Men's Adventures #27
The Threat of the Jet
Betty Wilson takes the Human Torch and Toro to the hospital to meet Jack Macklin one of her father's best special agents before he took ill. Macklin has asked to meet with the Torch and Toro to express his fears that his son has been hanging out with the wrong crowd of people. As the Torch and Macklin discuss the situation, Toro turns on the television to a special editorial from TV personality Gary Akers. Akers is telling the listening audience that the Human Torch and Toro are menaces who need to be put behind bars as he sees that they cause more harm than they do good. The program is quickly turned off and Macklin dismisses it as sensationalism to draw in viewers.
An hour later the Torch and Toro pay a visit to Chief Wilson to see what he can do to help them with the issue of Jake Macklin's son Bobby, however Wilson has more pressing concerns to deal with. He explains to the two flaming heroes that he has been getting reports of criminals from all over the country arriving in New York and then suddenly vanishing without a trace. The Torch decides to start with Bobby Macklin as the boy has been seen hanging out with criminal types recently. As they fly to Bobby's home, Toro thinks he sees a man flying over the city, but the Torch dismisses it as Toro's imagination and suggests that his partner has been reading too many science fiction stories.
When they arrive at the Macklin residence it is just in time to see a bunch of thugs taking Bobby into a car and driving off. The Torch and Toro follow after it and they are led to a subway tunnel. Following after the crooks, they find a secret meeting of all the missing criminals. Their leader is a jetpack wearing masked criminal calling himself the Jet, who is plotting to take over a television station and order the evacuation of New York City so that they can loot the entire city.
The Torch and Toro flame on and try to break up the meeting and capture the Jet, but the Jet manages to escape when he opens a gas valve filling the room with explosive gas, forcing the Torch and Toro to flame off in order to prevent an explosion that could kill thousands of innocent people. Turning off the gas they pursue the Jet but run into Bobby instead. Bobby explains he joined up with the crooks to try and assert his independence from his father but realized the mistake he was making when learning the Jet's plan. Bobby explains that the Jet intends to take control of the television transmitter on the top of the Empire State Building and send out a broadcast warning of an atomic attack on the city in order to trick people into fleeing in a panic. While this is going on, the Jet intended to sabotage the city utilities to foment more chaos. The Torch orders Bobby to go to Chief Wilson to warn him and send men to stop the sabotage of the city utilities while he and Toro go after the Jet.
Following after the Jet through the tunnels under the city, the Torch and Toro are tricked into being sealed in an air tight room. With oxygen running low they cannot generate sufficient flame to free themselves. However before they can suffocate in the room, they are freed by Bobby who has gotten the aid of maintenance workers before going to get the Chief. The pair race to the studio where the Jet intends to broadcast his phony atomic attack warning and catch Gary Akers giving the news over the radio. The Torch chases him off, leaving Toro behind to tell the listening audience that the warning was all a hoax.
Akers changes into the Jet and confronts the Torch in the sky with a flame thrower, telling the Torch that his suit is lined with asbestos to prevent the Torch from harming him. However, the Torch instead ignites the gas in the Jet's rocket pack causing it to explode and sending the Jet falling to his death in a blazing fireball. Later, the Torch and Toro take Bobby back to his father where the two reconcile their differences.
Recurring Characters
Human Torch
Toro
The Girl Who Was Afraid
Steve Rogers and Bucky are part of US Army detail dispatched to Egypt to root out communist elements in the area. While riding on camels they are greeted by the wealthy Adu Bey who tells them that he loves Americans and welcomes them back to his home as his welcomed guests. Riding in Bey's limo, the pair listen as Adu tells them that he dislikes war and hates communists that are creating conflict. At Bey's luxurious mansion, a show is put on for the two Americans and they watch a female dance put on a performance for them. Steve suddenly realizes that the woman is tapping out Morse Code in her routine and that the message is asking them for help, asking them to meet her that night at the old well.
