Sub-Mariner Comics #15
Pirates of Doom
A fishing boat off Cape Cod is attacked by another ship of modern day pirates who gun down the sailors on board the fishing ship in order to rob it of its cargo of fish, the first in a wave of similar crimes. At the offices of the New York Daily's, the editor sends Betty Dean to cover the story. While back in Boston, news of a meeting of local fishermen prompts the leader of the pirates to send one of his men to the gathering to learn what they talk about. At the meeting the thug overhears Betty Dean assuring the fishermen that she can get the aid of the Sub-Mariner and goes to tell his boss. Meanwhile, Betty puts in a call to Namor at his New York apartment and he agrees to swim out to Boston to assist the fishermen.
At the pirates secret headquarters, the leader orders his men to attack the Seaquale which is due back with a large haul of fish. As it happens, the Sub-Mariner crosses paths with the Seaquale and comes aboard. When the pirates attack, they gun down all the sailors but the Sub-Mariner survives and dives into the water and heads after their ship. However, they drop an anchor on the Atlantean's head, knocking him out long enough for the pirates to escape. With the crew of the Seaquale dead and no clues to work on, Namor decides to head to Boston to search for clues there.
In town, he and Betty begin canvassing fish markets to learn if they are buying any of the stolen fish, but all deny purchasing any fish recently. At his last check, the Sub-Mariner overhears the leader of the pirates pressuring the owner of the fish market to purchase his fish, even though their prices are highly marked up. While they are engaged in conversation, Namor manages to slip into the back of their shipping car and is brought back to their hideout at the Capitol Fishery. He finds the warehouse empty, but overhears the leader of the pirates telling one of his minions to get a ship ready. Namor follows this ship to an secret cliff side hideout that opens up to let the ship in. Climbing aboard the ship, Namor reveals his presence and begins fighting the crew of the ship until he is knocked out by a dropping a crane.
Taking him into their base, the pirates shackle Namor in a wood shack away from the water to weaken him so that they can eliminate him later. Left alone, Namor knocks over a lamp which sets the wooden floor ablaze. Smashing it with his remaining strength, Namor breaks through to the water below revitalizing his strength. Breaking free of his bonds and easily fights off the pirates and wrecks their boats, trapping them on the island until the Coast Guard can pick them up.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner, Betty Dean
The Ghost of Sea Island
Betty Dean is going on vacation at the Sea Island Hotel. She is brought to the train station by Namor who declines her offer to join him. However, when he insists on carrying her bags onto the train, it leaves before he can get off changing his mind about going along with Betty.
At the hotel that night, a guest named Mrs. Vandermeer retires for the evening when she is visited by the so-called "Ghost of Yesteryear" who warns her to depart or face its wrath, frightening her terribly. When the hotel owners check on her in her room they find no trace of the supposed ghost. The next morning when Namor and Betty arrive, a number of the guests are leaving, having been frightened by the ghost sighting. While Betty finds this an interesting story, Namor decides to enjoy some swimming over staying in the stuffy hotel.
During dinner a number of the remaining guests are once more visited by the Ghost of Yesteryear warning them all to leave. Frightened, Betty calls to Namor for help, sending the Sub-Mariner charging to her rescue. When Namor arrives one of the guests is attacked by the ghost and falls down with a knife in his throat. Chasing the ghost outside of the hotel Namor follows it into the water but loses it in the darkness of the water. He is then attacked by a shark which he is forced to kill by breaking its jaw. Swimming back to the mainland, Namor then investigates the murder scene and notices the knife in the dead guests throat. Deducing that a ghost could not possibly hold a knife, Namor finds a spring loaded trigger in the wall that launched the knife giving the illusion that the ghost had killed him.
Both Namor and Betty then begin looking for hidden passages in the hotel. While out in the lobby, Betty is attacked by the Ghost of Yesteryear. Hearing Betty's screams, Namor comes to her rescue and battles the Ghost who flees into the ocean and attempts to swim away. Namor follows after him and this time sees the "Ghost" slipping through a secret passageway and follows after him. There he finds the "Ghost" behind a control panel. The "Ghost's" drops Namor into a pit where where he fights an octopus to the death. Meanwhile, the "Ghost" returned to the hotel and is poised to stab Betty Dean to death while she is sleeping. Namor arrives in the nick of time and their fight sends them out a cliff side window falling. The fall snaps the "Ghost's" neck, who is unmasked and revealed to be very human. The owner of the hotel identifies the man as Mr. Page, who offered to purchase the hotel from him earlier.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner, Betty Dean
Death Holds the Stakes
When Joshua Trent passes away, his will stipulate that the recipient of his vast fortune is to go to either his nephew Brad or his associate Dr. Scarr, whomever wins a boat race from New York to Florida. When the Sub-Mariner reads about this he goes to the starting of the race where he meets with his reporter friend Betty Dean. Betty suggests that Namor follow along the race route to insure that there is no foul play. As the two contestants greet the press, they each introduce their co-pilots in the race: Brad has selected his old high school friend Ted Logan while Dr. Scarr has selected colleague named Imur.
