Young Allies Comics #2

Aug 5

Aug 5 Young Allies Comics #2

Fate Spins An Evil Web

The villainous Black Talon meets with the Nazi spy known as Baron Boche. Boche hires the Talon to assist in the capture of one of Americas sources of raw materials, as it would help the Nazi war effort and allow the Nazis to take over the United States. In payment for this job, the Nazis promise to give the Black Talon rule over any portion of land he wishes once the Nazis take over America. Hoping to finally take over the city, the Black Talon agrees to take the job to capture any given State or American territory. Recalling how Dr. Martin Livingstone was on a voyage of the Atlantic searching for a new land to claim for the United States, the Black Talon decides to focus on finding out what happened to Livingstone, as he had disappeared at sea one year prior.

Unknown to the Black Talon, Livingstone was shipwrecked on an uncharted island that no compass would work on. Finding an American flag in the wreckage of his ship, Livingstone would claim the island -- which he had determined rose up from the ocean floor -- in the name of the United States, dubbing the island "New America". New America however, turned out to be far from tame for Livingston, as shortly after his arrival he was attacked by a tribe of amphibious warriors. Fending them off with his gun and finding cover, Livingstone would toss a message in a bottle out to sea, desperate to have the message reach his daughter in the United States.

As year later, as the Black Talon is busy plotting to find Livingstone, the Young Allies are spending the day by the docks to go fishing. As fate would have it, Tubby ended up pulling the bottle out of the water, and upon discovery of the message the team then called Livingston's daughter Dora. Dora would rush to the warf to get the message, unaware that she was being tailed by the Black Talon's minions. After handing the message over to Dora, she thanks them for finding it and prepares to leave to read it in private. She is stopped by the Black Talon and his minions who attempt to steal the message from her. Hearing the commotion, the Young Allies go into action. As Toro sends the Black Talon's minions fleeing, the others grab Dora and flee into their club house. No sooner are they safe behind it's locked door does the Black Talon catch up and demand that his men break down the clubhouse door.

By the time the Talon and his men break into the club house the Young Allies and Dora have all gone into hiding. Using Toro's flames and pea-shooters, the youths send the Black Talon and his men fleeing. With the immediate threat gone, Dora decide to read the message from her father among the Young Allies. When she reads about her fathers discovery of New America, she decides to charter a boat to try and find it in the hopes that her father might still be alive.

As Dora heads home, she is unaware that the Young Allies are following her as they are convinced that she will still be targeted by the Black Talon and their gang. The groups hunch turns out to be valid, as Dora is once more accosted by the Black Talon and his men. They capture Dora and force her into a car, prompting the Young Allies to chase after them on roller skates. Furious at the Young Allies continued interference, the Black Talon and his men attempt to eliminate the youths, however the clumsy feet of Knuckles O'Toole sends him rolling into the gang, knocking them off their feet long enough for the Young Allies to steal the Black Talon's getaway car and flee the scene. In thanks for their daring rescue, Dora takes the boys back to her mansion where she has her staff make them a supper and invites them to stay the night. Bucky warns the other Young Allies to be alert as the Black Talon has not given up his attempts to learn the location of the island as well.

The Black Talon reports back what he has learned to Baron Boche. Boche demands that the Black Talon go and learn the location of New America, then kill the girl so that it can be claimed by Nazi Germany. With his men, the Black Talon travels long abandoned underground sewer tunnels that lead directly under Dora's mansion. Entering the mansion through a secret passage way they are spotted by Whitewash Jones who had woken up to get a glass of water. When he runs to wake the others, Bucky and Toro arrive too late to stop the Black Talon and his men from returning through the secret passage with Dora as their prisoner. Following after them, they soon become victim of the Black Talon who opens a trap door sending them into a watery pit where many before them have died.

Hearing Bucky and Toro's battle cry for help, Tubby Jeff, Kunckles and Whitewash come to their teammates rescue forming a human chain to pull them out. Saved, Bucky and Toro lead the others through the tunnels to try and find Dora and the Black Talon. They find them just as the Black Talon is threatening to strangle Dora for not revealing the location of New America. When Toro attempts to battle the Black Talon directly, the lad is knocked out by a punch from the Talon's black hand, which is apparently impervious to flame. The boys gain the upper hand by slinging mud into their opponents eyes and rescue Dora, running through the tunnels trying to find safety.

As they flee, they fall through a hole in the floor and into a massive spider-web, to become food for a massive spider named Teena that the Black Talon had specially bred. The group manage to storm the giant spider and toss it away and escape. The passageway they are following leads them to the inside of a wax museum. There the boys and Dora hide out until the Black Talon and his men flee the scene. Afterword, they leave a mocking message for the Black Talon, who is furious when he finds it. He vows that he will capture them before they leave America. The next morning the Young Allies are on hand to wish Dora luck on her voyage to find her father. Tubby in particular is upset that she is going as he has developed a crush on her. However, it turns out that the ships crew and captain are none other than the Black Talon and his goons.

