Nick Peron

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Captain America Comics #4

The Unholy Legion

Credits

After a series of murders of leading weapons manufacturers at the hands of apparently homeless men armed with lethal weapons, the authorities learn that it is the work of a group called the Unholy Legion. One day while Steve Rogers and James Barnes are on their way back to Camp Lehigh they notice a supposedly legless homeless man get up and run off into the city at the sound of chiming bells. Following after him they spot a group of homeless people rushing toward a church. Finding this suspicious, Steve sends James to disguise himself as a homeless boy and investigate while he goes to report back to Camp Lehigh on time.

Getting inside the church, James realizes that these homeless people are in reality Nazi agents who are posing as homeless and using the money they beg and steal to fund their operations. When James fails to produce a Nazi brand that all the members of the Unholy Legion have, they realize that he is a spy and capture him. They make Bucky watch as they brand a captured FBI agent with a red hot swastika, and are about to do the same thing to Bucky as well when suddenly Captain America smashes through a boarded up window. While Captain America overpowers the gang, Bucky gets hold of a Gatling gun and holds them hostage, but their leader manages to escape through a secret passage way. Following after him, Cap and Bucky chase him to a U-Boat that is coasting off shore and beat the crew into submission. Locking the leader of the Unholy Legion aboard, they disable the U-Boats engine and place a time bomb aboard, jumping overboard just as it explodes.

When they spot that the leader of the Unholy Legion has escaped via a torpedo, Captain America and Bucky chase him back to the church and arrives just as he has freed his captured minions. After a brief struggle against the two heroes, the Nazi spies are all beaten into submission and turned over to the authorities.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Nazis, President Franklin Roosevelt

Ivan the Terrible

Bucky has a dream in which Betty Ross is the queen of Siberia and that Ivan the Terrible seeks to take control of the region. When she refuses, Captain America and Bucky -- prisoners of Ivan -- are brought before him. When the duo attempt to break free, they are taken prisoner and locked up in the dungeon next to Betty Ross. They break out of their jail cell and escape from Ivan's castle, taking Betty to her father the king who is hiding out in the nearby mountains.

Cap and Bucky then return to Ivan's castle and fight their way back in. Captain America beats Ivan into submission and forces him to surrender the kingdom back over to Betty's father. Captain America and Bucky are then hailed as heroes. At this point, Bucky is awoken by Steve Rogers who sees that the boy is having a very animated dream. Awoken, Bucky tells Steve all about the dream battle Captain America had with Ivan the Terrible.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky

The Case of the Fake Money Friends

Hearing of counterfeiting and strange goings on in the town of Hillsdale from a fellow soldier, Steve Rogers and James Barnes decide to investigate as Captain America and Bucky. Breaking inside the so called haunted house in the area they are attacked by mysterious robed figures and find that they are far from ghosts but live men.

Investigating further, they find a bunch of counterfeiters in the basement and they have Betty Ross as their prisoner. The duo beat the crooks into submission and free Betty from her bonds. Betty tells them that this isn't the whole operation and that their leader -- an ex-government employee who was fired for stealing -- is still on the loose. The next day, Steve goes AWOL from marching duty to pose as an easily duped farmer to try and find the counterfeiters. When he exchanges money with a shady character he follows after them learning of the gang's hideout.

That night Captain America and Bucky crash in on the crooks and easily take them out of commission. While the newspapers hail Captain America and Bucky as heroes, Steve Rogers and James Barnes are given K.P. Duty for abandoning their posts.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Sgt. Duffy, Betsy Ross

Horror Hospital

While on leave from Camp Lehigh, Steve Rogers and James Barnes decide to take in a movie. They happen upon the theater just as it is being robbed by a gang of crooks and go after them as Captain America and Bucky. However while they are apprehending the crooks Bucky is injured. Changing back to their civilian identities, Steve Rogers rushes James to the closest doctor. This happens to be the office run by Doctor Grimm and his hospital of deformed patients and suspicious looking aides.

