Captain America Comics #54

Aug 1

Aug 1 Captain America Comics #54

The Big Guy

William Nasland and Fred Davis Jr. are at a local furniture store browsing when they witness as members of the Big Guy's gang come into the shop and purchase a large furniture for their employer, including a large chair that was built for a display. Later that night, the two heroes spot the same men pretending to be painting a smoke stack as a cover to rob the jewellery shop next door's safe room. They change into Captain America and Bucky and go into action, however the crooks manage to escape.

Soon the Big Guy's gang begins a series of robberies leaving Captain America and Bucky stumped as to where their leaders hideout is. Captain America decides to do something about it and tracks down Big Guy's girlfriend who happens to work as a bouncer at a nearby bar. In order to anger Big Guy, Captain America kisses his girl after she throws out some ruffians and then he and Bucky allow themselves to be captured by the Big Guy's men.

Brought to the Big Guy's hideout, Captain America forces an audience and is shocked to find the Big Guy is really a short man. A battle breaks out, and Big Guy sends his dog Dinosaur onto the heroes. During the fight, the Big Guy gives Cap a riddle about his next crime being one to steal the "tiniest thing". Cap manages to fight off Dinosaur by blowing catnip into the dogs face. Outnumbered by Big Guy's men, Cap and Bucky douse the lights and escape while Big Guy's gang accidentally fight each other in the dark.

Doubling back to the Big Guy's hideout, Cap and Bucky find that they have escaped and gone to commit their crime. When Cap finds an article on the atomic bomb, he realizes that Big Guy is going to steal a load of silver bullion that is being shipped to the local atom smasher in an attempt to convert it into gold. Rushing to the atom smasher, Cap and Bucky fight off the Big Guy's minions and chase him to the roof of the building. Thinking him cornered, Cap is shocked when Big Guy jumps off the roof and uses his hat as a parachute and escapes on the back of his dog Dinosaur. As Big Guy gets away, Cap vows to see him soon. While in his getaway car, Big Guy also plots to get back at Cap, while his girlfriend day dreams about kissing the hero.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky

The Wish of Death

At a New York boarding house, a hunchbacked and disfigured man named Baxter is being confronted by his landlord who refuses to let him back into his apartment unless he pays his owing rent. Baxter then wishes his landlord dead, and to everyone's shock he does just that. Days later, after three such deaths occur in the same manner, the story about Baxter's seeming ability to wish death on others hits the newspapers, getting the attention of the Human Torch and Toro who decide to investigate. They go to the police station to learn more and find out that all the victims had died of apparent natural causes: heart failure, and that there is no evidence the police can arrest Baxter on.

The Torch and Toro then decide to pay Baxter a visit to try and find out how he manages to kill others with a wish. When Baxter threatens to wish them dead a fight breaks out, causing a kerosene lamp to knock over and start a fire. The Torch and Toro are then forced to break off the fight in order to deal with the blaze, allowing Baxter to escape. After handling other cases of the next few days, Baxter does not turn up. When the Torch recalls Baxter ranting about getting money with his power, they decide to check with the local banks and find that nobody fitting hits description has been seen at any.

Suspecting that Baxter has moved to another city, the Torch and Toro track him to Jersey City, where under the alias of Hugo White, he opened a bank account and deposited $10,000. Getting his address, the Torch and Toro head there to confront him. Upstairs, Baxter is ordering his next victim to deliver money or face being wished to death when the Torch and Toro force their way into his apartment. He grabs the Torch and Toro and wishes them to death. As they begin to fall down, the Torch orders Toro to grab a wire, while Baxter escapes. The pair survive as the Torch has deduced that Baxter electrocutes his victims, and that by touching the grounding wire, they saved their own lives.

Searching Baxter's apartment, the pair learn that he has been blackmailing people into paying him large sums of money and learn of the scheduled meeting place of his next pick up. The pair then ambush Baxter as he is collecting the money from his latest victim and the Torch destroys the electrical system hidden in Baxter's fake "hump" that powers his electrocution abilities. With Baxter's plot ruined, the Torch and Toro turn him over to the police.

