Whiz Comics #112 is an issue of the series Whiz Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of August, 1949.
Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and Sivana's Booby Traps!"
Doctor Sivana plots to launch Plot# 88-B, which involves a preponderance of booby traps. To start, he sneaks into Station WHIZ and breaks into Billy’s office to wire his chair to a bomb to just kill him the second he sits down in the morning. However, the next day, Billy Batson comes in and instead options to open the window for fresh air and then calls SHAZAM, since Captain Marvel is the one reading the mail. Captain Marvel instead sits down, being mildly embarrassed by the exploding seat that has reduced the chair to cinders. Captain Marvel thinks on how this simple letter from Johnny saved Billy’s life, but puzzles as to who was the sinister mind behind this. Sivana, watching from a nearby rooftop via a telescope, fumes and prepares to unleash his next trap, a fixed microphone that will electrocute Billy. Before it can though, it instead kills a fly near the microphone, leading him to call SHAZAM to have Captain Marvel disarm the electrified apparatus. Sivana fumes from his vantage point once more.
Later that morning, Billy finds a cobra in his desk, managing to pin it by closing it fast enough, but is shaken by the multiple attempts on his life. Sivana is furious still, but takes some solace in knowing that Billy is becoming a nervous wreck, freaking out that the water cooler might be poisoned in front of a coworker. Billy decides that he’s too unnerved to do his job right now and goes to tell Mr. Morris he’s going home to lock himself into safety. Soon, he arrives home and is forced to call SHAZAM just as he opens his door, since a booby trap nearly drops a stone large enough to crush him to death over his head. Naturally, it shatters against Captain Marvel’s. Sivana seems to finally realize that this won’t work if Billy isn’t around himself, so he instead decides to unleash his booby traps on the rest of New York City instead… The next day, Captain Marvel finds a sinkhole appearing under a sidewalk swallowing two passersby, so he flies in to carry them to safety, finding that the sidewalk was removed and replaced with fake cardboard like a tiger trap. Meanwhile, a woman goes to get some fresh air on the fire escape, only to find that it’s been forcibly detached from the building. Captain Marvel catches her before she hits the ground and he worries that this is going to happen a lot more often, soon after encountering a man who drives into a stone wall painted to look like a normal turnoff on to the parkway. From his laboratory, Dr. Sivana broadcasts that he’s unleashed the booby traps all over the city and that they can kill anyone at any moment, only to reveal after the broadcast ends that he hopes that plenty of people will blame normal accidents as “booby traps” and become worried and unnerved. This soon becomes the case with many people blaming mistakes they’ve made all themselves or as real accidents as “Sivana’s Booby Traps” as Sivana begins to weaponize this by stating the only way to avoid all the Booby Traps are to buy his secret list of them with one kidnapped Billy Batson delivered to Central Park for him, starting up a mob of people who have decided to protect Billy, touching Captain Marvel that they are so nice as to do so. To get the list of traps, Captain Marvel starts to come up with a plan where Billy Batson will have to make “the supreme sacrifice of his life!” The next day, Dr. Sivana finds what he believes to be Billy Batson bound and gagged in a plastic bag near a sign telling Sivana to come pick him up, only to find that it’s Captain Marvel dressed as Billy Batson and the cellophane bag was “optically treated” to make him look smaller, punching over the World’s Wickedest Scientist. Later, Billy signs off saying that Captain Marvel proved that crime is the biggest booby trap in the world!
Appearing in Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and Sivana's Booby Traps!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Mr. Morris
- Ted
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- WHIZ Radio
- Central Park
- New York City
Items:
- Sivana's Booby Traps
- A Drawer Cobra
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Golden Arrow, the Robin Hood of the West: "Golden Arrow, the Robin Hood of the West and the Perils of the Big City!"
Golden Arrow takes supplies out from Dry Gulch to a friend of his, Nero the Hermit, who doesn't come to town and won't let anyone else in his house except for Golden Arrow. The shopkeep thinks it odd that Nero is someone who wants modern amenities, but also hates society itself. At Nero's cabin, he angrily turns out an outlaw named Leech, threatening he'll get the buckshot in his rear next time he catches him lurking around his cabin. Leech, leaving, thinks on how Nero must have a bunch of money hidden around that he intends to steal. Golden Arrow arrives with his supplies and Nero confides he wants to buy a "phony-graph," but is too socially anxious to go to Midland City to get one, as he hasn't interacted with society in 30 years. Golden Arrow promises he will be there with him and Nero goes to dig up his money from its hiding place. Leech watches from the window, intending to use two goons, Spiffy & Greene, to ambush him in Midland City.