James is to stay for a few days to recover from his injuries and as the days continue, the strange happenings around the hospital -- including the disappearance of his nurse prompts James to write a letter asking Steve to investigate as Captain America. Dr. Grimm happens upon James as he is writing the letter and decides to let it go out so that he may capture Captain America. Getting the letter, Steve deserts his sentry duty and has one of his colleagues bring the letter to Betty Ross while he goes off as Captain America to Grimm's hospital. When Captain America arrives at the hospital, Grimm is waiting for him and traps him in a glass enclosure. Grimm tells the Captain that he needs human blood in order to keep his experiment, a creature named Gorro, alive.

Shortly thereafter, Betty Ross arrives at the hospital posing as a woman seeking to take up the vacant job as a nurse and she is brought into the lab where Captain America and Bucky are held prisoner and they are all introduced to Gorro, a massive creature. As Captain America struggles with the monster, Bucky manages to pry a gun free from Dr. Grimm's hands and use it to shoot the monster to death. When Cap fights it out with Dr. Grimm their struggle causes Grimm to fall off a balcony to his death. With his threat over, Captain America thanks Betty for her help and leaves.

When Steve and James return to camp after Sgt. Duffy is not happy to see that they have once more deserted their posts and assigns them to K.P. Duty again.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Sgt. Duffy, Betsy Ross

Captain America and the Bomb Sight Thieves

Captain America, Bucky and The Sentinels of Liberty stop two thieves from stealing plans for a bomb site.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky

The Ogre of the Cave Dwellers

On their way to find Attilan the so called "Island of the Gods" Tuk and Tanir come across a large group of people fleeing the area. When they ask what is happening one of the people fleeing tells them that the area is being terrorized by a brute named Bonzo and his gang of primitives.

Deciding to investigate, the two adventurers find that one caveman is not willing to flee from Bonzo and stands his ground to defend his mate and child. He is quickly beaten to death by Bonzo's men and before they can do the same with his Tanir fires an arrow at one of the men, killing him. Frightened by the "Magic Stick" Bonzo and his minions would flee. Knowing that once they regain their courage they will be back, Tanir sends Tuk and the woman into the wilderness while he deals with the savages.

When Bonzo and his men come back they easily get the drop on Tanir and are about to kill him when he offers to use his bow and arrow for their cause. Impressed by this, Bonzo agrees, but warns him to follow orders or meet death. When Tuk is spotted spying on them, Bonzo orders Tanir to kill his ally. Tanir makes it look as though he hit Tuk with his bow and rushes off to recover the boy's body.

The two begin plotting to eliminate Bonzo but when they are overheard by one of Bonzo's men, the pair overpower him and throw him off a cliff to his death. Tuk then leaves the scene and Tanir goes back to Bonzo to prove his "loyalty" so that he may begin to plot to eliminate Bonzo's reign of terror in the region once and for all.

This story is continued next issue...

Recurring Characters

Tuk, Tanir, Bonzo

The Pirate and the Missing Ships

In the 16th century, pirate John Cruthers is sentenced to exile on a tropical island for his crimes. Vowing revenge he is accepted with open arms by the island's native population and he trains them in the ways of pirating. Growing old and frail, Cruthers tells his followers to carry on his legacy of piracy following his death. The island of pirates begin building their fleet and by the 20th century begin capturing American vessels that sail too close to their island.

Reading about the story in a newspaper, Harry Cane decides to investigate the disappearances as Hurricane. Learning the general location of the ships disappearances from a steamship company, Hurricane flies out to the islands just past Hawaii and begins searching for signs of the missing ships.

He comes across the pirates just as they are attacking yet another cruise ship. Rescuing the crew, Hurricane uses his powers to sink their ship. Travelling to the pirates island he easily overpowers the pirates and disarms them. With their threat neutralized, Hurricane delivers judgement upon them by causing a massive storm to wash the pirates off their island to drown at sea.

Recurring Characters

Hurricane