The race is soon off and Namor trails after the two boats to keep an eye on them. Once they are out of sight of the finish line, Dr. Scarr attempts to blast Brad's boat out of the water with a torpedo. However, Namor gets into the way and redirects the torpedo harmlessly. While Namor is approaching Scarr's boat to make sure he continues to play fair, Scarr fires a glass capsule containing a poisonous bug into Brad's ship. When Namor boards Scarr's ship he and Imur attack him. Imur gets his jaw broken by a single punch but Scarr manages to break a bottle of chloroform on Namor's face causing him to reel overboard.
Meanwhile, aboard Brad's ship, the insect bites both Brad and Ted causing them to pass out from its venom. While below the water revives Namor and he rushes to the surface. Seeing that Brad's boat is going off course, he catches up to it to see what is wrong. Inside he finds the two occupants unconscious and captures the dangerous bug and stops the boat. Suspecting Scarr's work, Namor catches up with his boat and ties the two men up and then threatens them with the insect in order to get the antidote. Namor takes the antidote and leaves the two cheaters tied up while he goes to administer it to Brad and Ted.
While the two men are revived and get back on course to start the race anew from where Scarr was stopped, Scarr manages to cut loose his bonds. Administering themselves with the anti-venom they race ahead to the first fueling station in the area and fill up their boat with gas. Hoping to stop Brad once and for all, Scarr sends Imur into the gas station to set an explosive. However, before they can get away, Namor has caught up to them and forces their boat to stay put. Namor, then lifts the fueling station and tosses it far away, however the explosion still wrecks Scarr's boat.
With Scarr out of commission, Brad and Ted win the race. Later when Brad is given the money he announces that he will put a large portion of it into the Veteran Seaman's Fund.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner, Betty Dean
The Parrot Murder Secret
In a hallway of the Commodore Hotel, two thugs watch as Judas Cain and his wife leave for the evening. Having been informed that the apartment would be empty, the two men break in to steal the Jodphur Ruby, worth a hundred thousand dollars. Finding the jewel out in plain sight, the two thugs attempt to steal it when they are caught by the Cain butler. The crooks shoot the butler dead and flee with the ruby.
Reading the story in the newspaper the next day the Angel decides to investigate the theft and murder. The Angel pays a visit the Cain home, where he questions Judas and his wife. Granted permission to look around, the Angel finds a pencil from the Goose Bar & Grill on Shane Street and believes it to be a clue. As the Angel searches for clues Judas is very interested in the Angel's findings. The Angel then begins to question Judas, and learns that the crooks did not steal any of the other jewels and that he recently put an insurance policy on the jewel for one hundred thousand dollars. The Angel then asks one final question: How well Cain's brokerage firm is doing. When Judas realizes that the Angel suspects him of stealing the jewel, the Angel dismisses the idea, telling him that he will find the thieves.
Deciding to check out the Goose Bar & Grill, the Angel spots two men coming out of the establishment talking about the Jodphur Ruby. He follows them to a run down tenement building and listens over the fire escape further, unaware that the crooks spotted him tailing them and has set a trap. When they reveal that they have the ruby, the Angel dives in through the window and is caught in a lasso. The Angel manages to break free from his bonds and knock out one of the killers. When he attempts to question the second crook, he manages to break free and crashed out a window falling to his death before he can tell the Angel who is employer was. Examining the ruby, the Angel realizes that the ruby they had is a fake.
Calling the local chamber of commerce, the Angel learns that Cain's business is failing and rushes back to the Cain home to confront Judas. When the Angel begins to explain the chain of evidence linking him to the theft, Judas denies involvement. That is until the Angel realizes that the real jewel is around the neck of the Cain's pet parrot. The Angel is then caught at gun point by Judas, but the hero quickly pulls a rug out from under him sending Judas falling backward out a window and plummeting to his death.
Recurring Characters
Angel
