Human Torch Comics #6
Secret Arsenal
Violent crimes involving guns are at an all time high, leaving the Human Torch to wonder where the supply of ammunition is coming from when most arms manufacturers are focusing on arming the military. In order to find this secret arms suppler, the Human Torch decides to pretend to become a criminal in order to flush out the supplier. He decides not to involve Toro, who cannot believe it when the Torch suddenly starts robbing banks. Toro attempts to intervene, unaware that the Torch is putting up a ruse that the police are playing along with.
After a hoaxed theft of a factory payroll ends with the Torch's flame getting doused by the sprinkler system, the Torch is visited by a man who offers to sell him a solution that allows him to ignite his flame right away once doused. The man explains that the Torch can be given a steady supply of the stuff as long as he provides the supplier with 10% of his haul. The Torch agrees, and when the man leaves he attempts to trail him in a taxi cab. Toro, spotting the situation, follows after the Torch in a cab of his own. This leads to a car crash between the two cabs and the crook gets away. Confronting the Human Torch when the police arrive, Toro demands that his mentor be arrested only to learn that this was all a ruse to try and capture the mastermind behind the illegal arms deals.
With the truth revealed, the Torch and Toro work together to follow the man they were tailing. Following the crook to an airport, the Torch and Toro follow him as he takes to the air in a plane. Melting their way aboard, the two heroes overpower the crook and his pilot and force them to fly to their intended destination. Their rendezvous point turns out to be a heavily fortified private island off the coast of Florida owned by a mobster named Falton. Seeing that the Torch and Toro have his men captive, Falton has the ship blown out of the sky. Despite this, the Torch and Toro manage to escape the exploding plane but their flames are doused with a chemical spray and they are captured.
When they come around they find themselves tied to a chair and held at gunpoint by Falton. Falton is wearing a protective suit and his gun squirts a powerful acid. He makes the two heroes an offer: join him or die, and then proceeds to show them his operations in the hopes of impressing them into joining his criminal operations. When he offers the heroes 20% of his loot, the Torch sets it on fire causing Falton to panic, allowing the Torch to disarm him. Chasing Falton through his facility, the crook makes the mistake of trying to hide in the powder room where he stores all his gunpowder. When the Torch and Toro melt through the wall, they ignite the powder causing a massive explosion that kills Fenton and destroys his entire island. Surviving the blast, the two heroes head back to the mainland confident that they have stopped the proliferation of illegally made guns, at least for a little while.
Recurring Characters
Human Torch, Toro
The Legion of Despair
A strange advertisement appears in the classifieds section in the Star Newspaper asking for the downtrodden and most despaired individuals to meet at a specific address. Gathering outside the home of millionaire Mr. Haskell, people are interviewed until Haskell gathers a gang of men desperate enough to risk their own lives for personal gain. This newly formed Legion of Despair would then organize crimes. Who did these crimes was decided by a roll of specially crafted skull headed dice.
Later, the Human Torch and Toro are taking an evening stroll when they hear shots from the Park Hotel. They witness members of the Legion of Despair making a getaway. Chasing after the member with the loot, the Torch and Toro are shocked when the man tosses the stolen loot and then detonates a grenade in an attempt to destroy the two heroes, succeeding only in killing himself. Following after a second man who recovered the stolen loot, the Torch and Toro melt their way into the cab he is trying to escape in. Instead of allowing himself to be captured, the man tosses the loot out the window and then forces the cab driver to crash, killing himself in the process. Trying to recover the loot, the two firebugs are too late to stop a third man from making off with it. Puzzled why these criminals could so easily sacrifice their lives, the Torch searches one of the dead bodies and finds a set of specially made dice.
With this clue, the Torch learns what company manufactured them and to whom the dice were sold to. However, this leads to a dead end and so the Torch has the Star Newspaper plant a false story telling that the Torch and Toro were getting close to capturing the leader of the gang. Haskell is furious after reading this story and sends some of his men to kidnap Toro just as he is heading home from school. They manage to trick the boy sidekick into entering their car under the false pretense that the Torch is hurt. When Toro finally gets wise to the ruse they douse him in a glue that prevents him from using his flame powers and keeps him still. Toro still attempts to put up a fight and is pistol whipped into unconsciousness for his trouble. They take the boy to their hideout to prepare a trap for the Human Torch.
