Crash Comics #1
Strongman
A pair of thugs try to mug a man on the street but try to run when they spot the Strongman coming their way. The Strongman quickly catches up with them and knocks them out. He then returns home to continue the regular exercising regime that he learned from reading a secret book of yogi exercises. The Strongman’s alter ego is Percy Van Norton. In order to protect his double-identity, Percy pretends to be lazy and aloof.
One day while hanging out at the Cloud Room nightclub a gang of thieves comes in an robs the Jodpur Pearls which are being worn by one of Percy’s female acquaintances. After the thieves flee the scene, Percy excuses himself so he can change into the Strongman and follow after them. However, the crooks manage to get to their destination, a ocean liner. There they hand the pearls over to the captain who kills the two thieves so he can keep the pearls for himself.
By this time, the Strongman arrives on the scene he discovers that the crew of this ship are smuggling weapons and are likely raiders. He begins attacking the crew but the Strongman is knocked out when he is sprayed with a steam hose. To try and get rid of the hero they tie him to an anchor and toss him into the water. However, the cold water revives the hero and he breaks free, catching up to the fleeing ship, the Strongman sinks the vessel drowning all hands on board. He then swims to the bottom of the ocean and recovers the pearls from the wreck. and returns them to his astonished friend.
Recurring Characters
Strongman
Continuity Notes
This story states that the source of the Strongman’s power is due to following the instructions in a book of secret yogi exercises. This is at odds with the original given in Invaders (Vol. 2) #3. In that story, the Strongman states that he used his family wealth to purchase a formula that gave him his great strength. The formula also, according to that story, made him less intelligent than he once was. This would suggest that the Strongman stories printed in the 40s are not part of Marvel continuity. However, I speculate that it could. You can read more about that by checking out the Crash Comics Primer.
