Marvel Mystery Comics #71
Formula for Murder
The Human Torch and Toro are on their way to Centertown to enjoy a vacation when they happen upon a dead body laying in the middle of the road. Searching for identification, they identify the dead man as Parker. The pair drive into town to inform the sheriff. The sheriff of Centertown is surprised to hear about a murder as the last one happened a decade earlier. They are introduced to Mayor Ellis as both he and the sheriff were on their way to a science exhibition put on by a Doctor Aimes. Aimes has allegedly come up with a new method of creating silk. The Torch and Toro take the officials to the site of the dead body but are surprised to find the body has vanished. Ther sheriff and mayor think this is some sick practical joke and warn the two heroes that if they are found in Centertown again they’ll be arrested. Annoyed by being made fools of, the Torch decides their vacation is off until they can get to the bottom of this.
Flaming on, the pair follow after the mayor and the sheriff as they head to the Doctor Aimes. Noting that Parker was involved in some kind of scientific enterprise, the Torch suspects that there is some connection between the dead man and Doctor Aimes. When they arrive on the scene they are greeted by the assistant of Doctor Aimes when they hear a gunshot from inside the house. Rushing inside, they discover that Aimes is dead. The Torch flames on and goes out looking for the shooter and catches a man Ellis, Aimes’ lawyer. He denise being responsible saying he saw Robert Loren — Ames’ chief rival — running from the house.
Taking Ellis back to the house they all compare notes and the going theory is that Robert Loren killed Ames in order to win the science exhibition. When the Torch asks if Ames new silk formula was stolen the assistant explains that Ames had the formula committed to memory and did not write it down. They go to the home Robert Loren to question him. Although he admits to being nearby and hearing the gunshot, Robert denies killing either Ames or Parker. Roberts wife and house keeper can also confirm his whereabouts. Although the Torch is convinced that Loren is not a suspect, the sheriff still thinks the rival scientist is responsible and arrests him.
The Torch and Toro then head back to Ames property to search for clues. When they arrive they discover the barn on fire. Getting the blaze under control they then find Parker’s body inside. When removing the body they are almost caught in an explosive booby-trap but get clear of the blast. That’s when the Torch notices a cigarette butt on the ground and recognizes the brand as the same kind that is smoked by Ellis. They then go into Ames lab to search for more clues. Checking the vat of the silk formula, they find a secret compartment and learn that Dr. Ames’ formula was a scam. Not only that, but Parker invested in the experiments and was likely killed to keep him quiet. As Toro tries to piece everything together the pair are unaware that they are being watched by Ames’ assistant.
Examining an x-ray, the Torch notices that although it is filled wish ashes it is devoid of cigarette butts. That’s when the assistant shoves a massive iron drum on the the pair. However, it only hits the Torch. Before Toro can act, Robert’s wife enters the room looking for clues to clear her husbands name and is taken hostage by the assistant. He then locks the Torch, Toro, and Mrs. Loren in an air tight room. Unable to flame on, the Torch quickly uses a chain supports that maintains the air pressure, causing one of the walls to collapse, freeing them. When the assistant tries to flee in a car the Torch is forced to blast it with his flame powers, horribly burning the killer in the process.
Brought to the hospital, the seriously burned man explains his entire scheme, how he was tricking both Ames and Parker to bilk them of money with a phony silk making process and how he used gunpowder hidden in an ashtray to kill Ames. With the murderer exposed, the Torch and Toro are glad to finally go on their vacation.
Recurring Characters
Human Torch, Toro
The Cobra Strikes to Kill
When the small town of Shady Glen is terrorized by a mystery man who unleashes cobras on the town, the Sub-Mariner just happens to be around to investigate. While visiting a woman named Mrs. Brown, Namor saves her daughter when one of these deadly snakes. However, by the following day a number of people died due to these snakes prompting the police to ask the Sub-Mariner’s help to stop the venomous snakes. As Namor puzzles how these snakes could end up in an American town, they are visited by John Mears the village physician. He suggests Namor visit the nearby village of Venezia, which was inspired by Venice, as it is down by the water. His uncle, Ezra Mears, is hosting a water carnival there, insisting that everyone come despite the recent tragedies. Interest, the Sub-Mariner agrees to go and check things out.
That evening Namor visits the island castle owned by Ezra Mears to see what the big deal is and spies something strange going on inside through one of the windows. There are two men inside doing something suspicious inside. Confronting them, he learns that they are Thomas Jenkins — the butler — and his wife Annie, the housekeeper. They make excuses as to what they are doing and quickly departs, but Jenkins drops a note on the floor. Examining it, Namor discovers that it is a memo written by Ezra Mears reminding himself to change his will to bequeath the bulk of his estate to a woman named Gloria for after she married a young man named Carter. That’s when Ezra enters the room with his son, his granddaughter Gloria and her fianceé, a medical student named Bob Carter. After making introductions, Gloria and Bob take Namor on a tour of the property. As the woman talks about the recent cobra related deaths they hear a scream from another part of the island.
