My name is Lamont Cranston. I am also known as the Shadow. I know the evil that lurks in the hearts of men! I fight those who dwell in the darkness by using the methods of those who dwell in the darkness. Now, I have a new enemy. He is called the Yellow Claw. He has many allies. But I am not alone either. There are other champions of Justice involved in this war. They walk bravely into the dark places where the enemy lurks. They are brave, but that may not save them!
Doc Savage arrived at the scene of a massive explosion. Earlier that day, a huge blast under the city had thrown manhole covers hundreds of feet into the air. The Man of Bronze knew that this was not a coincidence. Earlier that day, he and Wonder Woman had fought a dragon in the Chinatown sewers, while searching for the Asian criminal mastermind known as the Yellow Claw.
Savage delayed going to the scene of the incident because he was studying the strange chemical formula, which the Yellow Claw and his lackeys had tried to put in the city's drinking water. They had failed, thanks to the intervention of criminologist Denny Colt, but Doc Savage suspected that the Yellow Claw would strike again. He needed to know what he was dealing with.
Now that he knew, the grim truth was worse than he imagined. He rushed downtown to get Wonder Woman's help. The last he saw of her, she was searching for the Yellow Claw in the sewers. Naturally, the Amazon Queen would be right in the thick of things.
Once he reached the scene of the chaos, he spoke to some of the uniformed officers. They were only too happy to talk to the living legend Clark Savage.
Savage learned that Wonder Woman had gone into the sewers and not returned. He assumed that she was all right. After all, she was Wonder Woman. What could happen to her? But he needed to go down to the sewers to find the Yellow Claw and hopefully would run into her as well.
He found the discarded tracking device, which he had given to the Fury earlier. She cast it aside after the explosion because the heat and smoke of the explosion interfered with its function. She didn't know how to compensate for the environment. But Savage did. He built it, after all.
Using the device, he went underground to find Wonder Woman, and their enemy, the Yellow Claw.
In his lair, the Claw was preparing to vacate the premises. Things were getting too hot there. Too many police were lurking around. The Shadow had found the place and now the camera revealed that someone else had found him as well.
"It is Doc Savage," one of the henchmen said.
The Yellow Claw nodded. "He's coming close. His investigation of the explosion in the sewers is leading him to my door. He must be delayed, while we pack everything up."
He looked around. He spotted Wonder Woman standing as still as a statue, awaiting further orders from Lady Dorma. She was still under the thrall of the Serpent Crown. The Yellow Claw got an idea. He approached Wonder Woman. Unable to move, she nervously wondered what his intentions were.
"You'd make the perfect security guard, my dear," he said.
Wonder Woman had a horrible notion that she knew what he was planning. The Claw looked at Dorma.
"What do you think?" he asked the Atlantean. "Shall we use her to repel unwanted visitors?"
Dorma, floating in her tank, nodded. She liked any idea that would cause Hippolyta distress.
Fury was searching for Wonder Woman. She had lost track of her friend and mentor earlier while they were looking through the sewer tunnels together. Some of the cops who were with her said she just walked off without a word. After what happened earlier, the Fury feared that Wonder Woman might not have departed of her own free will.
Leaving the other searchers behind, the Fury trekked down the dark tunnels, hoping that Wonder Woman was not in any trouble. As she walked, her trained instincts told her that someone was coming up behind her. Wonder Woman had taught her well.
She did a spinning kick, aimed at the head of the mysterious person following her. The other person evaded the kick and grabbed the Fury leg, yanking it and pulling the young, blonde heroine off balance. The Fury fell. She looked up, irate at the embarrassment. But then she recognized the man who had outmaneuvered her.
"Doc Savage!" she said. "Sorry, I didn't know it was you."
"I should hope not," Savage said. "If you knew it was me and still tried to kick me in the head, I would be very upset."
Fury rose. "I'm glad you're here, Doc. Wonder Woman is no where to be found. I'm worried."
"Wonder Woman can handle herself," Doc Savage said. "But just in case, let's go look for her together."