Retiring for the night, Steve sneaks out of his room to meet with the woman who tells them that she is a prisoner of Adu Bey and that he really is a supporter of communism. Believing the girls story, Steve tells her that he can get the aid of Captain America and tells her to wait for the hero in the stables. Returning to his room, Steve wakes up his partner and they change into Captain America and Bucky and go to meet the girl. When they arrive they find communist agents trying to take the girl away and fight them off. The girl then leads them on horseback to Adu Bey's family crypt where she tells them the communists are hiding out.
Inside the tomb they find a bunch of radio equipment that the communists are using for spying. Suddenly they are attacked by communist agents and taken prisoner. When Adu Bey appears in his crypt demanding to know what is going on, he too is taken prisoner. Captain America and Bucky are then shocked to learn that the woman whom they came to aid is really the leader of the communist cell. Cap and Bucky break free of their bonds and fight their way to freedom, rescuing Adu Bey in the process. As they flee, the woman tries to shoot them, but the shots cause the fragile tomb to collapse, killing the communists and smashing their equipment.
In the aftermath, Cap and Bucky realize that Bey was genuine in his love of Americans and when they apologize for the destruction of his family crypt, he brushes it off telling them that he was glad it could be used to wipe out the communists hiding in his midst.
Recurring Characters
Captain America
Bucky
Continuity Notes
Although this story refers to Captain America and Bucky as Steve Rogers and James Barnes here, as per Captain America #153, these appearances are actually attributed to William Burnside and Jack Monroe.
The Ship That Vanished
Behind the Iron Curtain, Soviet agents are meeting to discussing an invasion of Russian ships on American waters. They decide that in order for their mission to be a success they must first eliminate the Sub-Mariner who has sided with the Americans in the past. Soviet agent Zuko has come up with a plan, having designed a ship that can cloak itself, telling them that he can destroy the Sub-Mariner with ease. Zuko's superiors allow him to try, but warn him that failure to eliminate the Sub-Mariner will end in his death.
A few days later along an Allied port, Zuko's ship attacks the boats there and when the Allied military tries to converge on it, the ship suddenly vanishes from sight. While down in Atlantis, the Sub-Mariner learns of the news, and is unimpressed with the human's continued battling with one another. Namora suggests that Namor does something about it as the conflict could threaten their people, convincing Namor to go out and stop the source of the attacks. As he leaves, Namora ponders how Namor's mind is always on the surface woman named Betty Dean, and hopes to one day convince the Sub-Mariner to love her instead.
The Sub-Mariner and a number of his subjects swim out to sea and converge on Zuko's ship, however as they approach the ship suddenly vanishes from sight. Namor and his minions then search for traces of the ship. Zuko uses this opportunity to deploy a submarine he has hidden in his ship to attack them. Spotting the sudden appearance of the submarine, the Sub-Mariner easily destroys it, killing all hands on board.
When Zuko ponders this situation, he comes up with another more subtler approach at dealing with the underwater monarch. He calls the newspaper office where Betty Dean works and tells her that there is something happening on pier along the South River. Betty goes there to get the scoop on the story but instead finds herself captured by Zuko's minions. They tie her to the mast-head of the ship and go out searching for the Sub-Mariner once more. Namor has returned back to Atlantis where Namora gloats at how easily Namor was defeated when Natu, one of Namor's subjects, tells the Sub-Mariner that the mysterious ship has reappeared and that Betty Dean is a prisoner aboard it.
Ignoring his people's pleas to not go, Namor comes up with a plan to stop Zuko's ship. Getting his people to build up the reefs around the ship, they trap it in preventing Zuko and his men from leaving. Low on food, they spot a whale in the water with them and harpoon it and bring it aboard. However this proves to be a trap as Namor and his warriors are hiding inside the whale and attack when it is cut open. They then attack, destroying Zuko's ship, sinking it while Namor rescues Betty. With the Soviets drowning in the water, Namor returns Betty back home to New York. There Betty asks Namor when he will return to live on the land, and Namor tells her that he will on the day the human race can live in peace with each other.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner
Namora
Betty Dean
Continuity Notes
This story implies that the Sub-Mariner and Namora may by lovers. This story was written well before it was revealed to be cousins in Sub-Mariner #50-51. If it makes you feel less creeped out, in Agents of Atlas (Vol. 2) #6 it was revealed that Namor and Namora are only related through marriage and are not blood relatives.
