Half a million bucks... wotta haul! Using my "patients" to pull these holdups was a brainstorm. Now before the cops get wise we'll use our next "guest." Call in... Dillinger! 
- — "Bugs" Hatch, so crazy it might almost work!
Captain Marvel, Jr. #32 is an issue of the series Captain Marvel, Jr. (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 1945.
Synopsis for Captain Marvel, Jr.: "Captain Marvel, Jr. and the Out of Focus People!"
Jim Dwight is a cartoonist at the Art Department of a metropolitan newspaper. His editor says he can’t print his cartoon calling Mayor Simon Snide a “backdoor party’s candidate” and with a rat-shaped face. Not wanting to insult the Backdoor Party, he refuses it. Dwight leaves in a rage and says they’re afraid to publish it, walking past Freddy’s Newsstand. An evil bald man with glasses wearing a purple suit and an orange hat holding a package asks where Jim Dwight went and runs at him, saying his name is Drake and he has a new machine, the Truth Camera, which reveals someone’s inner nature by changing them into what they’re like inside. He shows this off by turning an apparently surly young lady into an ornery old woman. He shows a diagram of it, showing it works with a Truth Plate, “rays” of some kind and a lens. Dwight buys it off of Drake for $1,000 so he can make new experiments and uses it to reveal that Simon Snide is really a rat. His goons, Egbert and Monk, look on in shock as he turns into a rat-man and they immediately make a beeline for Dwight, shoving him into a car outside. Egbert uses the Truth Camera on Dwight himself, which turns him into a slightly more cartoonish version of himself. Luckily, Freddy Freeman has seen them do this and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel, Jr. The goons drive Dwight to Snide’s country estate, but when they go to take him inside, Junior punches Egbert into a pig sty and Monk tries to use the Truth Camera on Captain Marvel, Jr., making him into a larger and confused version of himself. They dump the two cartoonish people into the cellar as they call up Snide, who just tells them to keep Captain Marvel, Junior locked down, since he knows he’s dangerous. Mayor Snide enters and uses the Truth Camera on his goons, making Monk turn into an ape and making Egbert’s head more egg-shaped. He leaves the goons bound with them and Junior calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to return to being Freddy so he can just walk out of the cellar. He worries about it if he can turn back into Captain Marvel, Jr. like this. Mayor Snide tries to use the Truth Camera on his political opponent, “Honest” Tim Keene… but he turns into an angel! Everyone quickly accuses him of shooting him with a Truth Camera and they decide to attack him, but he starts turning more and more people into caricatures or animals. Freddy tries calling CAPTAIN MARVEL again and finds he’s back to normal and flies out to stop Mayor Snide, punching him out and breaking the Truth Camera. Junior finds Drake, who’s been turned into a duck-man, who says that this will all wear off in a few hours. Egbert, Dwight and Monk turn back to normal and the goons decide to go straight and vote for Honest Tim Keene, who wins in a landslide. The Editor tells Dwight that he did a great job and Dwight thinks that it’s all thanks to Capt. Marvel, Jr.
Appearing in Captain Marvel, Jr.: "Captain Marvel, Jr. and the Out of Focus People!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Jim Dwight, Cartoonist
- Prof. Drake
Antagonists:
- Mayor Simon Snide
- Monk
- Egbert
Other Characters:
- Mayor "Honest" Tim Keene
- Jim's Editor
Locations:
Items:
- The Truth Camera (Destroyed)
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Captain Marvel, Jr.: "Lunatic Larceny!"