Days later, they arrive in town and Nero almost enjoys society before a terrifying runabout rides up and honks at Nero, making his horse rear and nearly killing him. Golden Arrow stops him by shooting out of his tires to make him swerve, avoiding hitting Nero. Golden Arrow finds the cops approaching and promises that they'll not take up traffic and pay for the tire. Leech tells his cronies that Golden Arrow and Nero are staying at the Midland Hotel, but they'll likely need to kill Golden Arrow first. Later, Golden Arrow is lured away by a note from a non-specific "Old Pal" to meet him at 811 Park North while Nero tries out sightseeing, only to find when he gets in the area there isn't an 811 at all! Elsewhere, Spiffy tries to sell Nero the Midland Bridge, offering he can take tolls and claiming he's named "Spiffy Midland" for the low price of $500. Doing so, he notes he can still afford his "phony-graph" and changes the sign to read "Nero's Bridge - 25¢ to Cross Bridge," which no one takes seriously and then begin to riot and try to push him off the bridge in a fury. Golden Arrow manages to arrive and fire an arrow to stick his pants to the bridge just as he's pushed off, saving him. Golden Arrow explains he's been had and Golden Arrow goes to report this to the police, telling Nero to stay at the hotel, but Nero feels this is patronizing and hangs around outside instead of in the lobby. Greene next comes up to try to sell him City Hall (claiming that it's his house) for the low low price of $1,000 and the promise to not tell anyone that he did so at such a price. Golden Arrow arrives and finds out he "bought" City Hall, but this time Nero can find that Greene and Spiffy and Leech are on a nearby cable car. However, Leech sees them as well and pulls a revolver to take the trolley himself. Golden Arrow manages to fire an arrow at the partition on the back of the car and climb aboard and punches out the three outlaws. The trolley jumps the rail as Golden Arrow gets Nero's money back from Greene, who is panicking because they're heading towards the river. Golden Arrow jumps off the trolley before it crashes into the river. He soon drops off the outlaws at Police HQ and returns Nero's money to him, finding he's rather lost his good mood about the city and they return to his cabin. A week later, Nero has a record from the famed operatic singer, Scricci, but insists instead of seeing him play in person this as close to society as he wants to get!
Appearing in Golden Arrow, the Robin Hood of the West: "Golden Arrow, the Robin Hood of the West and the Perils of the Big City!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Nero the Hermit
Antagonists:
- Leech
- Spiffy
- Greene
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- American Old West
- Dry Gulch
- Nero's Cabin
- Midland City
- Midland Bridge
- Midland Hotel
- Midland City Hall
- Dry Gulch
- American Old West
Items:
Vehicles:
- White Wind
- A Trolley Cable Car
Synopsis for Lance O'Casey: "Magnet of Death!"
Lance O'Casey is despondent, since his 1st Mate, Mike Bellew, is visiting family stateside. Minutes later, three older gentlemen approach him and ask for his help getting gold from the ocean floor using a "Gold Magnet" that they want to test out, leading him to their experimental ship. The next day, Lance is in a diving suit using the gigantic horseshoe-shaped Gold Magnet to huge chunks of gold directly from the ocean floor, impressed by its ability. They store the gold in the brig and Lance takes some rest. Two of the doctors, Schackney and Mufson, decide that instead of their agreement to build laboratories and hospitals with the money, that they'll keep it for themselves, much to the shock and dismay of their colleague, Dr. Miller. When Dr. Miller says he won't let them just keep the gold for themselves, Dr. Schackney sneaks up and bludgeons him in the head with a wrench, killing him, then throw his body overboard, thinking on how they can explain his sudden death to Lance. They claim he fell and drowned, but think that they shouldn't go back for his sake and instead continue. Lance suits up and tells them they can only fit one more load of gold on to the ship or it'll sink. Onboard, Dr. Schackney thinks on how he could just keep all of the gold if he kills Dr. Mufson, only for Dr. Mufson to shoot him in the back with an automatic pistol, thinking much the same. Below, Lance finds the body of Dr. Miller and realizes this was no boating accident and gives the tug to be pulled up, only for Dr. Mufson to cut his lifeline, certain he can now just use the Gold Magnet on his own. Lance cuts himself out of his diving suit so he won't suffocate in the heavy suit. Lance makes it to the surface to get air in time while Dr. Mufson foolishly just drops more and more gold on the deck itself, sinking his ship. Finding no sign of either of the doctors, he goes back to the Starfish while Dr. Mufson raves about his precious gold while drowning, their ship sink all of the gold back into the South Seas...
