Good! And the serial number of this bill is familiar! 
- — Stormy Foster
Hit Comics #19 is an issue of the series Hit Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1942.
Synopsis for Stormy Foster: "Tokoyan Sabotage"
At closing time, two thugs in a big, fast sedan pull up at Vaughan's Cut-Rate Drugs, where they march Doc Vaughan and his assistant, at gunpoint, into the back room. One thug has a bullet wound, they want Doc to patch it up, he does so, they toss him a $100 bill, warn him about blabbing, and leave. Vaughan makes note of their license number, and Foster finds a clue on the $100 bill, then steps into another room, changes clothes, and takes his super-vitamin capsule, and dashes out in pursuit of the fleeing gunmen. They fatally run down a cop and escape the scene.
Based on the serial number of the $100 bill, which he knew to have been marked by the FBI before being drawn from the bank by the Tokoyan Consul, the Great Defender forms a hunch about where to find the two gunmen. He sprints to a huge ranch house outside the city limits. It's the Tokoyan Consulate. A sinister house man admits him, and he steps into a trap, boxed into an elevator shaft and whisked below ground. At the bottom of the shaft is a set of steel bars, with Tokoyan soldiers on the other side of it; Foster rips apart the bars and charges in among the soldiers, grabs one, and chokes some information out of him. Thus he learns about some recently planted fire bombs. Armed reinforcements interrupt the questioning, but he whirls thru the enemy soldiers like a typhoon and when the gunsmoke clears, the floor is littered with dead and wounded men. He punches thru a steel door, swats back a thrown grenade, and teases one more fact out of the gabby boastful soldiers, before getting head-konked from behind, with a rifle stock. It's a knock-out but the Consul then makes the mistake of trying to inject the fallen hero with a hypnotic narcotic, but it has just the opposite effect! The Great Defender rallies, and mops up the rest of the building with the rest of the soldiers. As he departs, the consulate is on fire, and some of its soldiers are trapped inside, screaming wildly.
The Great Defender steals the cop-killing sedan from the driveway, throws two prisoners inside it, and races to the waterfront. Cops are looking for that car, and soon some are chasing him, with riot guns. He reaches the piers, well ahead of them, and persuades the duty officer to loan him a motor launch, and take charge of his prisoners. Foster speeds across the harbor in the fast boat, intent on warning the troop ships. A Tokoyan warplane dives out of the sky and opens fire on the speedboat, but get too close in the process. The Great Defender leaps aboard their plane, yanks open the canopy and pulls out the crew, flinging them into free-fall. He skids the plane to a pancake landing near one ship, swims to it, swarms aboard, and warns the crew that firebombs are packed into the coal bunkers. His warning arrives in time.
Appearing in Stormy Foster: "Tokoyan Sabotage"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Doc Vaughan
- Ah Choo
Antagonists:
- Monte, getaway driver
- Monte's partner
- Consul Yogoda
- Yogoda's bodyguards, Kurach et.al.
- Tokoyan saboteurs
Other Characters:
- city cop (Dies)
- Joe & Larry, highway cops
Locations:
- Southern California
- Tokoyan Consulate
Vehicles:
- two troop ships
Synopsis for Ghost of Flanders: "The Theft of the Scouting Plane"
The Ghost must take on a monocle-wearing Nazi-style foreign spy named Hans Sheink. Sheink's gang's insignia is a capital "X", and it operates at least two modern warplanes of its own. They force a new Navy scout plane to land, 40 miles from Metropole City, and steal it.
Appearing in Ghost of Flanders: "The Theft of the Scouting Plane"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Hans Sheink
- his gang
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Metropole City
Items:
Vehicles:
- New Navy scout plane
Synopsis for Hercules: "The Pipeline Saboteurs"
Caption: "The one-man Axis-buster Hercules plows under a heap of sabotage, proving again that one free American can beat ten dictator-bossed aliens."
Joe shows up at an oil-pipeline construction site, dressed in his super suit, and asks for permission to help out, gets it, and starts laying pipe. Bad guys try to stop him, but he stops them. A crane operator drops half a ton of iron piping on Hercules' head; he shrugs it off. No concussions for him. A volley of bullets bounces off Hercules' body. "A little playful shooting I can understand ... but tossing axes around is not ethical!" Hercules gets run over by a large construction tractor, but flips it over with one kick. In the end the saboteurs are out of energy and ideas and under arrest.
Appearing in Hercules: "The Pipeline Saboteurs"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Brock
- at least a dozen other saboteurs
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Betty Bates, Lady at Law: "The Phony Private Detective"
Appearing in Betty Bates, Lady at Law: "The Phony Private Detective"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for The Red Bee: "Ratznestski the Car Crook"
At his office, Rick Raleigh meets a very angry young lady named Valerie Ransome, who wants the D.A.'s help in regard to a stolen car that she had bought. She tags along and involves herself in the case way more than is appropriate, and participates victoriously in the fisticuffs as well.
Appearing in The Red Bee: "Ratznestski the Car Crook"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- District Attorney Hawkes
- Michael, the Red Bee's bee
Antagonists:
- Ratznetski, a crooked used-car dealer
- his two henchmen
Other Characters:
- Valerie Ransome
Locations:
Vehicles:
- Red Bee's bright red motorcycle with sidecar
Synopsis for Bob and Swab: "San Pedro Shore Duty"
Bob and Swab get into trouble with their incessant onboard brawling so the Skipper assigns them a punishment detail, polishing brasswork, then sends them out to escort his two nieces from the east, Mitzi and Fritzi. There is some trouble with a pair of would-be robbers, so Bob and Swab are looking good, but then there's a misunderstanding that makes them look like dopes, and the girls dump them.
Appearing in Bob and Swab: "San Pedro Shore Duty"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Brimstone C.O.
Antagonists:
- two thugs
- one cop
Other Characters:
- Fritzi, Skipper's niece
- Mitzi, Skipper's niece
Locations:
- Los Angeles, California
- San Pedro
- Hollywood
- Amusement Park
Vehicles:
- USS Brimstone
Synopsis for The Strange Twins: "The Burma Road Bombers"
Appearing in The Strange Twins: "The Burma Road Bombers"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Lion Boy: "Liberating the Lion Cubs"
Appearing in Lion Boy: "Liberating the Lion Cubs"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Don Glory: "Shipyard of Saboteurs"
Appearing in Don Glory: "Shipyard of Saboteurs"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Ghost of Flanders: "The Theft of the Scouting Plane"
- The Ghost of Flanders' only weapon is a bayonet, which he throws with deadly accuracy.
- The Red Bee: "Ratznestski the Car Crook"
- Caption: "Terror of the rats who swarm through the underworld, the Red Bee, in reality Rick Raleigh, assistant to the District Attorney, tackles a vicious racket where human lives come second to a bloody dollar."
- On page 3 of this story, Rick Raleigh gets punched unconscious, from behind, and on page 4 he is knocked out by a scalp-grazing bullet. These are the (at least) 9th and 10th concussions of his career.
- Stormy Foster: "Tokoyan Sabotage"
- Wartime Caption: "Yellow termites, scheming to destroy the lives of American soldiers enroute to Panama, become the targets of Stormy Foster, a shy drug clerk, in his smashing role as The Great Defender!"
- Stormy Foster can punch his way through a solid steel door, and can tear thick steel bars out of a sturdy cage. He can't catch a car going 70 mph. He can dodge machine-gun bullets.
- The Great Defender is konked unconscious with a rifle butt, the first known concussion of his career.
- Poking the Great Defender with a narcotic-loaded hypodermic needle has the effect of reviving him back into the fight.
- The Great Defender uses a hand grenade to wipe out at least one Tokoyan soldier; his body count is now at least 5, and probably significantly higher.
- Military Transport authorities recognize The Great Defender on sight and let him borrow a speedboat with no questions asked, so he's already established a favorable reputation.
- In the Quality Universe, the Axis Powers included: Aryania, Austria, Barbaria, Bothnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Darmania, Dunland, Germany, Govania, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Jarmania, Kampfland, Latavia, Nordicha, North Germany, Romania, Tokoya, Tuvania, and others.
- This issue of Hit Comics also featured:
- Dan Tootin: "The Important Job", by Jack Cole
- Tommy Tinkle, by Arthur Beeman
See Also