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"The Menace of the Dragon Boat": Olaf takes two weeks' leave, and flies off alone in his jet to investigate the rune stones, left by Vikings, along the coast of Labrador. He's looking for signs that one of his ancestors might have visited North America before Lief Ericson. Unknown to him, the re

Quote1 Hendrickson and Chop Chop -- they crashed in the self-service elevator! Quote2
Blackhawk

Blackhawk #117 is an issue of the series Blackhawk (Volume 1) with a cover date of October, 1957.

Synopsis for "The Menace of the Dragon Boat"

Olaf takes two weeks' leave, and flies off alone in his jet to investigate the rune stones, left by Vikings, along the coast of Labrador. He's looking for signs that one of his ancestors might have visited North America before Lief Ericson. Unknown to him, the rest of the Blackhawks are also flying north to greet a replica Viking ship that is making a visit to all the ports known to have been visited by ancient Vikings. Unknown to the Blackhawks is that the long boat is secretly being used by a gang of criminals to smuggle the recently stolen crown jewels of Semenov.

When the gang sees the Blackhawks waiting for them, they attack thinking their scheme must have been exposed. But when they realize the Blackhawks know nothing, they take them along as cover from being searched. Eventually, the Blackhawks spot some of the jewels and take on the gang, defeating them with ancient weapons retrieved from the tomb of Olaf's ancestor.

Appearing in "The Menace of the Dragon Boat"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Eric Holboe
    • his fake Viking pirate crew

Other Characters:

  • Gunther Bjornson, Olaf's ancestor, circa 1057 (Flashback only)
    • his Anglo-Saxon scribe (Flashback only)

Locations:

Items:

  • "Semenov Crown Jewels"

Vehicles:

  • Blackhawk Lockheed F-90C interceptors
  • Holboe's Viking Longship, commemorative replica
  • Holboe's dingy freighter


Synopsis for "The Seven Little Blackhawks"

The Blackhawks receive small gold statues, one or two at a time. Each statue has a tag attached with a poem in the format of the "ten little Indians" that describes how they will be taken out of action. Blackhawk is approached by Paul Regan, who had applied to be a Blackhawk but failed the entry tests. Regan volunteers since the team is so shorthanded and Blackhawk wonders if Regan set up the incidents to create a place on the team for himself, but after the next accident he finds that Regan was under arrest and could not have done it. Eventually, only Blackhawk is left and he finds clues in the original package that lead him to a film producer who has arranged the incidents as publicity for his film of "Ten Little Indians."

Appearing in "The Seven Little Blackhawks"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • L.M. Masters, Movie Producer (w/ long cigarette holder)
    • his 3 accident arrangers

Other Characters:

  • three reporters
  • Paul Regan, ex-applicant

Locations:

  • City Airport
  • City Hotel
  • City Hospital

Items:

  • gold statuettes of Stan, Chuck, Olaf, Chop Chop, Hendrickson, Andre, and Blackhawk, plus one of L.M. Masters

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "The Fantastic Mr. Freeze"

The Blackhawks are invited to test inventions designed to assist them in their crime fighting activities (apparently this is a regular event). The first two inventions, a clear rolling sphere and a giant mechanical man, go wrong and are rejected. Then an "aqua-tank" (that bears a strong resemblance to the Safari-mobile introduced in later issues) goes hay-wire and threatens to smash them all. Fortunately, Professor Thurman stops it with his "instant freeze icing machine." The instant freeze icing machine is immediately stolen by a costumed criminal who uses it in daring robberies. The Blackhawks try various means to defeat Mr. Freeze, including flame throwers, but nothing seems to work. Then Blackhawk notices something odd and lays a trap. The team captures Professor Thurman who had created a robot to pose as Mr. Freeze so that he could use his icing machine invention to commit crimes without incriminating himself.

Appearing in "The Fantastic Mr. Freeze"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Professor Johnson
  • Professor Burns

Locations:

  • secret U.S. weapons-testing range
  • a U.S. city
    • banks
    • Blackhawk barracks

Items:

  • Johnson's Anti-Element Ball
    • The all-directional rotary movement of this machine gives the Blackhawks unprecedented maneuverability. It is resistant to flood, flame, and hurricane winds. But the control system was unequal to the task of operating it.
  • Burns' Mechano-Man
    • This individually-operated assault machine advances at 40 mph and is bulletproof. It is operated from inside the robot's torso. The precision power unit would overload when the barometer controls were affected by radar waves.
  • Aqua-Tank
    • Machine ran wild before testing could begin.
  • Thurman's Instant Freeze Icing Machine
    • It shoots an icy mist which freezes instantaneously upon contact with an object, reaching temperatures of negative 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Vehicles:

  • Mr. Freeze's open-cockpit biplane
  • Blackhawk Lockheed F-90C interceptors

Notes

  • Menace of the Dragon Boat
    • This story is the first mention of Olaf's last name, Bjornson.
  • Seven Little Blackhawks
    • Stan is struck blind for several days.
    • Chuck's leg is fractured.
    • Olaf's wrist is sprained.
    • Hendrickson and Chop Chop are stunned in an elevator crash.
    • Andre is knocked out in a car crash.
    • Being a Blackhawk is dangerous.
  • Fantastic Mr. Freeze
    • The villain Mr. Freeze has no known relation to the recurring Batman villain of the same name, though their weapons are nearly identical. The Blackhawks' Mr. Freeze preceded Batman's Mr. Freeze by two years.[1]
    • Blackhawk is shot down, and his jet is destroyed, by Mr. Freeze's weapon.
    • Blackhawk's left arm is frozen over by Mr. Freeze's weapon. Then Andre and Hendrickson are both frozen completely.
  • Also appearing in this issue of of Blackhawk were:
    • Varsity Vic by Henry Boltinoff
    • How NOT to Enjoy a Vacation (PSA from National Social Welfare Assembly)
    • Ollie by Henry Boltinoff
    • "I Was a Human Missile" (text story), a first-person account of a technician who is trapped during the test firing of a Regulus missile and how he saved himself.

Trivia

  • Olaf has been appearing in Military and Modern and Blackhawk Comics since 1940, which at this point makes sixteen years, that's 218 issues, and until now he had no last name. His teammates Andre and Stanislaus still have no last names.
  • Burns' "Mechano-Man" revives the old-time comics technique of operating a dangerous robot from inside it, first perfected by Hugh Hazzard in the early issues of Smash Comics.
  • Mr. Freeze's 1957-invented weapon also replicates the effects of the Icicle's device, developed in 1947.


See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

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