Golden Girl

The criminal known as Lavender and her gang have broken into a perfume factory, knocking out the a supply of valuable Ambergris to resell for a fortune. They are suddenly attacked by Captain America and Bucky. While Cap and Bucky are busy with Lavender's goons, the villain manages to shoot Bucky and flee the scene with her stolen goods leaving Captain America with his seriously wounded partner. Captain America rushes Bucky to a hospital where he undergoes immediate surgery. Captain America is visited by Betsy Ross who offers her support.

Soon the doctor comes out of the surgery to tell them that Bucky survived but although he has a strong will to live he is still not out of danger yet. Captain America is allowed to visit Bucky in his room. Bucky tells Captain America to capture Lavender for him before passing out again. When he is leaving, Captain America is confronted by Betsy who tells him that he shouldn't be alone at a time like this. Inspired by this, Captain America arrives at Betsy's apartment. After making small talk, Captain America asks about her athletic prowess. Impressed by her skills, Captain America asks Betsy to be his new sidekick and reveals that he is really Jeff Mace. Betsy agrees and they begin rigorous training to get Betsy ready for the type of action that she will face as Captain America's sidekick. After her training, Captain America presents her with a costume and she takes on the identity of Golden Girl.

Going on patrol they track down Lavender to Platina Mink Coat factory and get the jump on her. However, when they attack Lavender and her gang, Golden Girl gets in the way of one of Captain America's lunges trying to save him from a thrown knife, and they are knocked out allowing Lavender and her men to escape once again. Days later, while out on the streets Betsy Ross spots a woman wearing one of the stolen fur coats and asks where she bought it. She then begins asking around tracing the fencing of the stolen coats to Lavender's hideout. Captain America and Golden Girl then pay a visit to Lavender's hideout and get the drop on her and easily defeat her and her gang and turn them over to the police. Captain America thanks Golden Girl for her help with a kiss. Later they pay a visit to Bucky in the hospital where Captain America reveals that Golden Girl will be taking Bucky's place while he recovers. Bucky is happy to know that someone will be looking after Cap while he's recovering.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Golden Girl, Lavender

Continuity Notes

• This story is expanded upon in Captain America: Patriot #2-3 with some significant differences. An explanation for these differences can be provided in All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes and Young Allies Comics 70th Anniversary Special. Both of those stories state that Timely era comics were not true stories but comic books commissioned by the military that were based on real events.

• Per What If? #4, the appearances of Captain America and Bucky in this issue can be attributed to Jeff Mace and Fred Davis.

Tusks of Terror

With some time to themselves, the Human Torch decides that he and Toro should travel abroad and visit some of their friends that live elsewhere in the world. They decide to travel to Manuguay in Africa to visit the Torch's friend Dan Rivers an ivory dealer that hunts for it in the area. When they arrive in the remote village they pay a visit to Rivers hut and meet his daughter Lois who tells them that her father is off on an expedition. She invites them in telling them her father is expected back that day. Later they hear the sound of Dinah, her fathers elephant trumpeting. They rush outside and find Dan slumped over on the elephant. They pull them down and he tells them that he was attacked by ivory poacher Prester Jim after he discovered an ivory graveyard near the San Dwana river. Dan dies, and the Torch and Toro decide to try and find the elephant graveyard and it's fortune in ivory for Dan unaware that they are being overheard by the one of the natives.

This native rushes to Prester Jim and tells him about what the two heroes are planning to do. Jim decides to get to the graveyard first, and that night he sends his men to kidnap Lois in order to have her show them where the graveyard is. The Torch and Toro hear Lois' screams and come to her rescue. Their flame powers cause the hut to catch fire, but they manage to escape with Lois. The next day they load up with supplies and head out into the jungle to track down the graveyard. When night falls, Prester Jim and his men once more capture Lois and steal her off into the night. Dinah the elephant follows after them but they ignore the creature and leave on a raft.

The following morning the Torch and Toro realize that Lois is missing and flame on to go searching for her. As they follow Prester Jim's tracks, Lois is being threatened with a whip in order to force the location of the graveyard out of her. Before they can start whipping, Dinah comes to her rescue but Jim's men shoot the elephant just as the Torch and Toro arrive. The Torch and Toro easily defeat Jim and his men and tie them up. Noticing Dinah is dying, they follow after the elephant to see if it leads them to the elephant graveyard, which they soon find that it is located at the bottom of a quicksand pit, and therefore unobtainable to anyone.

Recurring Characters

Human Torch, Toro

Case of the Hermit's Fortune

When wealthy hermit Old Hank is killed Detective Skip McCoy is called on the scene to question the two men who found Old Hank: Harry Cranford and Sam Hicks. Cranford tells Skip that he heard a shot and rushed to the scene and found Sam Hicks standing over Hank's body stuffing money in his pockets. When Hicks saw him he shot at Cranford and then fled, smashing out of the window and rushing into the woods. Sam Hick's has a different story, he explains that Cranford had bad blood between both himself and Hank and that he was out hunting at the time of the murder. Skip McCoy examines the crime scene and instantly deduces that Cranford is really the killer and arrests him. Later at police headquarters Cranford confesses and asks how McCoy figure it out. McCoy explains that he noticed the story was false as the window was clearly broken for some time as there was a spider's web formed on it.

Recurring Characters

Detective Chip McCoy

Swords of the Cavaliers

Patricia Walker has come to the Lee School to arrange a charity auction for the school where she will sell her fathers valuable and famous painting the "Masked Cavalier". She meets Jeff Mace at the school and he gives her a tour of the building. Elsewhere in the school, Fred Davis hears a fight going on down in the in Professor Wagstaff's class room. Rushing into the room he finds Wagstaff fighting off a bunch of men dressed as masked cavaliers. Changing into Bucky, Fred comes to Wagstaff's rescue and the fight spills out into the hallway.

There one of the masked men throws a sword at Bucky just as Jeff and Patricia are coming around the hall. Bucky ducks out of the way and Jeff throws Patricia to the ground to prevent it from striking her. The masked crooks escape, meanwhile Patricia did not see the attackers and finds Jeff's behaviour deplorable and leaves, having second thoughts about donating the painting to the school.

Jeff later slips out and changes into Captain America and joins Bucky intent on capturing the crooks and getting back in Patricia's good graces. They go to question Professor Wagstaff and find that he has quite the collection of costumes and weapons used by cavaliers. Finding out no new information questioning Wagstaff, Captain America and Bucky decide to stake out the Walker Mansion to make sure that nobody tries to steal the painting.

As Patricia is getting dressed up for the auction, Captain America and Bucky spot the Cavalier and his men trying to steal the painting by peeping through the skylight. They smash through and attack the villains, but when the Cavalier tries to escape with the painting, Captain America tackles him as he jumps out of the window. Knocking out the Cavalier, Cap unmasks him revealing him to be Professor Wagstaff. He is mortified to find the painting has been smashed in the fight, but Patricia arrives and informs him that the painting that the Cavalier tried to steal was a fake, and that he real painting is safe in a special vault until the auction. She then informs them that she still intends to donate the money earned from the auction to the Lee School athletics department.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky