SPY FIGHTERS
Membership: Ander, Vicki Chase, Dave Gorham, Pedro Juarez, Mr. Lamb, Clark Mason, Tanila, Tom, Madame Vasarth
Purpose: United States government counterespionage/law enforcement
Affiliations: Agent X-17, Brandon, Colonel
Delgrade, Dunfree, Gorlikov, Vo Linh, Maharani, Malay Joe, Meadows,
Colonel Munson, Newton, Petrov, Hilda Rieman, Pete Yates
Enemies: Abva, Baron Varolyi,
Signora Batti, Dr. Cardelj, Drukov, Captain Eggerth, Fernando, Flame,
Ah Foo, General Glamo, Grukov, Janius, Jodi, Karl, Tamil Lamput,
Captain Ignacio Lazaro, Lermakov, Liana, Lobo, Lokev, Macao Mike, the
Maharajah of Rawani, Manuel, Michael, Fahid Mizami, Gina Morina,
General Narrabi, NKVD, Bill Norbert, Colonel Orloff, Quarll, Romeo
Ramirez, Colonel Raschid, Professor Terrence Redgrave, Jinx Ricardo,
Karl Rieman, Shiriku, Wu Siang, Makya Talbott, Torres, the USSR, Paul
Vance, the Viet Minh, Gus Vinson, Vucje, Lana Weston, Wolfram, Min Yuen
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Washington D.C., USA (headquarters); London, England; Ankara, Turkey; active worldwide
First Appearance: Spy Fighters I#1 (March, 1951)
History: (Spy Fighters I#1)
- The Spy Fighters organization, led by Mr. Lamb, was based out of an
office in Washington D.C. which claimed to be the Institute for Boll
Weevil Research. In 1950, Mr. Lamb arranged for police officer Clark
Mason to be assigned to him and quickly explained the Spy Fighters'
purpose. Clark was sent through a variety of tests and training in
languages, gun assembly and marksmanship. When Mason graduated from
training, he was assigned to work with agent Vicki Chase. For their
first assignment, they posed as a married couple and were sent to
Indochina to find a missing agent, Dave Gorham. They discovered Dave
had been a double agent working for the USSR; Gorham was killed by a
tiger.
(Spy Fighters I#1/2) - Petrov, a Soviet citizen
who had been assisting the Spy Fighters, was betrayed by his wife Nina,
who informed on him to Soviet counterespionage. Petrov was arrested and
interrogated. Spy Fighters' agent Ander kidnapped a Soviet officer and
went undercover to eliminate Petrov before he could talk but after
Ander proved to Petrov that Nina had been unfaithful to him, Petrov
pretended to the Soviets that he had been broken by their methods and
gave up false intelligence to them to frustrate their
counterintelligence. The Soviets executed Petrov after his confession.
Other spies denounced Petrov as a traitor but Ander knew he had died
as a hero.
(Spy Fighters I#2) - Clark Mason went to
Budapest, Hungary to assist agent Tanila in impersonating the communist
spy master Baron Varolyi but by the time Mason arrived, Tanila had been
captured and tortured until she gave up Mason to Varolyi. One of
Varolyi's agents impersonated Tanila and seemed to assist Clark in his
goal of impersonating Varolyi but Clark quickly learned the Baron had
fallen out of favor with the Soviets and had many Hungarian soldiers
seeking his death. Clark finally used this situation to lead the
soldiers back to the real Baron Varolyi and execute him.
(Spy Fighters I#2/2) - The Spy Fighters learned that
the NKVD had been fabricating reports of a US agent in Iran named Major
Rupert Scuggins with an accomplice Myrna Tydworna. To sabotage Soviet
efforts to influence the Iranians, Clark Mason and Vicki Chase were
sent to Iran to adopt the identities of Scuggins and Tydworna. They
discovered that NKVD agent Lermakov was trying to influence the Bukhari
tribe against the USA. Vicki was captured by Lermakov but while Mason
was rescuing her, Lermakov took out a grenade to throw it at Mason.
Vicki suddenly kicked the live grenade from Lermakov's hand and it
landed at his feet, killing him and his followers.
