Captain Marvel Adventures #81 is an issue of the series Captain Marvel Adventures (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 1948.
Synopsis for "Captain Marvel Battles Mr. Atom and the Comet Men"
A fiery comet passes Earth, and from it emerges a ship carrying alien invaders who are part-comet themselves. Seeking a pawn from among the locals in their plot to invade, they learn about the mighty robot Mr. Atom, who even fought the great Captain Marvel to a standstill. They land in the desert under which Mr. Atom is imprisoned, raise his cell to the surface and melt the walls to free the robot. Captain Marvel shows up and tussles with Atom, but a sucker punch from the robot knocks out the hero and convinces the aliens of Atom's worth.
The villains return to the base on the comet to finalize their plans of conquest, while Billy Batson meets with a scientist who tells him the comet is rapidly burning itself out and soon will be no more. The aliens and Mr. Atom begin their attack, and Captain Marvel battles them again, but this time he starts to win, and they retreat back to space. The comet does indeed fall to pieces before they can reach it, just as predicted. With no more use for Mr. Atom, the Comet Men turn on him, and their battle destroys their ship in a massive explosion.
Appearing in "Captain Marvel Battles Mr. Atom and the Comet Men"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Comet Men (Only appearance; die)
- Master
- many minions
- Master
- Mr. Atom (Apparently destroyed)
Other Characters:
- astronomer
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- San Dorado Desert
- Mr. Atom's underground lead prison chamber
- "The world's largest observatory"
Items:
- Comet Men's Metal Attractor
- (effective at dragging large objects through hundreds of feet of solid rock)
- Comet Men's Dissolving Ray handguns
Vehicles:
- a comet
- Comet-riding Space Projectile
- Comet-riding Space Projectile
Synopsis for "Captain Marvel and the Pact Plot"
Two men who were boyhood friends of Sterling Morris show up and demand equal ownership of Station WHIZ, because of a pact they made as boys to share and share alike when they were adults. Captain Marvel eventually discovers they're fakes when he manages to track down the real men, who live hundreds of miles away.
Appearing in "Captain Marvel and the Pact Plot"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Sterling Morris (Flashback and main story)
Antagonists:
- fake Ed "Slinky" Tate
- fake Craig "Barney" Beke
- Billy, nephew
Other Characters:
- real Ed Tate (Flashback and main story)
- real Craig Beke (Flashback and main story)
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Boy Who Never Heard of.... Captain Marvel"
Appearing in "The Boy Who Never Heard of.... Captain Marvel"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- mugger
- opportunistic thief
Other Characters:
- Buck
- Paw
- cop
- banker
- bank boss
Locations:
- Earth-S
- the hills, far outside of town
- New York City
Synopsis for Captain Kid: "Two Ghosts Too Many"
Appearing in Captain Kid: "Two Ghosts Too Many"
Featured Characters:
- Captain Kid
Supporting Characters:
- Pudgy
- Slim
- Specs
Locations:
- haunted house
Synopsis for "Captain Marvel in The Lottery of Death!"
John Dreng's been embezzling from his company, but his partner had the books checked and confronts him when Dreng tries to rifle the company safe. Realizing he has no other way out, Dreng knifes his partner and makes his escape. Having been wise to his scheme, though, his partner had the cash box in the safe emptied ahead of time, and he committed murder for nothing. He tunes in to the news, and realizes he won $1,000,000 in a lottery, but can't collect it because he'll be wanted for murder after the night's activities. Nobody he talks to about collecting for him is willing to believe someone would just hand over a winning lottery ticket. Dreng ultimately stows away on a ship to escape Captain Marvel and tears up the ticket to keep it from leading back him. In the end it's all for naught because Captain Marvel captures him, and his victim didn't die from the stabbing.
Appearing in "Captain Marvel in The Lottery of Death!"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- John Dreng, embezzler
Other Characters:
- George "Harvey" Norton, Dreng's partner (Apparent Death)
- Bartender
- Flop House Desk Clerk
- Dock Guard
Locations:
Items:
- Lottery Ticket Number 11745
Notes
- Published monthly by Fawcett Publications, Inc.
- Mr. Atom was last seen, for the first time, in Captain Marvel Adventures #78 (November 1947). He will return in Captain Marvel Adventures #90.
- "The Boy Who Never Heard of.... Captain Marvel" was reprinted in 1950, in the The Boy Who Never Heard of.... Captain Marvel one-shot giveaway comic.
- "Lottery of Death": John Dreng's murdered business partner is called "Harvey" @ page 2 panel 1, and called "George Norton" @ page 8 panel 4.
Trivia
- Also featured in this issue of Captain Marvel Adventures were:
- Dopey Danny Dee: "Report Card" by George Marko
- Tightwad Tad: "Pockets"
- Tightwad Tad: "Peachy"
- Dopey Danny Dee: "Turn Him Away!" by George Marko
- Pee Wee Pete: "A Study in Salaries"
- John Jarl: "Space Trap" (text story) by Eando Binder
- Captain Kid: "Can't Fool Him" (1 page) by probably Al Liederman
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Marvel Family Recommended Reading
- Whiz Comics (Volume 1)
- Captain Marvel Adventures (Volume 1)
- Captain Marvel, Jr. (Volume 1)
- Mary Marvel (Volume 1)
- Master Comics (Volume 1)
- Wow Comics (Volume 1)
- The Marvel Family (Volume 1)
- Hoppy the Marvel Bunny (Volume 1)
- Shazam! (Volume 1)
- Shazam!: The New Beginning (Volume 1)
- The Power of Shazam! (Volume 1)
- Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder (Volume 1)
- Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil (Volume 1)
- The Trials of Shazam! (Volume 1)
- Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! (Volume 1)
- Shazam! (Volume 2)
- Shazam! (Volume 3)
- Shazam! (Volume 4)
- The New Champion of Shazam! (Volume 1)
- Shazam! (Volume 5)