The Origin of the Red Raven

Years ago, a commercial plane crashes into the floating home of the Avian Bird People, the only survivor being a lone young boy. Although without wings, the young man is adopted by the Bird People's leader, who raises the boy. Upon becoming an adult, the boy would grow up to be the man they would call the Red Raven, equipping him with red mechanical wings to give him the ability of flight. Brought before the king, he would tell the Red Raven to return to the land of his people to combat evil.

Arriving on a surface city, the Red Raven would adopt a civilian guise and note that he area is being crippled by a large unemployment rate. Butting in line for an employment opportunity, the Red Raven would get into a fight with one of the people vying for the job, easily forcing the man to flee. This entire episode is watched by Zeelmo, the criminal mastermind responsible for the unemployment by means of effecting the economy. Noting the mans superior strength, he would send his minions to get him, believing that he would make a great addition to his minions. The thugs would free the Red Raven just as he is being arrested by police and bring him back to Zeelmo. Zeelmo shows his obsession with gold and asks the Red Raven to join him in stealing more. The Red Raven refuses and attacks Zeelmo, who has the Raven and a female prisoner dumped into a pit where an aging gas threatens to rapidly age them until death. Removing his civilian clothes and revealing his mechanical wings, the Red Raven flies himself and the girl out of the pit, freeing themselves.

In the ensuing fight, the Red Raven tosses Zeelmo into his own pit and escapes with the girl just as the aging gas hits an exposed flame causing an explosion that destroys the villains headquarters. Leaving the girl in the city, the Red Raven flies back to his home and asks his king if he can track down the remaining stolen gold. Having the Bird People's scientist invent a device that can track gold, the Red Raven finds that the device doesn't work. However he resumes his civilian guise and allows a story about his "gold detector" to get into the newspaper in order to bring the remaining crooks after him. The Red Raven then defeats his attackers and forces one of them to their hideout. There, Zeelmo's successor, Ratoga, sets a trap and captures the Red Raven. He then tosses the hero in a "Vibrato-Machine" that spins so fast the hero would be crushed by the centrifugal force.

However, the Red Raven revives and levitates off the ground of the device, making him immune to it's effects. When the crooks open the machine he attacks them again. He uses his device to then cause the gold to collapse on the crooks, drowning them in their ill gotten riches. With the criminals eliminated, the Red Raven leads the authorities to their cache of gold, ending the financial depression.

Recurring Characters

Red Raven, Bird-People

Continuity Notes

• This is the only Golden Age appearance of the Red Raven. The character is not revived again until X-Men #44-45.

• Red Raven’s origins are explained in greater detail in Defenders (Vol. 2) #5 and Thor Annual #12.

• Thor Annual #12 also explains that the Bird-People are an offshoot of the Inhumans.

The Origin of the Human Top

Bruce Bravell is allowing himself to be experiment on by a scientist who is attempting to find a means for humans to nourish themselves using electricity. As the experiment is underway, a bolt of lightning strikes the castle, causing an explosion. After checking on Bravell, the scientist finds that Bruce that both halves of his body have been charged with opposing magnetic force, and by placing his wrists together he spins at super-speed. Deciding to use his powers to fight crime, Bruce becomes the Human Top.

On his first venture outside with his powers, he uses his spinning abilities to prevent two speeding cars from getting into a collision with a train. Realizing that it was a police chase against two robbers, the Top uses his powers to take the money and give it back to the owner of the National Bank, Horace Vanderveer. Thinking himself a hero, the Human Top is shocked when the banker pulls out a gun and attempts to shoot him. The Top spins up Vanderveer and leaves him with the stolen money.

The following day, accusations of the Human Top being involved in the bank robbery makes the Top realize that Vanderveer had not returned the money. Seeking him out, the Human Top learns that Vanderveer has fled aboard his yacht. Going after the crooked banker, he is knocked out by his men and tied up. Even though the banker makes sure that the Top keeps his wrists apart by tying a block of wood between his arms, the Top break free thanks to rainfall completing the current needed to activate his powers.

The Top then breaks free, chases Vanderveer onto his yacht and flies the crook in a life boat, trapping him on the top of a flagpole threatening to drop him if he does not confess to his crimes. When Vanderveer agrees to do so, the Top leaves him to the authorities and flies off, leaving the frightened banker to confess his whole crime.

Recurring Characters

Human Top

Mercury In the 20th Century

As war rages on Earth, on Olympus, Zeus believes that the war is the work of Pluto. Deciding that Earth needs a defender to protect the planet and stop the war, he sends Mercury to track down and stop Pluto. Examining the chaos on the world below, Mercury manages to find Pluto, who is posing as the warmongering dictator of Prussialand.

Confronting Pluto in his office, Mercury seeks to stop his insane cousin who is taking great pleasure in the human casualties caused in the conflict. Mercury tries to strangle Pluto, but he calls for his guards, forcing the hero to flee. Mercury decides to start attacking Prussialand's army, using his superior speed to wreck military operations and steal military plans and secrets. Pluto eventually sends his agent Thea Shilhausen (alias L-5) to deal with Mercury as his operations have called a halt to the conflict.

