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Captain Marvel, Jr. Vol 1 89

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"Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. Battles The Ant Crook!"": Col. Jackson is calling for help via radio from the Amazon Jungles. When Freddy Freeman reads about him being in danger in the Daily Gazette, he calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to investigate as Captain Marvel, Jr. Arriving in the Central

Holy Moley! And there's one of the giant Ants now, attacking us! What a horrible monster! An Ant as big as a man! I'll kill it...
— Captain Marvel Jr., seconds from killing the Prime Minister of Ant City.

Captain Marvel, Jr. #89 is an issue of the series Captain Marvel, Jr. (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 1950.

Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. Battles The Ant Crook!"

Col. Jackson is calling for help via radio from the Amazon Jungles. When Freddy Freeman reads about him being in danger in the Daily Gazette, he calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to investigate as Captain Marvel, Jr. Arriving in the Central Amazon Basin and finds an airplane marker (a red balloon hanging over the canopy) and finds that Col. Jackson is… sleeping! When he wakes up, he says he’s in no danger, but he has found a race of Giant Humanoid Ants! An Ant Man approaches (wearing a fez and glasses.) Junior tries to punch out the Ant, but Jackson says that not only are the Ants peaceful, this one is friends with him. Jackson introduces him formally to Prime Minister Zoggo of Ant City and is smart enough to speak English. Jackson leads him to the giant anthill where Ant City is located and finds it’s essentially as advanced as a small European castle town and soon introduces Junior to Queen Illia. However, Jackson says the Ants need help to stop a criminal ant named Zatan. A royal aide runs in to say that Zatan has robbed the Treasury and Junior flies off to stop the wily Ant villain. When he finds Zatan and his Ant goons and punches them over as Zatan says that he’s going to become King of Ant City and then conquer the world of humans too. Junior goes to punch him, but the evil Ant jumps far higher than any human could. Junior follows Zatan into a barn, but finds only an Ant milking a large aphid. Jackson approaches and says that Zatan is literally the Ant Hitler and Junior is worried he’s going to be able to control regular ants too. Junior decides to go crack out a peace treaty with Queen Illia, since she seems approachable, but finds that Zatan has kidnapped her while they were out. A wild boar runs in with a note attached to it, ordering them to make Zatan King of Ant City or he’ll kill the Queen and to send a messenger to crown him that isn’t Captain Marvel, Jr. Thus, he flies the crown out to the meeting place and then turns back into Freddy to deliver the crown… only for Zatan to punch him in the head and laugh that he’ll kill him and the Queen anyways. Freddy wakes up, as usual, bound back-to-back with Queen Illia and gagged, hanging from a tree branch that is breaking slowly over a cliff. “King” Zatan returns to Ant City and begins to rally his Ant soldiers to attack nearby Amazonian tribes. Freddy manages to slip his gag on one of Queen Illia’s antennae to call CAPTAIN MARVEL, becomes Captain Marvel, Jr. and flies to Queen Illia out to stop the marching Ants and punches the crown off of Zatan and punches him out. With Zatan imprisoned, Queen Illia thanks Captain Marvel, Jr. and declares peace forever between humans and Ants. Junior soon flies Col. Jackson back to America where the Evening Star reports that Junior has defeated the Ant Crook.

Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. Battles The Ant Crook!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Queen Illia
  • Colonel Jackson

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Prime Minister Zoggo
    • Other Ants

Locations:

Items:


Vehicles:




Synopsis for Kanvasback: "Pianola Pal"


Appearing in Kanvasback: "Pianola Pal"

Featured Characters:

  • Kanvasback

Supporting Characters:


Antagonists:


Other Characters:


Locations:


Items:


Vehicles:



Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and The Mystery of Jonah Jinx"

Freddy Freeman is delivering papers to the wealthy estate of Stuart Cranshaw and then visits old junkyard owner, Mr. John Jenks, who is upset that his junk is not making him as much money as Cranshaw. He complains further that this is because he was jinxed and his bad luck ruined him forever after “Old Jonah Jinx” puts his “finger” on him, though Freddy thinks this is some generalized personification of his bad luck. The next day, Freddy visits Stuart and finds that his car is “Jinxed” ever since he bought it, consistently breaking down from small problems. Jenks shows up and says that Old Jonah Jinx has cursed him and he should get rid of his car for junk, but Stuart is confident he can just fix it, though Jenks says that his car is certainly jinxed for good. Stuart soon fixes it up and offers Freddy a ride home, only for the car to suddenly lose a wheel right outside John Jenks’ Junkyard. Freddy calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel, Jr. and level out the car so Stuart can brake properly again and Stuart says Jenks can take it already. Junior becomes worried some kind of evil spirit might be at work spreading bad luck.

