Young Allies Comics #14

Aug 5

Aug 5 Young Allies Comics #14

The Green Death

At a waterfront munitions store the soldier on guard is killed by Nazi spy Baron Krugg who then attempts to start a fire to destroy the depot. He is spotted by the Young Allies who happen to be passing by and they fail to stop him from setting the fire and fleeing. When Toro attempts to chase after him, his flame is doused with water from a fire hydrant and knocked out by Krugg's minions and the spies manage to escape.

At their hideout, Baron Krugg tells his men that they are too short numbered to target munitions factories and that they are going to attack the material sources for America's weapons. They then being planning an attack on a nearby Radium mine. The following night while the Young Allies are out, Knuckles recognizes the Nazi spies from the night before and jumps onto the back of their car as they drive by. The other Young Allies follow after him in a borrowed motorcycle.

At the nearby Radium storage facility, Baron Krugg in his men storm in and begin shooting down the scientists experimenting on the Radium. The Young Allies soon arrive and a fight erupts. When the Young Allies make short work of Krugg's men, Krugg attempts to slip away. With the other spies defeated, the Allies turn them over to the authorities and assume that Krugg managed to escape. They are wrong however as Krugg has accidentally trapped himself in the room filled with Radium samples and is heavily irradiated. The radiation mutates Krugg into a green skinned being. Breaking out, he dubs himself the "Green Death" and blasts a scientist with a jolt of pure radiation, killing him. He then storms off into the night to continue his sabotage activities.

In the days that follow, the Green Death attacks various American interests proving to be unstoppable. With the FBI stumped, the Young Allies offer their aid to stop the Green Death, deducing that he is really Baron Krugg. Suggesting that they lure Krugg to them, Bucky suggests to the FBI agent to put out a story in the paper about the transfer of Krugg's minions. Sure enough, the Green Death appears at the federal prison to break his fellow spies out of jail. The Young Allies confront him and another battle breaks out. When Toro's powers are ineffectual, the Grean Death swats the boy aside and melts the main gates and succeeds in freeing his men.

Later, the Green Death and his men attack a government owned mine, leading to a call for help from the soldiers stationed there. Hearing the distress over the radio, the Young Allies fly to the mine where they clash with the Green Death and his men within one of the mines shaft. During the course of the battle, the Green Death compromises the integrity of the shaft causing a cave in. While the Young Allies manage to escape, the Green Death and his men are buried alive.

That night while the Young Allies sleep in their clubhouse, Whitewash is suddenly afraid that he has become radioactive like the Green Death, until Bucky points out that the glowing is coming from the harmless radium dial of his wristwatch.

Recurring Characters

Young Allies (Bucky, Toro, Knuckles O’Toole, Jeff Vandergill, Tubby Tinkle, Whitewash Jones)

Tommy Tyme Visits the Colosseum

After a baseball game during recess, Tommy Tyme and his classmates return to their studies. Their teacher is proud of their good sportsmanship and assigns them all to write a report on sports from different periods of time. Enjoying the idea, Tommy returns home after school and uses his Clock of the Ages to travel back in time to Ancient Rome to learn what he can about the Colosseum battles.

There, he asks a Roman citizen where the Colosseum is located and joins a line of people entering the arena. He soon realizes that the line is full of slaves being forced into combat and when he attempts to leave he is forced to stay and participate in the combat. He also learns that the combatants must fight to the death, something that Tommy finds to be barbaric. Put in the arena to battle a trio of lions, Tommy manages to frighten them off with some of his firecrackers, winning the round.

When the emperor demands that Tommy battle his champion, he only agrees to do so if they let the other slaves go. The emperor agrees to do so if Tommy proves victorious. Pitted in a battle against a gladiator, Tommy manages to fell him with some fast fighting moves he learned in Brooklyn and tries to escape on his horse. Set to battle the champion who attacks on a horse drawn chariot, Tommy fells the gladiator with his slingshot, knocking him off his horse. Conceding defeat, the gladiator is shocked when Tommy refuses to kill him.

