Sub-Mariner Comics #23

Aug 3

Aug 3 Sub-Mariner Comics #23

The Shark Strikes

The Sub-Mariner approaches the New York docks when he spots a woman being attacked by a pair of thugs who knock her out and taker her aboard their speed boat. Namor follows after them to see what he can do to help the girl. The boat pulls in under a dock and the two men go to report to their boss, giving Namor a chance to nab the girl and escape with her. Namor brings her aboard her yacht and calls his reporter friend Betty Dean. When Betty arrives she identifies the girl as Sheila Barrow, daughter of "Deep Sea" Dan Barrow a successful underwater salvager. When Sheila comes around, she tells them that she doesn't know why the men attacked, but suspects that it has something to do with her fathers most recent job: To raise the Marta Carla which sank with a cargo of gold bullion. Namor then decides to go and keep an eye on the salvage operation and dives into the water, unaware that the two men who kidnapped Sheila had followed him to the yacht. After Namor leaves, the two men board the ship and lock Betty in a closet and kidnap Sheila again. Betty breaks out of the closet and changing into a bathing suit dives into the water and swims after her attackers, climbing aboard the ship that they pull up to.

Meanwhile, Namor arrives at the scene of the salvage operation and finds that Deep Sean Dan's crew has abandoned trying to raise the ship in favour of removing the gold when he detects the vibrations of an oncoming boat. He raises to the surface just in time to see a speeding boat heading toward the salvage ship. Before there is a collision, the runaway boat explodes causing the salvage ship to sink and the crew in the water below to die in the blast. Spotting another ship approaching, Namor swims up to it and finds that it is under the command of "Hammerhead" Shark, a notorious sea pirate. With the salvage ship sinking fast, Namor rushes back to see what he can do but notices that the Coast Guard is doing well to rescue the crew. Meanwhile, aboard the Shark's ship, Betty gets aboard the ship just as the Shark orders his men to use some red hot pokers to force Shiela to sign some papers. Betty gets the drop on them with a gun but is knocked out from behind and taken prisoner as well. The Shark then orders the crew to move the ship to the salvage site.

Namor, hiding in the debris, spots this and climbs aboard the ship. He is jumped by the Shark's men who knock him out and tie him up in chains. They make the mistake of tossing him overboard and the water revitalises Namor's strength and he breaks free. He then attacks the Shark's divers, breaking their air hoses before surfacing and boarding the ship again. Namor then easily subdues Hammerhead Shark who surrenders. However, as he is freeing Betty and Shiela, one of Shark's men attempts to attack with TNT. However the blast does nothing more than destroy the ship and toss everyone clear. As the coat guard arrives, Namor pulls the Shark out of the water and turns him over to the authorities who inform Shiela that her father had survived.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner, Betty Dean

Trophies of Terror

As Namor and Namora are out swimming, Namora confides in Namor that she wishes to win a trophy cup for swimming. Spotting a speed boat race, the two decide to race each other to see who can get there first and beat the speed boats. Two two Atlanteans easily out race the speed boats. At the award ceremony, the winner of the speed boat competition is shocked when his award cup is stolen by a gang of crooks led by a man calling himself Spectacles. Namor and Namora try to stop and Spectacles gets in the middle of the fight, using his car to ram Namora off the pier and into the water.

Fearing for Namora's safety, Namor breaks off the fight and dives in after her to find that the water has revitalized her, but when they get back to the surface they find that Spectacles and his gang have escaped. While the pair wonder why a criminal would be interested in silver cups, Spectacles and his men return to their hideout with their boss vowing to continue stealing more cups. The next day, Namora decides to enter a swimming competition and wins first prize. When she receives a silver cup Spectacles and his men hold her and Namor at gunpoint and steal the silver cup and flee.

Figuring that this is some kind of obsession, Namor and Namora begin scouring local pawn shops and find that all silver cups have either been purchased or stolen, leaving them more puzzled than ever. Deciding to try and learn more, they call on Enrico Laredo a local and world famous silversmith. When they call on Lardeo's home his butler tells him that his employer has not been seen for some days and was last seen in the company of someone matching Spectacle's description, leaving the pair more stumped than ever.

Several days later, the Sub-Mariner finds a possible solution to the silver cup mystery when he reads a newspaper article about a famous silver coin collection that is to be sold to the Roland Galleries. When Namor and Namora rush there they find Spectacles attempting to sell the coins to the gallery owner. Spectacles throws the coins in the heroes face and jumps out a window and manages to escape in a getaway car. Going back into the gallery, Namor and Namora learn that the coins were supposedly silver dollars minted in 1804 by President Jefferson, none of them were used in circulation as they were all used in the Louisiana Purchase. The coins were made out of Britannia metal, the same material that silver cups are made from. Suspecting that they are fakes, Namor examines them under a magnifying glass and find that Lardeo engraved the address where he was being kept prisoner. The Sub-Mariner and Namora then rush to Spectacle's hideout and easily defeats him and his gang rescuing Lardeo from custody and putting a stop to the counterfeit coin operation.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner, Namora

Reptile's Revenge

The Human Torch and Toro return from a case and Toro remarks how it reminds him of a case they had in Louisiana four years prior, the Torch then begins to recall the tale...

At a Louisiana Plantation, Webster told off a deformed man named Gus to stop pestering his fiancée Chloe. Gus vowed that if he could not have Chloe than nobody else would and fled into the bayou. At the wedding one of the guests, Colonel Jackson was attacked by a creature calling itself the Reptile, who then fled when other wedding goers came to the sound of the Colonel's screams. The Colonel warned the others that the Reptile threatened to attack any of those who would stay at the plantation. Soon there were more attacks and more warnings from the Reptile. Chloe then contact he Human Torch and Toro asking for their help in solving the mystery and the duo rushed to her aid.

When they arrived, they were told by Webster how they suspected Gus to be the likely suspect and that he hides out in the bayou. The Torch and Toro then raced off to search for him, while Webster went after to see if he could help despite his bride's protests. The Torch and Toro then came across the Reptile who doused them in mud causing them to land in quicksand and left them to die while he went to deal with Chloe. As the Torch and Toro struggled a man came to their aid, tossing them a rope to pull them out of the mire.

Meanwhile, the Reptile had arrived at the plantation and was about to attack Chloe when the Torch and Toro arrived. The Torch easily subdued the Reptile, unmasking him as Webster and explained that Webster sought to marry Chloe for her fortune seeking to kill her and pin it on Gus, who happened to rescue them. With Webster turned over to the authorities, the Torch and Toro departed leaving Chloe and Gus to kindle a romance.

After finishing his recollection, the Torch tosses a pillow at Toro when he remarks that after that case he had become allergic to reptiles.