Leading Comics #1 is an issue of the series Leading Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 1941.
Synopsis for Seven Soldiers of Victory: "Blueprint for Crime"
At the hilltop mansion of a master criminal known as the Hand, a doctor issues a fatal diagnosis; the Hand had only a month to live. Deciding to make the most of his limited time, the Hand puts together a group consisting of the cleverest crooks and gangsters, in order to pull off the greatest crime wave of his career.
Headlines soon pour in, the Red Dragon, Professor Merlin, Big Caesar, and the Needle are broken out of their respective prisons. Meanwhile, a raid of the Dummy's hideout turns sour after a tip from the Hand gives the Dummy plenty of time to get away while his thugs keep the cops distracted with a shootout.
Soon, the Hand meets with the five criminals at his home. He tells them of his plan, to make them his five "fingers", each performing a robbery that will put them in direct opposition with the best crimefighters, such as Green Arrow and the Crimson Avenger. The team of confident crooks felt that their own intellect, combined with the Hand's help, could overcome any obstacle they face. So it is that the Hand places an ad in the papers, challenging the Green Arrow, Crimson Avenger, Shining Knight, Star-Spangled Kid, and the Vigilante to participate in "the greatest criminal chase in history", giving instructions to meet at the auditorium in Gotham City fore more information.
In the Gotham Auditorium, the heroes gather together, and right on time, a screen flickers on revealing the image of the Hand! The Hand tells them where each crime will take place, letting them decide for themselves which crook to go after. Green Arrow suspects there is something much more sinister behind this event and suggests they meet back here a week later. But for right now, they all agree to divide up and track down the five criminals.
Appearing in Seven Soldiers of Victory: "Blueprint for Crime"
Featured Characters:
- Seven Soldiers of Victory (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Hand (First appearance)
- Big Caesar (First appearance)
- The Dummy (First appearance)
- The Needle
- Professor Merlin
- Red Dragon
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Green Arrow & Speedy: "Death Valley"
Green Arrow and his young protege Speedy choose to hunt down Professor Merlin in Death Valley, riving down the dusty road in their Arrowcar. Suddenly, Professor Merlin appeared above them in a plane. The aircraft drops a bomb, which Green Arrow destroys by shooting an arrow at its detonator before it can reach them. The plane flies ahead of the Arrowcar, and as Green Arrow and Speedy watch, another bomb destroys a bridge over an oncoming canyon. Too late to turn or brake, Green Arrow speeds up, jumping the Arrowcar over the great ravine. Green Arrow and Speedy arrived at the home of Old Cactus Mike, whom Merlin was sent by the Hand to steal gold from. Suddenly, Merlin and his men parachuted down from their plane. So, the Green Arrow rushed into Cactus Mike's home. As the Green Arrow entered the house, Merlin and his men appeared as well, immediately after, holding Cactus Mike at gunpoint. Suddenly, the Green Arrow shot Merlin's gun out of his hand and shot another arrow, signaling Speedy to join him. The two heroes and the owner of the house were able to defeat Merlin and his men, only to be attacked by more men from above and tied up. Then, Merlin threatened to freeze Cactus Mike and the two heroes to death with a device unless they gave him their gold. When Merlin left with Cactus Mike, the two heroes broke free and fired an arrow at the villain's machine and a window, stopping them from freezing and providing them with a way of escape. Then, the two heroes followed Merlin and Cactus Mike to the gold mine. Green Arrow and Speedy swooped in and attacked the men guarding the mine entrance and entered the mine, shot out the lantern's used by Merlin's men, and ran away with Cactus Mike. Merlin attempted to reveal the gold by using dynamite, however this caused a landslide, burying the villains, but the two heroes were able to escape with Cactus Mike. Green Arrow and Speedy dropped Cactus Mike off before riding off into the sunset in the Arrowcar. Meanwhile, the Hand watched what happened on his screen.
Appearing in Green Arrow & Speedy: "Death Valley"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Professor Merlin (Dies)
- The Hand
Other Characters:
- Cactus Mike (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- Arrowplane
- Professor Merlin's airplane
Synopsis for Star-Spangled Kid & Stripesy: "Peril in Panama"
Under the pretense of a rock-collecting expedition to Panama, Star and Stripesy fly to the Panama Canal in their Star-Rocket Racer. Spotting a helpless figure aboard a vessel adrift in the water, they fly to the rescue only to find themselves confronted by their old nemesis, the Needle. He ties them up then springs a leak. Having taken care of his enemies, the villain heads to carry out his assignment. He distracts the guards at Embassy Hall by flicking a coin in front of them then running inside while they go to pick it up, then accosts Claude Brighton about stealing the new ray gun he's invented.
Meanwhile, the star-spangled duo manage to escape. Star flexed his muscles while the Needle was tying them up, so by retracting them he has enough room to wriggle free. They come after the Needle, who's already at work using the ray gun to destroy entire buildings. He's about destroy the entire Panama Canal with it when the Star-Rocket Racer flies into the path of his shot. Fortunately Stripesy armored the vehicle with a substance "invulnerable to shell an' rays". This reflects the beam back and destroys the building the Needle himself is in, sending him plummeting. The American Avengers tie him up in midair and leave the villain for the police to collect.
Appearing in Star-Spangled Kid & Stripesy: "Peril in Panama"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Needle
- Hand
- Big Caesar (Cameo)
Other Characters:
- Claude Brighton (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Crimson Avenger & Wing: "Blackout over Broadway"
Crimson Avenger and Wing arrive in Broadway by train (worried he might have tampered with any plane they took). After escaping a pair of hirelings driving the taxi they hail, suddenly all the lights on Broadway go out. However Big Caesar and his men, masquerading as city workmen digging up the street to cut power cables, are recognized as frauds by Crim when he notes how fresh the paint on their "men at work" sign is, and how clean they are despite working in the dirt. However they manage to get rid of the heroes for the moment by provoking Crim into attacking them in front of cops, getting the heroes arrested.
As soon as the heroes are gone, Big Caesar cuts the power and the Hand's underlings engage in a robbery spree. Realizing that the two masked avengers were actually about to capture the crooks responsible for the blackout, the police let them go. After pounding Big Caesar and the other phony workers into submission, Crim hooks up the wires again. With the power back on, the robbery victims fight back and defeat the robbers.
Appearing in Crimson Avenger & Wing: "Blackout over Broadway"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Big Caesar
- Hand
- Red Dragon (Cameo)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for The Shining Knight: "The Red Dragon"
Flying deep into Indian country, the Red Dragon meets an indigenous tribe and shoots their chief. This makes the tribe believe he's the subject of a prophecy about a "wendigo", and they submit themselves to his rule. Quickly the criminals find what the Hand sent them out to retrieve: a large deposit of pure radium. Soon Shining Knight flies to intercept his old foe, and is attacked by the only warrior of the tribe who hasn't lost his nerve, and is determined to save his people from being menaced by another "wendigo". Realizing his primitive weapons are useless against the Shining Knight's magical loadout, at the knight's request the young brave relates what happened to him.
When Shining Knight easily fights his way through the Red Dragon's outer guard, the tribe arms themselves and launches a revolt. The Dragon fights back with a tank, but it's upended by a rock fired from a catapult. Then the villain tries to flee in his plane, but the Shining Knight smashes into it with his lance, wrecking the plane, and uses his lance to catch the Red Dragon as he falls.
Appearing in The Shining Knight: "The Red Dragon"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Red Dragon
- Brom
- Hand
- Dummy (Cameo)
Other Characters:
- Wamona Indians (Single appearance)
- Komah
Locations:
- Wamona Valley
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Vigilante & Billy Gunn: "The Stone People"
At a public appearance, the lights go out and actor Rex Mason is turned to stone. The voice of the Dummy calls out, promising to return him to normal but only for a hefty fee. Across town the same happens to other famous figures, and the Dummy promises the same fate will befall the Vigilante himself when they bring up the hero picking up their trail. Henchmen turn a tiger loose on a movie set, and even though Vigilante manages to lasso it, another actor's turned to stone on his watch. He manages to get the address of the Dummy's hideout when an errant flame from a match in Billy's hand makes the fake address give way to the real one that would've revealed itself in an hour in normal heat.
After beating up the Dummy's men, they corner the boss himself and subdue him by toppling over statues of future victims onto him. The real supposedly-petrified people are found drugged in the basement.
Appearing in Vigilante & Billy Gunn: "The Stone People"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Rex Mason (Single appearance)
- Barry Randolph (Single appearance)
- Louise Lila (Single appearance)
- Roger Monterez (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Seven Soldiers of Victory: "Blueprint for Crime (Conclusion)"
Fuming at the defeat of his underlings, the Hand decides to get the last laugh by challenging the heroes to try to get through his trap-filled stronghold (ironically, just before getting a phone call that a new treatment's been discovered that would cure his condition and all his efforts have been for nothing). After surviving multiple traps the heroes are trapped behind an unbreakable transparent wall, about to be fried by an electrical cannon. Vigilante shoots it so the Hand ends up getting electrocuted instead.
Having won victories against mighty evildoers in the course of this epic adventure, Shining Knight proposes they form a group and unite again whenever master criminals strike. The other heroes all gladly agree.
Appearing in Seven Soldiers of Victory: "Blueprint for Crime (Conclusion)"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Blueprint for Crime is reprinted in The Seven Soldiers of Victory Archives Vol. 1 and Green Arrow: A Celebration of 75 Years.
Trivia
- Rex Mason from "The Stone People" chapter is not to be confused with Metamorpho.
See Also