Tommy explains to the emperor about his time's version of sportsmanship which is based on skill and not killing your opponent. His noble words convince the emperor to cease the execution of losing combatants in the gladiator arena. Just then the Clock of the Ages goes off, sending Tommy back to his own time. Tommy then quickly writes his report which he eagerly brings to class the next day. Its attention to detail impresses his teacher very much.

Recurring Characters

Tommy Tyme

Continuity Notes

Tommy Tyme acts as though he has never been to ancient Rome before, forgetting that he was there previously in Mystic Comics (Vol. 2) #1. This kid isn’t particularly bright so maybe he forgot?

Murder In the Movies

Detective Mike Trapp and crime scene photographer Pepper Burns decide to take the night off to see a movie, however their duties take the front seat when they find one of the theater patrons dead in his seat. Identifying the out of town dead man as Detective Peter Haggerty, Pepper remarks how Haggerty was on the trail of the criminal Lars Logan.

Mike Trapp gathers the theater staff, and suspects the usher of being Lars, and catches the crook by addressing him by his real name.

Recurring Characters

Mike Trapp, Pepper Burns

The Monster of the Maniac Murders

The Young Allies are at the scene of a USO show to entertain the troops. As the Allies are on the stage, General Manse and famous radio comedian Bob Carter watch the Allies show unaware that a strange old man is watching them as well. Suddenly, Carter gets stricken with a sudden jealous rage and attacks General Manse, beating the superior officer to death. As the soldiers pull Carter off the General, the Young Allies spot the old man fleeing the scene and attempt to stop him. When questioning the old man, who rambles incomprehensible gibberish, Bucky shrugs him off as just a crank who is uninvolved with the sudden attack.

However later, Carter's madness subsides and he is horrified by what he is done and explains how he just suddenly lost control of his sanity. The Young Allies and Carter are visited by psychiatrist Wilton Wilkes who examines Carter and diagnoses him with a mental illness, however Kunckles is not sold on Wilke's professional assessment. Later in their bunkhouse, the Allies go over the days strange events and recall how Carter said something "hit him" and Bucky expresses his reevaluation of the old man's presence there. Suddenly, the radio reports of a similar attack, this time at the nearby Fenton Aircraft Factory near Camp Slater.

Suspecting something fishy going on the Young Allies are about to leave to investigate when they hear cries for help outside. They hear a fight going on from Colonel Blakely's quarters where Sergeant James has apparently gone insane and started attacking people. Spotting the old man from earlier fleeing the scene, the Young Allies run after him. Spotting the old man hooping into a car being driven by Japanese spies, Bucky and Knuckles manage to hop aboard before it can drive away. The other Allies send Toro to follow after them to lend a hand.

As Bucky and Knuckles fight the old man and the Japanese spies, the old man reveals that he uses a ray to make his victims go insane and is about to use it against Bucky when Toro arrives and saves him. The three boys are forced to jump off the car, but not before Knuckles can rip off a necklace off one of the Japanese spies. Finding a secret note inside, they find instructions that identify that the old man and the Japanese spies plan on attacking the number 84001 Train at the Union Pacific Rail Yard.

There, they spot the spies as they are stealing the No. 84001 train. When Jeff, Whitewash, Bucky and Kunckles attempts to climb aboard, Jeff dodges a blast from the old man's ray gun but is tossed off the train, but not before Jeff can grab a hold of the ray gun. The others are then dog piled by the Japanese spies who take them prisoner. He shows it to his fellow Allies and they then chase after the spies in a second train. Up ahead of the line, the Japanese spies use a larger version of the insanity ray to make everyone in the town of Red Gultch go insane. They then stop the train and tie up Whitewash and Knuckles and then use the ray on Bucky, making him insane and leave.

Toro, Jeff and Tubby soon catch up and prevent Bucky from killing the others, holding him still until the rays effects wear off. They then catch up with the spies at Appleton Junction where they easily trounce them. With the spies rounded up, the Young Allies reveal the old man to be none other than Wilton Wilkes in disguise.