Yes, the slums should be burned down! And that's the cue for the Fire Fiend! 
Wow Comics #5 is an issue of the series Wow Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1942.
Synopsis for Mr. Scarlet: "The Moon Torchman"
Professor Hawkstrum proves his Lunar Theory by developing a hand-held device for concentrating Moon Rays into a poisonous green ray, his diabolical brain-searing weapon. People become extremely suggestible when it is shone upon them, and the vengeful Hawkstrum, under his new alter ego as "The Moon Torchman," creates a great deal of dangerous chaos at the university, including a student riot. Mr. Scarlet and Pinky arrive to investigate, there's a violent confrontation in which the villain sends in brain-fried surrogates, including a big dog and half a football team. By pulling an improbable rodeo stunt, the villain is able to knock out Scarlet a second time, and drags him through a hidden door to his lab, where a larger version of the Moon Torch has been set up. Pinky arrives in time to save Scarlet from that treatment, and spins the big ray lamp around to shine on Hawkstrum, then for good measure, flings the big apparatus at him, causing it to explode.
Appearing in Mr. Scarlet: "The Moon Torchman"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- Moon Torchman (First appearance) (Apparent Death)
Other Characters:
- Hawkstrum's mocking colleagues
Locations:
- Gotham City, on Earth-S
- a famous university
Items:
- Moon Torchman's brain-searing Green Ray
Synopsis for Mr. Scarlet: "The Boss"
One quiet day at Brian Butler's law office, The Boss crashes in, knocking the door off its hinges. He demands that Butler should write out a will for Mr. Scarlet. There is a brief, unresolved fight, first between the Boss and Butler and Pinky, then between the Boss and Mr. Scarlet and Pinky. He's vastly stronger and tougher than both of them put together and they make no headway against him, then the Boss leaves, unhindered. As this goes on, an unidentified kibitzer watches, eats peanuts, and makes stupid remarks.
That evening The Boss and three lowlifes home-invade the Astorbilt mansion, until the police show up. The Boss lifts the front end of their squad car, and tosses cops around until he's again in charge of the situation. The sudden arrival of Scarlet and Pinky starts another fight. The henchmen go down quickly, and this time, the Boss goes down almost as quickly. The heroes have not changed tactics or added weapons, they just inexplicably win the previously unwinnable fistfight. The same unidentified onlooker is on the scene again, observing, eating more peanuts, and making more stupid remarks.
The next day at Butler's office, while Brian and Pinky and Miss Wade are reading the newspaper story about the Boss's arrest, the same nameless peanut-eater shows up, drops a cryptic remark which implies that he knows their secret identities, then is hustled out of the office by Butler and Butler.
Appearing in Mr. Scarlet: "The Boss"
Featured Characters
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- The Boss (First appearance)
- three hench punks
Other Characters:
- unidentified kibitzer
- Astorbilt's butler
- Mr. & Mrs. Astorbilt
- two policemen
Locations:
- Gotham City, on Earth-S
- Butler's Law Office
- Astorbilt Mansion
Items:
- Astorbilt Jewelry
Vehicles:
- Police Car
Synopsis for Mr. Scarlet: "The Fire Fiend"
Appearing in Mr. Scarlet: "The Fire Fiend"
Featured Characters
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- Fire Fiend (First appearance)
- 3 hench arsonists
Other Characters:
- Professor Wilson, eccentric reformer
- Mrs. Doyle
Locations:
- Gotham City, on Earth-S
- Tenement District
- Tenement District
Synopsis for Hunchback: "Spinto's Submarine Gangsters"
Appearing in Hunchback: "Spinto's Submarine Gangsters"
Featured Characters
- Hunchback (Final appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Betty Brenton, Lanier's Fiancee
Villains:
- Spinto (Dies)
- his submarine crew:
- Slitter
- Zelli
- 3rd thug (Dies)
- Snooty and two other torpedomen
- Muggs
- at least five more gangsters
- his submarine crew:
- District Attorney Pendrix (Dies)
Other Characters:
- 3 Police: O'Toole, Moriarty, one other
Locations:
- New York City
- Gangster Submarine Pier (Slip 28, hidden under new, high-level Municipal Pier)
- Spinto's luxury apartment in a tall building on 63rd Street
Items:
- Hunchback's walking stick
Vehicles:
- Hunchback's Speedboat
- Spinto's Submarine
Synopsis for Rick O'Shay: "Destroy the Voskay Dam"
Rick O'Shay is the only American in an English Army unit operating with a Red Army unit, in Russia. Germans are overrunning their position, and the Russian troops are behaving disgracefully, when Rick picks up a machine gun and takes charge of the battle. He shoots and stabs and bludgeons and kicks his way thru a large number of German infantrymen, leaving many of them dead. When he returns to his outfit, O'Shay is dispatched to blow up the Voskay Dam.