Wonder Woman was unwillingly standing guard outside the Yellow Claw's inner sanctum. At the Yellow Claw's suggestion, Lady Dorma had used the Serpent Crown to force the Amazon to stand sentry, as the Claw and his gang packed up to relocate to a new HQ. Wonder Woman wanted desperately to march back in there and tear the group of criminals apart, especially Dorma, who had twice pirated control of her body.
Dorma still had control and Hippolyta could only move when commanded. She hoped no one would come along and try to breech the Claw's sanctum now, because if they did, Dorma would make Wonder Woman kill them!
As the Claw oversaw the evacuation of his hideout, Dorma watched Wonder Woman on a monitor, ready to command her to attack should anyone approach. Dorma was getting impatient with the Yellow Claw for continually insisting that Dorma put off her revenge against Wonder Woman for the sake of the Claw's personal agenda. She hadn't come to the surface to help the Yellow Claw destroy America. She came to slay her rival for the Sub-Mariner's affections. Twice she has had the Amazon helpless in the power of her Serpent Crown, but the Claw kept insisting she put off her rightful punishment of her competition.
So far, all she had gotten out of helping the Yellow Claw was injured. She's been caught in an explosion while trying to kill the Shadow. She was burned and injured. This was not what she had planned when she came to the surface!
Just then, the pain of her injury started to get the better of her. She felt dizzy. She tried to force herself not to pass out!
Doc Savage and the Fury were closing in on the Yellow Claw's underground lair. Using a device built by Doc Savage that would trace any ambient vestiges of the toxin which the Claw had created, Savage had homed in on his target and was leading his young companion to their quarry.
They turned a corner of the sewer tunnels, and saw the big metal door that was the entrance to the Claw's HQ. However, more importantly to the Fury, was that Wonder Woman was standing in front of the door, looking in their direction.
"Polly!" the Fury yelled, rushing toward Wonder Woman to see if she was all right.
As the Fury moved closer, Dorma spotted her on the monitor and mentally commanded Wonder Woman to act. The Amazon snapped into a defensive posture and held out her clenched fist, ready to strike anyone who came too close.
Please, don't come any nearer, Wonder Woman thought, I don't want to hurt you!
Fury stopped, realizing what the situation was. "Uh-oh! Doc, we've got troubles!"
Savage nodded. He had assessed things already. Wonder Woman was being used as a pawn, and was going to keep Savage and the Fury from getting inside.
The Fury backed up. "So how do we handle this? We don't want to hurt her, and we definitely don't want her to hurt us."
Doc Savage paused, considering his options.
Dorma concentrated hard, trying to maintain control of Wonder Woman from a hundred yards away, with only a monitor as her guide. She was already dizzy from her injury and every moment of intense concentration made her even more disoriented.
Eventually, she became overwhelmed, and the exertion caused her to pass out. She sank down into her tank of water, sleeping a peaceful sleep, dreaming of her native seas.
Wonder Woman got a strange sensation. Something had happened. She was no longer receiving commands from Dorma. Still, she was under the thrall of the Serpent Crown. Without commands, she couldn't move. She was frozen, immobile as a statue, unable to free herself. Without Dorma's further orders, she would remain in this position indefinitely.
Still, Wonder Woman was relived. Thank Hera. Something must have happened to Dorma. Good! Without her direct commands, I won't hurt anyone. I still can't free myself, but at least I don't have to fight my friends.
Savage noticed her change in body language. Her fists slightly unclenched, and her muscles relaxed a bit. Something had happened. "Stay here!" he said to the Fury.
Savage moved closer to her, cautiously. He inched nearer and nearer, until he was directly in front of her. He waved his hand in her face but she didn't react. "It's safe," he said to the Fury.
The Fury approached Wonder Woman, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Polly, if you can hear me, I'm going to get you out of this. Doc Savage and I will take care of everything. Don't worry about a thing."
"Come on," Doc Savage said, picking the lock on the doors and entering the lair. The Fury was unsure about leaving Wonder Woman alone here while she was helpless. But the only way to free Hippolyta was to find the people controlling her. "I won't be gone long, Polly. Be back soon," She followed Savage in.
