The Defender

Don Stevens, his ward Rusty and their friend Sally Kean are riding the Staten Island ferry when they take notice of a schooner opposite of them. Before Sally can wonder what it's carrying aboard a man falls overboard prompting Don and Rusty to dive into the water to attempt a rescue. When they get to the body they find that he is a Japanese male and that he is dead. Swimming up to the schooner, Don attempts to find out what's going on aboard the ship. Soon a fight breaks out between the crew and Don and Rusty. It is broken up by the ships captain, a woman named Dame Kackle. When Don tells them that an Asian man fell overboard, Kackle and her crew deny seeing anyone of Japanese descent and order the two off their ship. Don and Rusty return to the ferry, suspicious of Kackle and her crew.

Don is really the costumed hero known as the Defender, and that night he and his sidekick Rusty change into their costumes and go searching around the docks to see if they can find anything suspicious. Sure enough, they find Kackles crew sorting out business with a number of Japanese men who have paid them to be smuggled into America. When the deal goes sour, the Defender and Rusty rush in with fists flying. Dame Kackle soon joins the fight and the Defender and Rusty are easily overpowered. They are tired up and left in the warehouse while a barrel of TNT is set to go off. The two heroes manage to free themselves, escaping the building just before it explodes. Finding no trace of Kackle or her men, and with the authorities on their way the Defender and Rusty disappear into the night.

The next day, Don and Rusty are assigned by their sergeant to accompany Sally on a canoeing trip. This is however a blind that will allow her to investigate shipping on the docks. When they get there, Don and Rusty slip away to change into their costumed identities. While they are doing so, Sally is nabbed by Dame Kackle's minions. Following after her, the two heroes clash with Kackle's minions and find a tunnel that leads out to the harbor where the Dame's vessel is anchored. Getting aboard, they find Sally tied up and the two heroes find themselves walking right into a trap.

Even though they are taken by surprise, they manage to get the best of their attackers, prompting Dame Kackle -- revealed to be a Nazi smuggler -- to jump overboard to evade capture. Soon the FBI arrive to arrest her minions, and the Defender and Rusty leave the scene before they can be thanked.

Recurring Characters

Defender, Rusty

The Whizzer

In the African jungle, Emil Frank's son Bob has been bitten by a poisonous snake and will die if he does not get enough blood transfused into his body. To Emil's surprise a mongoose comes out of the jungle and attacks the snake killing it but is fatally wounded as well. Desperate to save his sons life, Emil gives him a transfusion of mongoose blood. Surprisingly, Bob survives however the strain is too much on the elder Frank and he soon dies, but not before telling his son that the transfusion has endowed him with fantastic powers. To Bob Frank's surprise he realizes his late father was right and he has been endowed with super-human speed. Bob decides to use these powers to fight crime, and also bring to justice the man who was responsible for them ending up in Africa to begin with.

As Bob travels back to America his mind goes back to the events that brought where he is today: His father was a prominent doctor in New York City. One day a crook named Granno would come to his Emil's office with his assistant Spike and a man named Jennings who had been seriously shot. Emil would begin performing a life saving operation right away, however Granno would interfere causing Emil to accidentally kill his patient. Granno would tell Emil that Jennings was supposed to testify against him in court the following day and framed Emil so that he could get off scott free. With a potential murder wrap over his head, and neither he nor Bob able to do anything to stop Granno and his men, the two were forced to flee to Africa.

Arriving in America, Bob develops the costumed identity of the Whizzer and then looks up Granno's home address in the phone book. Going to Grannos home, the hero easily overpowers Granno and his men who prove no match for his super-speed. With the crooks rounded up, the Whizzer contacts the authorities and leaves the beaten mobsters with a note for the D.A. that would implicate them in the murder of Jennings, thereby avenging his father.

Recurring Characters

Whizzer

Continuity Notes

• Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age 2004, the Whizzer did not get his powers from Mongoose blood (that’s stupid). Instead, the mongoose blood triggered a latent mutant ability that Robert Frank possessed. Still no explanation as to what kind of idiot injects their son with Mongoose blood though.

The Spirits of Freedom

After reading about the Nazi's war in Europe, John Liberty becomes furious and wishes the spirits of old could help fight for the American ideals of freedom. John's words are heard and he is visited by a spirit he tells him that his prayers have been heard and that he is now a friend to these historical spirits. Endowed with a costume, John becomes Mister Liberty. He is soon visited by the spirit of Paul Revere, who tells Liberty that there is trouble nearby. The two ride a horse to the site of a local armory and they find two men trying to rig an explosive along its outer wall. Liberty and Revere frighten the two men away and find that the bomb is triggered by a remote detonator.

