This is an in-universe article with out-of-universe material.
The Marvel Family #31 is an issue of the series The Marvel Family (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1949.
Synopsis for Marvel Family: "The Marvel Family and the Great Hunger!"
We are shown three differing openings of military action, but then informed of undeclared war when a family sits down what seems to be a larger meal, but in five minutes, they’ve finished eating and they’re still hungry, despite father saying that the roast should last all week. In another city, people are starting to attack grocery stores, restaurants are filled to capacity for any food, a woman says they’ve eaten their tenth meal that day and her psychotic partner tells her he’ll kill anyone who tries to ask for any of his food with this powerful gun of his. Billy soon reports on this from Station WHIZ (while eating a sandwich on-air.) Mary and Freddy show up (also eating) and quickly figure out that things are getting strange. Billy gets a bulletin that a small town of Valdonia is having food riots and they call SHAZAM and CAPTAIN MARVEL and become the Marvel Family to stop the food riots. Captain Marvel tries to stop the riot itself, sending Mary Marvel to the next nearby city for emergency food, but finds there isn’t any engine to move it… so she flies it there! Similarly, Captain Marvel, Junior finds he can buy up a ton of cattle from a nearby farmer, but has to fly them all to Valdonia himself with a very long rope. The Valdonian Famine ends almost as soon as it had begun, but Captain Marvel realizes that similar riots are due to happen elsewhere and that this could be some sort of war against hunger itself, since artificial famine is a stronger weapon of war than even the atomic bomb! They’re willing to believe this, but still don’t know who or why someone would do this.
This is proved quickly when we find that Dr. Sivana is the one behind this and has also built an entire secret base on the Moon, where he declares he’ll be the “Rightful Ruler of Earth” via a Hunger Ray that bathes the Earth constantly now. Back on Earth, the Marvel Family are faced by the issue of growing world hunger and Junior randomly assumes sunspots are to blame. Captain Marvel insists that the data shows that the hunger eases every 12 hours and that the real enemy must be the Moon, since something that hits every 12 hours would be the Moon, due to the rotation of the Earth. They fly off to look into this and soon find Sivana on a Moon Hammock and claims he’s just resting and not doing anything wrong, even laughing that the Marvel Family doesn’t know what kind of machine is creating the Hunger Ray (which he openly states is a thing that exists.) As they leave to explore the Moon’s considerably barren surface to find the Hunger Ray’s origin, Sivana takes the time to titter about how they’ll definitely never find it. Hours later, this seems to be the case and Dr. Sivana taunts Captain Marvel that he won’t solve it even if he beats him to death, only for Captain Marvel to instead drag Sivana into the path of the Hunger Ray, realizing that he’ll very clearly become hungered by doing so, making him manic and violent for food. They soon find the Hunger Ray Machine is hidden in a giant fake mountain on the Moon and Captain Marvel gives Sivana a stern spanking, offering that Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Junior also can have a turn. Despite the Evening Star telling us that the food stocks are back to normal with these strange hunger pangs gone, Captain Marvel says that the next war could weaponize such terrible thing. Junior agrees, stating they just shouldn’t have wars at all and Mary agrees “Ever!”
Appearing in Marvel Family: "The Marvel Family and the Great Hunger!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Valdonia
Items:
- The Hunger Ray Machine
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Mary Marvel: "Mary Marvel Becomes the World's Saddest Girl!"
The Mary Marvel Club is holding a party for Mary Marvel and has even decided to invite boys for a charity donation drive and dance. She goes to start a dance, but when a young man named Dick Simms asks her to do so, she suddenly remembers she has to testify in court right that second and leaves the party to do so. She thinks on how she doesn’t get to have a normal life as a normal girl and that things just aren’t fair for her right now, wishing inwardly that she could just turn her powers off. Atop the Rock of Eternity, the Wizard Shazam hears that Mary Marvel is upset she doesn’t get to go to parties and “helps” her by just forcibly removing all of her powers for as long as she wishes to. This immediately goes wrong when Mary Marvel returns from her testimony and runs into a stickup mugging, getting shoved aside. The nebbish man being mugged merely thanks her for trying to help and that they can’t all be Mary Marvel. Mary Marvel goes to fly after him, but finds that she’s lost all her powers due to Shazam, which she is entirely excited about and hurts her foot kicking a lamp post in doing so. She goes back to the dance party and has her dance with dick, only for a girl also dressed like Mary Marvel to accidentally light a drape on fire with a candle, which somehow immediately fall onto Dick! She realizes she can’t help in this specific situation and begs the Wizard Shazam for her powers back, which he claims “learned her lesson — the hard way! She’s suffering enough!” Seconds later, she’s hit with another magic lightning bolt and her powers are returned, letting her save Dick from anything harder than minor burns. Dick thanks her with a peck on the cheek and Mary Marvel wonders if there’s anything anyone can ask for beyond respect and the affection of friends!