(Spy Fighters I#2/4) - Mr. Lamb assigned Mason
and Vicki to Japan to pose as a song and dance team: Jack Wembley and
Lita Lane. They were attached to the US comedy film star Gus Vinson,
who was making a film in Japan, but the Spy Fighters had learned Vinson
was working with the communists to steal plans for the atomic bomb.
Mason killed the enemy spies.
(Spy Fighters I#3) - Mason and Vicki went to
Rome, Italy to investigate who had been murdering friendly spies. Mason
suspected the American spy Brandon was responsible but Brandon turned
out to be a loyal agent; Brandon's secretary Gina Morina was a Soviet
agent, exposing spies to enemy agents. Mason, Vicki and Brandon
eliminated Gina and her allies.
(Spy Fighters I#3/2) - Mason and Vicki were sent
to Tripoli, Libya to assist Agent X-17 of British intelligence. They
discovered there was a plot led by the communist agent Grukov to murder
the Emir of Syrtis and replace him with an impostor. Mason exposed the
imposture and Agent X-17 brought in the Libyan police to help Mason
escape Grukov.
(Spy Fighters I#3/4) - Mason and Vicki
investigated mobsters in the USA who were being duped into serving the
interests of the communists, spearheaded by agent Paul Vaclav who posed
as "Paul Vance." Mason was able to appeal to mobster Jinx Ricardo's
patriotism and stand with him against Vance. As Mason battled Vance on
a rooftop, Jinx tackled Vance and both men went over the edge of the
building, falling to their deaths.
(Spy Fighters I#4) - Mason and Vicki went to
Trieste (then an independent city-state) to investigate communist
agents who were agitating tensions between Italy and Yugoslavia. Mason
infiltrated the ranks of the spies led by Dr. Cardelj but was quickly
recognized as a fake. Fortunately, Vicki rescued Mason before they
could execute him and Mason eliminated the spy ring.
(Spy Fighters I#4/2) - Mason and Vicki were sent
to New Guinea to find the missing missile expert Professor Terrence
Redgrave. Liana seemed to be leading them to Redgrave but she proved to
be a communist agent and tried to have them killed. Mason overpowered
Liana and she fell into shark-infested waters. Now guided by Malay Joe,
Mason and Vicki found Redgrave on a volcanic island where he was
willingly collaborating with the communists to better their missiles.
Mason took an enemy sailor named Newton prisoner and found he was an
American who had been pressed into communist service. Mason had Newton
bring him to Redgrave's location. However, Redgrave and his allies
captured Mason and Vicki as they prepared to leave the island aboard an
enemy submarine but Newton remained loyal to Mason and saved him. Vicki
threw Redgrave into a pool of lava and Mason used Redgrave's missiles
to destroy the submarine.
(Spy Fighters I#4/5) - Mason and Vicki went to
Mexico City, Mexico to investigate missing persons cases and discovered
that Captain Ignacio Lazaro of the Mexican secret police had been
luring people into death-traps with the beautiful Maria Ramirez and
cremating their remains. Vicki avoided one of Lazaro's death-traps.
When Maria's brother Romeo learned that Lazaro intended for Maria to
die to protect his secrets, he turned on Lazaro and killed him but was
himself killed by Lazaro's remaining men. Mason eliminated the
remaining spies.
(Spy Fighters I#5) - From the Spy Fighters' base
in London, England, Mason and Vicki were sent to Poland to investigate
a plot by the communists to construct a dirigible which would carry out
a bombing attack on England. As they attempted to impersonate communist
officers, Mason and Vicki chanced to encounter Meadows, who was
similarly an undercover operative. With Meadows' help, they commandeered
the dirigible, destroyed it, then returned to England.
(Spy Fighters I#5/5) - When Albania claimed to be
receiving Yugoslavian refugees, Mason and Vicki were sent undercover to
investigate and proved that the Albanians were actually receiving boats
of Soviet soldiers. Mason and Vicki took photographs of the troop
movements and shared them with the world, halting the communist plot.
(Spy Fighters I#6) - After communist spy George
Lorber died in a car accident, Mason assumed his identity for an
assignment to Teheran, Iran to ferret out communist agents. Venturing
to Iran alongside Vicki, Mason was contacted by Fahid Mizami, an
Iranian jeweler who claimed to be another agent of the Spy Fighters.