This waterworks already has a big explosive charge planted inside it, by a Russian unit that was driven away earlier. Rick uses an overturned rowboat for cover and swims his way across the reservoir, right up to the dam, then slips inside a machinery space, and does some eavesdropping. A sniveling Russian traitor arrives, to inform the dam's new commandant about the planted explosives, and is rewarded for this news with a bullet. Rick is close enough to see and hear this happen. He loses his temper and charges into a cluster of German troops, first punching out their commander and stealing his luger, then shooting many of the rest. There is a running fight which ends with O'Shay reaching the center line of the dam, diving in to the reservoir, finding the detonator switch, and yanking it. He scrambles back up to the walkway, punches out a few more soldiers, and escapes the structure, just before the timer switch sets off the explosives, shattering the Voskay Dam and killing all the soldiers on it. The released waters smash down the Voskay Valley, and annihilate a German Panzer unit.
Rick makes it back to his unit, asks for a cigarette, and cheerfully accepts the acclaim of his Allied comrades.
Appearing in Rick O'Shay: "Destroy the Voskay Dam"
Featured Characters
- Rick O'Shay (Final appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- The Major
Villains:
- German Soldiers (many die)
- Civilian Russian Informer (Dies)
Locations:
- Russia
- Voskay Dam
- Voskay Valley
Vehicles:
- German tanks
Synopsis for Jim Dolan: "The Return of Zara"
Jim Dolan, the crime-solving, gang-busting editor of Daring Detective Magazine, again contends with Zara, the Spy. Zara's thugs kidnap Sally; Jim rescues Sally; Zara gets away.
Appearing in Jim Dolan: "The Return of Zara"
Featured Characters
- Jim Dolan (Final appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Sally Alden
Villains:
- Zara (Final appearance)
- Flinty
- two more thugs (one dies)
Other Characters:
- Officer Mike
Locations:
- New York City
- Daring Detective Magazine publishing office, on Main Street
- 2848 Decatur Avenue = Zara's hideout
Synopsis for Atom Blake: "The Planet Where Time Stood Still"
Atom and Stuart Blake, and Atom's Princess girlfriend arrive on Planet Saturn, from Earth. There they encounter another subjugated population, and overthrow their alien tyrant, Queen Zirca of Praetoria.
Appearing in Atom Blake: "The Planet Where Time Stood Still"
Featured Characters
- Atom Blake (Final appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Stuart Blake (Final appearance)
- Atom's Princess Girlfriend (Final appearance)
Villains:
- Queen Zirca, of Praetoria (planet)
- her soldiers
Other Characters:
- Grand Mole, of Saturn (planet) (Final appearance)
- Saturn People (Final appearance)
- Praetorian Scientist (Final appearance)
Locations:
- Saturn (planet)
- Praetoria (planet) (Final appearance)
Items:
- The Fluid Of Time
- Time-tipped Spears
- Atom's Magic Ring (repels attacks)
- Atom's Mathematical Formula (for interplanetary traveling)
Animals:
- Zirca's Time-treated Primitive Beasts
Notes
- Last issue for Atom Blake, the Boy Wizard, in the Worlds Of Time.
- Between the end of the story in Wow Comics #4 and the beginning of this one, a lot of things have apparently happened, for Atom, Stuart, and the Princess, including an unsuccessful visit to Earth. These adventures remain unchronicled.
- Everybody on planets Saturn and Praetoria speaks English. Praetorians regard Saturn as "the Time Planet". Saturnians are able to extract "Time Fluid" from an underground source on Saturn.
- Last issue for Hunchback:
- His body count grows: 1st guy, killed with a redirected thrown knife, could be luck; 2nd guy, terrorized into jumping out thru the closed window of a tall building, that's on the guy; 3rd guy strangled, by the Hunchback.
- Last issue for Jim Dolan:
- Jim's office windows are glazed with a special glass, which give the illusion that he's standing next to where he really is.
- Dolan kills one thug with a redirected thrown knife.
- Closing blurb says "Don't miss the next issue of Wow Comics and follow these two enemies through their next great battle.", but neither of them returns after this.
- Mr. Scarlet versus "The Moon Torchman"
- Pinky gets head-konked unconscious once. Mister Scarlet also receives a hard head-knock, which has the result of clearing his mind of the Moon Torch's effects. Later Scarlet is again hit in the head, kicked with both feet by the villain. These are the third and fourth cranial concussions of his hero career.[1][2]
- The art and dialogue are both ambiguous regarding the fate of the Moon Torchman. There was an explosion, and he was near it, and the other characters briefly talk about him in the past tense.
- Mr. Scarlet versus "The Boss"
- For no apparent reason, The Boss picks Brian Butler to write out Mr. Scarlet's will, which suggests that he already either knows or suspects Butler's double identity. In that first fistfight, Pinky, then Scarlet, changes identities without even stepping out of the office first. Miss Wade already knows, but now the unnamed peanut-eating window-peeper knows too, and even alludes to it in a later conversation.
- Mr. Scarlet versus "The Fire Fiend"
- Per page 1, panel 2, caption, Mister Scarlet and Pinkey operate in Gotham City.
- Per page 3, panel 2, caption, Miss Wade knows all about Brian and Pinky's double identities.
- Last issue for Rick O'Shay.
- Also appearing in this issue of Wow Comics were:
- "The Death Peddlers" (text story) by Joe Millard
See Also