man, a scientist, explains that the creature is his creation which he calls a Cellman one of an army he plans to unleash against the United States. When Captain America strikes the creature he is shocked when it divides into two identical creatures. Despite this, Cap and Bucky try to fight back but the greatly multiplying army of Cellmen overpower them and they are soon taken prisoner.

The scientist explains that he had broken through the ice years ago, discovering the hidden tropical region and began creating his army of Cellmen from a unique form of amoeba found in the river slime. After discovering that the area is heated by an active volcano, Cap and Bucky are brought to the Japanese camp where an army of Cellmen are being trained in the use of weapons of war. Breaking free, Cap and Bucky attempt to destroy the Cellmen with a grenade, but to no effect.

They are locked in a cell, and while trying to find a way out, they strike a match. When the Cellman guarding their prison backs away from the flames, they realize that the Cellmen's weakness is to fire. Making a torch and breaking out of their cell, the two are surprised when the Cellman guarding them goes up in a puff of smoke when they throw the torch at him.

Captain America and Bucky then fight their way through the Cellmen and their master, climbing out of the tropical zone. They destroy it by tossing grenades into the active volcano destroying everything in a massive explosion. Rushing back to the plane, they find that their pilot had repaired the damage and take off with him to resume their journey back to base.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Imperial Japan

The Peril of the Past

Captain America and Bucky are smash up a group of mobsters calling themselves the Black Gang, easily knocking them out for the police. Searching the men's bodies, Captain America finds a business card for a Doctor Emil Natas M.D.

Suspecting Natas of being the leader of the Black Mob, Captain America and Bucky decide to investigate him by paying a visit to his practice with Cap claiming to have a shoulder injury that needs medical attention. Natas invites the two heroes in, and after tricking Captain America into being shackled to an examination table, he knocked out Bucky with a rag soaked in chloroform. When the two heroes revive, they find themselves both shackled to examination tables and wired up to a machine.

Natas explains that they have fought each other many times in past lives and that his machine will reveal the supposed truth. Activating the device, it shows them images of ancient Egypt, where Natas -- then calling himself Phao Na Tash -- was a slave driver who forced Egyptians to build the pyramids. One day while whipping a boy named Bucka the lad is rescued by the arrival of Hercules who led a revolt of the slaves and chasing Phao Na Tash, forced the foe into a corner where he accidentally crushed himself to death with one of the pyramids blocks. Dying, Phao Na Tash vowed to get revenge against Hercules and Bucka when they are all reincarnated in a new life. When the film finished playing, Bucky is shocked by the fact the "Hercules" and "Bucka" resemble Captain America and himself.

Natas then shows the two heroes supposed images from the year 1313 when he apparently lived as a wizard named Diablo Natas and clashed with a knight named Captain Amerigo and his squire Bucky after using a spell to put an entire town to sleep in order to rob it of all its gold. Beating Dialbo Natas into submission Captain Amerigo forced Diablo Natas to reverse the spell, even though doing so would end in Natas' death. Dying Natas vowed to once more get revenge against the two men when reincarnated into a new life.

With his apparent visions of the past finished, Natas is about to stab Captain America through the heart, but the hero breaks free from his bonds and knocks Natas across the room. The villain ends up knocking a bottle of liquid cyanide which pours directly into Natas' mouth. Fatally poisoned, the foe vows to return a fourth time in a new life sometime in the future before dying. As Captain America and Bucky leave the scene, Captain America cannot confirm with Bucky if Natas' claims are true or not. Bucky gets the creeps when he realizes that Natas' last name spelled backward is Satan.