World’s Finest Comics – 247

Synopsis

With his fist poised over Churchill to deliver a killer blow should she approach, Wonder Woman realises she can do nothing to stop the Baron. But suddenly the door flies open and British Commandos storm into the room. Wonder Woman knows she must stop them or else they will be torn apart by the Nazi super villain. She therefore grabs the lead soldier and hurls the surprised man into the rest of his squad, bowling them over.

As she turns back to where the Baron had been standing, she sees him disappearing through a rear exit with both the Prime Minister and General Auchinleck, and the Nazi thanks her for her assistance in making his escape so much easier! In horror, she exclaims “What have I done!”

As she watches him take his two hostages outside, she thinks to herself that the Baron is making a fool of her and she cannot stop him! She ponders that perhaps she must play the waiting game instead. Meanwhile, Major Trevor and the guards outside are powerless to intervene as they see the Baron use his hostages as a shield. The Nazi commandeers a nearby jeep and orders Trevor to take him and his captives to a nearby airport.

As Wonder Woman emerges, an enraged guard yells at her “Are you blind woman? That’s the bloody Prime Minister he’s kidnapped! And you let him get away!” She replies that she needs silence to concentrate and he replies that if that’s the way she wants it, then she is under arrest!

Suddenly, he invisible plane which she has just summoned swoops down to the street and as she boards, she tells the surprised soldier that she does not have time to argue with him and that she has a jeep to follow! With that she takes off and tails the jeep through a blacked out London until they arrive at an army airport on the outskirts of the city.

The Baron leaps out of the jeep and tells two bemused airmen that he is taking their bomber. As they attempt to stop him the baron uses his brute strength to knock them senseless. Trevor mockingly asks the Baron who is going to fly the plane now that he has decked the pilots and he is told that he will take their place!

Soon the bomber is airborne and the Baron senses victory while behind them, a sleek, invisible plane is following their every move. As Wonder Woman trails them at a discreet distance though, she has an eerie feeling that although he cannot see her plane or hear it, the Baron somehow knows she is there and it does not bother him one bit!

Suddenly ahead, she sees a group of Messerschmitt fighters swoop out of the clouds and open fire on the British bomber. In the bomber’s cockpit, Trevor sarcastically remarks that the party’s been crashed and a furious Baron warns him that if he dies, so do they! A calm and collected Churchill lights another cigar and replies that fear of death is a luxury the British can ill afford while his kind swarm over Europe. The General joins in, saying that the Baron has lost this round, just as Hitler will surely lose the war. A furious Nazi tells them all to be silent but he stops in mid sentence when he sees a sight out of the cockpit window.

Wonder Woman, astride one the wings of her robot plane, is twirling her lasso over her head while the bemused fighter pilots approach her. She lassos the first plane and swings it into the one behind, destroying them. But the third fighter manages to score a hit on the bomber and it begins to nose dive towards the ground. She watches in horror and the plane ploughs into the ground and she cries out in fear “Steve!”.

She quickly lands and runs to the scene of the crash. As she hides in the shadows she is relieved to see that all the occupants have survived and are disembarking from the wrecked plane. However, they do not get very far as German troops with dogs appear from nowhere and order them to stand where they are.

The Baron speaks to the Colonel in charge, informing him that they are not spies and that he must contact Berlin immediately. The Colonel compliments him on his German but says that he is no fool and that they will all be taken to the SS for questioning.

An angry Baron knocks the Colonel out and informs a startled Lieutenant that he is now in charge. He instructs the hastily promoted officer to order him a train to Berlin and the young Lieutenant complies.

The following morning at a busy French train station, Diana, disguised as a Parisian, boards the train which she had seen the Baron and his prisoners board moments before. After the Baron’s display last night, she is even more concerned at his super strength and super speed. Just then she overhears a conversation through a compartment door and cannot believe her ears…

Meanwhile, in the top secret Military Intelligence Building in London, General Blankenship (Steve’s boss) is conversing with a British General about a sabotage mission. Apparently, the French Resistance is planning to blow the train sky high and even though the British high command have told them that Churchill is on board, they simply will not listen!

Back on the train, Diana has overheard the French guerillas and knows what they plan to do. Even though this will be the third time she has protected the Baron, she knows she must act quickly. She spins around and transforms into Wonder Woman before smashing through the door into the compartment, taking the French resistance fighters by surprise. However, they soon regain their composure and open fire on her with machine guns. As they watch the Amazing Amazon deflect their bullets with her bracelets, a female member of the group tells her stunned colleagues that she has heard of this woman from British Radio broadcasts – but why would she attack them?

Unable to stop her, they watch her grab the explosives and hurl them them off the train where they detonate harmlessly. But as Wonder Woman tries to explain her actions the female resistance fighter swings the butt of her machine gun and clouts the Amazon unconscious, accusing her of being a Nazi collaborator!

Meanwhile, in the private car where the baron and his prisoners ride, a smiling Blitzkrieg informs them that they will soon be in Germany. As he sarcastically tells them how he will enjoy being their ‘host’, Major Trevor takes the opportunity to grab a machine gun from one of the nearby guards. Blitzkrieg informs Trevor that he is being very foolish and that his abilities are not just limited to strength and speed alone. With that he focuses his energies like a lens directing the heat of the sun. A heat ray springs out from his mask and melts the gun in Trevor’s hands! The Baron then casually instructs Trevor to sit down because he is beginning to annoy him!

Further up the train, and Wonder Woman awakes to find herself bound with her own lasso, while the other end is held by the French woman, known as Marie. She tells the Amazon that she knows about the lasso’s powers and that it will make her speak the truth. Wonder Woman confirms this fact and quickly explains the situation. Marie’s face goes pale as she realises how close they came to killing Churchill.

She urgently tells Wonder Woman that they have to stop the train because although the Amazon had destroyed their explosives, they had a backup plan. As the two women race up the corridor, Marie explains that when the train reaches the crest of the hill it is currently climbing, the last car where the Baron resides will be released, sending it plunging back down the slope to destruction.

As they reach the couplings they arrive too late and see one of the French guerrillas finish cutting through the link. As the car begins to disengage, the Amazing Amazon leaps on board and Marie and the others watch helplessly as the car rolls backwards and away while the rest of the train continues on its journey.

Inside the careering car, Wonder Woman bursts in and dodges a heat blast from Baron, who has realised something is wrong. As he opens fire again though, she uses her bracelets this time to deflect the heat ray back at Blitzkrieg’s mask . As he collapses to the floor, his head engulfed in flames and heat, she orders the others outside to where her invisible plane is waiting. They jump on board and fly away as the speeding car derails and topples over and over before coming to a stop. As they peer down at the wrecked car, Trevor comments that they have seen the end of Baron Blitzkrieg but Wonder Woman is not so sure.

As they make their way home, she comments that the Baron was the embodiment of hate and that hate will never end so long as madmen make war – and soldiers march off to die…