In Pep Comics 7 (Aug. 1940), a nation turns its lonely eyes to the Shield — woo, woo, woo — as he tackles a criminal plot against something as American as apple pie: baseball itself!
Introduced smashing a “Stokian spy ring” on the direct orders of J. Edgar Hoover, G-Man Joe Higgins was described as “bulletproof and flameproof” and possessing “…the speed of a bullet and the strength of a Hercules.”
The Shield’s powers were attributed to his costume, but evolved into being inherent in him.
His first appearance had the exuberance of the early Superman stories as he smashed through ceilings, swung on skyscraper flagpoles, blocked speeding getaway cars with his body and tossed enemy agents around “…like playthings.”
“Won’t nothing stop you?” the spy chief complained, bending a sword on the Shield’s head.
“Nope — Nothing!” the Shield replied cheerfully.
In Pep 7, Higgins is in the stands when “Slugger Madaggio” (Gee, I wonder who that was supposed to be?) is burned alive by an incendiary bullet.
Ballplayers are being murdered by Al Moroni’s protection racket, and Hoover assigns the case to Higgins, whose first move is to change into his red, white and blue playsuit and shake some info out of a “rat.”
“I don’t know nuttin!” says the mob thug.
“Maybe these electric wires will make change your mind!” taunts the Shield, as he leaps to the top of power lines in yet another imitation of Superman. He also shakes criminals out of a sedan in a scene reminiscent of Action Comics 1.
Tipped off about the next attack, the Shield poses as a ball player and bunts a ball out of the ballpark and through a commuter train.
When the gang’s bullet bounces off him, the Shield goes to superhuman town on them, prompting a drunk in the crowd to exclaim, “Benny! Throw away the flask! I got the DTs!”
Yes kids, alcoholism was still a hoot in the good ol’ days of 1940.
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