List of Marvel Family Enemies - Lem Blucher and Robot Duplicates

Lem Blucher and Robot Duplicates

Only appearing in Marvel Family #89. Professor Edgewise says he is working on an exciting new discovery but will be home by supper. However he is not home then, and when Mary asks if he got lost the landlady Mrs Wagner says she has her address sewn in all his clothes. The Kids go outside and Mary says something might have happened to him, so Billy tells the Kids they will look for him and meet back there in an hour. They do not find him, and Mary does not return. When Billy finds neither is in his room he thinks it may be kidnapping, so he and Freddy say their magic words. They search the area and do not find either, but when they return they find from the sobbing Mrs Wagner, none of the others, Red O'Reilly, Leroy Marks, and Jim Bellows, have returned. They see two thugs dragging bags and think they are kidnappers so hit them, but the men say they are just Burglars. Cap drags them to the Police Station, while Jr. takes the loot and apologises, saying he is sure they will let them of, with five years apiece. Cap says they wanted to report the kidnappings to the police anyway. The Police say no known big-time kidnappers are at large, so Cap says they will return to the boarding house, but they find Mrs Wagner is gone, though her knitting is still there. They realise Billy and Freddy are the only people not gone, so Jr. suggests an idea to Cap. He changes and Cap hides. While Freddy pretends to fall asleep, Cap watches and sees a figure outside the window. He gets him, but the man says he is the Professor, and when Freddy turns on the light this is confirmed. WEhen Cap asks who kidnapped him and held him prisoner, he says he just forgot where he lived. Freddy can blieve that of him, but not the others. He says they must have been kidnapped or killed or...But he does not finish as the others appear. Mary says a sort of amnesia spell on them, and Edgewise when Cap asks how they all got it at once says it was due to his new discovery of memory stimulator spray with which he was trying to improve his memory. But the jar broke in his room and the fumes spread through the house, and Cap says that it wipes out memory instead. Cap thinks it is odd Billy and Freddy were not affected, but says as everybody is safe Billy can rejoin them. Life returns to normal, and Jim goes on night duty, saying clever Jewel thieves are operating in the vicinity and he must be on guard. Later the Cop meets two thieves who try to shoot him, but the Kids have secretly followed, and Billy and Freddy transform. When they ask why Mary is not joining them, she sas there are only two crooks. After defeating them, they find they stole a diamond necklace from Mrs Van Arch, and Cap says Mary can return it while they help Jim jail the crooks. However the next evening they engage in a search of Mary's room, as Jim said that Van Arch did not get her necklace back, and the Kids, thinking Mary is not a Thief, think she may have forgotten to return it and that the amnesia stuff may still be working on her as she forgot to say 'Shazam'. Mary comes in and is angry at them snooping in her room, but is shocked at them finding the necklace in a drawer. When Billy says they know the whole truth Mary knocks the two boys out with a vase (which she suddenly has) with which she strikes their heads. When they come to they are bound and gagged and Mary is wielding a knife, causing them to think she has lost her mind.