Recurring Characters

Human Torch, Toro

Scarface and the Script of Death

At the head office of Colossal Pictures Inc. producer Jerry Small meets with his star writer Larry Shore to commend him on his latest screenplay for a film called "The Death of Scarface" and green light the project. Shore suggests that they cast Sonja Blake as the female lead, and Lake Wood in the role of Scarface. He also suggests that they use Tarrymore Castle on Mad Mountain as their shooting location. Liking the idea, Jerry suggests that they start shooting right away.

As the crew begins filming the scene where Sonja's character is being attacked by Scarface her screams reach the ears of William Nasland and Fred Davis whose car has broken down on the side of the road. Thinking it a real murder in progress, they change into Captain America and Bucky and go to the girls rescue interrupting the shoot. Realizing their error, the two heroes stay on set to watch the scene when it continues. However, they are shocked when the Scarface character really strangles Sonja Blake to death. When Cap and Bucky try to stop him from escaping, Scarface smashes the lights and flees. Thinking Larry Wood has snapped, the two heroes go looking for him, but find him dead behind the set and realize that somebody is posing as Scarface.

Suddenly, Larry Shore arrives on set and tells them that he has just arrived from being in LA and shows no fear about the killer, telling all gathered that he is safe with his gun and wanders off. This makes Cap suspicious, and as he voices his concern about Larry, Larry overhears it and decides to prove Cap wrong. However, they soon hear Larry's screams and find him dead. Searching Larry's body, they find a newspaper clipping about Bel Cummings a once popular acting. Believing this to be a lead, Cap leaves Bucky to guard the crew while he goes into LA to follow this lead.

At the local newspaper, Cap finds a story about a fire at Colossal Pictures that happened a number of years ago, and that Bel Cummings was horribly scarred in the fire. Rushing back to the set, Cap and Bucky question Jerry Small about Cummings, and Jerry tells them that Cummings vowed revenge on him, Sonja and Lake for his injuries. Hoping to capture Cummings in a trap, Cap and Bucky have Jerry wait in his room while they hide, unaware that Cummings is watching them from a secret panel. While the heroes are waiting, Cummings uses a spring loaded rope to pull the heroes into a secret room which he begins to flood hoping to drown them. However, Cap and Bucky use the water to loosen their ropes and get free.

They find Jerry as he is being attacked by Larry Shore, but Cap manages to fight him off Jerry. During the fight, Larry falls off a balcony to the ground below. As "Larry" is dying, Cap unmasks him revealing him to be Bel Cummings. As he dies, Cumming confesses that he posed as Larry Shore and orchestrated events in an attempt to get revenge against those he blamed for his horrible scars.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky

Murder Mountain

On an Asian island, reports of the once dormant volcano Oku Sama becoming active has prompted an expedition of the area. Learning of this, Dr. Weerd orders his men to prepare to eliminate those who will meddle with their plans. The expedition consists of William Nasland and Fred Davis who are investigating the mountain for the military, who wishes to build an airbase in the area.

When they are shot at by Dr. Weerd's men, they change into Captain America and Bucky and go into action. However, the fight is cut short when a sudden lava flow gets in the way, forcing Cap and Bucky to flee. Meanwhile, at the hideout of Dr. Weerd, Weerd is told that his men didn't survive, and Weerd is confident that those snooping into his affairs met the same fate as well. However, Cap and Bucky meet with Governor Irwin Howards and tell him of what is going on and that they believe that the lava flows are artificial in nature. Howards tells the two heroes that the best person to speak to about this sort of phenomenon is Professor George Harris. However, when they visit Harris he is shot at. When Cap and Bucky try to stop his would-be killer, they are ambushed by Dr. Weerd's men and knocked out. When they come around they return to Harris' office and find him missing.

Without any leads, Cap and Bucky decide to lure their enemies out by sending a report to the military that it is safe to build an airbase in the area. Sure enough, the lava flows increase, frightening the locals away from their homes. The two heroes then climb up the mountain but are spotted by Weerd and his men who try to shot them down. Cap and Bucky fight their way through, and enter their hideout. When they enter they find George Harris dead, by an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound. However, they find that he was really shot from afar. Tracking down Dr. Weerd, Cap and Bucky easily defeat him and unmask him as Governor Harris. Later when the military arrive, Cap explains to the brass that Howards had hired Harris to do a geological survey and learned that the area around Oku Sama island was rich with silver and came up with his artificial lava to frighten people away so he could claim the deposit for himself. With the crisis over, Cap and Bucky watch as the locals happily return to their homes.