Russkie-Smashers MARVEL BOY II "Zero Hour!"

The only thing you can trust about Russkies...

...is that you can't trust Russkies...who apparently would be happy to die to "own the imperialists" (to paraphrase Repugs)!

BTW, though the mag was called Marvel Boy for the first 2 issues, (and he appeared in issues 1 through 6), it became Astonishing as of #3, and remained that way for the rest of the title's 63-issue run!

Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Bill Everett, this tale from Atlas' Marvel Boy #2 (1950) about cooperation-then betrayal parallels what happened between the Allies and Soviet Russians during World War II (when they acted together against the Axis) and afterward (when they became hostile once the common threat had been eliminated).
You'll note, though the other side is referred to as the "Eastern" Empire, they're clearly written and drawn as Russians/Soviets!
Bob Grayson was the second character to bear the "Marvel Boy" name, the first one being a Joe Simon/Jack Kirby creation who made only two appearances during the 1940s.
Since he appeared (and disappeared) before the 1953 revival of the "Big Three" (Captain America/ Human Torch/Sub-Mariner) he could be considered Timely/Atlas/Marvel's final Golden Age superhero!

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