Sub-Mariner Comics #19
The Wizard of Crime
The once insane scientist Raymond Cartel is released from the State Insane Asylum, and he is determined to learn all the secrets of the human mind. Returning to his laboratory, he creates a device that allows him to read the minds of others and intends to use it for his own ends. While testing the device, Crane happens to read the mind of the Sub-Mariner and learns that he is about to capture the Lynch Mason mob at their hideout. Seeing an opportunity, he calls Lynch Mason and warns him of Namor's arrival for $1000. Mason and his gang manage to escape just moments before Namor arrives. Mason and his gang go to Crane's home and pay him for the information and Mason offers Crane a position in his organization. Raymond refuses, seeking to work on his own, but offers his services in the future.
Crane then begins using his mind reading device to start committing seemingly impossible crimes, while setting up a legitimate operation as a mind reader for audiences. Namor meanwhile is stumped who this expert safe cracker might be when he is suddenly approached by Betty Dean who invites him to come along with her to see Raymond Crane's mind reading show. As they stand in line, Namor overhears a man named Bob talking about an expensive and valuable salvage operation of a quarter million in gold. During the show, the Sub-Mariner recognizes Crane as the man he saw on the day that Lynch Mason and his men escaped him and realizes that Crane must have read his mind and tipped them off. As Crane is busy reading the mind of Jean Johnson, Bob's fiancée, Namor slips back stage. After the show the Sub-Mariner overhears Crane talking to Lynch Mason's men about the salvage operation and bursts in on them. Namor is knocked out and left behind while Crane and his associates go to attack the salvage operation.
Namor is found and revived by Betty Dean and they quickly get into contact with Jean Johnson and learn the location of the salvage operation. Rushing out to sea, Namor gets to the ship was Crane and Mason's mob storm the salvage boat. Namor is forced to stand down when Crane threatens to shoot one of the ship’s crew, and he is knocked out. The two are then sealed into an air tight bathysphere and dumped into the water to suffocate. However, they activated the internal cable release letting the bathysphere plummet into the ocean, the pressure causing the bathysphere to break open allowing Namor to free himself and his fellow prisoner. Namor then catches up with Mason's getaway boat and easily rounds up the gang and destroys Crane's mind reading device. After turning them over to the authorities, Namor tells his story to Betty, landing it on the front page.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner, Betty Dean
The Case of the Fleeing Heiress
The Sub-Mariner is swimming along the New York waterfront when a message in a bottle is tossed toward him. Reading it, he finds a message from Lucille Kennedy and Ben Oliver asking to meet with him in five minutes and that it is a matter of life and death. When Namor goes to this meeting, he witnesses a man getting shot. He chases after the shooter, and is attacked by a group of thugs who knock him out with a rock and flee the scene. When Namor revives, he searches the dead man's body and learns that it is Ben Oliver. Wondering what happened to Lucille Kennedy, Namor rushes to the newspaper office where Betty Dean works to find out more.
He learns from Betty that Lucille is an heiress who Betty has previously interviewed that lives at the Grande Hotel on Park Avenue. The two go there and spot a woman fitting Lucille's description climb into a cab. They follow after her and are taken to Grand Central Station. There they almost lose the girl in the crowd, but board the train she gets into. However, they find no trace of her, and as their train passes over a bridge, Namor spots who he believes is Lucille boarding a ship in the waters below. Namor dives out of the train and swims after the boat. He follows it down shore a half a mile away at an island. On the island Namor finds a shack and goes to investigate. Inside, the woman who was "Lucille" was really a fake and a gang of crooks inside are ready to deal with Namor.
Suddenly, Namor wakes up on the island convinced that he was witness to a boating accident. Soon a police boat pulls up with Betty Dean and a police inspector. He tries to explain to them about the boat crash, and the cabin he found on the island, but there is no evidence of either and the inspector believes Namor might have gone mad. He also tells the Sub-Mariner that Lucille has been found, at Happy Land mental institution. Going there, they find that Lucille believes that she was in a horrible train wreck. When Namor begins to press for answers, the staff believes him insane as well and tries to subdue him. Namor easily fights them off and tells Betty and the inspector to return to the island with him to prove that he is not insane.
Inspecting the island further, they find buried post ruts where the cabin used to be and label from a product sold by the Soundtone Speciality Company. They decide to go there to investigate and find that he owner has been shot dead. Searching his office they find sound effect reels for both a boat crash and a trainwreck, realizing that someone used their sound effects to convince both Namor and Lucille of their "accidents". Realizing someone is purposely making Lucille think she is insane, Betty tells them that Lucille's father left her a fortune that she could have at age 21. If anything where to happen to Lucille before that time, part of the money would go to her Aunt and the other half to their family lawyer Carter. As they investigate, Namor spots some men in the other room talking about disposing of Ben Oliver and Lucielle's bodies in a vat. Namor rushes in and attacks them, knocking both men into the very vat they were talking about -- a vat of powerful acid -that instantly dissolves their bodies.