"Napoléon Bonaparte" himself has come to the Napoleonic Museum to seize his “belongings.” Two goons decide to assist him him, turning him into the asylum with the stolen crown. They take him to their boss, Mr. Hatch, who runs the asylum and releases mentally unwell people with delusions to basically just steal things for him and collect them. They bring in an Impostor Dillinger and dispatch him to hold up the Rye Exchange Bank with a gun. Suddenly, Impostor Nero enters, fiddling and asking for matches, but Hatch orders him back to his room. When he does though, Nero reveals he’s actually Impostor Sherlock Holmes. Outside the Rye Exchange Bank is Freddy Freeman, peddling papers, but the goons shove him out of the way and Impostor Dillinger holds them up with guns under their coats. He calls CAPTAIN MARVEL and becomes Captain Marvel, Jr., who knocks out most of his men until Impostor Dillinger holds a woman hostage. Junior follows Impostor Dillinger to “Hatch’s Booby-Hatch” and returns to being Freddy to try to fake his way in, thinking he’s the World’s Mightiest Boy! However, he points out he’s forgotten exactly how to fly. Checking through his files, he finds Hatch isn’t a real doctor and that he also has a stolen Napoléonic Crown. He goes to call the magic words, but Hatch seizes him and says he anticipated that he was Captain Marvel, Jr. (because he’s crazy.) He’s soon gagged and marched to the cellar where he’s chained to the wall by a shackle around his neck. They convince Impostor Napoléon that he’s an enemy to his Empire and Dillinger in to shoot him to be safer. Impostor Sherlock Holmes finds him, but can’t figure out enough to help any. Napoléon says he’s Impostor Wellington in disguise, but Dillinger says he’s a G-Man. Napoléon manages to get the privilege of killing him first by naming a holiday after him, but cuts off Freddy’s gag to hear his last words, which end up being CAPTAIN MARVEL. Becoming Captain Marvel, Jr., he breaks their guns and sabres and goes to find “Bugs” Hatch, who Impostor Sherlock Holmes only now figured out was responsible. Junior beats Hatch around the room and then arrests him. The next morning, Freddy is peddling papers that says Junior smashed the crime racket. Meanwhile, Napoléon, Sherlock Holmes and Dillinger have made it out to the streets, where Sherlock Holmes claims he’s figured out that Freddy Freeman is Captain Marvel, Jr…. But the other two think he’s crazy!
Appearing in Captain Marvel, Jr.: "Lunatic Larceny!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Impostor Sherlock Holmes / Emperor Nero
Antagonists:
- "Bugs" Hatch
- Impostor Napoléon Bonaparte
- Impostor John Dillinger
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- The Napoléonic Museum
- The Rye Exchange Bank
- Hatch's Booby-Hatch
- New York City
Items:
- Sabres
- Tommy Guns
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Keeper of Lonely Rock!"
Tom Carden is a lighthouse keeper at Lands End Lighthouse. It’s a hard storm out and Freddy Freeman finds he can’t deliver a paper to Tom due to it. He decides to call CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel, Jr. and flies it over and returns to being Freddy to do it by hand, and on Sunday, no less! Tom says that Freddy is as good a friend to him as his pipe for visiting him so often. Nearby, Shark, a gangster, and his three goons, storm out from a motorboat, pistol-whipping Tom and seizing Freddy, leaving them both bound and gagged in a control room. The goons are going to shut off the lighthouse to crash the Peter Van Eyck to get a shipment of diamonds from Amsterdam, the first one since the War. Freddy manages to light some matches on the ground and burn his bonds off, then calling CAPTAIN MARVEL to take out the goons as Captain Marvel, Jr. Shark tries to hold Tom hostage and lets him leave with one goon, leaving the other two behind to coordinate. Tom, however, lunges at the goons and they shoot him in the back like huge cowards. Junior manages to fly outside and carry the Peter Van Eyck to safety and Tom turns on the beam to point out Shark before he can get away. Tom goes to the hospital and is named as a hero for helping Captain Marvel, Jr. in the papers. Some time later, Freddy returns to find he has lots of fans, mostly kids who want to hear about his adventure with Captain Marvel, Jr.!
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Keeper of Lonely Rock!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Tom Carden, Lighthouse Keeper
Antagonists:
- Shark
- Other Pirates
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Lands End Lighthouse
- New York City
Items:
Vehicles:
- Shark's Motorboat
- The Peter Van Eyck
See Also