Lucifer and the Blue Devils (Nickel Comics #6)

Our sixth tale in the life and times of Jim "Bullet" Barr aka Bulletman starts with a request for him to take a vacation. It seems "Bullet" has been particularly obsessed with his career as a police lab technician ever since he concocted and digested his "anti germ" serum. Perhaps, beside increasing his physical and mental attributes, it has an addictive side effect not unlike another costumed crusader on another Earth at this time in Hourman. Was Jim's serum and "Tick Tock" Tyler's Miraclo pill made of similar chemical properties? While there isn't a record of Barr having to take this sensational solution again, and in fact he destroyed  it in order to prevent it from falling in the wrong hands, it seems to have made him as obsessive as Hourman.

Back to the story, Susan is pleading her boyfriend objection of affection to accept her father's request that Jim take a leave of absence. However, when Barr approached his supervisor, Sergeant Kent is saddened by the news just received of his former patrol buddy Hanigan having been gunned down in Eagle Valley. Sensing a new case, Jim accepts the vacation request.

Arriving in Eagle Valley aka Pleasantville, Jim decides to ask random individuals in the community about a tip the Sarge heard as to the culprits of this heinous crime, the Blue Devil. Yet none have heard of them accept for newspaper editor Elsa Martin and attorney Stuart Vinton, who themselves are threatened by a man who claims association with this crime gang.

Donning his crime fighting costume, Bulletman jets into a fray with the Blue Devils attempting to extort money from residents of this town. However, one of their number corner him with a gun, at which point the hero says he can't dodge bullets! What???

Perhaps he's luring them in a trap, as Bulletman beats his opponents and track down atop a dam the rest of the gang and their leader Lucifer attempting to execute Elsa and other citizens who oppose his Devils. How to safe them? Bust a hole in the dam, so all the water is released. Then the hostages won't drown when they fall into the water. No, instead they will die from sudden impact with an unforgiving ground!

However, it appears that the gangsters are a bit slower at the uptake than Bulletman himself, as they flee and find their roadsters drowning in the flood torrent the hero unleashed. As to any downstream who may be affected due to our Fawcett Fighter's folly, there is no indication of any deaths or property damage. So apparently, the dam was just there to store water for the town, perhaps?

Cornering Lucifer himself, Bulletman unmasks the crimelord as... Vinton himself! What, the attorney is the crook? Wonder if this was something unexpected back in the 40's? 

Returning to his hometown, Barr resumes his civilian career and mentions to Susan that his vacation was nothing out of the ordinary.

Bullet Buddies: We are starting to see a crack in the sarcastic demeanor of Sergeant Kent, as he confides in his underling whom he once mocked and ridiculed. Perhaps his daughter's obvious flirtations of his employee is starting to wear him down and accept the meek scientist.

Rocketing Romance: Susan appears to have a scheme whereby if she can just draw Jim away from the lab, maybe he will begin to notice her? Guess her crush on Bulletman has worn off.

Bedeviling Bulletman: Lucifer and the Blue Devils are one-and-done gangsters with only stylized costumes to distinguish them from more common crooks.

Powerful Projectile:  Ripping a tree from the ground! Smashing a whole into several feet of concrete, bursting a dam! His strength continues to ramp up steadily episode by episode. However, the bullet bouncing abilities of Bullet's Gravity Regulating Helmet are not fully defined as yet.

Fawcett Facts: These stories were published in late 1939/early 1940. Thus the art and print quality are not up to bar, and are still a year ahead of the Mister Scarlet tales we've also been chronicling. Once Bulletman makes the jump to his new publishing home magazine, this will improve greatly.

The Death Battallion (America's Greatest Comics #1)

With America's Greatest Comics #1, history was made, as the first team of supervillains... all of whom had previous appearances separately... joined forces as the Death Battalion. Consisting of Mr. Scarlet's adversaries in Wow Comics #2 of Doctor Death, the Ghost, the Horned Hood, and his opponents in Wow Comics #3 of Black Thorn, Black Clown and the Laughing Skull, together with mastermind the Brain formed a true challenge for the crimson crusader.

While there has been acknowledgement that before the Injustice Society of Earth-Two, before the Monster Society of Evil on Scarlet's Earth-S which faced his pal Captain Marvel, and even before the Five Fingers of the Hand who met their match versus Law's Legionnaires on Earth-Two, there were a triad of terror that faced Bulletman, the Revenge Syndicate. However, that would occur in 1942, while this tale predates all of these problematic paladins. And does so early in Mister Scarlet's career, shortly after he picked up his trusty sidekick to help him thin out the herd of heinous heretics in this hideous hive.

Our tale commences when six of the worst criminals in Gotham City, which Scarlet protects, escape their prison and are assembled by the mysterious helmeted Brain. Meanwhile, prison warden Loomis resigned out of failure for allowing these dangerous dudes to escape his grasp. We will see him again.

In order to strike terror throughout America through coordinated attacks on five key men. While each of these criminals had their own agendas based on greed, they willingly submit to their new master's orders. Pledging allegiance to Brain, it becomes apparent that he holds some sway over the sextet. What that is is untold.

