Marvel Mystery Comics #88

Jul 14

Jul 14 Marvel Mystery Comics #88

The Lethal Lollipops

A father and his daughter Betty get into a cab, there the young girl finds a box of lollipops left behind by a previous passenger and her father allows her to eat one. While in another part of town, former surgeon Dr. Gerrald is angry to hear his daughter Felice had misplaced the lollipops that he had shipped into the United States from Britain. Gerrald calls his men and orders them to track down the taxi cab and recover the lost lollipops.

The thugs track down the cab driver and a fight breaks out attracting the attention of the Human Torch who beats the thugs into submission. As he is told by the cab driver what the fight was about and where his last fare went, he is joined by Sun Girl who stays to guard the thugs while the Torch pays a visit to Betty's home. There her father is disappointed to find that they are not the doctor he called for and shows them Betty, who has grown sick after eating one of the lollipops. When the doctor finally arrives he rushes Betty to the hospital right away, telling her father that she will suffer a hemorrhage if she does not have surgery done soon. Wondering what could have caused her to get sick, the Torch learns that the lollipops were tossed in the incinerator downstairs. The Torch rushes down to the basement of the apartment building, and before the eyes of the astounded superintendent, the Torch absorbs the flames, saving part of the package which he takes for analysis.

The Torch rushes back to check on Sun Girl and finds that the thugs she was guarding got the drop on her and fled. The pair then rush to the hospital to see what the situation is. There they learn from the doctor that the only person able to carry out the delicate operation on Betty is Dr. Gerrald who had retired from practice. The Torch rushes out to Gerrald's home and is jumped by the thugs he fought earlier and subdued. The Torch is brought inside where he put before Gerrald and his daughter. The Torch begins to realize there is a connection between the lollipops and Gerrald, and shows him the x-ray of Betty and asks him to save her life. Gerrald hesitates and when he men true to once more subdue the Torch, he easily bests them in a fight while Felice flees the scene. Capturing the doctor in a flame wall, the Torch forces him to go to the hospital to meet Betty. Hearing the girls crying pleas for help, Dr. Gerrald relents and agrees to help. As the surgery goes on the lights suddenly go out and Sun Girl uses her sunbeam to light the operating theater to help them finish the surgery.

The Torch decides to go back to the incinerator to look for more clues to determine what was in the lollipops that made Betty so sick. There he finds Felice holding the superintendent at gunpoint. She recovers the remains of the lollipops but when the Torch arrives and threatens to use his flame on her, she faints. The Torch then rushes her to the hospital where Dr. Gerrald has completed the operation. They then explain that after Gerrald gave up on his practice he began considering criminal activity and reveal that the lollipops had diamonds hidden in them that they had smuggled into the country from England. With this explanation, Gerrald realizes that he still has the skill to be a surgeon. The Torch and Sun Girl promise to clear things out as long as Gerrald promises to resume helping those in need.

Recurring characters

Human Torch, Sun Girl

Black Oil of Doom

Inventor Nick Iona has been kicked out of the home he lives in with his wife Marge after Marge has become fed up with his inventing and lack of a job. Nick, stubborn and knowing his invention will make them a lot of money moves in with his bachelor friend Pete Muzkie who lives on the docks. As he works on his invention in advance of a visit from a man at the patent office, Pete tries to convince his friend to return to his wife, but to no avail. When Nick's lawyer Mr. Fowler arrives he tells Nick that the patent office need to examine his model immediately and they both leave. Pete does not hear from his friend for over a week and wonders what happened.

One day, Pete leaves his home to find the Sub-Mariner and Namora investigating the theft of oil from tankers that somehow have no trace explaining how the thieves managed to steal the oil. Pete tries to get Namor and Namora to help him search for Nick, but the owner of the Allied Oil company shoos him off. Taking concern over Pete's plight, Namora offers his help while Namor continues his oil theft investigation. When Namor finally expresses an interest in Pete's situation, Namora tells him that it's her and Pete's secret and goes about investigating it.

Namora first meets with Nick's wife and learns that she had not seen him since he moved out of their house to live with Pete. She is informed of Nick's lawyer Mr. Fowler and promises Mrs. Iona that she will interview him the next morning. That night the Sub-Mariner is patrolling the docks for the oil thieves when he is jumped by a bunch of thugs. During the fight, Pete comes out and tries to lend a hand, but is pushed in the water forcing Namor to go to his rescue him and let the thugs escape. As Pete is recovering from his dip into the water, Namor finds it interesting that the crooks new he would be on the dock. The next day Namora visits with Mr. Fowler who tells Namora that Nick's client Bryan Porter and shows her the design to Nick's invention. Seeing it for herself she decides Namor needs to see them and sends Mrs. Iona to give them to Namor while she investigates Porter.

She follows Porter from his office to a boat on Pier 17 to a barge near the oil tankers. However she is caught by Porter and his men who take her prisoner. Meanwhile, Namor gets the plans for Nick's device and realizes how the crooks are stealing the oil and believes that Nick is their victim. That night Namor, Pete and Betty Dean travel to the docks where they catch crooks in the act of stealing the oil with the boring device created by Nick which can puncture holes in the oil tankers and re-seal them afterword. As Namor and Pete fight the gang, Betty snaps photographic proof of the thieves in action.

