DC Database
Advertisement

"Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and the Mobell Space Prizes!"": A rocket-ship is approaching Earth but is caught in a meteor storm, prompting Billy Batson to call SHAZAM to summon Captain Marvel and manages to land it on Earth, finding him to be a peaceful ambassador who resembles a bald Caucas

Whiz Comics #123 is an issue of the series Whiz Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1950.

Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and the Mobell Space Prizes!"

A rocket-ship is approaching Earth but is caught in a meteor storm, prompting Billy Batson to call SHAZAM to summon Captain Marvel and manages to land it on Earth, finding him to be a peaceful ambassador who resembles a bald Caucasian man with a large beard and two large trunk-like arms. He introduces himself as Prof. Zakkus of Mobell, finding that the Earth is still a primitive means of technology like atomic power, accidentally stating that cosmic ray power is thousands of times better. Prof. Zakkus laughs that the first world to discover Atomic Power won the “Space Prize” 50 years ago, then reveals his purpose for coming to Earth: to judge them for the “Mobell Space Prizes” in any of their many categories. Among them are Invention, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Literature, Music, Art, Crime Prevention, Peace and World Saving and he is on the Committee to possibly nominate Earth. Captain Marvel flies him around to find that penicillin was discovered 25 years ago, Beethoven’s symphonies are considered inferior to the music of Jaxtarr, other planets have made larger Mechanical Brain, modern art is obviously losing out and starts mildly apologizing that Earth isn’t so great perhaps. To assist him with his dead motor on his ship, Captain Marvel flies him past Sirius towards Vega and lands at Mobell Space Prize HQ and introduces him to the Committee. Captain Marvel looks towards the prizes when there is a sudden alarm and news comes in that Interstellar Thieves have robbed the World Bank of Arcturia of all their uranium money and escaped to the Dark Nebula. Captain Marvel finds out this puts them past Aldebaran, so he takes off quick before they disappear into cosmic darkness.

The thieves, who resemble large-nosed elves with unicorn horns, soon discover that Captain Marvel is chasing them down and bends the steel nose of their ship. They sharply dive back down and use their cosmic rays to burn a nearby planet, forcing Captain Marvel to stop chasing them to put out the fire entirely. Continuing after the Space Bandits, the world of Zamboz declares war against the world of Vagia and Captain Marvel is blinded by their two fleets suddenly attacking each other as the Space Bandits lead him through. Captain Marvel is forced again to stp, pushing a giant meteor between the two fleets to absorb the shots and demands they begin arbitration. Overseeing the peace treaty, Captain Marvel declares that both worlds were wrong to have started fighting and they accept quickly. Later, Captain Marvel is happy that his bluff played out and that he didn’t want to just upend both fleets. Captain Marvel finally manages to stop them three seconds before the Space Bandits can enter the Dark Nebula, turning them over to a police ship. He returns to the Mobell Peace Prize HQ and finds that the Earth has won three Mobell Space Prizes: for World Saving, Crime Preventing and Peace. Later, Billy Batson hides them in his filing cabinet and hopes that the Earth itself will earn Prizes like this someday.

Appearing in Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and the Mobell Space Prizes!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • The Captain Marvel Club
  • Professor Zakkus of Mobell

Antagonists:

  • Interstellar Thieves
  • The Warring Planets of Zamboz and Vagia

Other Characters:


Locations:

Items:

  • The Mobell Space Prizes

Vehicles:

  • A Stolen Spaceship


Synopsis for Golden Arrow: "Magic and Murder!"

Golden Arrow hears gunshots at the General Store and finds a magician therein with a dead man on the floor, claiming a "masked bandit" came through and did it. Golden Arrow does a cursory look around, but can't find any sign of them. He asks why the bandits didn't shoot him, but the Magician says he's rather broke. Golden Arrow tails him to the Feed Store, where the same exact event occurs, only for Golden Arrow to notice the window hasn't been opened in years! Returning, Magic Mike reveals he has a gun in his hat and tries to shoot and wings him in the arm, but is now out of bullets. Despite Golden Arrow moving straight towards him, he still manages to pick up a club and knock him out, saying he has business at Banker Duane's Party that he's due to "perform" at. He gets there to find he's pulling a general stick-up, then uses his left foot to fire an arrow (since his arm is injured,) knocking the hat and gun out of his hand before tackling him and punching out. The Sheriff thanks him for his help.

Appearing in Golden Arrow: "Magic and Murder!"

Featured Characters:

Animals:

Antagonists:

  • "Magic" Mike

Other Characters:

  • The Sheriff of Dry Gulch
  • Banker Duane

Locations:

Items:


Vehicles:



Synopsis for Lance O'Casey: "Treachery Under Cover!"

Lance and Mike land at Kulala Island and their old lovable hangout, Kulala House, run by Jim Thorne and his sister, Mary, who also take care of numerous war orphan foster children. However, when they get there, they find that the Thornes had to take out a big loan from known gambler, Jon Cards, who wants to foreclose on it if they can't pay their $2,000 in full. What's more, they're insisting on doing so so they can build an unregulated casino. Cards walks up, openly admitting he did as much, then orders Lance and Mike inside at gunpoint with his goon, "Bruiser" Taske, a former heavyweight boxer turned foul and kicked out of it. Jim tells them that he's going to come back tomorrow for the money in full, but Jim points out that they could manage to gamble for it if any of them can beat Bruiser! They head to the basement of Cards' Casino and bets him that he can beat Bruiser, but also says if Bruiser wins, he gets the Starfish.

