Nick Peron

View Original

USA Comics #10

The Cylinder of Death

Credits

In California, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are visit their friend Professor Livingston. The professor shows off his new shrink ray invention. Just as Livingston finishes his demonstration his lab is attacked by Japanese spies in white robes who manage to overpower the two soldiers and make off with the shrink ray and murder Livingston.

Six months later, while on a furlough, Steve and Bucky get a note from a local night club dancer asking for Captain Americas help. Deducing that Steve and Bucky are "associated" with Captain America, the Russian dancer attempts to warn them about a "Cylinder of Death" that is being brought into the country. Two Japanese men in the crowd see her talking and attempt to stop her by lighting a fire. Getting the woman to safety and with the burning club cleared out Steve and Barnes rush off to change into Captain America and Bucky to meet with the girl at a designated meeting place at midnight.

At the meeting place, the Russian woman tells the pair that Japanese agents are attempting to smuggle the cylinder into the country by pulling ashore at Black Rock Cove in a half-hour and leaves the two heroes to attempt to capture the cylinder and bring it to Washington for examination.

When Cap and Bucky arrive at Black Rock Cove they spot a with Japanese soldiers pulling ashore and one of them is carrying a cylinder in his arms. The two heroes attack, but they are outnumbered and overpowered. They are taken to a house where they are tied up. To their shock and surprise they begin seeing tiny Japanese tanks and planes moving out of the house that are beginning to get bigger. Olga has tracked them down, and frees the two heroes who rush into the next room and see the Japanese commander -- General Nikki -- using the stolen shrink ray to restore an entire army of Japanese soldiers he had smuggled into America within the cylinder.

Captain America and Bucky attack and during the fight destroy some of the shrunken crafts causing a fire. Fleeing the house, they get out just in time to avoid being killed in an explosion. Seeing a number of the Japanese military units on the move toward a nearby dam, the two heroes and Olga rush to the nearest American military base. They alert the military and Cap leads a bunch of bombers to the dam. There a full out attack breaks out, and eventually Cap's bomber is shot out of the sky but all aboard survive when the plane crashes into the water.

As they swim to the top of the dam, they witness as the American military wipes out the Japanese invaders. Cap is attacked by General Nikki and during the fight, the hero throws the Japanese invader off the dam to his death. With the battle over, Captain America and Bucky are thanked for their assistance in thwarting the invasion.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Imperial Japan

The Luminous Paint Plot

The Destroyer has allied himself with German resistance fighters in Frankfort, Germany. They begin plotting a plan to smuggle luminescent paint within barrels of wine and use it to paint the roofs of Nazi defense buildings so that they become easy targets for the Allied Forces.

However, the plan hits a snag when it turns out that one of their members, Frank Craben is really a Nazi spy and he has the resistance fighters captured. Before they can be executed, the Destroyer comes to their rescue. He grabs hold of the Gatling gun and mows down the Nazi soldiers and then knocks out Craben. They then flee the scene as bombers arrive to destroy the buildings making their operation a success.

Recurring Characters

Destroyer, Nazis

Continuity Notes

  • Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3, this appearance of the Destroyer is attributed to Kevin Marlow.

Attack On Isabel Island

American forces on the Pacific are having a hard time trying to invade Isabel Island, which has been occupied by the Japanese army. The thick jungles apparently are a fortification filled with Japanese machine gunners making, however the military intelligence is unable to determine how many machine gunners the Japanese are hiding on the island.

Doug Johnson decides to find out and gets his commanding officers permission to sneak onto the island and find out. Johnson is smuggled onto the island where he disguises himself as one of the enslaved natives that are being forced to work for the Japanese.

His search of the island finds that a hut filled with firecrackers. Johnson realizes that the Japanese are using the firecrackers to give the illusion that there are more men on the island then there really are. Signaling a passing American plane that night, Johnson gets the message out to his fellow troops.

The next day when American forces storm the beaches, Johnson drops his disguise and helps them take the island. Getting aboard a plane with a case filled with TNT, Johnson then flies over a Japanese battleship and drops it into its smoke stack destroying it in a powerful explosion. In the aftermath of the battle, the American forces are able to take control of Isabelle Island.

Recurring Characters

Jap Buster Johnson, Imperial Japan

Fire Brand of Evil

With a growing wood shortage going on in the United States, a string of sabotage by Nazi agents have been happening at local saw mills. Military officials then assign Sargent Dix to discover who is doing it and stop them.

Dix, posing as a civilian, gets a job at a local saw mill and allows himself to get caught and thrown off the property for purposely jamming up one of the saws. Returning at night, he spots a bunch of Nazi spies return to the mill and light a fire. Allowing himself to be spotted, he is presumed to be a fellow saboteur and accompanies the spies as they escape the burning mill, but not before activating the fire alarm when nobody’s looking.

Brought to the leader of the spies, Dix is welcomed with open armed and accompanies the spies as they go to another lumber yard. There, Dix shows his true stripes by setting off the fire alarm again and then subduing the Nazi spies just as the authorities arrive and taken the spies into custody.

Recurring Characters

Sargent Dix, Nazis

The Diamond of Death

The Whizzer is returning to the United States after a cruise vacation and is witness to the murder of a man who was bringing a diamond that was to be used in the creation of defense weapons by a bunch of jewel thieves. Seeking to eliminate the hero, and not recognizing the Whizzer in his civilian guise, they knock out the Whizzer and dump him overboard.

Changing into his costume, the Whizzer spring into action and attacks the jewel thieves. However, one of them catches him off guard and strangles the hero into unconsciousness through a porthole. Tied up the Whizzer is brought aboard a yacht that the thieves are using to escape. However the hero breaks free and uses distress rockets to alert the cruise ship of the yachts presence. The Whizzer then rounds up the thieves and captures them all, and recovering the stolen diamond.

Recurring Characters

Whizzer