Prescriptions For Death

After a series of explosions during public events, the Human Torch and Toro view newsreel footage of them and the Torch deduces that they were done purposely in front of a large audience. The next day, they attend the public unveiling of a brand new tank that is being manufactured for the war effort. Among those are a pair of Nazi spies who are undaunted despite the strict security and the presence of the two heroes. The explosives they are carrying are hidden within a seemingly harmless bottle of cough medicine.

One of the spies sacrifices his life to blow up the new tank. As the Torch and Toro help the injured, the Torch overhears the two spies laughing about the damage done and attacks them. However the head spy manages to get a fire hose and douse the two heroes flames so that they can escape. Examining the wreckage, they find a shard of the bottle of cough medicine and find a partial of the prescription label still intact.

Scouring the phone book they deduce that the bottle must have come from Mikkel's Pharmacy and decide to pay the druggist a visit. At Mikkel's Pharmacy, Mikkel the spy meets with the next batch of Nazi suicide bombers when the Torch and Toro arrive. They begin to break up the operation when Mikkel tosses a container of gas to try and get away. The Torch catches up with Mikkel and subdues him and then forces him to disburse the fumes before turning them over to the authorities.

Recurring Characters

Human Torch, Toro, Nazis

Terror of the Boiling Seas

The Sub-Mariner is swimming across the Atlantic when he spots something strange: The oceans are boiling around a number of Allied vessels causing them to sink and kill the crew. Unable to stand the heat of the boiling water himself, Namor flees the scene and then warns an approaching convoy of the danger ahead.

When the story hits the newspaper, Adolf Hitler is tickled by the news. While in the United States, Namor meets with American military officials and talks about his suspicions that the incident was caused by Nazis and agrees to go out and learn how they pulled the stunt.

Going back to the site of the accident, Namor finds massive coils that have been used to heat up the water. When attempting to destroy them they begin to turn on forcing the hero back. Spotting a Nazi U-Boat, he follows after it to see where it goes. It leads him to a Nazi undersea base where he over hears Captain Sturm begin plotting their next use of the coils. Jumping a Nazi sailor and stealing his uniform, Namor attempts to get closer but is spotted. Thinking that he is nothing more than an insubordinate soldier, the Sub-Mariner is clubbed over the head with the butt of a gun and tossed into the water to drown.

Naturally, the Sub-Mariner survives and follows after the next U-Boat sent to tow the heating coils to their next location. He wrecks the the U-Boat then places the coils in the water inside the base. He then appears inside the base and battles the Nazi forces. After battling Nazi forces he is outnumbered and taken prisoner. When Captain Sturm begins to gloat over the defeat of the Sub-Mariner, Namor breaks free and dives into the water and swims outside of the base. Thinking he has the upper hand, Sturm activates the heating coils, unaware that they are within his own base and he and his men begin to cook alive. The base explodes before Sturm has a chance to turn the coils off and all the Nazis are killed in the blast.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner, Nazis (Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels)

Continuity Notes

• Following this issue all reference to Namor’s Atlantean heritage is not mentioned again for a number of years until Sub-Mariner Comics #22 and Marvel Mystery Comics #82 in 1947. Saga of the Sub-Mariner #5-6 explains that Namor' was too occupied with the war that it kept him away from his people until after Japan’s surrender in 1945. He was later exiled until 1948 when he was called back to help his people.

The Case of the Missing Link"

Deadline Dawson is in a thick of trouble when a story he wrote identifying Mr. Kutz as a Nazi spy has Kurtz storming into the paper and demanding an apology. This "shoddy" reporting angers the editor who decides to punish Deadline by giving him the zoo beat.

Deadline brings Terry Vance along with him, Terry is convinced that Kurtz is really a Nazi spy. While they are at the zoo, they decide to pay a visit to the monkey house so that Dr. Watson can visit his friend, a gorilla named Grosso. When Watson goes to see the ape, he comes back angry as the gorilla punched him on the head. Deadline and Terry notice that the ape is meaner than usual and when Dr. Watson storms off they decide to follow the troubled monkey.

Dr. Watson leads them to a nearby cave where they find that the real Grosso has been captured by Nazi spies. Freeing Grosso they all return to the zoo where they attack the false Grosso, revealing him to be nothing more than Nazi spy Heinrich Himmiel in disguise. They are almost eliminated by Mr. Kutz, who arrives showing his true colors but Grosso subdues him. With the authorities and Deadline's boss arriving on the scene, Kurtz admits the truth just in time for the editor to stop the presses on the public apology.

Recurring Characters

Terry Vance, Doctor Watson, Deadline Dawson

The Asteroid Monsters

The people of Earth are in awe when a strange planetoid appears around Earth's orbit. However this awe turns into fear as it begins hurtling spheroids that contain massive alien creatures that begin their bid to take over the Earth. The military proves to be no match for the massive creatures. As their invasion of the Earth begins, one of their number captures a couple to bring back to his planet to be examined.