The next day, Freddy finds Stuart about to go on a short spin in his private plane and he says that the motor always conks out and worries it might be jinxed. They soon finds a note from Jonah Jinx, saying that he’s put his finger on his plane now. Freddy decides to go with him, but Stuart proudly says that he doesn’t want him to “risk his life.” Freddy presumes that one of Stuart’s rich friends is playing a prank on him… until the tail breaks off his plane and starts to dive! He calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Junior again and finds that Stuart has no time to pull his parachute’s ripcord and instead grabs him by his parachute harness and saves him, finding the plane is also not too damaged. Stuart again decides this must be junk too and Jenks arrives to take the broken plane off his hands. Jenks warns that when Jonah Jinx goes after someone, he usually doesn’t stop and says he’ll probably jinx Stuart’s yacht next. Freddy goes to the yacht the next day and finds a warning sign from Jonah Jinx drawn on the deck, then hears a noise and heads below deck, only to be knocked out by someone saying they’re Jonah Jinx. Freddy wakes up bound and gagged on a pile of papers where the shadowy Jonah Jinx has hanged a small lit candle that will soon break its line and light him on fire. Soon, Stuart and his crew weigh anchor and take off. Freddy manages to wriggle the right way so the candle instead falls on his face, burning a hole in his gag so he can call CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Junior once more. Junior comes out and explains what happened and sets up a plan with Stuart to catch Jonah Jinx! The yacht pulls back into the dock as Jenks asks if he can buy it up for scrap, only for Junior to punch him out and say that the smoke was from a smudge pot and that he figured out that he was fixing up Stuart’s vehicles to resell at high prices and tampered with them in the first place to create the myth of Jonah Jinx and drags him off to jail.

Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and The Mystery of Jonah Jinx"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Stuart Cranshaw

Antagonists:

  • Jonah Jinx (John Jenks)

Other Characters:


Locations:

Items:

  • A Candle

Vehicles:

  • Cranshaw's Car
  • Cranshaw's Plane
  • Cranshaw's Yacht

Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and The Doom of Freddy Freeman"

Freddy Freeman is out at the public exhibition of a Molecular Disintegrator Machine, guarded from its deadly ray with a lead shield… that suddenly stops working! Everyone panics and run out together as Freddy calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to investigate as Captain Marvel, Jr. who easily pinches a small crack in the shielding and offers people come back in. The scientist in charge, Dr. Albert Steinin, says they definitely weren’t exposed to deadly radiation. Later, Freddy talks with his good friend, Officer Jim Bellows, about how Captain Marvel, Jr. has done it yet again. Freddy says that the rays from the machine are very deadly and no one got too close… until he starts to collapse! Jim quickly takes him to the hospital and, when he awakens, Dr. Steinin and another doctor say that Freddy is suffering from cellular disintegration and that it is progressive and will soon reach a “critical” level. Freddy asks them not to tell his friends and the scientist blames himself, thinking there must be an antidote. Freddy walks out, smiling, and his friends believe he’s alright, but he is sullen on the inside to know that his time… is limited.

Over the next few days, he begins to feel dizziness, the first symptom of his disintegration. Soon enough, someone calls him over to receive a phone call from one Dr. Steinin, who says he needs him at his laboratory. Later, he does so and Dr. Steinin offers him “neotratene” which he says will cure it and goes to get it… only for two goons to burst in and demand the Disintegrator so they can use it to blast open bank vaults and pistol-whip Freddy. They order Dr. Steinin to come with them to draw up a diagram of it for them. Freddy wakes up and worries that the doesn’t have time to say the magic words, struggling to figure out if he should try to cure himself first… or to rescue Dr. Steinin and decides to call CAPTAIN MARVEL anyways. The World’s Mightiest Boy flies off to the docks, since the goons were dressed like seamen as they receive the diagram on a speedboat and goes to shoot Dr. Steinin to make sure no one else can make a Disintegrator. The other goon tries to whip a heavy chain at Junior, but it shatters against him and he punches them both out. Dr. Steinin reveals he has the neotratene on him and Junior returns Freddy, who Dr. Steinin feeds the medicine to, curing him. Freddy thinks how if he’d tried to stay back at the lab, he’d have died for sure and later, reads in the paper that neotratene is now a wonder drug that’s saved tons of lives.

Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and The Doom of Freddy Freeman"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Dr. Albert Steinin

Antagonists:

  • Unnamed Evil Seamen

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

  • The Molecular Disintegrator Machine (Destroyed)
    • A Diagram of the Molecular Disintegrator Machine (Destroyed)
    • Neotratene, Cure for Disintegration

Vehicles:

  • A Speedboat

Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr.'s Feud with a House!"

While peddling papers at night, Freddy Freeman is suddenly seized, knocked out, and forced into a car to be a human sacrifice led by Mr. Van Gloot at his eerie mansion. Van Gloot proclaims that he’s going to sacrifice him to his dark god, Mishtar, and asks for a sign from him. A stream of black fog rises between two torches and they take that as good enough and go to cleave Freddy’s head open with a big sword, only for him to wake up and call CAPTAIN MARVEL, letting it shatter against his body as Captain Marvel, Jr. He starts cleaning house of the evil cultists as Van Gloot stabs himself in the heart for failing Mishtar. Dying, he swears that Mishtar’s spirit was in his house and that he’s now cursed. Junior carries off the two living cultists to jail. The next morning, Freddy’s good friend, Officer Jim Bellows, is looking at Van Gloot’s Mansion and Freddy says it does look pretty evil as a sudden wind comes in, tearing loose a shutter from the window that cracks Freddy in the head, but only lightly, since Officer Jim was able to get in the path of it. Freddy finds some kids sneaking into the Van Gloot Mansion and heads in to make sure they don’t get hurt. The kids say that no one lives there, but Freddy finds a beam falling towards them suddenly and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to let it crack on his shoulders as Captain Marvel, Jr., then flies the kids out as the ceiling gives way. The kids thank him.

Days later, Officer Jim says the foreman of the wrecking crew is heading out to tear down Van Gloot Mansion, which Freddy is happy to hear. Nearby, Freddy spots one of the cultists, who he didn’t realize had escaped and follows him quietly. Soon, the cultist removes a panel in an upper floor wall to find Mishtar’s Book of Magic so he can try to restart the cult. Freddy tries to call his magic words, but the floor breaks out from under him and he falls, knocking himself out. The cultists lights up the building with fire. Officer Jim spots him and raises the fire alarm, then runs inside to find a weak Freddy barely coming to. Officer Jim passes out from the smoke just as Freddy calls CAPTAIN MARVEL once more and dives underground with Officer Jim to get him to safety. He punches out the cultist and throws the book into the blaze as well. Freddy later thinks aloud how he didn’t really think he was cursed by the house and that it was just a bunch of coincidences… only for an Acme House Wrecking Company truck to suddenly crash into his Newsstand, breaking it to pieces. The driver apologizes, saying his brakes skidded and throws the wreckage into his truck, saying he’ll get him a new Newsstand.

Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr.'s Feud with a House!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Mr. Van Gloot (Dies)
    • The Cult of Mishtar

Other Characters:

  • The Foreman

Locations:

Items:

  • Mishtar's Book of Magic (Destroyed)

Vehicles:

  • An Acme House Wrecking Company Truck

Synopsis for Black and White: "Insomnia"


Appearing in Black and White: "Insomnia"

Featured Characters:


Supporting Characters:


Antagonists:


Other Characters:


Locations:


Items:


Vehicles:


Notes

  • Also appearing in this issue of Captain Marvel, Jr. were:
    • Rubbernose Randolph by Art Helfant
    • Judge Smudge by Howard Boughner
    • "Toothache" (text story) by Barney Thompson
    • Hair Minded Harris
    • Snodgrass the Snob

Trivia

  • Despite the cover, Zatan doesn't wear a checkered cap or a domino mask. Instead, he just has really big eyes and a normal blue cap.


See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References
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