This is an in-universe article with out-of-universe material.
The Marvel Family #33 is an issue of the series The Marvel Family (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1949.
Synopsis for The Marvel Family: "The Marvel Family meets The Hermit Family"
Billy Batson reports on how the Clayton Family have inherited a huge fortune, but aren't at home any, seemingly having run away from it! Their lawyer soon comes by to see Billy and asks if the Marvel Family can help him find them, which he agrees to. Billy, Mary and Freddy call SHAZAM and CAPTAIN MARVEL to become the Marvel Family. They fly off with Captain Marvel heading to the Clayton House to find that their cousin Egbert is watching the place and says that they've been gone for months. Mary Marvel gets a clue from a boat salesman that sold them a motorboat and Captain Marvel, Jr. finds a seaman who says he saw them heading southeast from there. Reconnecting, they fly out in that direction to find the Claytons are now living on an island. Their son shouts that someone is coming and it could be “the killers!” so they scarper to hide in a cave. They soon find that when they approach the cave with footprints near it, only for the Claytons to throw rocks and weighted household implements at them until Captain Marvel states clearly that they are not the killers that they shout to try to deter. Captain Marvel offers they're rich now and can go home, but Mr. Clayton refuses. He soon reveals that he received a threatening note reading:
“You sent our pal to the chair! We'll get you and your family. — The Killers”
Mrs. Clayton reveals that her husband did try to go to the police, but was chased away with gunshots that only barely missed. They left society after that and moved out here entirely to escape these supposed “Killers.” Mr. Clayton insists he will ignore the fortune entirely if it means keeping his family safe. Junior cannot understand such fear controlling your life over having a lot of money. Mary Marvel decides they can solve this easily by just catching the Killers, but Captain Marvel offers they can also manage to lure them out by physically bringing their fortune to them. They fly back to talk with the lawyer and he agrees to sign off for the Clayton Family on his word that the World's Mightiest Family can rescue them. Soon enough, Captain Marvel returns to Clayton Island to drop off a combination safe and tells them the combination for it, revealing it's almost entirely filled with cash on a beach, Mary Marvel drops off a box of fine silverware, Junior drives an entire green convertible, Captain Marvel returns with a small golden chest full of jewels, the whole Marvel Family carts in a very large yacht, then brings them a castle stone by stone and the Claytons reckon that living in a castle might improve their protection… until the Killers immediately try to shoot at them from nearby rocks on the shores. Captain Marvel is forced to drop a stone he's setting to punch over one of them, then almost crushes the Clayton Family before he easily smacks it away. The three Killers manage to escape while they're distracted and find near Clayton Cave is their entire fortune monetized into a safe full of bills open on a beach. Junior and Mary Marvel return carrying a turret tower to finish the castle and almost kill one of the Killers setting it down. The final Killer manages to scarper for a speedboat, but Captain Marvel is waiting for him, punching him over and exposing it was Cousin Egbert the whole time, who was due to inherit if he threatened and/or killed his entire family. Captain Marvel offers they don't need to be “the Hermit Family” anymore, but Mr. Clayton points out that they actually prefer it here now, since he literally built them an island paradise away from society! Billy signs off, saying the Claytons aren't hermits hiding in fear as Cousin Egbert is a different kind of hermit now… in jail!
Appearing in The Marvel Family: "The Marvel Family meets The Hermit Family"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- The Clayton Family
- Mr. and Mrs. Clayton
- The Clayton Children
- Mr. and Mrs. Clayton
Antagonists:
- Cousin Egbert Clayton
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Mary Marvel: "Jives Becomes a Jockey!"
Mary Batson and Mrs. Bromfield are at a horse auction with their butler, Jives, though he's suddenly gone missing. While trying to call to Mary and her mother, Jives accidentally bids $500 for a horse named Silver Lightning, who is both a former racehorse and a war veteran! Mary just openly says that Jives has to buy this horse now as if he didn't understand this until Mrs. Bromfield offers she can likely just tell them it was a mistake. However, instead Jives decides he was born in the saddle, which is unearned, since he immediately proves he can't actually do even that without difficulty. Days later, Jives is out at the training track in stubborn pride as Mary watches him. Three unscrupulous gamblers, “Tinhorn” Terris and his goons, watch the prospective racehorse due to make big money at the Lone Star Steeplechase. As they want a rival, Black Devil, to win, they've conspired to fix this by just shooting Silver Lightning. Luckily, he is a well-trained horse and doesn't require prior training to be mastered well, but also because he stops short of gunfire and before going over a jump. Jives is almost thrown in doing so though, so Mary calls SHAZAM and becomes Mary Marvel, scooping him up and saves him from hitting the ground on his lumber vertebrae. The horse is unharmed entirely.