Just as the Torch is hearing a radio report about Toro's kidnapping, one of Haskell's men tosses a note into his apartment telling the Torch to come to an abandoned tenement house with $50,000 in ransom or Toro will be killed. The Torch shows up at the location, but without any money and tries to fight the crooks. This ends poorly for the Torch as he is also doused in the same glue as Toro and tied up. The Legion of Despair then begin rolling dice to see who gets to kill the Torch. While they are distracted with their game, the Torch knocks over a gas canister and uses the fuel inside to reignite his flame and break free form his bonds. The Torch catches the Legion off guard and easily fights them into submission. Defeating Haskell last, the Torch reveals to the rest of the gang that the dice were specially weighted so that Haskell never had to do any crimes, and dupe those in his Legion to do his dirty work. With this exploitation revealed, the Legion of Despair are handed over to the authorities.
Recurring Characters
Human Torch, Toro
Murder Afloat
Cruising the Hawaiian islands in his yacht, the Sub-Mariner comes across a private island that has a sugar cane factory. Finding everyone else in Hawaii pleasant and friendly, he is more than a little disturbed to see a no trespassing sign and armed guards on the property, prompting the monarch of the sea to investigate. Sneaking onto the roof of the factory he spies men putting some strange chemical in the empty sugar cane reeds. Finding this suspicious, the Sub-Mariner goes back to his vessel. Spotting a Navy ship, he raises flags warning them of potential danger on the island and asks them to rendezvous with him. When he meets with the captain of the ship and explains his suspicions, the captain scoffs at the notion that anything is shady going on the island. The Captain explains that the island and business are owned by Anthony Coswell, a sugar magnate, philanthropist, and an Admiral in the Naval Reserve. The Captain and his crew angrily leave Namor's vessel warning him against pulling such "jokes" again.
Not convinced, the Sub-Mariner decides to pay a visit to Coswell personally. Arriving at the Coswell estate, Namor barges in and confronts Coswell. He attacks Namor with a net, and the Atlantean is soon overpowered by Coswell's hired men and knocked out. He is then taken to Hawaii's Japanese quarter where he is locked in a barred building. Coming around, Namor notes that when he blocks the draft under the only door out it causes the shutter on the only window to close. Starting a fire in the hay that lines the interior of the building, Namor then uses smoke signals to attract the attention of some naval officers on leave. However, before fire crews can arrive on the scene and rescue Namor, Coswell's minions come back and take him away, planning on throwing Namor off a cliff.
Jumping out of the moving vehicle, Namor's sudden move causes the driver to drive off a cliff to a fiery death. Breaking free of his bonds, Namor decides to swim back to the sugar cane island and finds a secret underwater tunnel below the surface. There he finds enemy subs and when examining the sugar cane reads he is shocked to see that they are lined with TNT. Setting them to go off, Namor destroys the secret submarine base and the sugar cane factory above. Returning to the Naval officer who scoffed at him earlier, he tells the captain to radio ahead to other fleets warning them of dangers in the water.
Rushing back to Coswell's island, Namor arrives as Coswell is taking out his anger on his workers. Namor fights him into submission and learns that the maps showing the location of the makeshift mines is up in his home. Recovering the map, Namor is once more attacked by Coswell who tries to mow the hero down with a machine gun. Namor once more easily overpowers Coswell, and leaves when the Navy arrives to take him and his Fifth Column minions prisoner. Returning to his yacht, Namor tries to signal a Navy vessel approaching the mines with his flags but they do not see them. In order to grab their attention, Namor sets off some explosives on his vessel at the cost of his yacht. After the Navy ships stop their travels, Namor goes out into the water and detonates the remaining mines. For his help in exposing this plot, Namor is awarded an honorary admiral of the US Navy.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner
