Holy Moley! What is this? That creature was made of metal! 
Captain Marvel, Jr. #58 is an issue of the series Captain Marvel, Jr. (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 1948.
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Flying Horse!"
One year ago, racetrack official Colonel Tuxton (the stable owner) accused jockey “Sneaker” Bleeker of horse-doping. Instead of denying it, Bleeker whipped a crop into Tuxton’s face and was set down for a year for doing so. In disgrace, Bleeker skulked off to working a demeaning job as a cowboy at a dude ranch. He was soon furious from being called a “cute cowboy” and kicked a cat, which his foreman saw and fired him, thinking it makes him irresponsible with animals and took potshots at him when he started getting aggressive about it. Bleeker soon dashed off into the foothills and decided to catch a wild horse to rest his legs, but found that he’d caught a flying horse! He decided to name his new flying horse “Peg II” after the mythical Pegasus that he presumed his horse is related to. Now, it has been one year and Col. Tuxton tells Freddy all about Bleeker’s soon return, since he still has a scar from when Bleeker struck him. He soon shows Freddy that he’s got his own star horse to go against Peg II though, Marv June, which he named after Captain Marvel, Jr. However, when they leave, Bleeker sneaks into the stables and lights them on fire with gasoline. Freddy calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel, Jr. to save his namesake stallion. Freddy returns with Marv June and says Junior saved him (and then left.) Outside, Bleeker says the glue factory will be disappointed, goading Col. Tuxton into a horrible bet of all of his worldly possessions against Bleeker not racing anymore. Tuxton dislikes him enough to take the bet, but when the day of the match comes, Col. Tuxton finds that his jockey has been poisoned and Freddy says he’ll ride, something everyone is unsure of due to Freddy’s vague motility issues.
The race starts and Bleeker just hits Freddy in the head with his crop in the middle of the race and then drops “dust bombs” that blind other racers on the track from passing him. He calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to stop himself from being thrown and lands back on the horse, then returns to being Freddy so it’s a fair race. Bleeker pulls a gun on the track, which Freddy thinks will only be a problem if the Judges hear him shoot it, but Bleeker throws his gun away anyways and decides he’ll just have to beat him clean. Freddy wins by a nose and wins a slew of track records. A vengeful Bleeker insists he and Peg II will return someday.
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Flying Horse!"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- "Sneaker" Bleeker, Evil Jockey
Other Characters:
- Colonel Truxton, stable owner
- Racetrack Commissioners
- Dude Ranch Foreman
Animals:
- other horses
- Peg II, Flying Horse
- Marv June, Racehorse
- A Cat
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- A Horse Racetrack
- Out West
- Dude Ranch
- New York City
Items
- Dust Bombs
- A Revolver
- A Riding Crop
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. Meets Homer the Mental Miracle!"
Known gangster “Take-A-Chance” McGinty is a known fan of puzzle contests in the paper and shows a goon he intends to kidnap amazing genius child Homer Huddle, a younger and even smarter version of Sylvester Jones. The Head of the Scientific Bureau welcomes Homer in a big ceremony on a raised dais. They soon find Homer talks in a heavy vocabulary and that he’s going to a luncheon with some nuclear scientists. Freddy Freeman, onlooking, soon loses interest and goes back to selling papers. Hearing something like gunfire, Freddy calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel, Jr. and finds goons shooting at the car Homer is riding in and try to kidnap his colleague, Prof. Carter. The World’s Mightiest Boy manages to save Carter, but finds that Homer is gone and Carter didn’t really get a look at them. Since he can’t do much more now, Junior returns to being Freddy and peddling papers.
