Two Crime Kings Walk Into a Bar...

Midnight Meets Hammer-Head Horgan & Smear-Face Schmalz
Smash Comics #54 (AUG 1944)

Despite the image of the first page, this story really feature two conflicts: (1) that between Hammer-Head and Smear-Face, and (2) the long-standing one between Midnight and Sniffer Snoop.

Gustavson begins the story by introducing us to the feuding underworld personalities of Hammer-Head and Smear-Face.  When the two accidentally bump into one another on their birthdays, the weapons come out and the gangland fighting begins.

If this is how Smear Face carries his shotgun, I think natural selection may solve Hammer-Head's problem for him.

As fortune would have it, Dave Clark is working in a nearby radio station.  Doc Wackey and Gabby come bursting in to inform their pal that the two gangsters are having a shoot-out on the street.

Dave immediately charges toward the danger, changing into his Midnight costume (which apparently now involves nothing more than putting on the domino mask) en route.  When his pals are reticent to jump in the middle of a gun fight, Dave explains there's nothing to be afraid of once the bad guys notice them, as neither Smear-Face nor Hammer-Head ever manage to hit who they're shooting at. 

That's quite a kick for a "non-powered" hero.  If a man's back strikes a telephone pole with enough force to snap it in two, wouldn't you think he die from massive thoracic injuries?

Though he's successful at breaking up the street fight, in the hub-bub, Smear-Face and Hammer-Head slip away.  After hiding out in the same nearby building, the gang leaders realize they share the same birthday and decide to bury the hatchet. (Because...it was the Golden Age? 😕)

Meanwhile, back on the corner of First and Main, Midnight and pals are cursing their luck.

When you use comics to teach obscure anatomy...

During the impromptu after-action report, Midnight and Sniffer renew their feud over the best method of fighting crime.  Sniffer insists that Midnight has failed to capture the criminals because he tries to solve everything with fists instead of brains.  Midnight counters that the fists are essential.  Eventually, Sniffer makes a $20 wager that he can catch Smear-Face and Hammer-Head--using nothing but his own cleverness--before Midnight does!

Walking away, Sniffer appears to be suffering pretty serious gambler's remorse.   Fortune smiles on the deer-stalkered detective, however, when he bumbles across the drunken twosome in a nearby dive.

Despite being three sheets to the wind, the tyrannous twosome recognize Sniffer as, "da li'l rat da worksh wish Midnight." Though it takes some doing, Sniffer eventually persuades Hammer-Head and Smear-Face they've confused him with his identical twin who's turned honest. Their murderous attentions deflected away from Sniffer, the two quickly resume a heated debate over who is the true "mashtermind" of Big City criminality.   

In the effort to win his bet, Sniffer convinces the two that rather than fight each other, they simply agree that whoever knocks off Midnight first is the true King of Crime.  To ensure that there's no after-the-fact challenges to the new nefarious nobility, Sniffer proposes that both gangsters write out a complete list of their crimes which will then be deposited with Sniffer for safe-keeping until after Midnight's out of the picture.

This seems comical right up until the moment, Sniffer decides to just leave Midnight in the dark for a few days about the fact that he's encouraged a couple of murderous low-lifes to specifically target Big City's premiere masked hero!

Fortunately for Dave Clark, with the light of dawn comes the retreat of the pink elephants.  Hammer-Head and Smear-Face wake up, realize they've been had, and decide to join forces to get Sniffer...and to retrieve their signed confessions.

Now if Hammer-Head can figure that Sniffer works with Midnight...
and Sniffer also is liable to be hanging out with Dave Clark...
now what could be the secret identity of Midnight?

Thinking he's about to enjoy a day of watching Midnight run himself ragged, Sniffer decides to hide the signed confessions at the house before heading out.  A suspicious Gabby, however, has been spying on Sniffer and once the latter leaves, our favorite talking monkey discovers the confessions.

Seemingly, no sooner does Sniffer turn a corner on the side-walk than he's running for his life from Hammer-Head and Smear-Face.  Back at the house, Sniffer finds Dave Clark relaxing in his arm chair in full Midnight attire (because...isn't that what every superhero does during his/her down-time?) Claiming to have been shot, he begs Dave to save him from the gangsters.When the bad guys enter the room, Midnight and Gabby commence their obligatory pummeling, while Sniffer rolls around on the floor seemingly convinced he's near death!

Once the thugs are subdued, an oddly high-looking Sniffer announces that he's won the competition.

This panel really makes you wonder how he got the name "Sniffer".

After producing an envelope that is supposed to contain the signed confessions.  (The careful reader will note we got a serious plot hole here as the confessions were supposedly left under a pillow.)

PLOT HOLE ALERT!

Once this particular shark is jumped, I guess Gustavson didn't feel any particular need to have a consistent narrative.  Midnight bursts into hysterical laughter because the "confessions" are all blank.  (Okay...but didn't we see writing on the sheets on previous pages?)

I guess you could argue Gabby swapped the real confessions for blank paper,
but the story never actually depicts or reports that.  Furthermore, it's never
explained why Sniffer would produce "confessions" from his jacket that he
supposedly left underneath a pillow?!

While the house-call doctor removes bucket-shot from Sniffer's rear (Whaddaya know?!  I guess Sniffer really did get shot!) Midnight informs the self-appointed world's greatest detective that his uncorroborated confessions would never have held up in court anyway.  In contrast, the slugs being pulled out of his bum at the moment would make their guns and would therefore constitute evidence of attempted murder!  And so, in nice Golden Age fashion, we have the following tri panel wrap-up: