USA Comics #2
The Fiends of the Seas
From a secret Nazi hideout within the United States, Nazi agents learn that the United States has been sending supply convoys out to their enemies the British and decide that this must stop. To this end they assign their naval agent the Black Claw to sink the American convoys before they can reach their destinations. News of the Black Claws actions gets back to Admiral Leeds who tells his friend, millionaire Dan Kane about the attacks. When Dan asks if there is anything he can do, Leeds tells him that he cannot assist the military because of his weak heart. Leads wishes that Captain Terror, the hero of the Spanish Wars who reportedly died was around to combat the Black Claw. Unknown to Leeds, Kane is in reality Captain Terror who retired his secret identity. When Leads goes off to plan a counter attack against the Black Claw, Don decides that it is time for Captain Terror to come out of retirement and puts on his costume again.
Taking a boat, Captain Terror rides out to sea and finds the Black Claws ship, he attacks the ship crew softening them up for Leeds when he shows up in his cruiser. When the Black Claws minions tell the Claw about their failure, he shoots one of the men dead and begins plotting revenge against Captain Terror.
As Leads and the Black Claws ships engage in combat, Captain Terror returns and tosses a gas grenade onto the deck of the Claws ship. There a fight breaks out between the Claw and Captain Terror. Their fight is cut short when the American vessel scores a direct hit, causing the Nazi battleship to being sinking. The Black Claw attempts to escape aboard a lifeboat. Captain Terror attempts to stop him but is struck upside the head with a wrench and the Claw manages to escape.
Returning to shore, Captain Terror resumes his human identity long enough to hear Leeds account of the battle. Resuming his costumed identity, Captain Terror begins searching for the Black Claw around town. The Black Claws minions are out looking for him as well and the hero is spotted before he can find his foe. Captain Terror is then ambushed by the Claws men and taken prisoner. Taken aboard a docked ship, Captain Terror is shown the Black Claws next plot: His men have invented magnetic sea mines that would be drawn to enemy ships making them easier to destroy. With the boat going out to sea, Captain Terror breaks loose but not before an American ship is sunk. Stopping Black Claw and his crew from launching anymore, Captain Terror gets into a battle against his foe. During the fight, Captain Terror and Black Claw go overboard, and fight it out in the water where Black Claw drowns.
With the battle over, a fuse that Captain Terror lit on the ship explode, destroying its deadly cargo and killing all the Nazis on board. Returning to his civilian guise, Dan listens to Leads story about Captain Terrors return to action, secretly musing about what the Admiral would think if he knew he was the same hero he was praising.
Recurring Characters
Captain Terror, Admiral Leeds, Nazis
Major Liberty
The Caribbean Sea the site of a series of sinking American ships by Nazi U-Boats, frustrating authorities who cannot find the location of their fueling station. One day, John Liberty is taking a cruise through the Caribbean and soon his ship is also targeted and sunk. John and a number of other crew manage to get to a life boat and find refuge on the shores of a private island. Finding a mansion on the island they knock on the door and are welcomed in by it's owner a game hunter named Reynolds. Fed and given lodging for the night, John Liberty is awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of gunshots. Changing into his Major Liberty costume, John rushes to the source of the noise and is shocked to find that Reynolds hunts human beings for sport as well.
When John starts to fight back he is downed by a poisoned dart and is tossed into a cage that is the home of Reynold's pet gorilla Toto. However, the ape hates it's master more than the intruder in its cage, angering Reynolds who leaves when he receives a signal. When Major Liberty revives, the giant ape leaves him alone, leaving him to figure out how to break out of the cage and go after Reynolds. Outside he sees a signal beam being projected from the top of a tower on Reynolds property. Confronting Reynolds, he overpowers him and drags him up to the top of the tower where they find two Nazi soldiers. As it turns out, Reynolds has been allowing the Nazis to hide out on his island property to launch their attacks on American ships.
With a cannon on the tower, Major Liberty uses it to destroy the Nazi submarine dock. Noticing that a Nazi U-Boat managed to escape, Liberty takes aim when Reynolds attempts to stab him in the back. The hero is saved by Toto the gorilla, who made it out of his pen. After Toto kills his cruel master, Liberty uses the cannon to blast the escaping U-Boat out of the water. Soon after Liberty is rescued by American officials.
Recurring Characters
Major Liberty, Nazis
The Vagabond
The District Attorney's office in the town of Middleton is rocked when Maxie the Rodent, their lead witness in a case to crack open a human and drug smuggling operation turns up dead. The case attracts the attention of Walter Carstairs of the FBI. One of the detectives on the case Pat Murphy recognizes Carstairs face but can't place where he's seen it before. With local law enforcement ordered to try and find a new lead, Murphy decides to take up an unorthodox method of finding clues. Understanding that his face is too well known, he takes up the identity of Chauncey Throttlebottom III, also known as the Vagabond, a roaming homeless man seeking work.
As the human smugglers bring in another load of trafficked people from the three mile limit, detective Kelly and Grogan follow a series of clues to that lead them to the Paradise Inn, a pub that is located on the waterfront. While on the site, they spot Carstairs who tells them that he has found valuable clues in the upstairs part of the Inn. As the two detectives go to investigate, the Vagabond enters the bar looking for work. The bartender, thinking the request to be a joke, order the Vagabond to throw out a bunch of rough looking drunks. To his surprise, the Vagabond manages to do just that, and shows a surprising level of strength and fighting ability in doing so that the bartender hires him as a bouncer.
