Captain Marvel, Jr. #39 is an issue of the series Captain Marvel, Jr. (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1946.
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Headline Stealer"
Sivana, Jr. is reading a bunch of newspapers about Capt. Marvel, Jr. being popular and important and he wants to be in the headlines! He goes to visit Freddy at his Newsstand, who immediately calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel, Jr., though Sivana, Jr. says that he’s reformed now. Junior takes him in front of a judge, who is more than willing to sentence him, but Junior is willing to take him into his own custody for a week. Sivana, Jr. offers to help him catch known gangster “Big” Shotte using his underworld connections. He shows him to a beauty shop and just more or less shows him that this is where Big Shotte was hiding out. He quickly calls a reporter and just takes all the credit, claiming he did it all, which gets him a headline in the Daily Chronicle and $5,000 in reward money. Sivana, Jr. asks Junior who is next on his hit list and he admits that it’s his father, Dr. Sivana, and Sivana, Jr. seems more than willing to sell out his own father, leading him down an alley and through a secret fake brick wall to get into Sivana’s Laboratory and Junior soon arrests Sivana and Sivana, Jr. gets another headline in the Evening Dispatch and a $50,000 reward from a Mayor and everyone agrees that he’s a perfectly reformed non-criminal. However, Sivana, Jr. soon visits his father and sneaks him some pills from his lab and tells him to fake a sickness. However, they’re actually tiny explosives he uses to blast holes in the prison walls and escapes. He hands a revolver off to his father and tells him they can now go kill Freddy Freeman more easily. Sivana takes aim, but Freddy spots him first and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Junior once more and punches over Sivana, Sr. and Jr. and arrests them both. In jail again, Sivana spanks his son for getting them arrested all over again.
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Headline Stealer"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Doctor Sivana
- Sivana, Jr.
- "Big" Shotte
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Sivana's Laboratory
- New York City
Items:
- Explosive Pills
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Death of Graybeard!"
Graybeard gets a newspaper while in jail and continues painting, despite knowing he’s going to be executed tomorrow (as opposed to his last 99-year sentence.) However, once the guards aren’t looking, he looks through his copy of the Daily Mail that says there’s a mummy discovered in the United States and remembers something like this happened 99 years ago in 1847, which a Professor believed happened when Egyptians exiled from the Kingdom traveled (somehow) to America. However, the exiled Pharaoh Ramoti IV died soon after and his retinue left his burial place a secret. He supposes that he’s now likely the only person who even remembers this lecture and then decides to put up his painting, a landscape of the Moon from his cell, which he uses to hide that he’s filed the bars out. Freddy reads about it and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to fly out there and take a look as Captain Marvel, Jr. Graybeard soon breaks into the Museum and copies down the hieroglyphics, but he leaves his goons to fight off Junior while he escapes. He forces Egyptologist John Ronto to translate it at gunpoint, saying it’s at Black Grotto, but Graybeard shoots him so he can’t tell anyone else, but he manages to tell Junior when he shows up before he dies. He tries to return to being Freddy to try to sneak up on him, but Graybeard knocks him out with a stick and he wakes up bound and gagged on the ground. He manages to slip his gag on a rock and call CAPTAIN MARVEL just about when he hears Graybeard screaming and becomes Captain Marvel, Jr., discovering that Graybeard was poisoned by a poison trap hidden in the Egyptian treasure chest. Junior notes the irony that he died this way one day before he was due to get the gas from the State of New York.
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Death of Graybeard!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Graybeard (Dies)
Other Characters:
- Egyptologist John Ronto (Dies)
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- A City Museum
- Black Grotto
- New York City
Items:
- Ancient Egyptian Treasure
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Trail of Death!"
Freddy Freeman is peddling papers about how the Ajax Corporation has gone bankrupt and all stockholders are gonna be soon out of luck. A stockholder, Mr. Stone, buys one and falls into despair, thinking he’s too old to make a fortune all over again. He heads off for Lefty Vanderdonk’s Bar and Grill and hires the toughest guy there, “Muggsy” Phipps to kill him for $100 and not to let him take it all back later. He soon finds the next day that he’s won $100,000 from his late uncle, Silas, and to call the offices of Miller, Shyster and Miller to go about getting it. He takes off and finds Phipps, but Phipps decides that he’s getting his money and Stone legs it nearer to Freddy’s Newsstand, but Freddy just thinks that he’s frantic due to his financial situation. Phipps tries to shove an old chimney on top of him and Freddy calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to keep him from being flattened. He becomes Captain Marvel, Jr. and drags him to safety, saying he’s taking him to Freddy’s apartment to hide out. However, Phipps can’t find any info about him. Freddy returns to normal and heads to Lefty’s to see if Phipps is around and Phipps tells Lefty the barkeep to tell him he’s not there, but later leans out to knock him out with a pistol-whip, takes his wallet to learn his address and goes to get the other half of that $100 that Mr. Stone “owes” him, leaving Freddy bound to the back of a truck and gagged, so he’ll be dragged behind it. The speed of the truck taking off stirs him and he finds he’s in quite the spot. Phipps arrives at Freddy’s place and prepares to shoot Stone, only for Freddy to shove his face into the street gravel to slip his gag and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Junior and block the shot and punch out Phipps. Later, he implies he’ll be acquitted, but Freddy points out he also tried to kill him and he didn’t pay him to do it. Stone says that he learned the lesson not to think too negatively.
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Trail of Death!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Muggsy Phipps
Other Characters:
- Lefty the Bartender
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Freddy's Apartment
- Lefty Vanderdonk's Bar and Grill
- New York City
Items:
Vehicles:
- A Truck
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Phantom Crook"
Freddy Freeman meets with his reporter friend, “Lightning” Larry Davis, who is writing an article about “Phantom” Phil. They head out to the City Building Barber Shop, which Larry implies has so many products that nobody will need to leave it! Larry says that three years ago, Phantom Phil has a notorious thief behind dozens of robberies before he mysteriously disappeared. Larry believes he just learned how to become invisible. Larry suddenly recognizes another man there is Phantom Phil and Phil punches Larry in the face for doing so. Freddy quickly calls CAPTAIN MARVEL and becomes Captain Marvel, Jr., but he now notices that Larry was right on both accounts: Phantom Phil has been hiding out here without living the City Building. He starts to figure Phantom Phil might as well see a movie as Larry says he’s going to look at the Building Directory, since he’s likely renting an office in the building under an assumed name at Phineas R Phloop: Geranium Grower. He undoes the lock and finds that it’s only got a bed in there for him to sleep in, but ends up falling asleep in it. Junior chases after him, but he escapes into an elevator and finds out he got off at the 67th Floor from the elevator operator. Phantom Phil finds Larry asleep in his bed and decides to leave while he’s there. Junior fights him off there and punches him out, finding that he was just stealing money from other businesses to pay his office rent. He soon writes up the story for Larry while he’s sleeping and then flies him to his editor, who finds him asleep, but with a written article… though Larry sure doesn’t remember writing it for the Herald or that Phantom Phil’s been caught!
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Phantom Crook"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- "Lightning" Larry Davis, Sleepy Reporter
Antagonists:
- "Phantom" Phil / "Phineas R Phloop"
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- The City Building
- Phineas R Phloop, Geranium Grower
- The City Building
- New York City
Items:
- A Bed
Vehicles:
Trivia
- Final Golden Age Appearance of the Graybeard
- He would return in the DC Universe proper in World's Finest# 263
See Also