The next day, the bout starts aboard the Starfish. The first round goes well, but the second Lance takes a hard hit on the shoulder. By the end of the round, Lance figures that he's hidden steel knuckles in his glove, but still last to the fifth round and knocks out Bruiser for a ten-count. Lance orders the Judge to check Bruiser's gloves, but Cards instead just pulls a gun on them and demands the papers he wants anyways and shoots Bruiser. Lance tackles him into the ocean, but Cards pulls a knife on him, then manages to shove him in the jaw and grab his knife-wielding wrist. Later, they prove that Bruiser was cheating and the Judge rules for Lance, Mike and for Kulala House.

Appearing in Lance O'Casey: "Treachery Under Cover!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Jon Cards
    • "Bruiser" Taske

Other Characters:


Locations:

  • Earth-S
    • The South Seas
      • Kulala Island
        • Kulala House

Items:

  • Steel Knuckles

Vehicles:

  • The Starfish

Synopsis for Freshman Freddy: "The Long and Short of It!"

Ace offers his taller friend, Stretch, get a topcoat, but Stretch notes that Freshman Freddy got one just like it, but Ace tells him to try it anyways so he can play a prank on Freddy. Stretch asks if he ever gets tired of trying these tricks, but Ace says he’ll stop at nothing. Ace finds that Freddy is heading to the Girls’ Dorm to show off his coat to his girlfriend. Minutes later, he does so and the den mother goes to get Harriet, while Ace has Stretch switch coats with him, making it look like Freddy bought a ridiculously ill-fitting coat. Stretch points out he’ll need to stop him to keep his jacket from Freddy going to get the sleeves shortened at nearby Jackson’s University Tailor Shop. When Freddy heads to the back to talk to Mr. Jackson, Ace switches the coats again. When he does so, the tailor shortens his sleeves too short for him now and they go to the back again to go over the measurements, only for Ace to again switch the coats, not caring that it’ll likely ruin Stretch’s coat, especially when Jackson cuts one of the sleeves off by accident, not realizing who has whose coat. Stretch, upset that his coat clearly won’t fit anymore, punches Ace a few times, demanding a new coat and Freddy laughs at having gotten comeuppance from Ace by not really doing anything!

Appearing in Freshman Freddy: "The Long and Short of It!"

Featured Characters:

  • Freshman Freddy

Supporting Characters:

  • Harriet
  • Mr. Jackson

Antagonists:

  • Ace
    • Stretch

Other Characters:


Locations:

  • Earth-S
    • Podunk University
      • Podunk U Girls' Dormitory
      • Jackson's University Tailor Shop
      • Campus Clothes

Items:

  • Two Coats

Vehicles:



Synopsis for Ibis the Invincible: "Ibis the Invincible and The Devil Imps!"

Apollyon the Destroyer is worshiped by his Devil Imps, lesser demons that work in his service and he orders them to go to Earth to find righteous humans to tempt. Some time later, Prince Ibis and Princess Taia are off to visit a rich friend, millionaire philanthropist Joseph Spalding, who needs Ibis’ help: he’s having strange hallucinations that doctors can’t explain, seeing “little creatures” in his fireplace and starts kicking at it, sending burning firewood across the room. Ibis quickly wishes on the Ibistick for buckets of water to appear and take out the fires. Spalding says the little creatures look like imps of Hades that resemble a friend that tried to borrow money from him years ago. When Spalding refused, his friend killed himself. He’s been so haunted by it, he’s never denied someone money since. On the way out of his house, Ibis worries that Spalding is feeling guilty, but not at fault and he and Taia are suddenly attacked by a car driving towards them! Ibis wishes the car to split itself in half harmlessly and they find that Senator Colbert was driving! Colbert similarly says that he’s also been seeing imps, but they look like his brother Paul instead of being at the big Peace Conference that night. Paul left to fight in the Great War, while Colbert himself stayed on the home front to watch his mother and died in his place. Ibis begins to worry that someone is trying to tempt honest men and make them evil, so Ibis wishes for the Imps to appear. However, when he does, he finds that they are too horrible to be looked at and wishes them away again, saying he’ll never forgot that. Meanwhile, the Imps return to Apollyon and he instructs them to use his “weakness. Ibis admits at his apartment that, to him, the Imps looked like his late mentor Ra-Tson. One day in ancient Egypt, he knew that Ra-Tson was being targeted by Court Assassins, but was distracted by two wine merchants fighting an old man, wishing them into a wine cask to imprison them, but found in the meantime that Ra-Tson was killed by the assassins while he was gone. Although he arrested the assassins, he still regrets not having been able to stop them and sees an Imp at his window, wishing for a meteor to strike it. In the night, the Imps tempt Ibis into walking outside in a hypnotic trance, telling him the only way to avenge Ra-Tson is to jump off his apartment building. Princess Taia uses the Ibistick, wishing for Ra-Tson to be summoned to tell him to not feel guilty about his death, since he cannot change the verdict of destiny. They team up one last time for him to beat the Imps and throw them off the roof. Ra-Tson’s Spirit disappears as the sun rises and Ibis says that those men of good will they know have nothing to fear.

Appearing in Ibis the Invincible: "Ibis the Invincible and The Devil Imps!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Ra-Tson (Dies in flashback)
  • Unnamed Wine Merchant

Locations:

Items:

  • Wine Casks

Vehicles:

  • A Wine Cart

Trivia

  • Also appearing in this issue of Whiz Comics were:
    • Red and Fred: The Big Party
    • A Wicky and O'Shawnessy Story: "In the Hammock" (text story) by Rod Reed
    • The Culture Corner: "How to Raise Your Eyebrows" by Basil Wolverton
    • Poor Paul: "Different!"
    • Pilot Pete: "Statistics"


See Also


Links and References

Advertisement