Nick Peron

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Tough Kid Squad Comics #1

Tough Kid Squad

Years ago, Dr. Danger and his wife were driving through a crime ridden neighborhood and were killed by a crook who lobbed a grenade, killing both and orphaning their newborn twin children Tom and Wally. Professor Moxon, a colleague of Dr. Danger decides to adopt both boys and raise them to be as intelligent as their father. However as Moxxon is seeing Wally, Tom is kidnapped by criminal Wong Chee who hopes that the child had inherited his father’s wisdom and to raise as an ideal criminal. Discovering that Tom had been kidnapped, Moxxon would only be able to provide a home for Wally.

Over the years, Wally would be raised by Professor Moxxon and become a very intelligent but meek boy. While over the convening years Tom would be raised by Wong Chee and become a professional thief and a worthy brawler. On the night of Wally and Tom's 14th birthdays, Moxxon puts on a party for Wally. Meanwhile, Wong Chee orders Tom to go out and steal on his behalf. Not wishing to rob without getting a cut of the money, Tom easily beats his teacher in a fight and flees their hovel. Wandering into a posh neighborhood, fate would have it that Tom would break into Moxxon's home hoping to rob it for some easy money. Spotted by Moxxon, Tom is mistaken for Wally and told to prepare for the party downstairs. Confused and surprised by this turn of events, Tom keeps up the charade and goes down and enjoys the unimaginable party. The party goers -- thinking Tom to be Wally -- are shocked by his sudden aggressive behavior and fast dancing moves. When the local football star tries to cut in on Tom's dancing partner, Tom doesn't take well and the two boys come to blows.

Elsewhere, Wally has briefly taken his car out to Chinatown where he finds the book shop he was seeking out. There he is confronted by Wong Chee who confuses him for Tom, thinking that he stole the car in apology for his earlier attack. Not understanding what Wong Chee is talking about, speeds away back home. There Wally arrives just as Tom has finished flattening the football player and everyone is shocked to see two "Wally's". Moxxon figures out that Tom is Wally's long lost brother and they are happily reunited when Moxxon proves it by pointing out their identical birthmarks. Tom agrees to show Wally how to fight, while Wally promises to teach Tom some smarts. Happy to have both boys together again, Moxxon decides to send them to finish high school at Westcliff High School.

Days later, the two boys arrive at the private school and are instantly greeted by local bully Derrick Dawes who decides to bully the two freshmen. Tom stands up to the bully, but before a fight can break out a professor breaks things up and reminds the Danger twins that they are to receive oral examinations. After Wally passes with flying colors, Tom is scared that he is going to fail. In order to help his brother out, Wally changes clothes and poses as Tom while taking the oral examination, passing it with flying colors. Meanwhile, Tom -- confused for Wally -- is confronted by Dawes and the two get into a scrap. Tom beats Dawes into submission and seeing that Tom and Wally are worthy adversaries concedes and they become fast friends. Soon the Danger twins join up on the Westfield football team along with Dawes.

Their team also includes the Native American named Eagle and another young boy named Butch. As they play game after game and win victory after victory, the Danger twins become objects of interest to a man named Dr. Klutch who has arrived with a number of thugs to capture the boys. After their victory over Bark Ridge High, the group of youngsters agree to band together as a group they dub the "Tough Kid Squad". Dr. Klutch and his men pretend to be victory revelers and ask the boys if they can carry them to their locker room. They agree, and when they realize that they are all being kidnapped they attempt to struggle only to be knocked out and taken captive in Dr. Klutch's trailer. As the boys are being carried to Dr. Klutch's hideout, Dr. Klutch explains why has captured the Danger twins and their friends:

Years ago, Klutch had been a colleague of Dr. Danger, and they had developed a serum that transformed a living organism to the peak of perfection. After animal tests proved to be successful, Klutch insisted that he be the next test subject. Knowing that Klutch was potentially evil, Dr. Danger would refuse and Klutch would vow to get revenge. He arranged for the chain of events that led to Dr. Danger's death and upon searching for the formula found only a diary stating that Dr. Danger had injected the only samples of his formula into his newborn twin children. With the Danger twins being the only sample of the formula in existence, Klutch vowed to track them down and it took him fourteen years to do so.

Soon their ride to Klutch's hideout would get stopped by a group of rival mobsters and a firefight would begin between the two groups. In the confusion, the Tough Kid Squad would find an unlocked panel on the trailer and sneak out and try to escape. As they are fleeing a mobster tosses a bomb at them but Butch tosses it back, destroying the trailer and seemingly killing all the criminals. Lost, the group of young boys stop near a river and camp out for the night. They are soon attacked and tied up by a crazy man who lives in the bush. However, before the wild man can harm them he is shot dead by Dr. Klutch who survived the blast. He and his surviving gang members then take the still tied up Tough Kids Squad hostage and bring them back to his hideout.

