Marvel Mystery Comics #49
Flight of the Deadly Boomerang
The Human Torch and Toro are called by the police to help investigate the murder of Jock Jordan, owner of the Pacific Steam Company. Going to the office building they find that Jordan had been burned to death. Making this death so mysterious is the fact that Jordan's office is on the top floor of a high building that is entirely fire proof, with the only means of attack coming from the window. However, there are no balconies and fire escapes and the nearest building that is tall enough is across a wide street.
The Torch and Toro then begin to interview Jordan's secretary Jessica Hobbs. She tells them that her late employer had no enemies that she knew of. When inquiring about what sort of business the company conducted, she explains that prior to the war, the company ran shipping lines from the United States to Australia and that the company was going out of business soon. When trying to determine how Jordan died, Toro jests that he must have drank gallons of gasoline. The Torch and the detective on the scene are about to dismiss this as a joke in poor taste when the coroner points out that might not have been too far from the truth. He explains that Jordan did not die from flame, but by poisoning, suggesting that somehow his blood had become highly flammable. This becomes more apparent when Toro finds the remains of a cigarette on the ground. They then deduce that in lighting the cigarette, Jordan lit himself on fire. As they continue to examine the evidence at police headquarters, a deformed man named the Kangaroo watches the Pacific Steam Company building from across the street and decides to make Ms. Hobbs his next victim.
Later, the police station gets a call from Jessica who is asking if they have the keys to the building as she had accidentally locked herself inside. When she screams and the line abruptly cuts out, the Torch flames on and goes to see what happened. When the Torch arrives at the scene he finds that Jessica has only fainted. Reviving her, the Torch learns that she had saw some horrible looking man across the street in the other building before she fainted. Before the Torch can go and investigate a strange object comes flying into the window. He takes it down with his flames and realizes that it is a boomerang. He finds the weapon has a sharpened edge and decides to go to the other building to see who threw it. Along the way he's joined by Toro.
When the two begin investigating the office across the street Toro is grabbed by the Kangaroo who threatens to kill the boy with one of his boomerangs if they dare to flame on. He explains that a chemical coated on the blade of the boomerang changes human blood into gasoline and demands. However, not willing to sacrifice himself if he can avoid it the Kangaroo suggests that they negotiate in the basement. Ushering the Torch into a private elevator, he suddenly tosses Toro in and cuts the cable, sending them falling down to the bottom of the building.
The two heroes use their flame powers to escape the elevator and give the Kangaroo chase. When he throws one his boomerangs, he misses his foes and it ironically comes back and strikes him. As his blood turns into gasoline, poisoning his body, the Kangaroo explains that he came up with the formula in the search for alternate means to make gasoline some five years ago. At the time Jock Jordan was his partner and refused to fund further experiments since it required human blood. When the Kangaroo attempted to sell the idea to the Japanese, they ordered him to eliminate Jock Jordan the only other man who knew of the formulas existence. Taking the formula to turn over to the police the Torch and Toro are too late to stop the Kangaroo from lighting up a cigarette and throwing himself off the building a blazing inferno.
Recurring Characters
Human Torch, Toro, Imperial Japan
Unveiling the Evil Eyes of Death
The Sub-Mariner decides to take a vacation and visits a small town in Death Valley. As he is sight seeing he sees a bunch of bandits on horseback coming his way. When they attack him, he is too weak from lack of water to beat them back and is knocked into a nearby irrigation stream. As his strength recovers, Namor surfaces to see that the bandits have ridden off without any further incident and decides to let it go for now and take a bath in his hotel room.
The next day as Namor is having a meal at a local restaurant he hears from one of the locals that yet another Japanese prisoner of war has escaped from a nearby internment camp and decides to go an investigate what is happening. Arriving there, he witnesses as a number of the prisoners tosses on of their fellows over the fence. Chasing after this escapee into the desert, Namor loses him. Spotting a nearby ghost town he decide to go and investigate, and is shocked to find a large mirror in the desert floor creating a mirage of the town where the Japanese agent hid.
