Marvel Mystery Comics #70
The Case of the Frightened Felon
Walt Neilson breaks out of San Martine State Prison, determined to clear his name for a crime that he did not commit. Wounded in his escape, Walt steals some clothing and heads into the city to meet with the prosecutor in his case and convince him to give him a new trial. He is spotted by the Human Torch and Toro, who hear a scream from the prosecutors house and witness Neilson running away. Going inside, they find that the prosecutor has been murdered and catch up with Walt. Walt explains that he was trying to get a new trail, but somebody had murdered the prosecutor before he arrived and it was his scream they heard from the house. The Torch and Toro sympathize for Neilson, but have no choice but to turn him over to the police.
With Neilson jailed, the two heroes witness as Neilson's uncle and lawyer arrive. The recommend that Walt confess to his crimes and throw himself at the mercy of the court. As this was their advice last time, for when Neilson was accused of robbing a bank, his protests convince the Torch that there is truth to his story about a frame job and suspects Neilson's uncle and lawyer. Noting that Neilson's gunshot wound would have left a trail of blood at the crime scene the Torch and Toro return to the prosecutors home.
Hearing this, Neilson's uncle calls his gang and orders them to round up the heroes before they can blow the case wide open. When the Torch's theory is confirmed, the two attempt to return to the police station and are confronted by a gang of hoods who easily overpower the two heroes and take them prisoner. They are taken to a cold storage down by the waterfront where they are doused with a fire retardant. There they are confronted by Neilson's uncle who admits that he was behind the bank robbery and that he had framed his nephew with the aid of the prosecutor. However, later the prosecutor was beginning to succumb to his guilty concious and the uncle had him murdered.
The goons then lock the two heroes in the cold storage to freeze to death, however it causes the foam they are covered in to freeze and crack open allowing the two heroes to use their flame powers to escape. They then rush to the gangs hideout and round them up but Neilson's uncle manages to escape in a car. Chasing after him the Torch and Toro cause the uncle to get into a fatal car accident. With the gang rounded up and their leader dead, the Torch and Toro head back to the police station confident that they can clear Neilson's name.
Recurring Characters
Human Torch, Toro
A Madman's Rampage
The insane criminal known as Blackbeard breaks out of the asylum, vowing revenge against Rod Adams, the wealthy millionaire who was the star witness at the trial that saw him committed. When the story hits the newspaper, Rod gets a bodyguard to protect himself. When the Sub-Mariner hears about the story, he decides to go and see if he can aid Adams.
When he arrives at Adam's modern home he witnesses as Blackbeard murders Rod's body guard and tries to escape with Rod as his prisoner. Namor rescues Rod, but Blackbeard manages to escape capture. Thankful for the Sub-Mariner's intervention, Rod introduces him to the guests at his home: His fiancée Helen, his aunt Matilda, his cousin Stan, and his lawyer Rollo. With introductions out of the way, Namor offers to help guard Rod in case Blackbeard should return. The offer excepted, Namor is brought into the house and learns that it does not have many windows and is air conditioned.
As everyone retires for the night, Namor stands guard in Rod's room while Rod sleeps. While down in the basement of the house, Blackbeard hooks up a gas tank to the air conditioning system that floods Rod's room with gas knocking Namor out. However, when Blackbeard tries to escape with Rod as his prisoner, the wind blows open a window in the hallway dissipating the gas enough to cause Namor to revive. Namor tries to stop Blackbeard but is easily defeated. Helen decides to check up on them and finds Namor knocked out and revives him with water. Searching the room for clues, Namor finds some of Blackbeard's facial hairs that were ripped off in the fight. Namor asks Helen who could gain from Rod's death, and he is told that Rod has will named his aunt and cousin as beneficiaries of half of his fortune, while the other half going to a charity. With Rod reported missing, Namor announces to the family that the authorities have offered a $10,000 reward to the person who finds him.