Mary tries to stab Billy, but he evades her and kicks the knife from her hand. Freddy is then able to cut his gag on it, and free Billy. Mary leaps from the window so Jr. catches her. As she is fighting Billy tells Jr. to tie her up, as he says Mary is insane. She is taken to a mental hospital by Jr, and Billy miserably thinks of how for years the three of them were the closest friends and goes on a walk alone. He checks at the hospital, but finds Mary escaped last night, ripping out of the straitjacket with the strength of a maniac. The police have been told but have not found her. Bily transforms but cannot find her and tells Freddy. At the dinner table Billy notices Freddy has not eaten and he claims to be upset. Billy notices Red is not eating which he finds odd, then realises none of the people have been eating much. He then sees Red's cigarette has burnt down ot his fingers and he is not feeling any pain. He tells Freddy something is going on so says they will pretend to go to the movies and sneak back. He sees that the people are all robots and are taking Fuel Oil. He tells Freddy the people are robot duplicates, then sees Freddy is standing there without a crutch. Realising he is a duplicate he tries to transform, but a blow to the head knocks him unconscious as the robot says Freddy took a walk but he came back instead. He carries Billy in and the robot Wagner tells him to bind and gag Billy. Billy is told by the robot Mary he will soon be one of them. Money is collected from O'Reilly's gas-station, Marks's sales business, Bellow's salary, Wagner's rent money and the rest, as the Mastert is waiting for the day's proceeds. Mary takes the money along, and Freddy carries Billy along. It might have been easier to take Billy and Freddy way earlier when they found Mary had the ncklace, also why did the robot Jim tell the Kids the necklace was not returned? Billy is taken to the old abandoned mill and find Edwise there. He thinks he is the villain, but then sees the Janitor from school, Lem Blucher. Edgewise, as he works on the Billy robot, reveals the invention he was working on at school after hours were lifelike robots, covered with flesh-like plastics and looking perfectly human. He says the real secret is the robot's metallic brain, which can absorb all memory from its human counterpart, meaning the robots can think and act like the people themselves arousing no suspicion. He was going to surprise the people with them and confided in the Janitor, his sad mistake. The Janitor saw a way to make the robots pay off, and tells Edgwise to attach the memory transfer caps onto each Billy, who are seated on chairs. How was the Janitor able to make the Professor do all this, and why did the Professor not do something to the robots to stop them obeying Blucher? Blucher reveals he is planning to murder the originals and let the robots carry on. That is just a test. He will replace rich people with his robots, Malcom Saunders, Bank President, John T. Smythe, Factory owner, Andrew Todd, Oil King, and Anthony Crane, Railroad magnate. Then he will as good as own their businesses, as he will kidnap and kill them. He can get away with murder, literally. The robot Billy says he will threaten t quit at Whiz unless Sterling Morris gives him a raise, but Blucher gives the robot an axe and says its first action will be to kill Billy, who is not needed anymore. The robot then prepares to kill Billy.

Billy thinks only a miracle can save him, and the robot's arms suddenly tear off. Edgewise, winking at Billy, says he forgot ot tighten the robot's shoulder screws. He says he will repair the robot and Lem should help him as he cannot screw the robot's head on backwards. He leaves the axe behind, and Billy removes his gag on this and changes to Captain Marvel. The robot Billy attacks him with an axe and it smashes. Cap is about ot get Lem, but is shown through a periscope Lem's robot guarding Billy's friends, all bound and gagged, with a machine gun. He has orders to shoot them the moment Cap attacks Lem, he kept them alive for an emergency like this. Cap is told to leave or they will die. He turns back and creeps in, but is hit by his duplicate and when he comes to he is bound and gagged with the others. Lem also has a machine gun and with his robot he decides to wipe out the group. But the three youngsters attack, as luckily their legs are free. However they are still gagged and need to get out, so break down the old rotting door, but find it only leads to the old mill wheel and they are cornered. They leap off, making Lem think it will save them the trouble of killing them and they will be ground to bits, but the churning rips off their gags, enabling them to transform. They get back at the Robot-Master, Mary frees the bound and gagged prisoners, who now include Edgwise, and Cap destroys the robot Billy and the lab. Jr goes after Edgwise and finds one running away, and one getting into a car. He thinks Lem would not try to escape on foot, so the one on foot must be the robot. However when he smashes the one in the car apart he realises he was wrong, and the real Lem escapes in a helicopter he has somehow obtained, following the old road without rising into the clear air for them to spot him. The Marvels take their friends home and smash the robots up, Cap apologising for the Junk but Mrs Wagner saying she will be happy to clean up the mess later. Jr realises the robot Professor Edgeiwse is missing, and Mary says noto ne must be let loose. It is soon found, and Cap says it is more like Edgeiwse then Edgewise himself due to its abset-mindedness. The next night Lem trys to kidnap the Professor again with a wire grabber attached to a cable, hoping to force him to make other robots and carry on the schem in some other city, but finds it is the robot when it tries to eat oil. The Marvels appear, Cap smashing up the helicopter and saying they left the robot out as bait, Jr. smashing the Edgewise robot, and Mary catching Blucher and hitting him to make sure he is not a robot. Blucher says he is not a robot and asks to be put in jail, to which Jr says they will.