Gee, this flute has an inscription on it! It says... "Magic Flute of the Pied Piper! Why that's silly! The story of the Pied Piper was only a fairy tale! This must be somebody's idea of a joke! I'll try it anyway! Hey! What do you know? I can play it -- and what sweet music! I have never been so happy in my whole life! Life is wonderful! Grand! 
- — Joshua Joak, Magical Piper
Mary Marvel #14 is an issue of the series Mary Marvel (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1947.
Synopsis for Mary Marvel: "Mary Marvel Fights a Family Skeleton"
Mary is out having an ice-cream soda at the malt shop with her friend Trudy Dalton, who mentions that they’re both orphans that were adopted. Although she loves the Daltons, she thinks about her “real” family, which Mary can sympathize with. However, she says it’s environment not heredity counts in life and the Daltons brought her up to be a decent and honest person. Trudy suddenly finds a wallet on the ground with lots of money in it and offers they should turn it over to the Police HQ down the corner. Mary takes this is good evidence that Trudy is a good person and was raised as a good person. Mary heads home for a bit to see her later that night. In the meanwhile, Trudy picks flowers in her garden and is approached by a shifty stranger calling her “niece” and introduces himself as “Uncle Ben” and shows her a special mole on her left hand, calling it a family mark that he also has. He says long ago, he got into a fight with her father and left his home when she was a baby and he only looked her up now. He says he knows that he’s a loser and a disgrace, so he asks her for a “bargain” of her stealing $5,000 and giving it to him. If she doesn’t, he’ll reveal himself and they’ll be so disgusted that they’ll kick her out. She starts having a breakdown about her uncle being an evil drifter with a bean-shaped head. That evening, Mary comes over and learns the horrible truth of “Uncle Ben” and decides to hide out to help her out. “Uncle Ben” demands the money, but Trudy says she didn’t steal $5,000, so he tries to attack her, prompting Mary to call SHAZAM to become Mary Marvel. She punches “Uncle Ben” in the head and tells him to admit he just made up the story, but he insists that she’s Trudy Parker and that he knows the old Parker House where she was born at 192 Tucker St. Mary Marvel flies them to the abandoned house and enters to find a large portrait of a woman that Trudy thinks sure does look like a mother of her. They have another portrait of “Uncle Ben,” but turned away to hide his shameful face as the Black Sheep of the Family. Mary Marvel realizes he’s been living in the abandoned Parker house for some time. Suddenly, two cops enter and reveal that he’s actually “Blarney” Ben, a swindler and Mary Marvel looks over and find’s Trudy is gone. Elsewhere in the Parker house, Ben shoves Trudy through the backdoor, but Mary Marvel punches him in the throat and he crumples. The cops say that Blarney Ben will get 20 for this, but Trudy is still upset that the Daltons will be disgusted by her now, but Mary Marvel says if she tells them the truth, she’ll be fine. Trudy tells the Daltons that her uncle was really “Blarney” Ben Parker, a notorious swindler, but they see no difference: they adopted her for being herself and that’s what’s important to them, but they’re very proud they have an honest and just daughter like her. Mary Marvel flies off and Trudy cries thanking her.
Appearing in Mary Marvel: "Mary Marvel Fights a Family Skeleton"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Trudy Dalton
Antagonists:
- Uncle "Blarney" Ben Parker
Other Characters:
- Mr. and Mrs. Dalton
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- The Dalton Estate
- A Malt Shop
- New York City
Items:
- A Large Portrait of Mrs. Parker
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Freshman Freddy: "Mascot Mission"
Podunk University is hyped up for the big game against the apparently superstitious Squeedunk Tech and if they can steal their donkey mascot, they’ll surely win the big game too. However, nobody has managed a stunt like that since hasn’t been pulled off in ten years and the last two guys who tried last year and the one before still can’t walk capably. Freshman Freddy decides he’d look like a huge hero and volunteers immediately. Freddy sneaks to Squeedunk Tech’s campus and finds at least six collegiate men in sweatervests, sporting trousers and wielding cricket bats. Freddy climbs a tree near the hedge and throws a fistful of grave to the far hedges, creating the illusion of rustling in the bushes, which distracts the Squeedunk Sportsmen, then does the same on the other side, clearing out the guards. Freddy slips and falls off the branch, but lands on the Squeedunk Donkey, which bolts all the way to Podunk U! Everyone cheers for him before Freshman Freddy gets kicked by a donkey, flying into the sky. The next day, Podunk U wins the big game as well and everyone cheers for Freshman Freddy… who’s still in a full-body cast and has been lowered on to the field.
