Smash Comics #45

When Countess Stephanie Winowski arrives at the Marksman's castle hideaway with news that Nazis have seized her family estate and killed her brother, the masked archer sees an opportunity to strike at the occupiers from his swamp-side base. As the German officers grow increasingly paranoid—haunted by phantom voices and spectral visions rising from the misty marshland—the Marksman orchestrates a campaign of terror that turns the very landscape they've conquered into their undoing. It's a tale of psychological warfare and poetic justice set against the desolate backdrop of the Great Swamp.

Black X walks into a deadly trap set by Axis agents, but armor stolen from an enemy commander saves his life—and sets him on the trail of a traitorous royal scheme. Disguised with the help of his ally Batu's mystical powers, Black X infiltrates a meeting between Archibald Haw and a visiting dignitary to expose a conspiracy involving a hidden airfield and radio station in Negapuhr. With the stakes mounting and enemies closing in, Black X races to dismantle the operation before the enemy's grip on the region tightens.

In "Tony Nitro," the ruthless crime boss sets a deadly trap for Brenda Banks—aka Lady Luck—framing her for a murder he plans to commit, turning both her allies and the authorities against her. With the stakes rising and trust unraveling, Lady Luck must clear her name before the real killer strikes again.

An ancient manuscript discovery at the Congressional Library sets the Yankee Eagle on a perilous hunt across India for a sacred Buddha idol that holds the secret to a devastating new gunpowder formula. As Larry Noble navigates a treacherous landscape of Nazi agents, mercenaries, and competing powers all eager to claim the prize, he must stay one step ahead of violence and betrayal to keep the formula from falling into enemy hands.

When a series of hit-and-run deaths plague the Eastern Seaboard during blackout conditions, Rookie Rankin grows suspicious that the accidents are anything but—he uncovers a sinister insurance scam orchestrated by Joe Stentor, James Sleezy, and a woman named Rose. As Rankin closes in on the operation, the gang marks him as their next target, forcing the young detective to think fast and turn the tables on the killers.

When The Jester babysits his nephew Thomas while Detective Hustace McGinty is away, a seemingly innocent game of cops and robbers spirals into chaos—the boy's toy gun leads to mistaken identities, a mob convinced The Jester is a criminal, and a pair of street crooks who see an opportunity to exploit the confusion. With McGinty caught in the crossfire and The Jester trying to keep his secret identity intact, this playful afternoon becomes anything but simple.