However, Mizami was merely a terrorist hoping to gain favor with the
communists by capturing Mason for them. However, the Spy Fighters'
actual agent in Iran, Madame Vasarth, came to Mason's rescue. Mason
believed his identity as Lorber was still a secret, as Mizami had yet to
share it with the communists, but assistant chief of security General
Narrabi turned out to be a communist agent and had Madame Vasarth
killed. Mason riled up the local thief community against Narrabi to
escape him then summoned the police to arrest Mizami.
(Spy Fighters I#6/2) - Mason went to Keelung,
Formosa to foil a communist plot to sabotage the sacrifice of the
immense pig Emily to the goddess Kwangyin.
(Spy Fighters I#6/4) - Mason and fellow Spy
Fighter Pedro Juarez went undercover as "wetbacks" at the border of
southern California, where they discovered communist agents were
recruiting Mexicans to become their agents in the USA. Pretending to be
communists themselves, Mason and Pedro learned the communists planned
to dynamite a freight train as it traveled between the border. However,
the communists recognized Mason and Pedro were not among their agents.
Pedro was fatally wounded while Mason escaped but Pedro was able to
hold off the communists and force them to remain in the path of the
explosion caused by the dynamite. Pedro died taking the enemy spies
with him.
(Spy Fighters I#7) - Mason and Vicki were sent to
Finland, where they found the scientist Gorlikov was being forced to
develop atomic weapons for the communists. When Gorlikov learned Mason
and Vicki were from the Allied nations, he turned on his superiors and
destroyed his research before being killed.
(Spy Fighters I#7/4) - In Leopoldville, the
Belgian Congo, Mason posed as a safari guide to three suspected
communist agents: Quarll, Lokov and Nixon. Mason discovered the three
men were performing a secret tungsten mining operation in the Congo and
had enslaved a tribe of cannibals to perform their work. Mason
befriended the cannibals then radioed in an airstrike to wreck the
mining operation. Mason turned the communists over to the cannibals to
do with as they pleased.
(Spy Fighters I#8) - Mason and Vicki were sent to
Kualang, Malaya, where the Min Yuen were active in the communist cause.
Mason exposed British officer Captain Eggerth as a communist double
agent and Makya, wife of a plantation owner, as the leader of the Min
Yuen. Mason took Makya as a prisoner.
(Spy Fighters I#8/2) - Mason went to Rawani,
India to investigate the Maharajah of Rawani, a communist sympathizer
who had been helping communist agents enter India. The Maharajah's
wife Maharani detested her husband and helped Mason against him; Mason
threw the cruel Maharajah into his own tiger pit to be eaten alive.
(Spy Fighters I#8/4) - When the USA's experimental
X-129 supersonic planes kept suffering from sabotage while being tested
in Korea, Mason was sent to investigate and exposed the jet designer's
assistant Bill Norbert as a communist agent. Norbert took Mason
prisoner and forced him to pilot them both in the X-129 to Moscow but
Mason took the plane into combat against Chinese MIGs; a hail of
Chinese bullets hit the plane and killed Norbert. Mason returned to
base with the jet.
(Spy Fighters I#14) - Mason was sent to Macao to
retrieve intelligence plans the Chinese had obtained about Formosa but
he was duped by the spy Tala, who turned him over to the brutal Macao
Mike. Escaping Mike with the aid of Dunfree, a British ship captain,
Mason traced Tala to Hong Kong, where she was making a rendezvous with
the Chinese army at sea. When Tala's Chinese allies saw she had failed
to eliminate Mason, they killed her. Mason called on Dunfree for help
again and with the assistance of his crew, Mason eliminated the Chinese
forces.
(Spy Fighters I#14/2) - Mason went to East
Berlin, Germany and posed as the communist spy Musenko to infiltrate a
ring of spies. Mason supplied the communists with an atomic weapon but
once they were all in one place, he detonated it remotely, wiping out
the entire nest of spies.
(Spy Fighters I#14/4 (fb)) - In Newcastle,
England, Mason fell into the clutches of the communist spy Drukov.
Drukov had an opportunity to kill Mason but instead knocked him
unconscious, leaving him alive but stealing the plans which were in his
possession.
(Spy Fighters I#14/4) - Regaining consciousness,
Mason wondered why Drukov had spared him. Going to Varna, Bulgaria to
find Drukov and recover the plans. Mason was romanced by a beautiful
woman who turned out to be Drukov. Drukov took Mason prisoner and
revealed she had spared him before because she was in love with him.