That night, Namor stakes out Rod's home and spots a man in a black cape sneaking out of the house. Following him into the woods, Namor witnesses as he enters a secret door hidden in a tree. Following the man in the black cape into the secret hideout, he overhears him and "Blackbeard" (really an impostor) discussing killing Rod, then turning over the real Blackbeard and Rod's body so that they can also collect the reward. Namor attacks and easily bests them, revealing the man in the black cape to be Rollo, the lawyer. After rounding up the real Blackbeard, Namor then takes all three captives to the authorities where Rollo confesses that he wished to kill Rod as the charity that would get money from Rod's death was really a phony company that he had set up himself.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner
The Sing Song Slayings
Madeline Joyce and her Uncle Jim are leaving a show in the theatre district and are overwhelmed by the amount of people who are exiting other theatres at the same time. While Uncle Jim attempts to hail a cab, Madeline witnesses a woman getting stabbed in the back and the two thieves stealing her necklace as they she is distracted by a pair of blind musicians. Madeline tries to chase after the killers but the crowd gets in between them. Madeline then rushes into an empty theatre and changes into Miss America and flies after them.
Capturing the killers, and turning them over to the police, they deny everything. Searching them, Miss America and the police find no trace of the stolen necklace and are forced to let the killers go. The following day, Madeline returns to the scene of the crime to search for clues. There she spots the blind musicians but soon realizes that they look different than the night before. Pulling them aside, she learns that they were paid $100 to stay home and let a pair of people pose as them, supposedly as a practical joke they were paying on a friend. Realizing that the killers had two other accomplices who disguised themselves as the blind musicians Madeline prepares a trap for them.
Having the blind couple tip her off when the killers pull the same stunt, Madeline leaves for the theatre district as Miss America. Knowing how the killers work their game, Miss America easily captures them before they can claim another victim and turns them over to the authorities.
Recurring Characters
Miss America, James Bennett
Through the Camera's Eye
Jeff Mace and Mary Morgan go to check up on photographer Birdie Heart as nobody has heard from him in over a month. Going to Birdie's apartment, they are shocked to see that he is living poor and starving. Buying Birdie some food, they learn that he specializes in photographing crowd reactions and that none of the local papers want to buy his photographs as they are not sensational enough. He shows them a comparison of a warehouse fire that was photographed by Shutter Logan and his crowd shot. Recalling that the warehouse fire was merely a distraction for a gang of crooks who robbed the jewelry store across the street, Jeff recognizes one of the people in the crowd as Dusty Regan.
Rushing off, Jeff changes into the Patriot and tracks down the hideout of Dusty's old gang. He catches the gang as they are fighting over a poker game and easily subdues them and demands to know where their old boss is. Dusty enters the room and holds the Patriot at gunpoint. The gang then brings him to a warehouse that they intend to burn as another distraction for their next crime: robbing the bank across the street. They light the warehouse on fire and leave the Patriot to burn alive.
However, the Patriot manages to use the fire to burn the ropes that have him bound and puts out the fire. He then rushes over to the bank and easily captures Dusty and his gang. Sometime later, Jeff meets with Mary and Birdie who are elated that Birdie's photo helped the Patriot capture Dusty Rogan. Later, Jeff takes Birdie to the Chronicle Newspaper where Birdie is surprised to find that he has been hired full time and now has his own office.
Recurring Characters:
Patriot, Mary Morgan
The Adventure of the Blue Goose
The Angel is walking the docks one night when he is jumped by a gang who knock him out and pull him aboard the "Blue Goose", a cruise ship. When the Angel comes around he is introduced to the gangs leader Kroll who tells the Angel that he is going to be forced to work on the ship and orders one of his men to watch him at all times.
However, the Angel's guard ends up falling asleep allowing the hero to slip away and find out what's going on. He overhears Kroll talking to his employer, notorious criminal Gloria Wild. Wild has purchased the Blue Goose and is passing it off as a luxury cruise ship for the rich in order to rob her clients. The Angel is soon discovered by some of Kroll's men leading to a fight. The Angel soon stands down after killing one of Kroll's men when Kroll arrives and trains a gun on him. Whipping the hero, Kroll orders another crew member to work the Angel to death.
Meanwhile, Gloria and the rest of the gang rob the wealthy patrons of the Blue Goose at dinner and then strands them at sea in a life boat. The Angel meanwhile changes into his costume and fights his way to the radio shack. There he easily bests the man operating the radio and uses it to call the coast guard for help. The Angel then quickly subdues Kroll and Gloria just as the coast guard arrives to take them away.
Recurring Characters
Angel