The Yellow Claw sped up his evacuation. His minions had finished loading and packing everything mobile that was necessary to the Claw's plans. Like a heard of pack animals, the lackeys dutifully carried their load out the opposite side entrance, away from Doc Savage and his young friend.
The Claw ordered one of his remaining servants to roll the water tank of the unconscious Lady Dorma out with the rest of the equipment. The Asian mastermind had sent his sister ahead to oversee the setting up of the new lair. The Claw lagged behind to see that everything was done before he left.
Just then, through the back entrance came the weak and wobbly form of Lady Coffin. The cyborg criminal staggered unsteadily on her feet. She cursed hatefully under her breath.
"You seem to have had an unfortunate result to your assignment," the Claw said.
"That scum, the Shadow!" she hissed, teeth gritted. "I'll get him for this. No one treats me this way! He's humiliated me once too often! I'll kill him for this!"
The Yellow Claw was getting very tired of hearing about the Shadow. First he'd rescued Doc Savage from assassins, then he injured Lady Dorma and now he'd defeated Lady Coffin. The dark vigilante has been breathing down the Yellow Claw's neck since he arrived in New York. The situation was becoming intolerable. The Claw determined that the Shadow would have to be dealt with sooner, rather than later.
"Come with me, my dear," the Claw said to Coffin. "We are evacuating. I shall take you to our new location, where my sister will minister to you. And then we will make plans to deal with the Shadow!"
Lamont Cranston was recovering in his mansion. He'd been hurt in an explosion and then poisoned. By luck, and with the help of an ally, he survived both of these traumas. Now, he was resting, getting his strength back. He wanted to get his hands on the Yellow Claw, but he was not foolish enough to rush out and face the enemy while at less than a hundred percent.
Lamont Cranston was smart and he was patient. He would wait until the time was right and then he would strike at his enemy with a fierce wrath that would make demons cower. The enemy would know his vengeance!
He was the Shadow and he would not stop until he came face to face with the Yellow Claw!
Back in his evacuated lair, the Yellow Claw and Lady Coffin exited out the rear tunnel. He left only a few men and a couple of unpleasant surprises to greet Doc Savage and the Fury. The Yellow Claw slipped away, successfully evading his foes.
Meanwhile, from the opposite tunnel entrance, Doc Savage and the Fury entered the nearly deserted underground fortress. They tread cautiously, anticipating danger. This wasn't going to be a cakewalk. Something would be lurking in the shadows.
"I don't see . . " Fury began.
"Ssssh!" Doc Savage chided. "Don't talk. Listen!"
Savage detected the smell of gun oil. He heard the sound of a bolt being puled back. There was a gunman hidden nearby.
"Down!" Savage shouted, ducking low.
Fury dived to the ground. A bullet barely missed her head. One second later and she would have been hit. The Fury was irate at the cowardly assassination attempt. She rolled skillfully, as Wonder Woman had taught her. Simultaneously, she grabbed a discarded piece of lumber and tossed it in the direction that the shot had come from. Her aim was perfect and the wooden weapon hit the mark. The concealed hitman grunted as the wood struck him. He dropped his gun and stumbled out into the open. The Fury launched herself at him and smashed him with a strong blow to the face. The man dropped like a stone.
Savage grinned, impressed. The kid's good. Wonder Woman trained her well. The punk was lucky. She could have taken his head off if she'd wanted to. She has the goods to be a great hero one day.
A dozen remaining servants of the Yellow Claw came charging out of they're hiding places. Wielding swords, the closed in on the two heroes. Doc Savage and the Fury defended themselves well, easily defeating the attacking forces.
"That was easy," Fury said.
Savage nodded, suspicious. "Yes, a bit too easy. I wonder . . . "
Savage took a closer look at their fallen foes. Under their shirts, each of them had dynamite strapped to them. But there was no visible detonation device. That meant that someone else was probably going to detonate the bombs from long distance.
"It's a trap!" Savage said. "We've got to get out of here!"
The mystery deepens next issue.