Appearing in Mary Marvel: "Mary Marvel Becomes the World's Saddest Girl!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Dick Simms
Antagonists:
- The Wizard Shazam
- An Unnamed Mugger
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Captain Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Nutty Squirrel"
We are reminded what a squirrel looks like, followed up by showing us a man who is clearly smoking (showing he’s an evil person) and also wearing a Squirrel costume, aptly named “The Squirrel.” People soon find this lucrative criminal in his nutty outings in costume before he climbs a building, then jumps off to pull off his own tail to use as a battering weapon from above, violently beating passersby, snatching their valuables and then leaving. He reveals out loud to no one: that this is the entirety of his plan: getting attention with a flashy costume and then robbing people in broad daylight in the most visible way possible, then goes for his only other tactic when he hears the cop sirens, using steel claws in the suit to climb another building. Hearing a police siren, Freddy decides that this is likely something Captain Marvel, Junior can help with and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to do so and flies south to follow the police cars. The Squirrel, meanwhile, grabs a wire to get to his “tree-top hideout” in Central Park with the genius ideal of “nobody’d think of looking for the Squirrel in a tree” as its too obvious! Junior meets up with local cop, Officer Jim, to ask about the Squirrel attacks and Junior immediately believes him, since it’s too ridiculous to be fake. We are shown the Squirrel keeps lead weights in his tail (it’s not clear how he carries it so easily,) but changes them out for dynamite instead to “finish off” Captain Marvel, Jr. (despite having… not started with him.) The Squirrel immediately outs his hideout by shouting from the tree to Junior and the cops directly, which for some reason worries Officer Jim especially. The Squirrel decides to go for his singular tactic, which is trying to swing at him with his own tail, which explodes… entirely harmlessly. Captain Marvel, Junior flies after him as the Squirrel swings off of a real estate sign, punching him off, dislodging his mask and catching him before he has Officer Jim send him to jail. Later, the Warden notes that The Squirrel (now Prisoner 67423) could have been an aerialist in the circus and instead foolishly chose crime which never pays!
Appearing in Captain Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and the Nutty Squirrel"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Officer Jim
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
- The Squirrel's Suit
- The Squirrel's Tail
- Lead Weights
- Dynamite
- The Squirrel's Tail
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Headline Harry: "The Pie's the Limit"
Headline Harry is forced to cover a pie-eating contest, is forced to pay a dollar to enter by a violent chef, and reports on how it ended with one man adamantly refusing to eat any more pie... because he would have to eat a blueberry pie!
Appearing in Headline Harry: "The Pie's the Limit"
Featured Characters:
- Headline Harry
Supporting Characters:
- ML
- Blueberry-Hating Pie-Eater
Antagonists:
- Belligerent Chef
- Mr. Grumpe the Editor
Other Characters:
- Pie-Eating Contest Judge
Locations:
- The Gazabo Gazette
- Town Hall
Items:
- Pies
- Rolling Pins
- A Press Card
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel Battles the Flame Fiend!"
Tinderbox Valley is so-named because it's framed by forest land, oil wells and a coal mine. Billy arrives in town to do a broadcast on the importance of fire, but also fire safety. When the mayor takes him on a tour to see their effective fire prevention methods, a strange fellow who introduces himself as "Heeter" from the "Fire Department" and has an unusually warm handshake invites himself along. His touch almost causes a forest fire, and while he easily survives the heat without harm, Heeter seems deathly afraid of water landing on him when Captain Marvel puts it out. Next they visit the town's oil wells, and again Heeter's touch ignites an oil geyser while flaming debris doesn't hurt him at all. After putting this out too, Captain Marvel confronts Heeter: he's figured out that Heeter's an embodiment of fire itself. Heeter admits he hated being "caged" as Billy advocated in his broadcast, and took human form so he could wreak havoc. He tries to run into the coal mines to cause an explosion there. Taking physical form proves to be his undoing, because it gives Captain Marvel something solid he can land a punch on. This knocks Heeter into a flooded tunnel, where the water puts him out, and back into confinement in furnaces and engines.
Appearing in Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel Battles the Flame Fiend!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- The Honorable Mayor John Lloyd
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- Tinderbox Valley
Items:
- Numerous Fire Hazards
- Waste Paper
- Loose Oil
- Discarded Cigarette
- Non-Functional Chemical Stove
- Shovels
- Frankfurters
Vehicles:
- Mayor Lloyd's Car
Trivia
- Despite the cover, Doctor Sivana does not aim a giant ray machine at the Marvel Family and has a different helmet and no space suit entirely. He instead openly mocks that they'll never find his Hunger Ray Machine and a different rocket ship.
- Despite the splash page for the first story, they not only do not fight the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (of which Famine is considerably only one of them!)
- Further, the Black Rider is held as carrying a set of scales, but these Riders only have a sword and a scythe, while the other two hold nothing. It is difficult to tell which is which as their horses all look mostly to be shades of brown, with a slightly lighter one.
See Also