They follow the two fleeing men to their hideout and learn that the two men are part of a Nazi sabotage operation to hamper the American war preparation. Seeking to stop this operation, John summons the spirits of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys to distract the Nazis while he gets help. While the spirits trip up the Nazi spies, John can only find a local Cub Scout Troop to help. The Nazi's are caught off guard by this "army" approaching they do not realize that they are young children until it's too late and are easily overpowered and rounded up by Liberty and his youthful allies. The spies are tied up until John can contact the real authorities and have them taken into custody.

Recurring Characters

Mister Liberty, Nazis (Adolf Hitler)

The Tunnel That Led to Death

A man named Roffler has hired building contractor J.J. Gollins to have his men construct a tunnel in the basement of his house. When Gollins work crew completes the job Roffler and his minion cause the workers and Gollins to all suffer unfortunate "accidents". This is all part of a plot to have an easy means of destroying an airplane factory that is to be built near Gollins home via the underground tunnel. This plot is listened in by Rockman, the ruler of the subterranean world of Abysmia. He decides that he should stop Rofflers plot. Getting the approval of his people, Rockman builds a drilling device that will help him get to the surface world.

With Roffler and his setting a bomb in the tunnel under the aircraft factory, Rockman causes a cave in that traps the two men in the tunnel. They begin to panic because they are trapped with the bombs, they are confronted by Rockman who beats Roffler's minion up and then orders Roffler to disarm the bombs. When the crook does so he attempts to flee down the tunnel to find another way out. Meanwhile, Rockman has begun digging his own way out of the tunnel, and in doing so causes the tunnel to flood.

When Roffler and his accomplice find a means of getting out, Roffler betrays him and gets out, leaving his aide to die. Rockman is waiting for him outside, and tosses Roffler back into the flooding tunnel, sealing it shut leaving the crook to drown to death.

Recurring Characters

Rockman

Young Avenger

Eric Von Himmel is the leader of Nazi spies who begin targeting Americas industrial centers in the state of New York City. They have thus far managed to avoid capture, however that is all about to change. One night after the destruction of the Wenton Factory, young Bill Byron is awoken by a mysterious shadowed figure. The strange figure tells Byron that the Nazi spies are going to attack the Boling Aviation Works next and endows him with a costume. Bill puts the costume on and thus, the Young Avenger is born.

The Young Avenger rushes out into the night to intercept the Nazi spies, easily beating them in a fight and learning the location of their master. The Young Avenger arrives at the mansion hideout of Von Himmel and the rest of the spies just as they are getting the news that their comrades have been captured by the authorities. When the Young Avenger attacks, he has the element of surprise on his side, gaining the upper hand until he is felled by knock out gas and taken prisoner.

Taken before Von Himmel, the Masked Avenger regains his strength and breaks free. He begins another fight, however Himmel manages to get away and flees in an airplane, bombing the mansion as he leaves. The sole survivor is the Young Avenger who vows to make Himmel pay. With the sun rising, the Young Avenger rushes home and resumes his civilian guise leaving his mother none the wiser that he was out the night before defending his country from the Axis Powers.

Recurring Characters

Young Avenger, Nazis

Continuity Notes

• This is the only Golden Age appearance of the Young Avenger. He will reappear decades later as one of the main characters in All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes limited series.

Jack Frost

Doctor Forbes has been fatally shot by Mike Zelby over the location of a gold deposit he found in Alaska. Dying in the winter snow, his presence is detected by the being known as Jack Frost who learns how he was murdered. Hearing that Zelby would target Forbe's daughter next, Jack Frost promises to bring Zelby to justice and avenge Forbes death. Freezing Forbes in a block of ice, Jack Frost heads to New York City.

There the authorities are trying to find a way to peg Forbes disappearance on Zelby but have no proof. When Jack Frost arrives to try and lend his assistance, the police misunderstand and attempt to attack him, but Jack Frost easily overpowers them with his ice powers and flees the scene deciding to deal with Zelby on his own.

Tracking down Zelby to his apartment, Jack Frost finds that Alice Forbes is his prisoner and he is attempting to make her tell him the location of the gold. Jack Frost comes to her aid, and Forbes and his criminal cohorts are no match for his ice powers. During the fight a fire breaks out and Jack Frost flees with Alice outside, leaving Zelby and his men to burn alive in the house. When the police arrive they overhear Jack Frost say that her purposely left Zelby and his men to burn alive. Calling him a murderer, the police attempt to arrest Jack Frost, but he easily flees leaving two initialed icicle, vowing that in the future he will be the enemy of mankind.

Recurring Characters

Jack Frost