Finding a secret passage to an underground cavern, Namor finds a number of Japanese agents being led by a man calling himself Saber Tooth. He overhears their preparations for an attack on US soil and is spotted. Trying to fight off his attackers, Namor is knocked out when he is splashed with a barrel of glycerin. He is then tossed aboard the Japanese sub that has traveled into the cave by a secret underwater tunnel. There, Namor comes around and despite Saber Tooth's orders to keep Namor away form water, he tricks one of the Japanese sailors to splash him with a pale of it when he begs for water to drink. The act of cruelty proves to be the sailors undoing as it revitalizes Namor and fights off the Japanese attackers. He then tosses a torpedo at Saber Tooth and his men and escapes out the torpedo tube as the sub explodes killing all the escapees. Swimming through the underwater tunnel to the ocean, Namor informs a Navy vessel of the secret hideout before returning to the oceans.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner, Imperial Japan
The Mysterious Case of the Talking Thread
While trying to crack a story on a local Nazi spy ring that has been smuggling classified defense secrets, Deadline Dawson stops at the local tailor shop to have his pants mended. While he is at the tailor shop with Terry Vance, both are disturbed when the owner suddenly lashes out at his aid for using the wrong type of thread on Dawson's pants. When they ask why he is being so harsh, the man explains that it is "poor quality" for pants and insists on changing it. When Terry begins trying to make small talk the old man shrugs him off. When Deadline tells Terry that the tailor also mends clothing for the nearby defense plant, Terry becomes even more suspicious.
Going back to the tailor shop later, Terry and Deadline confront the aid who promises to tell them everything. However, before he can someone shoots him through a window from outside. When the shooter gets away, the two boys head to the local branch of the FBI. There they convince the authorities to watch the tailors home. When he doesn't come out, Terry suggests they try to search the premises. When the tailor refuses to let them in, Dr. Watson sneaks inside and reveals a radio-photo transmitter. When the FBI agent examines it, he puts his gun down and the tailor grabs it.
Holding Terry, Deadline and the FBI agent at gun point he confesses to being a Nazi spy who had been smuggling out secrets out of the plant in thread and then transmitting the information. When a police officer enters the room, the tailor seemingly shoots him dead and flees. The FBI agent rushes out and shoots the tailor dead. Returning to the house, he tells Terry and Deadline that he purposely put the gun out for the tailor to grab -- it having been filled with blanks -- in order to trick him into a confession.
Recurring Characters
Terry Vance, Doctor Watson, Deadline Dawson, Nazis
Scourge of the Nazis
Madeline Joyce is the ward of railroad tycoon James Bennett. A champion for the underdog, one day she agrees to accompany her guardian to visit a electrical research center where experiments in finding new means of harnessing electricity are being explored. Along the way, she witnesses a paperboy with a crutch being bullied by some others. Convincing James to pull over she breaks up the fight before they resume their journey.
Arriving at the electrical research lab, the head scientist shows them a new gravitational device. However, the scientist in charge is haunted by the fact that being exposed to the device's rays had endowed him with the ability to fly, enhanced his strength, given him x-ray vision and gave his brain great perceptive abilities. Despite this the scientist is in a state of shock and horrified by what he has become. Bennett brushes this off as nothing more than the scientist working too hard, however Madeline believes what the scientist has said and decides that she will come back to use the device to give her the same powers as well so she can use them to help those in need.
That night during a raging lightning storm, Madeline returns to the lab and and exposes herself to a jolt from the device just as it is struck by lightning. The jolt knocks her out, and she is found by the scientist who thinks that she was killed. Horrified by this turn of events the maddened scientist commits suicide by detonating his lab destroying everything. Madeline is blown clear of the explosion and when she awakens she finds that she has been granted super-human powers. She then devises a costume and begins calling herself Miss America.