The first target, Senator Dean, is removed by Doctor Death... although this leads to a confrontation with Mister Scarlet who learns about the Battalion before his old foe escapes. The Brain then sends his new henchmen on their individual missions of chaos. Kudsen (head of a defense program) whom the Black Clown tries to eliminate with the aid of a trained gorilla, F.B.I Chief Doover is scared near to death by the Ghost.  a cabinet of politicians zapped by Black Thorn's mummy ray (wasn't that thing destroyed, and Thorn wasn't it's original designer so how did he rebuild it from scratch?), armory General Dodd whose guard is taken out by the Horned Hood, and the dynamic duo itself by the Laughing Skull. 

Mister Scarlet and Pinky each take separate targets, and help each other out when the other is captured at different points during this adventure. They are able to capture Laughing Skull and Horned Hood, while the other four retreat to the Brain's hideout.

As such, when the pair of missing felons arrive at Brain's lair... somehow they obtained the location of it, perhaps from their captured foes... Scarlet and Pinky make short work of the remaining crooks. And in the end, learn that mastermind the Brain is in reality Warden Loomis, a plant from Nazi Germany sent to sow discord in America at this critical juncture during World War II.

This decisive defeat is such that none of these villains will return for later a rematch with the crimson crime fighters, falling into obscurity. So much so that they are all but forgotten in the annals of history as being history's first team of supervillains, a template that would repeated multiple times thereafter.

• Supporting Scarlet: Pinky shows his mettle facing off against a few of the Battalion on his own, and coming the his mentor's rescue.

• Red Romance: None this go around. Miss Wade only appears trying to dissuade young Pinky from his costumed career.

• Menacing the Mister: The Death Battalion are the culmination of a gaggle of gaudy greedy goons, who repeat their mistakes and end up on the business side of our Dynamic Duo's fists.

• Crimson Capabilities: Mister Scarlet's massive might versus Black Clown's gorilla, and Pinky's effortless gliding through the air as if flying, are inexplicable and unbelievable.

• Fawcett Facts:Once more to repeat.... before the Revenge Syndicate, the Sivana Family, the Monster Society of Evil... there were these guys. One and done, but historical nonetheless.

Gotham City... and the All-Stars of Earth-S

In the spring of 1942, the Crisis on Infinite Earths invaded both Earth-S and Earth-Two, with the former world being a special target for minions of the anti-matter universe. Drawn to that planet from their native universe, a trio of heroes encountered Captain Marvel, helping him to combat the massive shadow creature.

Following this victorious battle, Cap commented on the interesting names of these visiting members of the  All-Star Squadron, comparing them to Bulletman, Spy Smasher, Mister Scarlet and Pinky. In turn, the three members All-Stars noted the unique Fawcett City where Marvel lived, and asked if his world has versions of their Metropolis and Gotham City. Cap hadn't heard of either, no doubt his City substitutes for Superman's. But Gotham was an actual city on Earth-S, as it was home or Scarlet and Pinky, which Marvel visited recently in pursuit of a criminal! Apparently, geography was not his strong point. But we know better!

Case of the Crooked Contractor (Nickel Comics #5)

As so often happens in these early tales, Jim is toiling away in his lab as part of the "police research bureau" of his unnamed city, accompanied by his top fan Susan Kent and number one detractor Sergeant Kent. At the beginning, it is noted that Sarge's sentiments as to Jim being a useless weakling is a view shared with most of the force. 

Be that as it may, Susan becomes witness to a hit and run just outside the police station. Tim Strange is run down by an unknown assailant while walking towards the station, and Jim notices some concrete that tips him off to go to the victims work. There, he is almost clocked by a falling girder, impelling Barr to change his attire and ferret out who is behind these "strange" goings on as Bulletman.

After leaving several of contractor Durgan's employees hanging on another girder after their attacks on our hero fail, this catches the attention of Sgt. Kent and Susan who stop to confront Durgan himself. This leads to their capture, on board a ship that Bulletman damages in order to save the pair and confront the crooked contractor.  Remarkably, after bringing the Kents back to shore, they are speaking to him face to face. Unmasked face, that is!

However, Durgan is at the newly minted city hall, which is made of the same shoddy materials that Tim Strange saw on the construction site. Rocketing off to the new structure which is being inaugurated before a crowd in front of it, Bulletman decides to push on beams in order to demolish it before any innocents enter the faulty facade. Exposing Durgan for his money hording practices, he jets off.

Bullet Buddies: It was said previously that Bulletman has "telescopic vision", thanks to his miracle serum. The Sarge and Susan could use some of it themselves, as they can't recognize that the helmeted hero they are speaking to is the same man in the lab coat they see every day! However, Sergeant Kent acknowledges for the first time that Jim Barr's observation of the concrete was correct, which indicates that he is at least becoming aware that the lab tech is m ore than meets the eye.

Rocketing Romance: Susan now has a new man in her life, and one she appears to be interested in. Or at least someone she can fawn over as leverage over Jim to get him to finally notice her.

Bedeviling Bulletman: Durgan is by far the least imaginative of the featured foes thus far. *Yawn*

Powerful Projectile:  Wrenching a propeller with his bare hands! Tearing down the new city hall, like a modern day Samson! Is there a cap to his strength, or is the "sky the limit"!

Fawcett Facts: The format of Nickel Comics, being produced less often with a greater page count for half the price, is not a sustainable one. We are entering into the final days of this title.