The heroes spring into action, forcing all the attackers off the ship into the water below. Without a crew to man her ship, the Young Allies offer their services in her aid. Their need of a ship captain is overheard by the passing Captain Weatherbee who agrees to take up the job. With a new crew formed, Dora and the Young Allies set sail to try and find the location of New America. As Dora and the captain begin searching for the location of New America, the Young Allies are assigned different tasks to pilot the ship. In particular, Jeff is given telegraph duty so that they have up to date information about ocean conditions. However, when he goes to sleep for the night, the Black Talon (having stowed away aboard the ship) uses the telegraph machine to contact Baron Boche and inform him that their ship is nearing the Sargasso Sea. Hearing the telegraph going off, Jeff awakens and catches the Black Talon in the act of exposing their position.

Black Talon flees as the Young Allies chase after him, but the youths loose him when they tackle Captain Wetherbee by mistake. As the days flow from one into the next, the Young Allies and Dora eventually spot uncharted island that could possibly be New America. As they approach the island their ship is hit by a freak storm wrecking their ship and washing them ashore. When Toro is not among the survivors, the Young Allies assume that he drowned at sea and after claiming the island in the name of America, they hold a funeral ceremony for Toro and build a grave in his honor.

As the Young Allies build a camp before bedding down for the day so that they can being their search for Dora's father int he morning. Unknown to the group, the Black Talon has also survived the attack, and has found the local natives. Using sign language he manages to convince them to attack the Young Allies camp. The youths are caught off guard and are easily taken prisoner, and soon find themselves in the savages cooking pots.

As the boys prepare for their fate, elsewhere on the island, Toro is alive and well and has come around after being knocked out in the wreck. Using his flame powers, the young boy flies around the island searching for his friends. Finding them prisoners of the natives, he uses his flame powers to attack and free the other Young Allies and Dora. When the natives flee the scene, the Young Allies are happy to find that their pal Toro is alive and well. Out from the bushes comes Captain Wetherbee, who tells the boys that he avoided captured because he went out for a walk in the night. Using the natives drums, Bucky sends out a Morse Code message to try and contact Martin Livingstone. To their surprise, they get drum beats in response, proving that Livingstone is alive and well. He tells them to hurry to him as he is located in the Haunted City.

Travelling by foot, the Young Allies find themselves in the mountain location of the Haunted City. They are spooked by what appears to be a ghost, but Toro's flame powers reveal that it is only a sheet on a stick being carried by Captain Weatherbee. He claims it was only a joke, but Bucky is suspicious and asks the Captain to shake his hand. Pulling off his glove, Bucky reveals Wetherbee to be none other than the Black Talon in disguise.

The Black Talon flees from them and the Young Allies chase after him, ordering Dora to wait behind for them. The Talon leads the youths into a temple where the natives buried their dead. Here, the Black Talon hides out until the boys get ahead of him and he traps them inside the temple.

As the Black Talon goes to capture Dora, he doesn't account for the fact that Whitewash Jones was not among the Young Allies as he was wandering around the temple. Hearing his friends calling for help, Whitewash rescues them and they continue their pursuit of the Black Talon. As they search the jungles they spot a cabin and head toward it. Getting past it's various booby-traps, the Young Allies find that it's the home of Dr. Livingstone. After hearing Dr. Livingston's explanation on the islands origins they find that the Nazis have set up camp nearby and head off to rescue her.

Meanwhile, the Black Talon returns to Baron Boche and turns Dora over to him. They decide to use her to lure her father out of hiding and send out a coded message demanding he surrender himself or he will kill his daughter. The Young Allies tell him to go down alone, as the Black Talon and his allies believe that they are dead. Martin is captured quickly and the Nazis threaten to torture Dora if he does not reveal the latitude and longitude of the island. Before they can do anything though, the Young Allies storm the cabin freeing Dora and Martin. However their battle rouses the sleeping Nazi soldiers whose commanding officer orders them to enter the fray.

The boys battle is quickly ended as they are overpowered by the Nazi troops who subdue them and toss them in a jail. Baron Boche and the Black Talon decide to have the boys used for target practice. However, the Young Allies are not sunk, as they neglected to search Jeff who uses his tool kit to pick the lock to their cell. Sneaking out of their cell, they rescue Dora and Martin and escape from the jail. Stealing some tanks, the Young Allies blast the Nazi camp to bits and escape in a plane.

As they are headed back for America they are soon followed by the Black Talon who damages their plane, forcing them to crash land. There, the Black Talon gets them at gun point, kidnaps Martin and Dora once more, and forces the boy into a water pit inside cave. There the boys must fend off a giant octopus by tying it's arms together. With the immediate threat over with, Bucky sends Toro to get help. Toro flies off and gets the aid of the Human Torch and Captain America and leads the two heroes back to the Black Talon's secret hideout.

Back at the cave, the Black Talon threatens to douse the Livingstones with molten lava if they do not reveal the location of New America. However, before he can do so the Young Allies attack, stopping up the Black Talon and his minions just long enough for Captain America and the Human Torch to arrive. The Black Talon's minions are easily defeated and the Black Talon himself are knocked out by a double punch from the Torch and Cap. With the battle over, the two senior heroes have to break up an argument between Bucky and Toro over whose mentor is better. Afterward, Dora and Martin thanks the Young Allies for helping them secure New America and claim it for the United States.