Keeping her powers a secret, Madeline returns to her normal life. One day she witnesses an young man about to be struck by a truck and saves him. The man's mother tells Madeline that her son has not been the same after being injured at the location munitions plant and mumbles about strange happenings going on there.
Finding this suspicious, Madeline decides to investigate as Miss America. Flying to the factory, she arrives just in time to see Nazi spies dumping molten steel on another worker. Miss America saves the man and then flies toward the spies to deliver them justice.
This story is continued next issue...
Recurring Characters
Miss America, James Bennett, Nazis
Black Mamba Murder
Retired banker Martin Hughes is putting the final touches on his will when he suddenly screams in agony and falls over dead. His body is discovered by the butler and soon the authorities are called in. When reporter Jeff Mace hears the of the murder, he rushes to the scene to get the story. He learns that Hughes had been poisoned. The coroner is unsure how Hughes was murdered. When Jeff begins examining the crime scene he finds that Hughes has two bite marks on his foot and finds a hole in one of the walls.
Checking back with the detective, Jeff learns that Hughes will was found, and it stipulates that 10% of his fortune goes to his daughter, 40% to the butler and the remainder to charity. Jeff finds this suspicious, more so when Hughes' daughter Mrs. Check shows up and decides to dispute her fathers will.
Jeff decides to investigate as the Patriot, and searching the basement he finds a number of poisonous snakes kept down there and that the hole in Hughes office leads right into the snake room. The Patriot is thrown off guard when a snake suddenly pops out of the hole, causing him to fall off the ladder he climbed on to look into the hole. Crushing the snake with the ladder, the Patriot realizes who the killer is. Rushing upstairs he asks the officers on the scene where Mrs. Check is when he hears her scream. Rushing upstairs, he catches the costumed "Black Mamba Killer" trying to choke her to death and attacks him.
Chasing the Black Mamba down into the basement, the Patriot is forced to throw a jar containing one of the killers snakes. The jar shatters and the killer is bitten by the snake and is killed by its lethal venom. With the killer dead, the Patriot unmasks him confirming his suspicion that the killer was the butler the whole time.
Recurring Characters
Patriot
A Lesson In Murder
A group of Nazis led by the Mad Boar are operating along the Canada/US boarder to poison fish. When the fish are caught and processed in canaries, those who eat the first -- from average citizens to American soldiers -- are poisoned it causes a national crisis. The Angel decides to investigate and learns from the authorities that the fish was tainted.
When a Mr. Ramsey who owns the cannery calls the police to report that his suspicion that he is being followed the officer answering the phone scoffs at the idea, thinking its some joke. Overhearing this call the Angel rushes to Ramsey's home where he catches the Boar and his men forcing Ramsey to write a suicide note taking blame for the poisoning. The Angel attempts to stop them but is knocked out. The Angel comes around and once more starts fighting the spies when the authorities arrive forcing the Mad Boar and his men to flee the scene.
The Angel tracks them to an area near a reservation of Native Americans who tell him that they were paid to help tamper with the fish. There, the Angel is spotted by the Boar and his men who ambush him. The Mad Boar then brings the Angel to the cannery where he is tied up in the freezer and whipped. The Boar then leaves him to freeze to death while he continues his plot to poison more fish stocks. Left alone, the Angel manages to free himself and goes after the Mad Boar. Tracking him down the two begin to fight until they fall off the side of a cliff into a raging river below. The Angel manages to knock out the Mad Boar, but the currents are too strong to get free of. The Angel is pulled out of the waters by a Canadian Mountie, but is forced to let the Boar go and he drowns in the water, ending his threat.
Recurring Characters
Angel, Nazis
Continuity Notes
Around the time of this story, the Angel has been depicted as being active in Europe since Marvel Mystery Comics #46. This is the first story that depicts him as being back in North America. However, the events of Marvel Mystery Comics #51 takes place prior to this story as it depicts the Angel returning home from his trip to England.