The Sub-Mariner then rushes into Porter's ship and stops him before he can drown both Namora and Nick in oil. With Nick freed, his wife agrees to let him come back home and they reconcile, they then invite Pete to move in with them as well. Later, reading the paper, Namor and Namora learn that Porter confessed to his crimes.

recurring characters

Sub-Mariner, Namora, Betty Dean

Doomed--One Town

The city of Largetown is rocked by earthquakes and heavy damages as the old run down mines owned by Old Man Grimes begin to collapse beneath the town. When another building collapses, Sun Girl is on the scene to assist in pulling survivors out of the ruins. When Old Man Grimes comes to assess the damage, Sun Girl tries to convince him that the mines beneath the city need repair. Grimes dismisses the idea and leaves when his granddaughter Sherry asks that they leave so she can go and play.

Sun Girl decides to convince Old Man Grimes of how dangerous the mines are and decides to go and see them for herself. Going into the mine shafts she finds that he support beams are giving way and is almost killed in an cave in. She races to the Largetown Press and convinces a reporter to put out a special edition about the dangerous mines even though Grimes owns the newspaper. However, despite the story being printed, Grimes uses his ownership of the paper to write a rebutle denying Sun Girl's claims.

Having had enough, Sun Girl goes to Grimes' mansion and confronts him there. However he once more begins to deny that his mines are dangerous when suddenly the whole house begins to shake as a shaft beneath it begins to give way. Sun Girl gets Grimes and his wait staff out, but has to rush back for Sherry. Before she can get to the girl a pile of rubble collapses in front of her blocking her path. With no other choice, Sun Girl flees as the mansion collapses. Thinking his granddaughter dead, Old Man Grimes finally realizes the danger his mines pose. However, Sherry turns up alive and well, having fled out of the mansion through the back door.

Having a change of heart over his mines, Old Man Grimes agrees to repair them and puts the people of Largeville up in temporary housing while he repairs the damages and makes their city safe. However as the evacuation occurs all the mines collapse at once and the entire city is lost. However, Grimes uses his fortune to rebuild the city, and dedicates it to Sun Girl for teaching him the errors of his ways.

Recurring characters

Sun Girl

The Wound No Man Could See

Jerry Malcolm has returned from the war a shattered man. Believing his war buddy Chester "Chuck" Berry died in combat due to his own cowardice, he has become a sullen invalid staying in bed and developed a mental block that prevents him from walking. His wife tries to cheer him up but to no avail. She eventually fears the worst and seeks out the help of Captain America and Golden Girl to try and snap Jerry out of it.

Cap and Golden Girl agree to help and pay Jerry a visit. Jerry is instantly brightened by the arrival of his old war hero and at their coaxing the two heroes manage to get Jerry walking, at least briefly. Soon his old guilts catch up and he can no longer walk, their visit a failure. Deciding to find out what really happened to Chester, Cap and Golden Girl pay a visit to the records office of the United States Army and learn that Chester was not killed in action, but only injured. They track him down and have him pay a visit to Jerry. However, Jerry does not believe that this is his old friend, but an actor hired to trick him.

In a final ditch effort, Captain America and Golden Girl use a nearby Hollywood studio to build a replica of the battlefield where Chester "died" in combat and force Jerry to watch a enactment. Seeing Chester in "trouble", Jerry does not freeze this time and "saves" his friend. This causes him to snap out of his slump and finally accepting that Chester is still alive. With Jerry cured, Captain America and Golden Girl pay their leave.

Recurring characters

Captain America, Golden Girl

continuity notes

Although the narrative refers to Captain America as Steve Rogers, as per the retcon of What If? #4 this appearance is attributed to Jeff Mace.

The Clown Who Couldn't Laugh

At the circus, Jeepo the Clown is the most popular attraction because he always finds a way to laugh. One night after a show his son Jerry comes by and asks his father for more money. Jeepo refuses him telling him to get a job as all the money he has given him he just squanders. Furious, Jerry tells Jeepo that he will be forced to do something desperate.

That night, Mark Mason takes Louise Grant out on a date to the circus. As the walk the midway a breeze blows off Louise's hat. As Mark chases after it they see the shadows of a scuffle and come to the aid of the man being attacked. The attacker is gone, but he managed to steal the circus receipts from the box office. Louise has managed to slip away and change into the Blonde Phantom. Arriving at the scene she finds a golden heart necklace and believes it's a clue that will help them catch the thief.

They go and watch the show and when Jeepo puts on his performance, Blonde Phantom cannot help but notice that the clown does not have his usual good humour and visits him back stage after the show. Jeepo tells the Blonde Phantom that he fears that his son might be the one responsible for the theft of the box office receipts. Reporting back to Mark, the pair decide to question Jerry's girlfriend Zaria and find her in an argument with the circus conductor who is trying to get her to go out with him by rubbing the fact that Jerry is a "thief" in her face. When Blonde Phantom and Mark interrupt, Zaria and the conductor both flee. The Blonde Phantom and Mark follow after Zaria into the hall of mirrors. Blonde Phantom sends Mark after her while she pursues another character of interest.

Outside she overhears a pair of men gloating about the heroes chase of Zaria and gets the drop on them. However before she can get answers out of them, the conductor knocks her out with a blackjack. When she comes around she finds herself tied up in a room with Jeepo the clown. In his sorrow, Jeepo tells Blonde Phantom that when he could laugh, he was able to do so at such a high pitch that it could shatter glass. Inspired by this, she tells Jeepo that her son is innocent and Jeepo is instantly able to laugh again. His laughter causes the light bulb to shatter allowing the Blonde Phantom to cut through their bonds. Having overheard the gang talk about robbing people in the tunnel of love next, the Blonde Phantom and Jeepo race there and round up the conductor and his gang.

With the gang captured and turned over to the authorities, they learn that the conductor was jealous of Jerry's relationship with Zaria and attempted to get him out of the way by framing him for robbery. With the caper exposed and the crooks taken away, Jeepo the clown returns to his job happier than ever.