Appearing in Freshman Freddy: "Mascot Mission"
Featured Characters:
- Freshman Freddy
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Squeedunk Tech Sportsmen
Other Characters:
- The Squeedunk Tech Donkey
Locations:
- Earth-S
- Podunk
- Podunk University
- Squeedunk Tech
- Podunk
Items:
- Gravel
Vehicles:
- A Stretcher
Synopsis for Mary Marvel: "Census Antics"
Mary Batson and Freckles Dudley are out in the boondocks of Marveltown on census work, heading to the Beckler’s House. Mr. Breckler assumes he has roughly sixteen children while one of them shoots Freckles in the rear with a slingshot. They find another four kids run by playing football and then another two nearly knock Freckles on her back. She finds Mrs. Beckler is able to confirm they do have sixteen children total, but there’s also Uncle Joe, Cousin Hubert and Grandpa living with them, making up a whopping 21! Mary notices a house they’ve skipped, but Freckles points out it’s clearly abandoned, but Mary smartly notices that there’s smoke in the chimney. They ask at the door and a shifty man tells them to basically get lost. Freckles shoves the door open, claiming it’s “government business,” but the goons inside seize the girls by the mouth and the girls are bound and gagged while Freckles figures out that these are criminals hiding out in the abandoned house when they openly tell her they robbed a nearby bank and were dividing up the loot. Freckles manages to dodge her attacker by stomping on his foot and then diving under another’s legs and yanks off Mary’s gag, letting her call SHAZAM to become Mary Marvel, who defeats the criminals quickly and leaves them tied up for the cops to pick them up. They continue the census and find the next house seems to have one man in the kitchen… only for them to see him again in the yard, painting a fence and then another one pumping a pump. They soon find these are triplets named Al, Hal and Cal. Freckles decides they should go home and eat a big sandwich.
Appearing in Mary Marvel: "Census Antics"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Bank Robbers
Other Characters:
- The Breckler Family
- Three Triplets
Locations:
- Earth-S
- Marveltown
- The Breckler House
- An Abandoned House
- Marveltown
Items:
- A Census
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Mary Marvel, the World's Mightiest Girl!: "Mary Marvel and the Magic Flute"
Joshua Joak is a dull, boring old bookkeeper that nothing interesting happens to. One day, he wanders into the forest and sleeps under a tree to have a quick nap and has a dream of the Pied Piper, who tells him to dig straight down and embrace his fate, so he wakes up and digs until he finds an old flute that reads that it’s the Magic Flute of the Pied Piper, which when played, gives him a severe euphoria and a newfound lust for life. As he gambols and saunters through the forest, he doesn’t notice that tons of animals are starting to follow him, even animals that would usually be eating each other. However, Joak has started skipping merrily into town, bringing cougars into town. Joak is stunned by loud screaming and stops for a moment, which actually makes things worse because the cougars are no longer charmed and also like eating people. Mary Batson, walking nearby, calls SHAZAM and becomes Mary Marvel to punch out the cougar, then punch out a bear harassing a small child. She chides Mr. Joak’s presumable circus tactics, but she’s confused when he doesn’t realize he brought the animals there. They are distracted by a wolf fighting a bear and a moose charging them until Mary Marvel settles it to the ground. Mary Marvel’s Wisdom of Minerva kicks in and she realizes that playing more music from the Magic Flute will get all the wandering animals back in and she helps escort all of them to the forest. Mary Marvel offers she destroy the Flute, but Joak starts to get emotional that it’s the only interesting thing in his life. Mary Marvel gets a better idea of what he can use the Magic Flute for… Some days later, Joshua Joak is much happier, working at a circus with a Parade of Dancing Animals that follow him around!
Appearing in Mary Marvel, the World's Mightiest Girl!: "Mary Marvel and the Magic Flute"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Joshua Joak
Antagonists:
- Wild Animals
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
- The Magic Flute of the Pied Piper
Vehicles:
Trivia
- Despite the cover, Mary Marvel doesn't meet a family of ghosts:
- The first story references a skeleton, but it's a metaphorical one
- The third story references a census, but they don't visit a ghost house, instead finding bank robbers hiding out in a derelict house.
- The last story involves a Magic Flute, but it's a Pied Piper kind.
- This villainous drifter who calls himself "Uncle Ben" Parker would predate Spider-Man's morally wise father-figure by about 15 years!
See Also