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"The Riddle of the Red Domino": Green Lantern interrupts a gang of bank robbers and is gunned down, but this was only a stage play where GL appeared as himself, named "The Red Domino", after its main villain. Which puzzles GL, since as soon as he leaves the theater he finds out two robberies too

Green Lantern #36 is an issue of the series Green Lantern (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 1949.

Synopsis for "The Riddle of the Red Domino"

Green Lantern interrupts a gang of bank robbers and is gunned down, but this was only a stage play where GL appeared as himself, named "The Red Domino", after its main villain. Which puzzles GL, since as soon as he leaves the theater he finds out two robberies took place nearby during the performance, and a red domino was left as a calling card at both scenes. The police commissioner insists this means that by "logical deduction", someone in the play is the guilty party.

GL heads to his Analysts' club meeting of local crime groupies and armchair investigators, where it so happens a lecturer named Dr. Cypher is scheduled to teach a lesson on logical deduction. Cypher uses as his example that every meeting of theirs Green Lantern's attended, Alan Scott missed. And that every meeting Alan Scott's attended, Green Lantern missed, and deduces they must be the same person. The other club members deride Cypher's conclusion, and Cypher ominously promises to prove his logic correct.

Soon after, GL encounters a thief dressed as the Red Domino, who knocks him out by jumping and pulling a fire escape ladder down on GL's head. The next day the Red Domino and his gang show up and kidnap Alan Scott and Doiby Dickles from the studio. At the Analysts' next meeting, Cypher repeats his assertion that Alan Scott must be Green Lantern, because Alan Scott was kidnapped and Green Lantern isn't at the meeting. Except Green Lantern is at the meeting, and uses his ring to zap off Cypher's suit and reveal the Red Domino's costume underneath. Using some logical deduction of his own, GL had anticipated an attack on Alan Scott, and set a trap where the actor who played the Red Domino on stage impersonated Alan Scott for him, allowing him to be in two places at once.

Appearing in "The Riddle of the Red Domino"

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Locations:

  • Gotham City
    • Police Commissioner's office
    • Analysts' Club headquarters

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Synopsis for Streak, the Wonder Dog: "Mystery of the Missing Messenger"

On his radio broadcast, Alan Scott announces the story that bank messenger Frank Gaynor's accused of stealing 50k he was carrying. Gaynor's mother comes on the show, and issues a plea that her son be found and proven innocent. Streak manages to track Gaynor down and expose the real criminals behind the missing money.

Appearing in Streak, the Wonder Dog: "Mystery of the Missing Messenger"

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Antagonists:

  • Ordinary criminals

Other Characters:

  • Frank Gaynor, bank messenger
    • his mother

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  • $50,000

Vehicles:

  • a boat

Synopsis for "The Timberland Trail"

At the studio, Alan Scott's trying to pitch a new program to his boss, 'Americans Making History', but Lentil refuses to fund the show unless Alan can get Sylvia Woods on it, the only woman running a logger camp. His secretary comes in and hands Alan a worrying telegram: Sylvia Woods missed her flight to star on the show because of some trouble at her logging operation. There's barely an hour before the show goes live, but Alan switches to Green Lantern and flies out to Sylvia's operation under his ring's power hoping he might be able to clear up the trouble and save his new show before airtime.

It turns out Sylvia's being run off some prime forest by flunkies of a rival by the name of Big Lonvess, who wants the proceeds cutting such trees would bring for himself. The big trouble is a terrific log jam clogging the river, and since that's one of the few problems Green Lantern's mighty ring can't solve, they instead try to clear it with dynamite. Green Lantern almost goes under, but manages to save himself, only to be attacked by Big Lonvess and his underlings. GL and Sylvia's logging crew take care of them, and Green Lantern flies Sylvia back to the station just in time for her to finish up the program telling the sensational story about how Green Lantern saved her company. Lentil's delighted, and eagerly agrees to bankroll more episodes.

Appearing in "The Timberland Trail"

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Antagonists:

  • Big Lonvess
  • Renso
  • crooks

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Notes

  • 1st story:
    • Analysts' Club third appearance.
    • Alan Scott recites Hal Jordan's oath before his debut.
  • 3rd story:
    • Molly Mayne's hair is black in this issue; maybe she dyed her hair.
    • The name Sylvia Woods for a gal running a logging camp is not coincidence. Sylvia is feminine given name of Latin origin, also spelled Silvia. The name originates from the Latin word for forest, Silva, and its meaning is spirit of the wood.

Trivia


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