Appearing in Lance O'Casey: "Magnet of Death!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Dr. Miller (Dies)
Antagonists:
- Dr. Schackney (Dies)
- Dr. Mufson (Dies)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
- The Gold Magnet
Vehicles:
- The Starfish
Synopsis for Ibis the Invincible: "Ibis the Invincible and the Haunted Skyscraper!"
While walking around, Prince Ibis and Princess Taia see a man fall off of a construction site, only for the Prince of Egypt to wish upon the Ibistick for the ground to become rubbery where he lands, which keeps it from killing him. A foreman finds that the worker fell fourteen stories from a girder slipping from under him, but survived, prompting the worker to immediately quit due to the unsafe workspace. The foreman is forlorn to Ibis, since that’s the eighth man who’s quit in the last two days, meaning his contract to build this building will lapse and he’ll be ruined! He admits to Ibis that there have been strange accidents too, with girders on the 12th floor twisting out of shape, despite the fact that he owns the mine where the steel comes from and the foundry that molds it, rivets won’t hold and people are starting to say the site is haunted. Ibis consults the Ibistick, which vibrates, telling him this is the work of evil, but wonders if it’s from the foreman himself. Ibis offers that he can work there despite his lack of any construction experience and the foreman accepts, introducing himself as Mr. Stephen Ellery. Soon enough, Ibis removes his turban and suit for a laborer’s uniform, but then wishes the Ibistick to do his job for him far better than any worker. Ellery tells him three more riveters have bowed out and he needs his help topside. Another worker tries to lob a pail of rivets at Ibis for carrying the Ibistick with him, only for him to wish it back next to him and begins wishing the rivets into place. Ellery tries to come up to see how Ibis is carrying on, only for the elevator’s cables to suddenly snap, forcing Ibis to wish the elevator to be attached to a parachute for a safe descent. Ellery realizes he’s working with the Master of White Magic and Ibis puts his turban back on to investigate things more seriously. Ellery is worried about him risking his life, but Ibis assures him he’ll be fine, so Ellery just goes home for the night.
As night falls, Ibis finds the Ibistick vibrating again as a girder suddenly wraps around his midsection and drops him physically off of the site, only for our hero to wish wings on to his shoes and wishes that the spirit possessing the girder become visible and audible. Finding it’s a miner, he questions him and discovers that this is the ghost of “Bull” Martell, a miner who died in Stephen Ellery’s unsafe mines in a cave-in, cursing him with his dying breath and all the steel in the mine with it. Ibis argues that he’s harming innocent workers and not actually hurting Ellery himself, but the ghost also points out that all evidence was crushed in the mine as well, but if Ibis can get him to confess, he will accede and cross over. Ibis wishes them to Ellery’s house and the entire site grows a pair of legs to walk to Ellery’s house and denounces him as a murderer of seven miners. Ellery promptly goes mad and goes to confess about his crime and the ghost disappears, just being served. Later, Taia is happy to find that the skyscraper is still going to be finished, but with new contractors. Ibis says they’re lucky buildings can’t talk, since this one would have a tale that no one would believe!
Appearing in Ibis the Invincible: "Ibis the Invincible and the Haunted Skyscraper!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Stephen Ellery
- The Ghost of "Bull" Martell
Other Characters:
- Other Construction Workers
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Despite the cover, Captain Marvel doesn't fly out of a comic book to the astonishment of readers, either diegetically or otherwise.
- Freshman Freddy is on hiatus this month, but returns next issue
See Also