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"Plastic Man: "The Thinking Machine"": Complaining he never gets assigned anything important, the FBI chief has Woozy return some blueprints submitted to the bureau by a Professor Medew of some fantastic inventions. The latest of which is a mechanical brain that can give a flawless answer to any

Police Comics #54 is an issue of the series Police Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 1946.

Synopsis for Plastic Man: "The Thinking Machine"

Complaining he never gets assigned anything important, the FBI chief has Woozy return some blueprints submitted to the bureau by a Professor Medew of some fantastic inventions. The latest of which is a mechanical brain that can give a flawless answer to any question typed into it. Unfortunately for Medew, his manservant Goofty Garlow used to be a crook, and decides to use the mechanical brain to make up for his own lack of intellectual prowess. He uses it to figure out how to kill Medew, then frame Woozy for the crime when he shows up to return the plans to the professor.

Knowing his pal's a kleptomaniac but not a murderer, Plastic Man looks into the crime, tracking down Goofty as he tries to skip town in a plane. Plas quickly gains the upper hand, but Goofty uses the mechanical brain to club Plas over the head and bail out while the hero's incapacitated. The hood tries to hide out in the chaos over a mine fire, but Plas catches up to him again. Goofty tries to use the mechanical brain to figure out how to escape, only for it to tell him Plastic Man's right behind him, and nothing can save him then.

Appearing in Plastic Man: "The Thinking Machine"

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  • Professor Medew (Dies)

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  • Thinking Machine

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Synopsis for Manhunter: "The Man In the Cloak"

Attorney Gowland is so skilled even the attorney representing the criminal he just put away praises his skill and ethics. A man in a cloak enters the courtroom before anyone's even left and praises Gowland's abilities also, just before plunging a knife into his heart and diving through a glass window to escape.

Fortunately one of the police officers guarding the courtroom is Dan Richards, who quickly changes identities to the Manhunter. He and Thor chase down the killer, but he escapes when Manhunter stops to tend to his canine companion who'd been cut by the assassin's knife. That night, the killer sneaks into Thor's hospital suite to finish the job, but Manhunter's lying in wait and beats him off. The attornery Gowland had bested before comes in, and Manhunter makes him confess he was the killer: he was the only one who knew where Thor was being treated, and has a wounded arm that's the same one of the killer's Manhunter had injured in their previous scuffle. The attorney confesses; Gowland's string of victories had been ruining his practice.

Appearing in Manhunter: "The Man In the Cloak"

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  • Morton

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  • Gowland (Dies)

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Synopsis for Flatfoot Burns: "The Clothing Robberies"

A group of thieves ransack town, stealing the clothes right off their victims' backs. Through his usual shenanigans Flatfoot Burns manages to corner them and hand back everyone's clothes, but in the tumult is unable to get back his own.

Appearing in Flatfoot Burns: "The Clothing Robberies"

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Synopsis for The Human Bomb: "Infatuation"

Hustace comes up with a perfume he calls "Infatuation", which makes any woman who wears it irresistible. His sturdy inamorata Honey-Bun comes by the lab then, and Hustace ducks out the back. Honey-Bun splashes on some of the perfume, flattered that Hustace made it for her, and even Roy almost falls for her but for the fact that he's "all business". While tracking down Hustace, she attracts the interest of a tough gangster and a sauve gangster, but also a beautiful but evil blonde who springs the two gangsters to control both of their gangs in return. Roy suits up and has Honey-bun accompany him to the meeting of the combined gangs, where all of the crooks fall head over heels for her and Bomb has no trouble capturing them. Afterward, Hustace is recovering from the injuries of being trampled by all of Honey-bun's suitors.

Appearing in The Human Bomb: "Infatuation"

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  • Truck
  • Handsome
    • Their gangs
  • Throckmorton's lover

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  • Infatuation (perfume)

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Synopsis for Candy: "Down With Jive!"


Appearing in Candy: "Down With Jive!"

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Synopsis for The Spirit: "Byron's Memoirs"

A rare book collector's shot dead in his home, and the Spirit suspects it was to get a copy of Lord Byron's memoirs, one of only four copies in existence. They got a call from another collector who has another copy, and has gathered two other collectors with the only other two copies. They're afraid of a curse on the books, supposedly placed by Byron, who didn't want the book published. One of the other collectors is shot and his copy of the book disappears. The Spirit borrows a copy to read it and see what all the hoopla's about. The killer sneaks into the room where's planted himself, only for the hero to be lying in wait and knock him out. The Spirit had suspected it was one of the collectors, as he'd given away knowing about the first murder before he should've been able to know about it.

Appearing in The Spirit: "Byron's Memoirs"

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  • Commissioner Dolan
  • Ebony White

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  • Montour

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Notes

  • Plastic Man: The Thinking Machine is reprinted in Plastic Man Archives Vol. 5.
  • Also featured in this issue of Police Comics were:
    • Dewey Drip by Bernard Dibble
    • "Haunted Theatre" (text story, featuring Dick Mace)



See Also


Links and References

Superboy Vol 4 69
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