Lost Crossovers: The Epic Battle Between Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher, part two

The cover to WHIZ COMICS #16 gives no indication of the titanic struggle that was played out within its pages. Inspired clearly by the battle between the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner in MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS, a fight that made that series a best-seller, Fawcett’s creative team decided to do their own super hero vs super hero slugfest, in their case between Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher. That this conflict seems like an incredible mismatch didn’t prevent it from running through several issues.

Last month, we saw Spy Smasher’s main foe the Mask capture and brainwash the hero into a raging juggernaut of sabotage and terrorism–though this didn’t work out well for the Mask, who was the new Spy Smasher’s first casualty. At the end of that story, as Spy Smasher ran wild, Captain Marvel appeared in a single panel vowing to bring him to heel. And that’s where the Captain Marvel story in this next issue of WHIZ COMICS picks things up.

Now, for all of his skill and cunning, Spy Smasher was still just an ordinary person without any special powers or abilities. You would think that the World’s Mightiest Mortal would have no difficulty overpowering him and trouncing him. A single good punch ought to end the conflict right there. So the creators were forced to be clever in how they pitted their two heroes against one another. The writer of this story is forgotten, but the artwork was produced by C.C. Beck and Pete Costanza.

Here, Spy Smasher is just able to elude Captain Marvel, who decides that corralling the now-armed criminals that Spy Smasher has just freed from prison is more urgent than bringing down the saboteur himself.

And Marvel, with the speed of mercury, is still thereafter able to catch up with Spy Smasher’s retreating Gyro-Sub.

Now, why Captain Marvel doesn’t immediately grab up Spy Smasher once the now-villain is hoisting him over his shoulder is a bit of a mystery. Comics, right? It would have saved a whole lot of time.

No fool, Spy Smasher takes Captain Marvel back to the Mask’s lab, where he attempts to turn the Big Red Cheese malevolent just as he was. The treatment doesn’t work on Captain Marvel, of course, but still the World’s Mightiest Mortal refrains from polishing off Spy Smasher, letting him depart unmolested for no good reason. You’re just making more work for yourself, Cap!

Again here, Captain Marvel foils Spy Smasher’s plan, but for some reason he doesn’t want Spy Smasher to realize that he’s awake and free. Not really using the wisdom of Solomon here.

For a short while, Captain Marvel possessed the ability to walk through walls via a scientific equation worked out by his enemy Sivana. This was swiftly forgotten about hereafter, but this story was done immediately after that Sivana affair, and so this seemed like a reasonable follow-up.

So Captain Marvel springs his trap, cornering Spy Smasher within a Nazi submarine. But still the master spy-fighter is able to elude him.

So not a great showing from the Big Red Cheese. Fortunately, the conflict continues further on into the issue as the final caption indicates.

The writer of this Spy Smasher chapter is similarly unknown today, but the artwork was provided by Charles Sultan.

Spy Smasher has devised the ultimate weapon: a grenade that looks like a banana! What a concept!

Whoever is writing this Spy Smasher story has Captain Marvel come across as a bit too brutal–his threat to “wring (Spy smasher’s) neck like a wet cloth” feels uncharacteristic, though it was still early days for the character. But again here, captain Marvel has to divert to save somebody else, in this case Spy Smasher’s love interest Eve Corby.

And once again, through trickery, Spy Smasher is able to make his escape. Clearly the Fawcett editors thought they were on to something with this rivalry, and in the final panel they ask the readers to write in saying who they think will prevail, Captain Marvel or Spy Smasher. Not that there’s ever any real doubt.

It had been promoted in earlier issues, but this issue of WHIZ COMICS includes this ad for the forthcoming ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL Republic Serial that includes what was likely the first public photograph of actor Tom Tyler in the role. Tyler made for a really good-looking Captain Marvel.