Coming up with a plan to trap the killer, Namor calls in Lucille's aunt, her fiancée Larry Batten, and the lawyer. He then tells them that the eye of a dead person retain the image of the last thing they see. He tells them that he has a photograph of the eyes of the dead owner of Soundtone Speciality Company and that it will reveal the identity of his killer. Suddenly, Larry Batten cracks and admits to trying to drive Lucille insane and tries to escape but he is quickly captured. He explains that he had secretly married Lucille and then plotted to gain control of her money. When his accomplices began showing signs of faltering on the plan he had them killed. With his confession, Larry Batten is then taken away by the police.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner, Betty Dean
Noah's Ark
The Sub-Mariner is passing Columbus Circle in New York where an old man named Noah Crane. The old man rants that the world is coming to an end and encourages people to join him on a journey to the South Pole to save themselves. The crowd becomes agitated and one man throws a tomato at Crane, leading to a fight in the Circle. Namor breaks it up, believing that Crane has a right to speak his mind no matter how crazy his claims are. Crane thanks Namor for his intervention and then offers him to come to a rally at Harnegey Hall to listen to his lecture. Namor does not believe in Crane's view point, but agrees to come none the less.
At the Hall, Namor listens as Crane convinces his supporters to join him on his ark to travel to the South Pole. Namor notes that the majority of the people that are here are very wealthy. The next day, Namor decides to watch as Noah and his followers begin their pilgrimage, noting that people are bringing all of their worldly possessions and material wealth with them. Nearby, the entire scene is being watched by a gang of thugs who then attack the captain and crew that is to pilot Noah's ark and take their places, hoping to rob the passengers when they are out at sea. However, they are take a little aback by the fact that Namor is joining the voyage but believe they can handle him when the time comes.
As the voyage goes on, Namor becomes suspicious of the ship crew who do not seem to know much about sailing. Namor becomes more suspicious when he stops one of the "sailors" from nabbing a woman's pearl necklace. As they approach Disappearing Island (an island that sinks into the ocean at night), Namor tries to warn Noah of the phony crew. Noah realizes that Namor is right, but they are too late to do anything as the crew suddenly pulls out guns and begin robbing the passengers. Namor attempts to stop them, but is forced to stand down when the leader of the gang holds Noah hostage. Namor is then knocked out and chained up in the ship's engine room to dry out and die while the gang leaves the passengers on Disappearing Island to drown.
As the gang makes their getaway, a storm rolls in the causes the boat to rock, allowing for a loose pipe to roll to Namor's feet. Namor then uses the pipe to smash open the steam valves of the engine. The heat causes the sprinklers to go off, revitalizing the heroes strength and allowing him to escape. Namor then makes quick work of the gang and then rescues the stranded passengers. They all return to New York, and Namor tells everyone that they shouldn't run from societies problems, they should strive to correct them and live the best life they can. Namor believes he has gotten through to Noah, however a few weeks later Namor finds Noah Crane back in Columbus Circle preaching about the end of the world again, this time telling people he erred in going to the South Pole, when the North Pole is safer. Namor is glad that there are only so many poles for Noah to go to.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner
The Two-Faced Corpse
The Angel is finalizing preparations to go on vacation when he is visited by a young girl named Carol Brown. She tells him that she has come to seek his aid in finding her missing grandfather, who is a retired county doctor. She explains that he came into a large some of money and then suddenly disappeared. With the police tied up with other cases, she has come to seek the Angel's help in finding him. The Angel tears up his train tickets and decides to take the case.
They first go to the home of Carol's grandfather, there they search the house. The only possible clue is the remains of a photograph from a local newspaper. They find an intact newspaper with the man's face on it and learn that the man in the photograph is Mr. Vanderblock, a local millionaire who was also known as the "most hated man", had recently died. They also find a book on plastic surgery, and Carol explains that her grandfather had a personal theory that he wrote about, and became a laughing stock because it was too radical.
Learning that the Vanderblock funeral is that day, the Angel rushes to the church to try and see if there is a connection. There he witnesses as Vanderblock's butler Peters leaving sombrely and recalls that Peters had inherited Vanderblock's entire fortune. The Angel then follows Peters back to the Vanderblock estate and finds that Vanderblock's heavy security is still in place. Changing into his costume, the Angel jumps the wall and evades the guard dogs to gain access to the mansion. There he finds Peters being very rude to the other staff, including one of the maids. The Angel secretly confronts the maid, who informs him that her and Peters were to be married, but since the death of Vanderblock, Peters has been acting cruelly toward everyone.
As the Angel begins looking around for clues, Carol Brown sneaks onto the property and is quickly captured by security and brought to Peters, who has her brought into his basement. There she finds her grandfather tied up and learns that "Peters" intends on killing them both. Just then the Angel bursts in and quickly rounds up "Peters" and his men. Later, when the police arrive, the Angel reveals that "Peters" was really Vanderblock, who had forced Dr. Brown to perform plastic surgery to switch faces between Vanderblock and Peters. He then willed his fortune to "Peters" and had "Vanderblock" killed in order to live anonymously again, and that he had intended on killing Brown after all was said and done.
Recurring Characters
Angel