Meanwhile, Carstairs lures Kelly and Grogan to the basement where they walk right into a trap, as it turns out Carstairs is not an FBI agent at all, but in reality a mobster who killed the agent and took his place. After the detectives are subdued, the bartender brings down the Vagabond to introduce him to Carstairs. Carstairs tosses the two law enforcers down a trap door into some water to drown. Upon doing this, Carstairs and the other mobsters are caught off guard when the Vagabond suddenly turns on them. He easily trounces Carstairs and his mob and saves the two detectives, leaving them to round up the crooks and wondering who the Vagabond truly is.
Recurring Characters
The Vagabond
The Defender
Bunking down for the night at their army camp, Don Stevens and Rusty note a newspaper story about guns being smuggled between the US/Mexico border and decide to look into it as the Defender and Rusty. When asking the border guard how things are, the guard remarks that every night a strange fog rolls over the area. Changing into the Defender and Rusty, the two wait until the fog appears and they are surprised to see a truck zooming across the border bridge and decide to stop it to question the driver. The two are attacked and in fighting their attackers they learn that they are smuggling weapon across the border. Before they can do anything about it they are knocked out and taken prisoner.
Taken to a secret hideout in Mexico, the two heroes are brought before the smugglers leader, a man who calls him self Herr Leader, who is the leader of a Nazi spy ring. When the Defender and Rusty refuse to tell the spies who they are working for, Herr Leader decides to torture them with the rack. Deciding to torture Rusty to make the Defender talk backfires on the Nazis as the Defender breaks free from his bonds and attacks them. During the fight Herr Leader manages to escape, and the Defender has to stop and free Rusty.
Getting outside, they spot Nazi soldiers on a training mission and steal some of their tanks to ruin their training exercise. While escaping, the Defender notices that somebody tried to scratch the name of the tank manufacturer off one of the panels. The two heroes eventually find the source of the fog, a chemical sprayer that would blanket the border with a thick pea soup fog. On the sprayer they see the actual name of the company, the J.P. Evans arms manufacturing company. Rushing back to the United States they storm the corporate office of J.P. Evans and reveal Evans himself as the true identity of Herr Leader. The knockout Evans and then leave him for the authorities to arrest.
Recurring Characters
Defender, Rusty
The Killers of the Sea
On a private island the insane hypnotist named Zombo seeks to destroy any ship that happens to sail near his private retreat. With his private submarine and his army of loyal slaves, he targets these ships and sinks them. His activities attract the attention of the Abysmian ruler Rockman who decides to go to return to the surface world and end Zombo's threat.
Rockman makes it to the surface just as Zombo is about to target an American ship. Rockman boards Zombos submarine and tries to attack the hypnotist directly. However, Zombo's hypnotic powers forces Rockman to fall into the interior of the vessel and fight off Zombos legion of slaves. Outnumbered, Rockman contacts his fellow Abysmians and orders them to activate machines that cause a massive tsunami that ultimately washes away Zombo's island and destroys his ship drowning the villain and his slaves. With his mission complete, Rockman returns to his people.
Recurring Characters
Rockman
Jack Frost
Labelled as a murderer, Jack Frost decides to turn against humanity and is soon confronted by a police officer who attempts to arrest him. However, this is easier said than done as Jack Frost's powers allow him to break free and freeze the cop in a block of ice before fleeing. Deciding to cause mischief, Jack Frost locates a beach and decides to use his powers to ruin the day for the swimmers partaking in the waters.
As the swimmers flee the waters, Jack Frost is surprised to find a dead body and notes that it was likely killed by an octopus. Deciding to investigate, Jack Frost finds something more fantastic: A giant mechanical ship in the shape of an octopus piloted by a band of modern day pirates. The mechanical wonder easily over powers Jack Frost and he is easily taken aboard. The captain of the ship explains to Jack Frost that they learned that there is hidden pirates treasure on the beach and that they intend to scare off as many people to drive down the property value so that they can buy it cheaply to search for the hidden treasure.
Jack Frost breaks free and freezes up the crew by the Captain manages to escape in a life boat. Following after him, Jack Frost stops the captain up by freezing the water he is escaping in and catches up to him. When the captain attempts to throw a chunk of ice at Jack Frost, he uses his full control over ice to redirect it back at the crook, the blow from the impact kills him instantly. Jack Frost puts the corpse on ice and leaves a message for the authorities, even cynically pointing out that he will likely be blamed for the crimes himself.
Recurring Characters
Jack Frost
The Whizzer
Mobster Silky Kirby is pressuring a jockey named Sykes to throw the upcoming horse race so that he can win big on the bets being made against him, threatening to kill the jock if he doesn't comply. However, Sykes is unable to throw the race for any reason and decides to give it his best despite the threat to this life. When Sykes manages to win the race, Kirby has his man Spike shoot Sykes at the finish line. Bob Frank is watching the race and speeds into action as the Whizzer, taking the wounded Sykes and racing him to a hospital. After getting Sykes the medical attention he needs, the Whizzer races off to capture Silky Kirby and his mob.
Arriving back at the horse racing track, the Whizzer arrives just as Kirby and his men have placed a thin wire across the track to trip up the leading horse to once more hedge a bet in their favor. Noticing the line, the Whizzer speeds past the fastest horse and snaps it before it can cause any harm. In the confusion Kirby and Spike manage to escape. However they realize that the Whizzer will not stop until their captured and so they double back and attempt to eliminate the hero.
The Whizzer proves to be too fast for them and after he deals with Spike he frightens Silky Kirby so bad he causes the criminal to have a heart attack and he dies on the spot. With Kirby take out of business, the Whizzer goes to visit Sykes in the hospital the next day and learns that he intends on making a full recovery.
Recurring Characters
Whizzer
