"Case No. 1: Meet Captain America and Bucky"
America has joined World War II, and the enemy has sent covert agents here to undermine America's efforts at home, the Fifth Column, with a wave of sabotage. President Roosevelt considers drafting the Human Torch into the military because of this deplorable situation, but his generals tell him of a program to develop a "Super Soldier". We witness the project's culmination, as 4F volunteer, the skinny Steve Rogers, receives the treatment in the secret lab of Professor Reinstein. There is a 5th Columnist hidden in their midst. Upon the successful transformation of Rogers, the agent assassinates Reinstein, who carries the secret of the process in his head. Rogers, now super-human, is placed in the military as a humble private, and plays the role of a bumbler to avoid suspicion that he is really Captain America, scourge of the 5th Column. One day Rogers gets sloppy, and is witnessed changing into costume by his scrappy sidekick James 'Bucky' Barnes. Bucky insists on joining in the exploits with Rogers, and becomes Bucky, Captain America's fighting partner.
First appearances of Steve Rogers, Captain America, James 'Bucky' Barnes, and Professor Reinstein (also called Professor Erskine in various retellings of the origin story).
No Title Given featuring Captain America.
Nightclub act Omar and Sando predict the future, but recently, their predictions have been of sabotage on US soil. Steve Rogers and Bucky are suspicious, and go to see the show. When they investigate, they find that the pair are 5th Columnists in the employ of Hitler, and team up with Agent Betty Ross to put a stop to the spy ring. 7 pages.
First appearance of Betty Ross. (Note: not the same characters as Elizabeth 'Betty' Ross / Talbot, the daughter of General Thunderbolt Ross from the Hulk storyline)
"The Soldiers' Soup" 2 page text with spot illustrations.
"Captain America and the Chessboard of Death"
The 5th Columnists have a master strategist, Rathcone, who few have seen. In his hidden lair, he has a chessboard, and decides which US military leaders will be assassinated next. He makes a tactical mistake when he orders Cap and Bucky captured, and Rathcone learns that he has a tiger on his hands. 16 pages.
"The Riddle of the Red Skull"
Death threats have been sent to high ranking officers, signed by the mysterious Red Skull. The Skull finally strikes, employing his hypnotic death stare (actually a poison that he injects while he hypnotizes his victim). Cap and Bucky finally catch the Skull in the act and the Red Skull commits suicide. They learn his identity, George Maxon, industrialist in the employ of Hitler. 14 pages.
First appearance of the Red Skull.
House ad for USA Comics. 1 page.
No Title Given featuring Hurricane.
Hurricane is the son of the Thunder God Thor, and roams the Earth, fighting his mortal enemy Pluto (Marvel had clearly not yet done their mythological homework and had Norse and Greek mythos mixed up). Working under the alias Mike Cury, he infiltrates the operations of criminals, working his way to mob boss Paul Sayden, a thin disguise for Pluto. An epic battle ensues, and Hurricane has dispatched Pluto back to the Underworld. 10 pages.
First appearance of Hurricane.
"Stories from the Dark Ages" featuring Tuk Caveboy.
Set in pre-historic times, Tuk is a young proto-man cave dweller, living in amidst Neanderthal Men. Ak, the aging wise man of the local tribe, is soon to die, and tells Tuk the story of his origin. Tuk's mother and father were stranded in this savage land by their people when Tuk was a baby. His mother and father died protecting him from the wild beasts of the land, and Ak took Tuk in, raising him as his own. Ak dies after the telling, and soon Tuk meets another of his kind, Tanir the Hunter, whom he joins for adventure. 7 pages.
First appearance and origin of Tuk Caveboy.
First appearance of Tanir the Hunter.