Human Torch #6 (1941)

Violent crimes involving guns are at an all time high, leaving the Human Torch to wonder where the supply of ammunition is coming from when most arms manufacturers are focusing on arming the military. In order to find this secret arms suppler, the Human Torch decides to pretend to become a criminal in order to flush out the supplier. He decides not to involve Toro, who cannot believe it when the Torch suddenly starts robbing banks. Toro attempts to intervene, unaware that the Torch is putting up a ruse that the police are playing along with. After a hoaxed theft of a factory payroll ends with the Torch's flame getting doused by the sprinkler system, the Torch is visited by a man who offers to sell him a solution that allows him to ignite his flame right away once doused. The man explains that the Torch can be given a steady supply of the stuff as long as he provides the supplier with 10% of his haul. The Torch agrees, and when the man leaves he attempts to trail him in a taxi cab. Toro, spotting the situation, follows after the Torch in a cab of his own. This leads to a car crash between the two cabs and the crook gets away. Confronting the Human Torch when the police arrive, Toro demands that his mentor be arrested only to learn that this was all a ruse to try and capture the mastermind behind the illegal arms deals. With the truth revealed, the Torch and Toro work together to follow the man they were tailing. Following the crook to an airport, the Torch and Toro follow him as he takes to the air in a plane. Melting their way aboard, the two heroes overpower the crook and his pilot and force them to fly to their intended destination. Their rendezvous point turns out to be a heavily fortified private island off the coast of Florida owned by a mobster named Falton. Seeing that the Torch and Toro have his men captive, Falton has the ship blown out of the sky. Despite this, the Torch and Toro manage to escape the exploding plane but their flames are doused with a chemical spray and they are captured. When they come around they find themselves tied to a chair and held at gunpoint by Falton. Falton is wearing a protective suit and his gun squirts a powerful acid. He makes the two heroes an offer: join him or die, and then proceeds to show them his operations in the hopes of impressing them into joining his criminal operations. When he offers the heroes 20% of his loot, the Torch sets it on fire causing Falton to panic, allowing the Torch to disarm him. Chasing Falton through his facility, the crook makes the mistake of trying to hide in the powder room where he stores all his gunpowder. When the Torch and Toro melt through the wall, they ignite the powder causing a massive explosion that kills Fenton and destroys his entire island. Surviving the blast, the two heroes head back to the mainland confident that they have stopped the proliferation of illegally made guns, at least for a little while.