When L-5 and her minions attempt to gun Mercury down, he proves immune to their bullets and tells the agent that peace is on the march. As Mercury returns to Olympus, he sees that the armies, unable to fight, have begun talking to each other and are fast becoming allies, foiling Pluto's plans.

Recurring Characters

Mercury, Jupiter, Minerva, Pluto, Vulcan

Continuity Notes

• Although this story suggests that these characters are the gods of Greek myth it, through some convoluted continuity, has since been stated that this is the first appearance of Jack Kirby’s Eternals and Deviants (incidentally, Kirby did the art on this story). The rabbit hole that leads to this conclusion is that years later, in Marvel Universe #4, the similarly powered Hurricane was revealed to be Makkari of the Eternals. Individual entries in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z hardcovers later went back further and tied Hurricane to Makkari.

• That said while this is the “only” Golden Age appearance of “Mercury” the character is later revealed to be Hurricane who appears next in Captain America Comics #1.

Race to Jupiter

In the year 2150 AD, Comet Pierce is the most successful interplanetary rocket racers. As he is involved in a race to Jupiter and back, his racking rocket is sabotaged by his opponent Jort. Crashing on an alien world the unconscious Pierce is rescued by a woman and nursed back to health. The woman admits that she loves him and after kissing him she and her alien companion disappear.

Pierce finds that his rocket has been repaired and equipped with an even more powerful rocket that allows him to win the race, betting Jort by days. Deciding to track down his savior, Comet returns to the planet that he crashed on and is given the womans location by one of the natives. Tracking her down, Comet tells her that he figured out that she is Queen Larina of Martian Zoranthus who is in a rebellion to remove Golak, a traitor who took over her planet. He pledges to aid in her rebellion.

Continuity Notes

• This is the only appearance of Comet Pierce to date. However, he received a profile in Marvel Mystery Handbook 70th Anniversary Special #1. The world he lives in is an alternate reality. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3 designates this as Reality-40800.

Re-Creator of Souls

Magar the Mystic wakes up from his long slumber to find the world in war and summons the spirit of Solomon for advice. Soloman suggests that Magar use his mystical abilities to stop the conflicts raging in order to save the human race from destruction. Magar does so, heading to France to aid the French army against Nazis who are invading their country. Captured in a Nazi foxhole, Magar summons the spirit of Harry Houdini to free him from his bonds allowing him to escape and join the French forces.

His aid welcome, the French army watches in awe as Magar comes up with a plan of attack and summons the spirits of Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington to aid them in fighting off the Nazi invaders. As the French forces manage to begin fighting off the invaders, Magar also summons the spirit of Thomas Edison who helps build a device that destroys the Nazis' radios and a tank that helps end the battle. With the Nazi forces defeated, Magar gathers the surviving enemies and orders them to go back to their country and cease their hostilities, an order they agree to obey. Afterward, Magar thanks the spirits he summoned and sends them back to the afterlife.

Recurring Characters

Nazis

Continuity Notes

• Although this is the only appearance of Magar to date, the character received a profile in Marvel Mystery Handbook 70th Anniversary Special #1.

Origin Eternal Brain

Dr. Carmody and his assistant Jim have just finished a method of removing the human brain from the body and placing it in a device that will keep it alive forever. As they are finishing up, they hear Carmody's daughter Mary scream for help. Rushing outside the doctor is shot and Jim knocked out by a crook named Peg-Leg Martin, who has come to kidnap the girl for his master Ulan Bator the ruler of Mongolia.

When Jim revives he learns what happened and finds that Carmody has been fatally shot, with no other choice Jim agrees to perform the operation to transplant Carmody's brain into his Eternal Brain device. Using his now expanded mental powers, Carmody telepathically leads Jim to the location of Ulan Bator's castle to free Mary. He sends a telepathic warning to Ulan to let his daughter go, but the villain refuses.

When Jim arrives he attacks Bator's men with an electric sword, however he is soon easily captured and tossed in the castle dungeon to be executed. There, the Eternal Brain uses his powers to enslave the minions guarding Jim and force them to free him. Jim is then led to Mary's location and in a final battle against Ulan, he kills the dictator with a grenade.

As Mary and Jim flee Ulan's castle they are followed by Peg-Leg who attempts to shoot them out of the sky. Jim destroys Peg-Leg's craft and they manage to escape. As they are returning to the United States, Mary learns what happened to her father and even though Carmody insists that they did what needed to be done to save her, she hates Jim for making her father the Eternal Brain.

Recurring Characters

Eternal Brain, Jim Fitzpatrick

Continuity Notes

• This is the only Golden Age appearance of the Eternal Brain however he will become a main character in Marvel: The Lost Generation.

• Although William Carmody appears to be a normal human being, Marvel Zombies Destroy! #3 later revealed that he was actually a member of the Eternals.

• The narrative states that this story takes place a “half-century” after the Colonel Charles Lindbergh. These experiments happened in the real world in 1935. With that in mind, Marvels: The Lost Generation and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4 confirm that this story happened in the 1980s of the Earth-616 universe.