Rushing to the scene, Namor arrives just in time to wrestle away a number of cobras before they can be attack a group of party goers. In the struggle, one of the snakes bites him but he is surprised when he isn’t injected with venom he discovers that someone surgically removed the venom sacks from the cobra’s mouth. Namor finds this strange and goes to talk to Ezra Mears and learns that before he retired from medicine he experimented on finding cures for toxic poisonings, a skill that he taught to Bob. Searching the property, Namor hears Bob talking in a nearby canoe house plotting to kill people. Rushing there he finds both the butler and his wife dying from snake venom. Before he dies, Jenkins talks about having something but had dropped it in the water. Diving into the nearby lake, Namor finds a strange syringe with two needles that are spaced out like the fangs of a cobra. When he surfaces a masked man tries to strike him with a knife but misses. The Sub-Mariner chases after the masked man to a secret underground hideout hidden beneath the canoe house. There he finds Ezra, Bob, and Gloria prisoners of the masked man who is about to inject Carter with snake venom. During the ensuing struggle the mystery attacker is unmasked and turns out to be John. Namor quickly knocks him out and frees his captives. In the aftermath of this struggle, Namor deduces that John was attempting to prevent Gloria and Bob from getting his father’s fortune after he dies.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner
Thrust of Death
Madeline Joyce is driving down a suburban road outside of wartime Washington when a nearby house suddenly explodes. Rushing to rescue anyone who might be trapped inside two men try to stop her from interfering. After fighting off the two men, one of them armed with a cane that he wields like a sword, she flies the rest of the way to the burning house. She pulls one man out of the inferno and learns that he is a FBI agent. The agent insists that Miss America recover a second man, who is already dead, from the fire as it will help prove a murder. Unfortunately, while she is busy recovering the dead body somebody had come back and fatally stabbed the FBI agent.
At FBI headquarters Miss America learns that the dead man was General Watkins and that Agent Perkins was investigating a series of similar murders. As it turns out each person, who were all involved in the defense of America, were all believed to have died of natural causes. However, Perkins had determined that each victim had gone mad and dropped dead after being administered a sedative from their physician. Tracing the general’s movements through his appointment, Miss America discovers that he took fencing lessons. Remembering the strange man with the cane, she decides to visit the fencing school.
When she comes crashing in through the window, the fencing master lets slip that he is a Nazi spy by reacting to the intrusion by speaking in German. At first, the fencing masters minions get the drop on Miss America but they are distracted when another general arrives for his fencing lesson. This allows Miss America to break free and knocks them all out. With the help of the FBI, Miss America discovers that the fencer had a drug tipped on his fencing sword. However, instead of outright killing the intended victim it drove them mad. As a byproduct of the drug, it only became fatal when the victim was injected with a sedative.
Recurring Characters
Miss America, Nazis
Nobody’s Children
The Patriot has been invited to give a speech to the youths at the P.A.L. Club on the Lower East Side to teach the boys how to be good Americans. While this speech was well received, about a block away a group of kids tease another youth named Percy who is waiting patiently in the family car for his mother to return. Percy warns the other kids to stop bullying him and surprises them all when he knocks out their leader with a single punch. Although he turned out to be a nerdy push-over, Percy is actually a bully himself and shows off his abilities by pressuring a fruit vendor into handing over free food. However, when a police officer arrives to see what’s going on, the kids all flee. Unfortunately for Percy he runs right into the Patriot who grabs the boy and also demands to know what is going on. Shockingly, Percy bites the Patriot’s hand forcing the hero to let him go.
The Patriot tries to follow the boy into a nearby pool room but the owner has one of his men club the hero from behind and toss him out onto the street. When he recovers from the blow he happens upon Mrs. J. J. Blithers who has been running a campaign to deal with lawlessness in the slums by sending everyone to Africa. As it turns out, she is Percy’s mother and she is looking for the boy since he left her car. At that moment, at the pool hall, the owner of the pool hall is convincing Percy to head up a youth gang that will pull jobs for him. Percy finds this offer appealing and agrees to gather some boys to assist in a jewel heist.
As Percy’s mother mentions how well behaved her son is during her lecture, the boy laughs at the irony of her words as he begins to gather a gang of kids to help with his crime. When they help the crooks with the jewel story robbery the police try to stop them, but Percy surprises them with his strength. While the chief of police calls the Patriot for help, Percy tries to double cross his employer and finds out that he’s not as smart as he thinks. However, before the pool house owner can harm Percy and the other boys, the Patriot arrives to save them. With the stolen jewels recovered, the chief of police decides to go easy on Percy and the others putting them on probation instead of sending them reform school.
Later, the Patriot gives a new speech at the P.A.L. Club to parents about how juvenile delinquency can happen anywhere regardless if it is a rich or poor neighborhood, something that a tearful J. J. Blithers can now attest to.
Recurring Characters
Patriot
The Angel
While aboard an express train to Chicago, the Angel overhears a pair talking about threats that are being made against their uncle. Curious, the Angel asks the bartender who they were he learns that they are the niece and nephew of Mark Wickstrom a wealthy railroad magnate. As it turns out Wickstrom is riding on the train in a special car attached to the back of the train. When the Angel tries to gain access to this private car the door is locked. Changing into his costume, the hero climbs outside and climbs outside. Clinging to the side of the car the Angel watches as Mark Wickstrom goes about the car entertaining those riding with him.
That’s when the train passes through a tunnel plunging the entire car in darkness for a moment. When they are back out in the light everyone is horrified to discover that Mark has been fatally shot. That’s when the Angle comes crashing in and decides to question everyone to learn the identity of the killer. As he tries to figure out how the killer could have shot Wickstrom in the dark, the killer tries to take a shot at him when they pass through another tunnel, but he misses. As the Angle pursues the shooter in the dark, he notices that the killer’s hands are glowing but fails to capture them.
Returning to the scene of the crime, the Angel discovers that the mustache wax that Wickstrom used had been mixed with radium so that it would glow in the dark. This allowed the shooter to see Mark in the dark and also explains why the killers hands glow in the dark. This reveals the killer as Henry, Mark’s assistant, who pulls a gun and tries to shoot the Angel, but is quickly disarmed. With his master scheme ruined, Henry explains that he wanted murdered Wickstrom to avenge the death of his brother who recklessly crashed the western express as it was Mark Wickstrom’s testimony in court that proved Henry’s brother was criminally responsible, a crime that landed him the death penalty.
Recurring Characters
Angel