Later, they get a threatening note at their door when they get home telling them not to run the Lone Star Steeplechase despite the fact that they weren't even thinking about doing so… so Mary then decides to do so while Jives faints. Soon enough, it is the day of the Lone Star Steeplechase and Silver Lightning is ushered off at a train station… only for us to see that Terris and his goons are literally just stealing the horse on to a truck. Mary calls SHAZAM to become Mary Marvel again and flies after them. They almost immediately try to scatter, but Mary Marvel whips a horseshoe around the neck of one, punches the other in the back of the head and then finds that Terris has escaped and that Silver Lightning is still missing.. Jives worries at the stables, but relieved he won't have to jockey. Instead, Mary Marvel appears on Silver Lightning in time, much to his chagrin. Jives, despite his fear, is shocked to find that he's not dead and his horse is very good at racing, only for the jockey on Black Devil to blackjack with a foreign object. Jives is knocked out, but Silver Lightning is just smart enough to finish the race despite that. Terris tries to just pull a gun on the final stretch until Mary Marvel grips his right tricep, making his shot wing into the air. She then Giant Swings him into the other goons, Silver Lightning wins the Lone Star Steeplechase. Jives manages to somehow walk forward on his feet, barely conscious and accepts the Gold Cup. Later, Jives reveals that he just sold the horse to a “reputable” dealer so he could go back to his normal life of being a butler for Mrs. Bromfield and Mary, though Mary quietly thinks to herself how Jives is likely going to still eat his dinner standing up!
Appearing in Mary Marvel: "Jives Becomes a Jockey!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Jives the Butler
- Mrs. Bromfield
Antagonists:
- "Tinhorn" Terris
- An Evil Jockey
- Other Unscrupulous Gamblers
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- The Lone Star Steeplechase
Items:
- The Gold Cup
Vehicles:
- Silver Lightning
- Black Death
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and The Sleeping People!"
A businessman, Mr. Randall, says he wants to see Freddy as a guest to his Big Lawn Party tomorrow. Freddy says he may be late if he doesn't sell out of papers by the exact time, but Mr. Randall is confident he'll manage somehow and goes to see his plumber. He soon finds that his plumber, Henry Pipe, is a bitter, jaded man who is tired of living a life of servitude and taking orders, but intends to rebeal against this in a sinister manner using a collection of tiny pills he keeps. The next day, Henry shows up to fix a fountain, claiming he's “from the water department” and is told to hurry up and not bother anybody next to what seems to be a normal functioning fountain, remarking out loud how “Everything will be quiet soon!” Freddy arrives some time later and finds everyone is… stunned in place, like statues, incapable of being roused either. Suddenly, Freddy spots that Henry is wearing an oxygen mask and stealing from people, so he calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel, Junior! Before he can do much though, Henry shoves a socialite into the fountain, forcing him to dive in after her so she won't drown. Despite being dunked in water, the woman still hasn't woke up and Junior is forced to leave her nearby, safe but unaware.
Soon after, an ambulance arrives and a doctor says that four people were brought in like this a few days ago also from a lawn party among friends, but he can't exactly explain it yet, taking them to the hospital. Henry Pipe is at his shop, gloating over a large pile of cash and other valuables and plans on doing more plumbing for the super rich that enjoy lawn parties. The day after, Junior reads about how Mrs. Charles Dunning is holding a similar lawn party for charity on the 3rd of the month, which is that very day! He flies off to the Dunning Lawn Party and finds that the man there to fix the fountain already left earlier, before she starts to seize up and enter a fugue state just like the last time! She soon finds that there's a mild vapor coming off from the fountain from the nozzle at the top, finding a tiny pair of pellets slowly dissolving in the water. Removing them, he decides he'll research into it further later. Instead, our hero just freezes in place to make Pipe think that he already caught him in the act, only to punch him over into the nearby fountain. Henry admits that he did it to steal from rich people and later, the Doctor Junior met manages to make an antidote from the pellets.
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and The Sleeping People!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Mr. Randall
Antagonists:
- Henry Pipe
Other Characters:
- Mrs. Charles Dunning
- Other Swank Lawn Party Socialites
- A Doctor
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Henry Pipe's Plumbing Shop
- New York City
Items:
- Dissolvable Sleeping Gas Pills
- An Oxygen Mask
- Several Expensive Fountains
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Captain Kid: "No Tanks"
Captain Kid and Friends are at the carnival where a high dive diver lands in a tiny pool to Betty Mae and Pudgy, insisting he could pull it off. Pudgy points out there isn't a dive high enough in Podunk to match (or for him to prove he can,) which Captain Kid thinks is rather the point. The Diver offers that he'll just let Captain Kid take a high dive himself and even lends him some trunks. He's ends up slowly climbing the high dive, comes back down to see how cold the water in the small tank is, climbs back up and decides he'll figure out how to purposefully injure his foot so he won't have to embarrass himself, only to be attacked by a woodpecker that cracks through the entire diving platform, ripping it in half as he kicks the ladder “accidentally.” Captain Kid catches the bird trying to genuinely murder him and punches it in the face, but not before it breaks the platform and he falls headfirst into the tank. Later, Betty Mae openly fawns over Captain Kid and his sprained ankle while Pudgy grouses to himself how that Captain Kid always gets out on top!
Appearing in Captain Kid: "No Tanks"
Featured Characters:
- Captain Kid
Supporting Characters:
- Betty Mae
Antagonists:
- A High Diver
Other Characters:
- Pudgy
Locations:
- Earth-S
- Podunk
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and the Fate of the Time Capsule"
In the Year 5000 CE, we find that they've unearthed a time capsule from the distant past of 1949. In this future, most people wear tunics and bowled hats, marveling at how they used metal to make money and not plastic! They soon find film footage of this strange “Captain Marvel,” the World's Mightiest Mortal, and a mysterious man in a fedora wearing the poor man's mask of a black bandanna over his face.
In the present of 1949, Mr. Morris sends Billy to report on a story about a time capsule to be buried and unearthed in the year 5,000, so he does, finding it's run a garish building in the woods and run by a portly man named Don Vorgo. Inside the capsule are due to be stamps, coins and jewels from all over the world with the assistance of Professor Keene, who is taking microfilm of general information like flowers and animals. Don heads out to “do some business” as Prof. Keene points out they're soon to bury the capsule in concrete so it'll last a very long time. However, we find that Don Vorgo is a rank criminal who is doing this to just steal valuables in the present, disguising himself with a blue fedora and a black bandanna over his face. When Billy and Prof. Keene go to stop him, he swings at them with his bag of valuables. Billy, angry at being struck with a bag, calls SHAZAM to summon Captain Marvel while Prof. Keene films it on microfilm. Vorgo shoves Prof. Keene into the World's Mightiest Mortal to distract him and legs it outside to change back into Don Vorgo. Vorgo enters and feigns ignorance and concern for all of several seconds before he offers that Prof. Keene can just get footage of an actively erupting volcano north of them in Bergville, whereupon he just immediately asks Captain Marvel to help.
Captain Marvel points out someone just tried to bludgeon him to death barely a few minutes ago and is definitely still out there, but Vorgo points out that women and children are also still in danger. He does so and they find Bergville just is fine entirely and fly back to find Vorgo just threw everything in his black car to escape, confirming to Captain Marvel that he was the goon the whole time. Vorgo then abandons his car when he's in the mountains, expecting Captain Marvel to save the treasure rather than him first (since he does.) Captain Marvel decides that they can solve this a lot easier by just finishing the Time Capsule while Vorgo starts to sabotage the gas tank so it'll explode if used. The digger explodes and Captain Marvel catches a steel beam from hitting the two of them, then figures out he can solve this by just digging a big hole and continuing the project, burying it for the concrete pour the morning after. Captain Marvel decides to head home and returns Billy as night begins to fall, since Billy is markedly less conspicuous. Vorgo, however, spots Billy while he's trying to steal priceless jewels from around the world, but this time manages to throw a parcel hard enough to knock him out, then leave him bound and gagged in the capsule, reasoning that no one would dig it up until 5,000 CE! Billy manages to cut his gag off by smashing a glass stamp holder with his own face, then calls SHAZAM for Captain Marvel to emerge from the time capsule and punches out Don Vorgo, who mistakenly was leaving a trail of jewels behind him. Later, the capsule has been repaired and Billy finally gets to report on it, saluting the people of the future. He says he'll likely have nightmares for weeks of being buried alive, but feels better knowing Don Vorgo in a special time capsule… called jail!
Appearing in Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and the Fate of the Time Capsule"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Prof. Keene
Antagonists:
- Don Vorgo
Other Characters:
- Mr. Morris
- Residents of the Year 5,000
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- WHIZ Radio
- Future Society Time Capsule Project Building
- Bergville
- New York City
Items:
- A Well-Digger
Vehicles:
Notes
- Despite the cover, the Clayton Family does not fire a cannon at the Marvel Family. Instead, they only throw fist-sized rocks and a few saucepans.
See Also