Mary Marvel #11 is an issue of the series Mary Marvel (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 1947.
Synopsis for Mary Marvel, the World's Mightiest Girl: "The Golden City"
Mary Batson is on vacation out on a dude ranch with her rancher friend Clem, saying the mountain nearby looks like gold in the sunset. Clem says legend has it that there was once a golden city up on the mountain until there was a great earthquake, splitting the place in two and disappearing forever. Mary goes for a small hike up the mountain and takes a break soon after, only for the ground to fall out from under her! She quickly calls SHAZAM to become Mary Marvel and finds that she’s now in the Golden City, which is apparently just under the mountain. She spots a woman being chased and called “Princess” and listens in to find that this is Princess Elva and she’s been seized by a brigand named Pharlo to marry her by force, since he doesn’t believe he can win the matrimonial race for her. Mary Marvel punches his goon in the head and Pharlo finds that his sword is meaningless to the World’s Mightiest Girl and she defeats him in a single punch. Pharlo and his goon flee, but Princess Elva says that harming him too much would risk reprisals against her beloved, Prince Arnaldo. Pharlo has apparently kidnapped him so he cannot participate in the Race of the Golden Apples (which, like Atalanta, involves racing for a woman’s hand in marriage.) Princess Elva tells Mary Marvel where Pharlo lives so she can investigate and she quickly breaks a huge hole in his wall and tears open his dungeon like tinfoil, freeing the captive Prince Arnaldo. In response, Pharlo hires a sorcerer to call the magic word GRZLMN which makes Prince Arnaldo stumble and weak in the legs. Princess Elva is upset again, but Mary Marvel says she’s got a plan…
The Race of the Golden Apples begins, requiring the suitor to gather all three apples before he returns. Prince Arnaldo is secretly attached to Mary Marvel, who is carrying him at an appropriate running speed to snatch the first and second Golden Apples. Waiting at the third is the sorcerer, who forgets his petrification spell and fumbles it harder when Mary Marvel punches him in the neck. Prince Arnaldo, now at his full strength, dashes ahead and seized the last Golden Apple himself and Mary Marvel uppercuts Pharlo for being a cheater and a villain. She soon leaves the Golden City and seals it up forever, knowing that the modern world would only seek to seize their vast golden treasures.
Appearing in Mary Marvel, the World's Mightiest Girl: "The Golden City"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Prince Arnaldo
- Princess Elva
Antagonists:
- Pharlo
- A Sorcerer
Other Characters:
- Clem
Locations:
- Earth-S
- A Dude Ranch
- The Golden City
- A Dude Ranch
Items:
- Swords
- Golden Apples
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Mary Marvel, the World's Mightiest Girl: "Slap Happy Hour"
Appearing in Mary Marvel, the World's Mightiest Girl: "Slap Happy Hour"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Host of the Slap Happy Hour
Antagonists:
- A Burglar
- Beppo the Monkey
- A Donkey
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
- A Grind-Organ
- An Apple Cart
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Freshman Freddy: "The Wrong Model"
Prof. Little complains that class has been late every day for the past week, so he’s making them do a 5,000-word essay on punctuality due tomorrow morning. Outside, Ace and Stooge meet Mrs. Little, Prof. Little’s wife, who reminds her husband about a garden party that afternoon. Ace decides to use this as an attempt to prank “Freddy Freshman” and orders Stooge to dress up “like an artist,” which apparently means large sunglasses, a beret, a smock, a large bow tie and a fake beard. Ace introduces him to Freddy as “M. Dilly Dally” and they more or less demand that he put on a Greek outfit for them so he can be painted, only for Ace to shove him through a hedge into Mrs. Little’s garden party. They’re all horribly ashamed to see “a man in his nightshirt!” Prof. Little is called in to assess the situation, but he’s actually happy that Freddy managed to ruin one of his wife’s really boring garden parties and says he doesn’t have to write an essay! Ace and Stooge despair at having failed to get Freshman Freddy yet again.
Appearing in Freshman Freddy: "The Wrong Model"
Featured Characters:
- Freshman Freddy
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Ace
- Stooge
Other Characters:
- Prof. Little
- Mrs. Little
Locations:
- Earth-S
- Podunk
- Podunk University
- Podunk
Items:
- A Greek Outfit
- An "Artist's" Outfit
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Mary Marvel, the World's Mightiest Girl: "The Sad Dryads"
John Trent, owner of a tract of land with many tall pines, refuses to sell out to Simon Leach, a lumber magnate. Trent says that he believes the old legends that dryads live in the trees and to cut them down leaves a dryad homeless! As he leans against a tree, an unseen dryad touches his shoulder and silently thanks him for his support, though he hears merely wind in the leaves. Simon Leach implies bad things will happen to John if he doesn’t pay up. The next day, there’s a heavy storm, but afterwards Simon Leach tries to drive a bulldozer into John’s favorite tree to pretend it was struck by lightning in the storm, leaving a very Sad Dryad now. Despite it being broken, John refuses to sell the broken tree and instead says he’s going to cut it into lumber to build a wing on his house! The Sad Dryad, unheard, says that she must basically haunt this wood until Simon Leach is brought to justice for her murder and Trent’s family soon find that the dryad cries very loudly and also at night, making her as functionally horrible as a ghost.
Mary Batson finds the Trent Family running down the street, basically screaming their heads off and calls SHAZAM to become Mary Marvel and investigate further. She heads to their supposedly-haunted house to talk to the Sad Dryad, who fingers Simon Leach as being the one who really destroyed her tree. At the same time though, Simon Leach has also decided to just blow up John’s house with dynamite in his basement, but Mary Marvel overhears and punches him over, then drowns the dynamite in a laundry sink. They follow Simon out into the woods where he starts a forest fire to try escaping, which only creates more Sad Dryads! Though Mary Marvel is able to uproot the burning trees and douse them in a nearby brook (by hand, no less,) she finds that the Sad Dryads are now basically going to keep crying loudly until someone does something about Simon Leach. One of the Sad Dryads finds Leach hiding in a hollowed tree and yanks him really hard by the hair, making him shout loud enough that Mary Marvel finds him and throws him into a tree. The Sad Dryads are now happy again and show her that new trees are growing that they will soon move into and that she has earned the kindness of the dryads. Later, Simon Leach is in jail, wondering if maybe those old legends may be true...
Appearing in Mary Marvel, the World's Mightiest Girl: "The Sad Dryads"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- John Trent
- The Sad Dryads
Antagonists:
- Simon Leach
Other Characters:
- John Trent's Family
Locations:
Items:
- Several Trees (Destroyed)
Vehicles:
- Simon Leach's Bulldozer
Trivia
- This issue marks when "Freddy Freshman" switches things up to become "Freshman Freddy," the name the strip will carry until its cancelation.
See Also