As the alien lands on his home world the Vision materializes from the exhaust coming from its engines. He comes to the aid of the captured couple, but is easily overpowered and captured himself. However before the aliens can examine them they are distracted by some strange lights that are appearing around the Earth and go to make sure they are not some kind of secret weapon. This allows the Vision time to break free from his bonds and break the Earth couple free. He sends them back to the alien ship that brought them there while he heads toward the planets central power plant. There he fights his way to main controls and sets the power grid to overload.

The Vision then rushes back to the ship and they use it to escape the alien world just moments before it explodes killing all the aliens and ending their invasion. When the alien ship lands on Earth, the couple are released into the hands of the military and the Vision disappears, telling those around that he will always be around when humanity needs him.

Recurring Characters

Vision

The Wump Jump and the Tire Thieves

Jimmy Jupiter is telling his father about his adventures in the Realm of Fairies when his father finally has enough of his sons fanciful tales and tells him to go to bed. As Jimmy is heading to his room he overhears his parents worry that their spare tires might be targets for some local thieves that have been stealing tires and other potential war salvage materials.

That night, Jimmy begins to dream about his old friends from Nowhere, Wump Jump the dragon and Ruffy Rabbit. He is awoken by the sound of the thieves leaving his yard with the tires his father was rationing. He is then greeted by Wump Jump and Ruffy Rabbit who offer to help Jimmy stop the tire thieves.

Despite Wump Jump and Ruffy's constant bickering, the two animals help Jimmy stop the thieves and take back the stolen tires. After their adventure, Jimmy's friends say goodbye and Jimmy returns to bed. The next morning Jimmy wakes up to tell his parents, but when his father goes out to inspect the tires he tells the boy they are right where he had left them initially. In the face of this evidence, Jimmy realizes that it is no use trying to convince his parents.

Recurring Characters

Jimmy Jupiter, Wump-Jump, Ruffy Rabbit

The Disappearing Spies

A trio of Nazi spies land on the shores of Long Island and are instantly spotted by a sentry. Wounding the guard, they flee into the night, however the soldier manages to radio the encounter he had. The broadcast is heard by reporters Jeff Mace, Jack Casey and Mary Morgan who rush out to get the story for their newspaper, hoping to find a lead on the spies.

While searching the site where the spies were last seen, Jeff spots a trail of blood and they begin to follow it. It leads them to a refuse bin and when he opens it the spies get the drop on them and take the three reporters hostage. The spies then use the reporters to smuggle them out of the area and away from the police dragnet. They then force Jeff to drive them to a nearby butcher shop.

There the trio are placed in separate meat lockers and left to freeze to death. With the three reporters locked away the Nazis then begin organizing their plot to destroy a defense plant. Inside one of the lockers, Jeff Mace changes into the Patriot and then smashes out of the freezer. He then easily defeats the Nazis, tying them up for the authorities, frees Jack and Mary and then slips away to change back into Jeff Mace.

Recurring Characters

Patriot, Jack Casey, Mary Morgan, Nazis

Quarantine For Murder

Professor Davis answers his door to find respected local Doctor C.J. Noon and some men at his door. They force their way in and Davis is chloroformed. Noon then orders his men to begin searching the property for Davis' new formula.

Later that day, Noon and his gang pay a visit to the home of Colonel Tarley and begin roughing up his family. The screams of help from Tarley's wife attract the attention of the Angel, who rushes to the house but is stopped from going in by a police officer. He points to the quarantine notice on the door and cautions the Angel that there is an outbreak of Small Pox in the area. Finding this suspicious, the Angel tries to call Dr. Noon but is told that Dr. Noon isn't available. Finding this suspicious, the Angel changes into his costume and decides to investigate further.

Breaking into the office of Dr. Noon, the Angel finds the office in shambles with the remains of chloroform gas in the air. Opening the closet, he finds Dr. Noon passed out inside. When Noon revives he tells the Angel how he was jumped by some men and chloroformed, and upon examining his office he finds a number of his medical papers missing. They are soon confronted by the fake Dr. Noon and his men, who burst into the office. A fight breaks out and the false Dr. Noon uses his disguise to get close enough to the Angel to knock him out.

With the Angel and the real Dr. Noon tied up, the faux doctor explains that he has been using the real doctor's credentials to quarantine those in the defense community in order to steal government secrets and that his next target intends to be inventor James Hall who has recently invented a rapid fire gun. When the phony doctor leaves, the Angel uses a coat hanger to break free and beats up the guards left behind. The Angel then bursts in on the fake Dr. Noon just as he has begun torturing Mr. Hall and easily beats the spies into submission. With the battle over, the Angel unmasks the impostor and reveals him to be Fritz von Bock, and turns him over to the authorities.

Recurring Characters

Angel, Nazis