Unfortunately, Drukov's mercy towards Mason was a black mark in the eyes
of her fellow spies and one of them executed her. Drukov killed the
other spy while dying and told Mason to contact Major Jessevitch, a
Turkish submarine captain, giving him coordinates to destroy a
communist barracks in Bulgaria.
(Spy Fighters I#15) - After a train containing
Russian spy Karl Rieman was destroyed, Mason adopted Rieman's identity
to get into Moscow. Much to Mason's surprise, Rieman's wife Hilda was
eager to help him maintain his cover because she wanted to leave the
USSR. When the real Karl turned up alive, Hilda helped Mason kill him
then he brought her and Karl's files with him as he left the USSR.
(Spy Fighters I#15/2) - After criminal Jose
Turina promised to give up the names of communist agents in Venezuela,
he was murdered. Mason went to Caracas to investigate Jose's death and
from tracing his movements, was able to find and destroy the communist
spy ring led by Manuel.
(Spy Fighters I#15/4) - As a number of secret
agents in the Middle East were being assassinated, Clark Mason was sent
from the Spy Fighters base in Ankara to assist Colonel Raschid in
Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Raschid had noted that each assassination happened
near a conference so Mason posed as an Iraqi delegate for the upcoming
conference in Mecca. However, the assassin proved to be Colonel Raschid
himself. Exposing Raschid as a communist agent, Mason killed him.
Comments: Created by Robert Bernstein and George Tuska.
Each issue of Spy Fighters had at least one
additional feature which didn't star Clark Mason but fit into the spy
genre. What I find interesting is that in issue #1, one of the
additional features was written to include a mention of the Spy Fighters.
Editors could have done that in subsequent issues - it would have made
the Spy Fighters organization a bit more interesting if we saw agents
outside of Clark's adventures. It's a pity only issue #1 took advantage
of that.
Spy Fighters I#9-13 are a little odd - Clark suddenly
became an operative of army intelligence, serving during the Korean
War. A similar thing happened in Kent Blake's series but Kent's
transfer to army service then back stateside was recounted in the
stories. There's no explanation attempted for why Clark switched
careers or what happened to Vicki after issue #8. Then again, the timeline is a little wonky in Spy
Fighters; in issue #1 when Clark joined the team, it was said to be
1950. In the second issue, a blurb claimed the story was set in 1948!
This profile was completed 07/29/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Spy Fighters should not be confused with:
- Spymaster, identity used by many foes of Iron Man, @ Iron Man I#33
- or any other spies
Ander
Ander was an American agent in the Spy
Fighters who served in the USSR, where he was in contact with Petrov.
However, Petrov's wife Nina learned he was aiding the Spy Fighters and
had him arrested by the Soviets. Ander kidnapped officer Lt. Andreyew
and used his uniform and papers to get into Petrov's cell, intending to
execute him before he could betray the Spy Fighters. However, once
Petrov proved to him that Nina was unfaithful, Petrov pretended to have
been broken by the Soviets' torture and gave up false intelligence to
them to sabotage their counterintelligence. Petrov was considered a
traitor by other agents in the USSR, with only Ander aware of the
sacrifice Petrov had made.
--Spy Fighters I#1/2
Dave Gorham
For many years, Dave Gorham was an agent of
the USSR. While serving alongside Mr. Lamb in US intelligence, Gorham
became Lamb's most trusted agent, never divulging his true allegiance.
When Mr. Lamb became the head of Spy Fighters, Gorham served as one of
his agents and was assigned to Indochina to assist the cause of
democracy. However, the Spy Fighters' ally Vo Linh identified Gorham as
"the Snake of Saigon." Gorham killed Vo Linh to maintain his cover for
the Soviets and Viet Minh then assumed Vo Linh's identity, mutilating
the real Vo Linh's remains so that he could not be identified.
Mr. Lamb sent agents Clark Mason and Vicki Chase
to investigate Gorham's fate. Gorham interacted with them as Vo Linh
and made attempts on their lives. Finally, he confronted the two spies
in the jungle and revealed his true identity and allegiance. Gorham
pursued them through the jungle but they disturbed a pair of tigers.
