Young Men #26
The Vulture
Having learned the location of the infamous Nelson gang, the Human Torch and Toro bust into it to find it like they have found many other criminal hideouts: empty and unused in a long time. They report back to Chief Wilson and are introduced to Dr. Scarlotti a famous atomic scientist. They are informed that two months ago the plans to a more powerful atomic bomb were stolen. Knowing that they are still in the country somewhere, the Chief asks the Torch and Toro to help locate them. The Torch notes that the disappearance of the various crime bosses also started two months ago and wonders if the two incidents are related. Wilson tells the two flaming heroes to go an question uranium inspectors in the country to see if any of them have sold to any private parties.
After saying goodbye to the chief's daughter Mary, the Torch and Toro fly to Alaska. There they notice that they are being followed by an airplane with a vulture's claw as an insignia. Unable to bring it down over the city, the Torch and Toro force it over the country side and blast the plane out of the sky with fireballs. Going to the cabin of a uranium prospector, the Torch and Toro catch him in the middle of a transaction with a shady looking character. When the Torch asks the man why he is buying uranium, he tries to pull a gun and the Torch is forced to kill him. When Toro searches the dead man's body he finds a note with the same emblem as on the plane that followed them earlier and the words the Vulture written on it. Suddenly, the Torch recalls hearing of a criminal called the Vulture, a masked man who is the czar of an international criminal organization. The duo then head back to New York to see if they can pick up the trail of the Vulture and the missing criminals.
Meanwhile, from his secret hideout in the New Mexico desert, the Vulture and his criminal empire are hard at work constructing super atomic bombs which they will use to hold the world ransom. In order to prevent the Human Torch and Toro from interfering with his plans the Vulture has built robot duplicates of the heroes that he has programmed to commit crimes and murders in order to discredit the two heroes and turn the authorities against them. When the Torch and Toro arrive at Chief Wilson's office they learn that the Vulture has kidnapped Wilson's daughter Mary and their plane was spotted heading for New Mexico. The two flaming heroes track down the plan and follow it to the Vulture's hideout. Melting through the walls they are confronted by the Vulture who traps them with a wall of radiation that deflects their fire powers. The Vulture then leaves Mary to watch them die. However, while the radiation affects Toro, the Torch's android body absorbs it making him stronger. He uses this strength to pull himself and Toro through the barrier.
After getting Mary to safety, the Torch and Toro return to Chief Wilson's office where their robotic duplicates have come to kill the Chief. They destroy the robots and learn of the Vulture's demand for the world's governments to surrender. The rush back to the Vulture's base in New Mexico where they trash his equipment. The Vulture then reveals that he is Dr. Scarlotti to them and then traps them in the base which begins to fill with acid, threatening to smother their flame. The Vulture flees telling them that he has set the atomic pile in his base to explode. However, the Torch and Toro manage to burn their way free just as the pile explodes. In the aftermath, the Torch believes that this is not the last they have heard of the Vulture.
Recurring Characters
Human Torch
Toro
Chief Wilson
Betty Wilson
Captain America Turns Traitor
A Communist agent named Oranoff meets with Dr. Standish one of his spies and shows him footage of Captain America and Bucky ruining one of their most recent operations and charges Standish with the task of dealing with the hero. Standish informs his superior that he has a plan to deal with Captain America and Oranoff leaves to return to his submarine which is hidden off the coast of Alaska.
The next day Dr. Standish calls a press conference and tells them that he intends to start a seminar about the dangers of communism and has asked for the world's heroes to meet him to participate in a lecture at Oaklake. The call is sent out, and soon the Human Torch, Sub-Mariner and Captain America answer it. In a meeting, Standish tells them that the lecture only requires one speaker and asks Captain America to stay while the others can be called back at a later date.
When Cap agrees, Standish takes him and Bucky on a tour of Oaklake's facilities including a lab. Interested in the fluoroscope, Captain America asks for a demonstration and Standish does so by standing behind it. While Cap and Bucky are distracted, Standish then prepares a syringe with a special formula to make Captain America embrace communism and injects Captain America. It seemingly works and Cap suddenly turns mean and cold toward Bucky.
Bucky is also shocked when Captain America suddenly begins talking of communism in a positive light, but decides to keep quiet to see what is going on. At the lecture, Captain America tells those gathered that they have nothing to fear from communism as it is a better way of life. Convinced that Captain America is completely under his power, Standish asks the hero to accompany him back to Russia to continue his work there.
The take a plane to Alaska and when they are over an American base, Captain America is ordered to jump out and destroy it. When Bucky tries to stop his partner, the young boy is pushed aside. Landing on the ground, Captain America fights through the soldiers and then sabotages the dynamo on the base causing a massive explosion. Having survived the blast, Captain America rushes to the shore to meet with Standish and Bucky. They are taken to Oranoff's submarine where they are going to be transported to Russia. However, Captain America reveals that he has been faking his condition the whole time and he and Bucky attack and then jump off the sub, which flees the scene.
Swimming to shore, Captain America reveals to Bucky that because of the Super-Soldier Serum in his body, the drug that Standish injected into him had no effect. With explanations out of the way, Cap suggests they go back and report to the government what happened.
Recurring Characters
Captain America
Bucky
Human Torch
Toro
Sub-Mariner
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 Alien Invasion That Wasn't
The Sub-Mariner and Betty Dean are returning to the United States in a plane after a trip to Europe during a heavy storm. Suddenly their plane is struck by a strange magnetic beam and it crash lands in the ocean. Everyone abandons the plan and they are rescued by what appears to be aliens from outer space.
Namor, Betty and the other passengers are taken to an island and are brought to the leader of the aliens. He explains that he is taking them all prisoner in order to stop Earths atomic warfare research and is willing to execute them all in order to force the United States to stop their experiments.
They are all locked in cells, and later that night the Sub-Mariner ask their guard for a glass of water. Revitalizing his strength with the life giving water, the Sub-Mariner breaks out of his cell and knocks out the guard. He then tells Betty that he's going back to their plane to try and get the radio to call for help. Sneaking to the plane, Namor finds that the radio equipment has been smashed. He is found by a guard but knocks him out as well. Searching the craft, he finds the portable radio unit has not been destroyed and rushes it back to Betty, telling her to hide it and follow his plan.
Namor then escapes the island and swims back to New York where he meets with Navy officials and they make a plan to free the hostages, they radio this plan to Betty. The next day, when the United States refuses the aliens demands, their leader decides to execute all of his prisoners. Betty then tells them that the United States won't do anything unless they threaten the lives of politicians and diplomats and informs them that a plane carrying them will be passing over their airspace tonight.
That night the aliens use their magnetic beam to pull the plane out of the sky, however they find that it is full of Navy frog men and the Sub-Mariner who put up a fight. Namor fights his way to shore where he subdues the leader of the "aliens" removing his mask to reveal that he is not an alien at all, but a communist agent. In the aftermath, Namor tells Betty that he suspected the "aliens" were fakes when the only country they were threatening was the United States, if they were really interested in stopping nuclear war on Earth, they would have also threatened Russia and England as well.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner
