The Mystery of Mr. Mind's Return!

Captain Marvel fans are faced with a conundrum in the pages of Shazam! #2 (February 15, 1973)!  For in this comic we have the return of Mr. Mind, the wicked worm that fought Captain Marvel for two years in the pages of Cap's golden age comics.  Mr. Mind created the Monster Society of Evil, a story line that began in Captain Marvel Adventures #22 (February 26, 1943) and ended with Mr. Mind's execution in Captain Marvel Adventures #46 (April 20, 1945).

Captain Marvel Adventures #46 (Note that Mr. Mind was placed in a museum!)

Why is his return a mystery?  It's a mystery because in Captain Marvel Adventures #46 Mr. Mind was found guilty of his crimes and was executed in the electric chair but in Shazam! #2 he is alive.  How could he return when he is dead?

Shazam! #2

That's the same question Cap, Billy Batson and Talky Tawny have!  Captain Marvel foils Mr. Mind's plot, and at the end of Shazam! #2 we find that the mystery has not been solved yet.

Captain Marvel met Mr. Mind again in Shazam! #9 (October 18, 1973) in the story, "Worms of the World, Unite!"  At the end of the story Cap asks, "Mr. Mind, how did you survive the electric chair?"  Mr. Mind's responded with, "Would you believe a segment of me broke off and I regenerated my body?"  Cap doesn't believe him and Mind promises to tell him another explanation the next time they meet!

We finally get the answer to the mystery in the story, "The Rainbow Squad" in Shazam! #31 (June 9, 1977).  Captain Marvel has captured Mr. Mind once again and asks him directly, "Just one question - and this time I want an answer!  I captured you - you were tried - found guilty of 186,744 murders - and you were executed in the electric chair!  How did you survive?"  This time, Mr. Mind gives the true story of how he survived the electric chair.  Mr. Mind replies, "You forget - I'm an alien!  My race is immune to electric shock!  It doesn't kill us - only puts us into suspended animation!"  Mind further explained that when he revived he found himself in the taxidermist shop and hypnotized the taxidermist into making a fake worm and letting Mr. Mind go!

The conundrum of Mr. Mind's mysterious return has been solved!  

The Return of Professor Thorne

Professor Gilbert Thorne gained notoriety in The Marvel Family #50 as the man who stole speech, causing great disruption and confusion to the world!  His sinister speech stealing plot was uncovered and ended by the Marvel family.

The Marvel Family #50

Professor Thorne reappears in Shazam! #16 in the story, "The Man Who Stole Justice!"   Thorne has hatched a new evil plot, but this time he is not stealing speech, he is stealing justice!  Professor Thorne wants to get his revenge on Judge Pleasant who had sentenced him to 25 years in jail for his speech stealing crime!  Of course, he was creating and perfecting this plan while in jail.

How does Thorne steal justice?  He removes the statue of Lady Justice outside of the courthouse and replaces it with a statue of Injustice (one of the 7 Deadly Enemies of Man).  But this is no ordinary statue as it transmits vibrations to Judge Pleasant's mind making him reverse justice by releasing the guilty and penalizing the innocent.  Even Captain Marvel himself is sent to jail by Judge Pleasant!

While everything seems to go according to plan and Professor Thorne is enjoying his revenge, he forgets to factor in the fortitude of Captain Marvel!  Cap destroys the statue of Injustice and captures Professor Thorne once again. 

I enjoyed reading this story and seeing a villain brought back from Captain Marvel's golden age.  I appreciated the continuity from The Marvel Family #50 to this issue of Shazam!  Professor Thorne made a brief come-back in his life of crime only to be thwarted by the come-back of the World's Mightiest Mortal, Captain Marvel!