Captain America Comics #62

Aug 1

Aug 1 Captain America Comics #62

The Kingdom of Terror

Jeff Mace and Fred Davis offer to walk Betsy Ross home after classes. Along the way she tells Jeff that she is going to be marking papers all night and asks for Jeff’s help. He agrees to come by an hour later to help and leaves with Fred. However, the pair quickly forget about their evening plans when they witness a shootout happening in the streets, prompting them to change into Captain America and Bucky. Not only the crooks manage to gun down a police officer, Cap and Bucky fail to stop the crooks from escaping with their stolen loot. The pair then convince a passing car to pick them up and follow after crook’s vehicle. They are taken to an abandoned mansion where there is no trace of the thieves. Searching the property for clues, Bucky finds a business card for the “Crime Club” a business run by someone calling themselves the Black Baron.

Meanwhile, at the secret Crime Club, the thieves arrive and gloat about how easily they got away from the Captain America. They then meet with the Black Baron and his girl, Queenie, to hand over his take of the loot for providing his service. By this point, Captain America and Bucky have arrived at the home of Betsy Ross to ask for her help. With her skills she learned when she was with the FBI, Betty recognizes the watermark on the business card identifying it as being printed at the Peerless Paper Company. Betsy then takes Cap and Bucky to the company to look around. From there, they get the owner of the company to tell them who ordered the business cards.

They then go to the address where they ambush a crook and force him to show them the secret entrance into the Crime Club hideout. Inside, Captain America sneaks around in disguise and finds the Black Baron’s office. There he reveals himself and demands to know what is going on. The Baron reveals that his Crime Club offers resources for criminals including this hideout where they can hideout with their loot. That’s when the rest of the crooks come and overpower Captain America and tie him up. However, Bucky arrives and helps free Cap and they smash the Black Baron’s operation.

Continuity Notes

Captain America, Bucky, Betsy Ross

Continuity Notes

Betsy Ross had been an FBI agent since Captain America Comics #2. Betsy left the FBI in to join the Women’s Auxiliary Corps in Captain America Comics #32. Although she became a mere school teacher after World War II, this job is actually a cover. In reality she is a government liaison to Captain America in Captain America: Patriot #1.
Per What If? #4, the appearances of Captain America and Bucky in this story are attributed to Jeff Mace and Fred Davis.

The Dance of Death

After classes, Jeff Mace meets with a student named Mickey to talk about his failing grade. Before he can get an answer, Betsy Ross comes in to remind Jeff that he is her chaperone at the Thorndyke Ball, prompting him to send Micky home so he can get ready for their date. Jeff returns home to get ready with Fred, who is not happy to be going to stuff ball, especially the one being thrown that evening by the wealthy Mrs. Thornedyke. Later that evening Mrs. Thorndyke introduces the evenings performance, a music and dancing performance put on by a Romany band put on by Zagana and his daughter Tinka.

While the party goers are occupied, Zagana and his men rob the Thornedyke mansion. However, their thievery is spotted by Jeff and Fred who change into Captain America and Bucky to stop them. Hearing the commotion, Tinka stops dancing so she and the rest of the band can help her father escape. Tinka gets between Captain America and the others, banking on his inability to hit a woman to delay Cap long enough for Zagana and the others to escape. Tinka wanted no part in her father’s crimes but cannot betray him so she refuses to reveal the location of their camp.

Cap and Bucky allow her to escape in order to follow her back to the Romany camp. Although they have the element of surprise, Cap and Bucky are overpowered by the Romany thieves and find themselves strapped to boards while Zagana tosses knives at them. Unable to watch, Tinka walks away and bumps into Betsy Ross. Seeing a birthmark on Tinka’s shoulder, Betsy remembers a case she was working on when she was still with the FBI concerning the disappearance of Mrs. Thornedyke’s daughter. As it turns out, Tinka is the Thornedyke’s long lost daughter. Realizing that Zagana is not her real father, Tinka spoils Zagana’s last knife and frees Cap and Bucky. The pair then quickly take down Zagana and his men. With the crooks turned over to the authorities, Tinka is then reunited with her biological mother.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Betsy Ross

The Case of Blank Benny

Flying across the city, the Human Torch and Toro spot a man stumbling across the street and save him from being hit by an oncoming car. The man thanks them but appears to have been struck over the head. Thinking the man needs medical attention, the Torch takes him to Bellevue Hospital for treatment and observation. There the doctor recognizes the man as Blank Benny, a mentally disabled man. Benny tries to tell them about something he found out, but two men come in and take the doctor hostage to prevent the Torch and Toro from stopping them when they run off with Benny. Wondering where to start looking for Benny, the doctor tells them that Benny lives with his two sisters, Pruella and Priscilla on 8 West Street.

Investigating the sister sends the Torch and Toro and a string of clues that leads them to discover that the two women are in league with the crooks. Using insulin, which momentarily gives Benny near perfect mental acuity, makes their developmentally delayed brother an excellent safe cracker. Catching up to the crooks who have Benny prisoner, they save Benny and bring everyone involved in this criminal operation to justice.

Recurring Characters

Human Torch, Toro

Melody of Horror

After classes at the Lee School, Jeff Mace and Fred Davis are approached by Professor Carlotti, the music teacher. He tells them that one of his former students — Rosa Dell — is making her music debut and gives them two tickets to see her show. When they arrive at the show, Jeff and Fred are allowed backstage where they meet Rosa as well as Boris Dumarr, another star pupil that was surpassed by Rosa. Although Carlotti is embarrassed to say things so bluntly, Dumarr assures everyone that he is proud that Rosa has succeeded him as a musician. The congratulations are interrupted when her fianceé Jim enters and reminds her that she has to give up her career in music once they are to be married and insists that she stop the performance. Although this brings her to tears, Rosa refuses to give up on her dreams. To cheer her up, Carlotti gives her his prized Stradivarius violin to play on stage.

Once on stage, Rose becomes nervous and begins to play poorly due to the fact that some ghoulish individual is heckling her from the prompter’s peep hole. When Rosa cracks under the pressure, Jeff becomes aware that someone was whispering to her and thinks something fishy is going on. He and Fred slip away to change into Captain America and Bucky to investigate the situation. Down below the stage, they clash with a crook calling himself the Mad Musician and his men. However, in the ensuing battle, the Mad Musician manages to get away.

Later, Rosa is convinced to continue the performance by Carlotti, Captain America and Bucky. When she returns to the stage and begins playing her violin is out of tune. Upon closer inspection she realizes that this is not Professor Carlotti’s expensive Stradivarius, but a cheaply made imitation. In the alley outside the Mad Musician tries to flee the scene with the stolen instrument and runs into Captain America and Bucky again. Forced to flee, the Mad Musician tosses the $50,000 violin, but it is saved by Captain America. Going back inside, Cap convinces the unruly crowd to give Rosa another chance. This time, the Mad Musician tries to kill Rosa by dropping a sandbag from the catwalk on her.

However, Captain America and Bucky stop him as Rosa finishes her performance which delights the entire audience including Jim who changes his mind about Rosa pursuing her musical career. With the Mad Musician subdued, Captain America unmasks the crook, revealing him to b e Boris Dumarr.