Mystery in Space #21 is an issue of the series Mystery in Space (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 1954. It was published on June 2, 1954.
Synopsis for "Interplanetary Merry-Go-Round"
During a gathering honoring the Unknown Samaritan, Martin Blair, the Outcast of Space was seen and chased by guards. Blair attempted to redeem himself by doing good deeds. His final deed was saving a boy from being crushed by a horse from the interplanetary merry-go-round, leading to himself being crushed, instead. The Unknown Samaritan's identity remained unknown, but in fact, when the Space Outcast was exiled, he found a desert of diamonds and loaded them on a repaired rocket and sent them to Earth with plans for a carnival in space.
Appearing in "Interplanetary Merry-Go-Round"
Characters:
- Martin Blair/"Outcast of Space"/"The Unknown Samaritan"
- Capt. Saunders, first man to reach Mars (Statue only)
- Solar Worlds Federation (Mentioned only)
Locations:
Items:
Era:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Destination Earth"
After Lorne Mallory's Galactic Patrol basic training on Vega ended, he was instructed to fly to Earth for his final test. However, on his way to Earth, he faced obstacles, including whirlpools, storms, and bandits. He overcame all of them and after landing on Earth, his commander revealed that the flight from Vega to Earth WAS the test and that he passed, leading to him becoming a lieutenant.
Appearing in "Destination Earth"
Characters:
- Galactic Patrol
- Lieutenant Lorne Mallory
- Unnamed commander
Antagonists:
- Space bandits
- Bandit leader
Locations:
- Earth
- Galactic Patrol Headquarters
- Vega Base (Flashback only)
Items:
Era:
Vehicles:
- Mallory's ship
Synopsis for "Space-Taxi"
A passenger asked Space Cabbie to take him to Paris, Mercury. Later, an alien gave him glass, which happened to be his planet's currency. At the Marsport Hackstand, Space Cabbie decided to cruise around for a fare when an invisible Martian named Vugga Vott wearing a mesh-suit boarded his Space Cab and demanded to be taken to Titan. When they arrived in Titanopolis, Vott vanished without paying.
Space Cabbie began searching the city for Vott, but was forced to stop when a fare, which he was required by law to accept, came up. After a few days of traveling the Solar System, Space Cabbie accepted another fare to Titan, but learned that Vott broke the law by not registering at the registration office. In his Space Cab, Space Cabbie learned that Vott robbed another moon of Saturn, so he reported the incident to the Interplanetary Police, who brushed off the incident.
He decided to confront Vott himself and learned that he had also struck the moons of Tethys, Rhea, Phoebe, Mimas, and Japetus, so he decided to head for Hyperion and parked in front of the First Interplanetary Bank. As he arrived, a passenger entered and asked to be taken to Mars. Space Cabbie was happy to know that the passenger happened Vott. While Vott was distracted, Space Cabbie knocked him unconscious and took him to the police station before taking the money he was owed and being given a 2500 zuppola reward by the Interplanetary Police. He revealed that he predicted Vott's pattern by realizing that the Martian was robbing moons in backwards alphabetical order.
Appearing in "Space-Taxi"
Featured Characters:
- Space Cabbie (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Vugga Vott, Martian Criminal
Other Characters:
- Interplanetary Police
Items:
- Vott's Invisibility Mesh-Suit
Locations:
- Saturn (Mentioned only)
- Titan, Moon of Saturn
- Titanopolis
- Registration Office
- Hyperion, moon of Saturn
- First Interplanetary Bank
- Tethys, moon of Saturn (Mentioned only)
- Rhea, moon of Saturn (Mentioned only)
- Phoebe, moon of Saturn (Mentioned only)
- Mimas, moon of Saturn (Mentioned only)
- Japetus, moon of Saturn (Mentioned only)
- Mars
- Marsport Hackstand
- Paris, Mercury (Mentioned only)
- Paris, Illinois (Mentioned only)
- Paris, Texas (Mentioned only)
- Paris, France (Mentioned only)
- The Sun (Mentioned only)
- Number 6877 (Mentioned only)
Era:
Vehicles:
- Space Cab (First appearance)
Synopsis for "Rocket-Race Jockey"
Bert Brandon, ace troubleshooter of Interplanetary Insurance, Inc., was assigned to help a space jockey named K. Carr win a round-trip race between Earth and Pluto. Despite sabotage attempts by her opponent Vol Kos, she still won the race.
Appearing in "Rocket-Race Jockey"
Featured Characters:
- Interplanetary Insurance, Inc.
- Bert Brandon
- William J. Emory
- Oscar
Supporting Characters:
- K. Carr
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Venusian Electronic Compass Co.
- Solar Space-Trips Company (Mentioned only)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- Kay's ship
Notes
- Published bi-monthly by National Comics Publications, Inc.
- "Interplanetary Merry-Go-Round" is reprinted in From Beyond the Unknown #15.
- First issue for Space Cabbie, which will return in issue #24, then continue as a back-up feature until Mystery in Space #47.
Trivia
- This issue's "Giants of the Telescope" page focuses on Edwin Powell Hubble and "Hubble's Telescope."
See Also
Recommended Reading
- DC Comics Presents: Mystery in Space #1
- Mystery in Space (Volume 1)
- Mystery in Space (Volume 2)
- Strange Adventures
- Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #21 (Space Cabby profile)
Links and References