There, Klutch's goons refuse to go any further due to Klutch's personal bodyguard, a Native American mute named Komba. Inside the hideout, Eagle, Butch and Dawes are locked up in another room while the Danger twins are examined for traces of the serum. As the other boys escape from the locked room -- scaling past a room full of live electrical equipment -- Klutch finds traces of the serum in the boys and extracts some blood from Wally. The other boys attack and free the Danger twins. When Komba enters the room, Wally manages to stare him down and frighten him into fleeing like one would an animal. Komba would pick up Dr. Klutch and flee, and as he escapes would knock over a candle that would start a fire. With the house quickly going up in flames, the boys were unable to escape out the front but find a secret passage leading out of the house.

While above, Komba and Klutch would make it out of the inferno. Wanting to recapture the boys, Klutch would inject Komba with Wally's blood empowering him with Dr. Dangers formula. Sending Komba after the boys, the massive brute would find them just as a cat led them out of the tunnels beneath Klutch's hideout. As Komba is occupied fighting off the Danger brothers, Eagle then tied the cat to a stick and attacked Komba with it, the attack would frighten Komba to death. However, as the boys exited the catacombs they would be stopped by Klutch and his gang who would take them to another hideout. There, Klutch would extract blood from Tom's body and this time inject it into himself hoping to become the most perfect criminal ever.

With the boys purpose fulfilled Klutch had them tossed into the "Vault of Oblivion" a room with a crushing ceiling. Trapped inside, the boys removed loose bricks and stacked them to slow the descending roof and began digging their way out through the dirt floor under the bricks. As this was happening, Klutch had gathered a group of mobsters and convinces them to join his ranks and begins planning three bank jobs at once to confuse and throw off the police. Overhearing this from their escape tunnel, the Tough Kid Squad would dig their way out and head off to stop them. Before leaving, they would order Eagle to contact the authorities. When the cops believe Eagle to be nothing more than a drunk making a crank call, Eagle would throw a tomato at a police officer walking the beat prompting him and his colleagues to chase the crafty Native American.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Tough Kids find guns stashed in the hideout and wait for Klutch and his men to return with their stolen loot. While the others hold the mobsters at gun point, the Danger brothers battle Dr. Klutch, knocking him out with a vial of knock out gas, incapacitating him long enough for the police arrive and arrest them all.

Scourge of the Nazi Air Force

The Auxville aerodrome in France has been plagued by a spy leaking their operations to the Nazis. However, this pales in comparison to a series of sabotage happening at the base as well. The most recent comes when Lieutenant Ambrose is returning to base and his plane begins to crack up. He is saved at the last minute by the Flying Flame, who rescues the pilot when his chute gets caught on the rudder of the damaged plane.

With Ambrose unharmed, Red Ruff reports the incident to his superiors and then begins searching the hangar for clues. He comes across an unfamiliar mechanic named Private Langer who tells him that Sergeant Winslow is off duty. Ruff walks away, and becomes suspicious when Langer barks his knee on the Flying Flame and grumbles "Ja Wohl". Spying from a window, Red spies Langer attempting to sabotage the Flying Flame and confronts the mechanic. Langer flees the scene, escaping in a bomber.

Unable to shoot it down because its cargo of bombs could destroy the base, the commanding officer allows Red to follow after it in another plane. Using a rope, Red boards the bomber and fights Langer for control. With the roof hatch of the plane open, the struggle causes the plane to spin in the air throwing Langer out of the plane and to his death. Red manages to get control of the plane again and safely lands it, saving the base.

Recurring Characters

  • Flying Flame

  • Nazis

The Red Terror

A week after gaining his powers the Human Top and his ally Professor Raymore have experienced a lull in activity that has made the Top become restless. However, this all changes when a radio announcements tells of a daring train derailment and robbery happening on the west coast. Using his spinning powers, the Top flies into the air to the location of the train wreck and confronts the mastermind of the wreck: The Red Terror. The Terror and his goons have succeeded in looting the train and escape in a high powered zeppelin, and the Top is forced to let them go while he tends to the injured.

After rescuing all the people trapped in the wrecked train, the Top flies after the Red Terror's ship following the crook and his gang back to their secret hideout in an abandoned mine. There, the Top fights his way through various traps set to defend the base. When the Red Terror is unable to stop the Top he and his men attempt to escape in their craft again. The Top flies after them wrecking the ship causing the Red Terror and his gang to plummet to their deaths.

Recurring Characters

  • Human Top