Midnight Feature: pt. 2 (Smash Comics #44)

Last week we left Midnight & company in shock after Johnny Peters (brother of the late Jinny Peters-Baloney) confessed to his sister's murder!  For his part, Midnight doesn't believe it--though he can't fathom why Johnny's so eager to play the fall guy.  Before our he can get any answers, however, the earth around Jinny's grave gives way, sending Sniffer Snoop and Hotfoot plunging into darkness.  Johnny seizes the moment and flees, blaming Midnight for having "made a mess of everything!"

About this time, Bull overhears Johnny's claim and in a rage lays a slug into the young man's back.

Severely wounded, Johnny leaps into the gaping maw where Jinny's grave had been. 

Meanwhile in the caverns below the island, Sniffer Snoop is shocked to witness the supposedly dead Jinny rising from her coffin like some nosferatu.  

After Midnight arrives in the subterranean caverns (suspiciously-quickly, it should be noted) Sniffer hysterically relays the facts of his "ghostly" encounter.

Johnny, who's also suddenly re-materialized, continues blaming Midnight for having, "messed things up," shortly before passing out from his gunshot wound.  At this point, Jinny finally breaks down and explains what's going on.

By the time Jinny is finished untangling this unlikely web of deception, Bull has shown up. Having overheard how he himself was manipulated, Baloney is none to pleased.

Though Midnight bravely hurls himself at Bull and his forces, the latter's advantage in numbers and firepower eventually dictates retreat as the better part of valor.

Forced ever deeper into the caverns, Midnight and company eventually come to a dead end.  Trapped between boiling hot springs and an enraged killer, Midnight is ready to give the last full measure.

Tapping into his inner realist, Gabby is less sanguine.  The Mighty Monkey calls upon Doc to supply this month's deus ex machina, which the latter naturally produces courtesy of a previously foreshadowed mystery invention.

While Doc is getting ready for the big reveal, Sniffer Snoop actually makes himself useful (for the first time in recorded Midnight lore) by laying down a smoke screen.

What's unclear is whether we're to understand Sniffer as having fired: (A) some sort of 'smoke bomb shell', or (B) standard shot from a superlatively smokey long gun.

Under the safety of Sniffer's cover, Wackey paddles his friends to safety in...an air canoe?!

Beyond the obvious question of why anyone would need a self-propelled air canoe, what's even more curious is why Wackey is paddling said air canoe. 

And if the weirdo last-minute irrational invention escape isn't enough deus ex machina for you...

It's really impressive how Midnight's been able to examine the slug pulled from Johnny's back not that long ago (y'know...when everyone was running for their lives!) and has also been able to definitively match it to the slug that killed the warehouse watchman a week ago?!

And that's pretty much it.  Man...even for the Golden Age this is some startling last-minute plot wrap-up desperation.