Mason killed one but its mate attacked and killed Gorham.
--Spy Fighters I#1
Pedro Juarez
Pedro Juarez was a member of the Spy Fighters
who was based in Mexico City, Mexico. When Clark Mason investigated
communist infiltration among "wetbacks" on the border of California and
Mexico, Pedro met up with Mason and the two men posed as "wetbacks" to
find evidence of the communist plot. Pedro and Mason pretended to be
communists in order to draw out the enemy agents but the spies were
aware Mason and Pedro were not on their side. As they fled, Pedro was
shot by the communists and pleaded with Mason to continue without him.
However, Pedro did not die from his wound. As the communists had
prepared a load of dynamite to destroy a freight train on the border,
the dying Pedro held the communists at gunpoint as the dynamite went
off, saving Mason from the communists as he and the communists died in
the blast.
--Spy Fighters I#6/4
Tanila
Tanila was a Spy Fighters agent who posed as a
dancing girl in Budapest, Hungary. On one assignment, she was caught by
Baron Varolyi and tortured by him until she gave up Clark Mason's plan
to impersonate the Baron. Tanila was placed in a prison and one of the
Baron's agents impersonated her. The ultimate fate of Tanila after the
Baron's death is unrevealed.
--[Spy Fighters I#2]
Note: The real Tanila never appeared on-panel; the accompanying image is of the Tanila impostor.
Tom
Tom was a Spy Fighters agent who prepared Mr.
Lamb's dossier on Clark Mason's life as Lamb considered Mason for the
Spy Fighters. Tom boasted that he had every record on Mason's life
since he was five years old and gathered statements from Mason's
schoolteachers, high school principal, football coach, hometown mayor,
chief of police and scoutmaster, all verifying Mason had the qualities
they wanted in the Spy Fighters.
--Spy Fighters I#1
Madame Vasarth
Madame Vasarth was a Spy Fighters agent active
in Teheran, Iran. She attempted to aid Clark Mason and Vicki Chase when
they were sent to Teheran but first she had to prove her credentials
to Mr. Lamb. Madame Vasarth rescued Mason from Fahid Mizami's gang of
terrorists and brought Mason to General Narrabi to report on his plans
but Narrabi turned out to be a communist agent. Narrabi had Madame
Vasarth killed. After Narrabi was defeated, Mason and Vicki visited
Madame Vasarth's grave and mused that she would have been proud that
her sacrifice helped save Iran from communism.
--Spy Fighters I#6
images: (without ads)
Spy Fighters I#1, page 5, panel 3 (main)
Spy Fighters I#15/4, page 3, panel 1 (supplemental)
Spy Fighters I#1/2, page 2, panel 6 (Ander)
Spy Fighters I#1, page 13, panel 1 (Gorham)
Spy Fighters I#6/4, page 4, panel 4 (Pedro)
Spy Fighters I#2, page 3, panel 5 (Tanila)
Spy Fighters I#1, page 2, panel 7 (Tom)
Spy Fighters I#6, page 4, panel 5 (Vasarth)
Appearances:
Spy Fighters I#1 (March, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), George Tuska (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#1/2 (March, 1951) - unknown writer, Allen Bellman (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#2 (May, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), George Tuska (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#2/2 (May, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), unknown artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#2/4 (May, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Pete Morisi (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#3 (July, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#3/2 (July, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#3/4 (July, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#4 (September, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#4/2 (September, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#4/5 (September, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#5 (November, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#5/5 (November, 1951) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#6 (January, 1952) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#6/2 (January, 1952) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#6/4 (January, 1952) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#7 (March, 1952) - Robert Bernstein (writer), unknown pencils, Chic Stone (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#7/4 (March, 1952) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#8 (May, 1952) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#8/2 (May, 1952) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#8/4 (May, 1952) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Sol Brodsky (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#14 (May, 1953) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Mac L. Pakula (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#14/2 (May, 1953) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Mac L. Pakula (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#14/4 (May, 1953) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Mac L. Pakula (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#15 (July, 1953) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Mac L. Pakula (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#15/2 (July, 1953) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Mac L. Pakula (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Spy Fighters I#15/4 (July, 1953) - Robert Bernstein (writer), Mac L. Pakula (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 09/02/2021
Last updated:
08/29/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let
me know.
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