Sub-Mariner Comics #30

Aug 2

Aug 2 Sub-Mariner Comics #30

Doom From the Sun

The Sub-Mariner and Namora are boating in Central Park. They are discussing the criminal Iron Brain when suddenly the temperature begins to drastically rise. With the water around them starting to come to a boil they paddle ashore and are shocked to see that the Earth is being pulled into the sun. As the world begins to panic, the two Atlanteans return to the sea and the cool depths below to try and find a solution to the crisis at hand. Soon the authorities get a letter from the Iron Brain. They call the Sub-Mariner and Namora back to the mainland where they learn that he will send the Earth crashing into the sun unless the leaders of the world declare him ruler.

While trying to figure out where Iron Brain is using his "Earth Mover" device, Namor recalls strange vibrations he and Namora detected while they were in the ocean and deduce that Iron Brain is operating from a base on the ocean floor. The two begin tracking down Iron Brain's base, unaware that the brilliant criminal is tracking their every move. When they find his base they fall into his trap and are sucked into the fortress with a massive suction gun. There Iron Brain unleashes his genetically engineered creature the Aquasaurus Rex upon them. While the heroes are tied up, and with no call from the United Nations, Iron Brain then begins programming his device to push the Earth all the way into the sun.

Namora attempts to lunge at the villain, but his creature grabs her. Stuck between saving Namora or stopping Iron Brain, the Sub-Mariner gambles his cousin's life by smashing Iron Brain's cyborg mind. He then uses the anti-gravity gun to send the Aquasaurus Rex into space where it dies. He then uses the device to return Earth to it's original position, saving the entire world from extinction. The process destroys Iron Brain's base, causing it to flood and the two Atlanteans flee. Later, while resting Namora asks what became of Iron Brain. Namor comments that Iron Brain's body was swept out when the base flooded and is likely floating out in the waves, the ocean his watery grave.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner, Namora

Slaves Under the Sea

Inspector Peters pays a visit to the Sub-Mariner's apartment and asks Namor to assist the authorities in investigating a sudden influx of valuable pearls that has been flooding the market before they cause the market to crash. In addition to this mystery, every hired man in the state has gone missing. With both mysteries to solve, the Sub-Mariner takes the case and dives into the ocean. There he calls his cousin Namora to assist him in his mission.

Finding a mysterious ad in the newspaper, the Sub-Mariner calls it the next day posing as a man seeking a job. He is picked up by a shady character who takes him out to a strange platform in the ocean by helicopter. Lowered down by an elevator, Namor soon is shocked to see that a man named Porker has enslaved an army of workers to mine for pearls in an undersea cave.

Namor reveals his true identity, then fights through Porker's gang. He then convinces the slave workers to rise up against their oppressors and then smashes the operation. With everyone safe above the platform and Porker and his men tied up for the authorities, Namor and Namora pull everyone back to shore.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner, Namora

The Running Killer

Detective Skip McCoy is going on vacation with his chief in the country when suddenly they are stopped on the road by a young man named James Welby who tells them that his uncle Kent has been murdered. He takes them back to the scene of the crime and explains that when he came across his uncle's dead body he tried to call the police but the phone was dead. Admitting that he is a track athlete in college, James tells the two officers that he ran the two miles where they found him to try and get help. This tips Skip off who realizes that James is the killer and they arrest him. Pressuring him into a confession, James asks McCoy how he figured it out. Skip points out that he realized James was lying when he said he ran two miles, yet his shoes were not dusty from running on the road.

Recurring Characters

Skip McCoy

Studio of Terror

Louise Grant busy at work for her employer Mark Mason when suddenly a man named Oswald Grimms enters the office demanding to see her. He tells her that he is an artist who wishes to draw her "friend" the Blonde Phantom and asks her to pass the message along. Finding the artist sketchy, Louise gets permission to step out for a while and uses her absence to change into the Blonde Phantom to investigate Grimms.

Deciding to play it safe, Blonde Phantom looks up a reputable artist named Vance Van Psymithe to act as her chaperone while visiting Oswald Grimms to insure that he is on the level. Van Psymithe agrees to accompany her and soon the two arrive at Grimms studio. Seeing Vance, Oswald demands that he leaves his studio right away, confirming the Blonde Phantom's suspicion. When Grimms tries to get violent with a gun, Blonde Phantom knocks him out with a judo chop. However, she realizes the errors of her judgement when Vance picks up the gun and points it at her. He explains that he is really the fraud and Oswald Grimms once helped the authorities put him away, and that he had tagged along to get revenge against him.

However, Oswald revives and both he and the Blonde Phantom easily take down Vance and turn him over to the authorities. Much later, after Grimm had finished his artwork, Louise Grant and Mark Mason go on a date to the art gallery to see the painting on display. Louise is horrified to find that Grimms had painted an abstract piece in her image.