Meanwhile, McGinty finds that Homer (though he’s not good at saying it) is too hungry to do big thinking for them and gives them an order to take to Harriman’s Drugstore nearby. McGinty sends a goon to do so, who didn’t read the note, finding it spells Ham, Eggs, Lettuce, Pickle and Freddy, having lunch there, realizes that it’s a cry for help. Freddy follows the goon and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to seize him as Junior and throws him through the door. Junior throws a goon bodily at McGinty, slamming them both into a wall and then punches out a third goon who tries to shoot him to predictable results. Junior asks Homer what McGinty wanted from him, but Homer says he just wanted help solving newspaper anagrams and McGinty is quickly arrested for a slew of crimes. Homer offers Junior come with him to the nuclear scientist luncheon, especially since he’s starving and his ham and egg sandwich fell on the ground and is cold. Later, the World’s Mightiest Boy and the World’s Most Brilliant Boy shake hands and get pictures taken.
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. Meets Homer the Mental Miracle!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters
- Homer Huddle, the World's Most Brilliant Boy
Antagonists:
- "Take-A-Chance" McGinty
- three hoods: Mike, other two
Other Characters:
- Professor Carter
- The Head of the Scientific Bureau
- Oswald Harriman, Drugstore Man
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Freddy's Newsstand
- McGinty's Hideout
- Harriman's Drugstore
- New York City
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "It's All Done with Mirrors"
Freddy is peddling papers at a Variety Show and Exhibition nearby to combine business with pleasure! However, amid the crowd are two goons, the large-headed Noggin, who uses big words, and the buck-toothed Squirrel, who is an aggressive shorty. Freddy seems to laugh at Squirrel, who gets aggressive at being made fun of, only for Noggin to shove him off and apologize on his behalf when Freddy points out he was looking at a funhouse mirror nearby! Squirrel is aghast at having screwed up this one. Noggin gives Freddy money for a chocolate cigar, but Freddy politely declines and says it was a mere misunderstanding. Noggin soon sees an exhibit about how periscopes used in submarines are essentially just a form of mirror used to look for other ships and then sees Presto the Magician use a Pepper’s Box (a mirror-related trick) to make a singing girl’s head appear in a small box on a table. When Squirrel is equally mystified, a man passing by mentions how “It’s All Done with Mirrors” and Noggin becomes inspired.
Some weeks later, Noggin has managed to get as far as “using a big mirror in a robbery,” which even Squirrel is inherently skeptical of. Noggin tells him to shut up and stop being so stupid about crimes. Nearby, Freddy is peddling papers when he meets Officer Jim Bellows and they overhear a loud noise at the Jewelry Store, which is across the street. Jim rushes in fast with his gun out and Freddy calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel Junior again. Jim finds the two goons trying to crack the safe and attempts to shoot them, only to find that he’s only seeing them in a mirror and the bullet ricochets into his own shoulder. Jim, ever the feckless flatfoot, is rushed to the hospital by Junior, but is still mostly critical. The next day, Freddy spots that the serial number on one of his bills is from the bills stolen from the jewelry store and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Junior and tail Noggin to his small mountain hideout where he lives with Squirrel. Within, Noggin points out that they can escape from this house into an old mine shaft behind it that he’s rigged with mirrors to be really confusing. Freddy soon rings their doorbell and they spot him on a periscope. Squirrel recognizes him and drags him in for trying to shout for some “CAPTAIN” and locks him in a spare room. However, they hear magic thunder and decide to scarper into their mirror maze, since Captain Marvel, Jr. is now after them. Junior easily walks through the mirror maze and is mildly impressed by its general overlook, but soon decides to change it for his own devices. When he confronts the two goons, Noggin runs into the maze and is driven mad by how much Junior has changed it to purposefully terrify him into submission when he runs headfirst into Junior’s fist in a delirium. He soon takes them to jail and Officer Jim Bellows correctly identifies they look like the two goons at the jewelry store robbery, though they’re a little beat up!
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "It's All Done with Mirrors"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Officer Jim Bellows (Wounded)
Antagonists:
- Noggin
- Squirrel
Other Characters:
- Variety Show performers
- Presto the Magician
- Teena the Singing Head
- Presto the Magician
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Freddy's Newsstand
- Variety Show and Exhibition
- Jewelry Store
- Noggin's mountain hideaway
- New York City
Synopsis for Kanvasback: "Takes a Cuffing"
On the day of an important fight, Mal handcuffs Kanvasback to a wrought-iron fence, to keep him from getting into trouble, then leaves him unsupervised. Right away Kanvasback gets embroiled in somebody else's complicated romance break-up, and gets a flower pot dropped onto his head from a second story window, and gets beat up by a girl. When Mal gets back, he also is very unhappy with Kanvasback.
Appearing in Kanvasback: "Takes a Cuffing"
Featured Characters:
- Kanvasback, boxer
Supporting Characters:
- Mal Arky, manager
Antagonists:
- Joe's Girlfriend
Other Characters:
- Mike Josephs, fight promoter
- Joe, random idiot
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Metal Island"
Freddy Freeman finds that a large ship is foundered at a calm sea and planes are searching for the likely dying passengers and crew, but that there’s no storms or icebergs around. Freddy decides to look into it and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel, Jr. and flies to the Middle South Atlantic to find a life-raft with a family on it of a mother, her young son and a sailor. They soon wash up on an island, but are shocked to find the son falters when struck by a large metal leaf. They soon find the fruit are also metallic, there’s a horrible laughing and they’re soon attacked by a bulletproof tiger. Junior soon spots their raft and dashes into the jungle to help out by punching off the robot tiger’s head. He soon finds even the ground is made of metal and the sailor notes that it sure seemed like their ship was struck by a torpedo, making Junior realize that the island is a gigantic weapons platform to attack people. They soon discover what at first seems to be water, but is actually mercury. Junior grows tired of the maniacal laughing and flies over to find it’s coming from a large pink tower where an old man in a tan suit laughs merrily at confused, starving people that he’s shot out of the water. He soon introduces himself to Junior as Prof. Sven Torgson and that he created this metal island specifically to upset people and drive them crazy which he thinks of as a great psychological experiment. Prof. Torgson drops into a trapdoor to escape from Junior, but Junior crashes through the floor to go after him to find out where he went. The survivors soon find Prof. Torgon’s compound. They’re furious to find a metal roast chicken on the table, but soon Junior meets them and leads them Prof. Torgson’s icebox, which is full of edible food. Junior realizes this is the only source of food on the island and waits out for Prof. Torgson to get anything to eat and he punches him out. The sailor helps by tying him up and Junior pushes them off the island before he cracks the pontoons below it, sinking Prof. Torgson’s Metal Island, then flies the survivors and Torgson back to society where he can face justice.
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Metal Island"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Prof. Sven Torgson
- Robot Tiger (Destroyed)
Other Characters:
- Shipwrecked Sailor
- Shipwrecked Mother
- Shipwrecked Child
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Freeman's Newsstand @ Main & Oak
- Middle South Atlantic Ocean
- Prof. Torgson's Metal Island (Destroyed)
- New York City
Vehicles:
- A Steamship (Destroyed)
- A Life Raft
Notes
- Published Monthly by Fawcett Publications, Inc.
- Capt. Marvel and the Flying Horse!:
- Freddy gets head-konked unconscious, with a riding crop.
- Closing panel promotes an imminent return for the villainous "Sneaker." At this story's end, he is at large and has a flying horse.
- It's All Done with Mirrors:
- Officer Jim Bellows gets a bullet wound, having shot himself by accident due to a mirror trick used by jewelry store thieves, but is told he'll recover soon.
Trivia
- Also featured in this issue of Captain Marvel, Jr. were:
- Table of Contents
- Rubbernose Randolph: "The Long and Short of It" by Art Helfant
- Boxcar Benny: "In Tip-Top Condition" by M. H.
- Boxcar Benny: "Fraidy Cat" by M.H.
- Rubbernose Randolph: "Pinhead" by Art Helfant
- Boxcar Benny: "Fraidy Cat" by M. H.
- Rubbernose Randolph: "Pinhead" by Art Helfant
- Car Capers / Bus Buffoonery
- The Snortville Sneeze: "The Big Report" by Sid Lazarus
- "The Other Passenger" (text story) by Clement Good
See Also