Dan Hastings

HISTORY

In his introductory story in Star Comics #1, Dan Hastings is a trained “Rocket Ace” for the “United States Division of the Planet Earth”.

A Super-Kruga rocket ship landed unexpectedly on Dan’s solar planetoid. It’s piloted by Jansen De Vail with Sylvia Wyatt as his passenger. The pair are from families recognized by Hastings.

Jansen’s compass failed, forcing him to land. Hastings examined the ship. After finding a piece of metal disrupting the compass, Dan states that he is a former rocket tester for the “United States Division of Aviation” and currently “a lieutenant in the Aero Inter-Stellar Guard, stationed here in the interests of my country”.

Hastings pulls a gun on De Vail, ordering Jansen to take off in his rocket without Sylvia. After the rocket had left, Sylvia fainted, thinking Dan had kidnapped her. Dan carried her into his house, placing her in the care of a Mercurian named Exal.

When Sylvia awoke, she and Dan spoke outside. A group of rockets stationed on Mercury came to arrest Dan, but Sylvia would not press charges. Hastings told Sylvia that he’d discovered plans of De Vail to kidnap her to hold her hostage. De Vail hoped to retrieve valuable scientific documents from Sylvia’s father. Hastings could not understand why De Vail would place a nail file with the compass to throw off the ship. Sylvia explained that the nail file belonged to her, and she had dropped it by accident.

NOTES

In the Mexady Invasion story arc, Galada Eutopas, the conqueror of the planet Mexady, often battles against Dan Hastings. Eutopas orders his scientist, Ursulis, to cause Mexady to travel toward Earth. Eutopas then invades with his army of Mexadians to conquer and keep the women alive to repopulate Mexady. The Mexady storyline takes up all the Star Comics issues, excluding the prose Dan Hastings stories. The Star Comics story is added to in Amazing Mystery Funnies #9 – Vol.2 #5, yet the story is still incomplete. In Blue Ribbon Comics #1, Eutopas and Ursulis return, after admittedly failing to conquer the Earth on the first attempt. Dynamic Comics #18 prints a revised summation of the story begun in Star Comics, with some differences. Notably, the introduction of Eric Nord and the capture and imprisonment of Eutopas and Ursulis.

After Eutopas invades the Earth, the conqueror decides he wants to take Gloria Carter as his wife. Dan Hastings is romantically interested in Gloria as well, although he would not allow her, her father Dr. Carter, or her brother, Bob Carter to come to harm at any rate.

EQUIPMENT

Lieutenant Dan Hastings can make tremendous leaps exceeding 10 feet vertically with Dr. Carter’s Jet Powered Atomic Heels.

SPACESHIPS

Dan Hastings used a heavy rocketship against the invading armies of Eutopas. In his adventure where he faces off against Jan Crissman, Dan Hasting used a smaller rocketship. In one prose story, he uses an airplane, though it is destroyed at the end of the story. Dan Hastings uses the same gunship in Star Comics #7.

In Star Comics #4, Dan is said to have 3 rocketships in his hanger on the planetoid he lived on. The heavy rocketship may not have been among those.

In Star Comics #5, Dan Hasting’s Rocket is used to travel past Pluto. He rescues Fraulein Von Keller with this vehicle.

In Star Comics #6, Lieutenant Hastings is taken hostage by a trio of bank robbers consisting of Choppy. Mike. and Gyp. They steal Dan Hasting’s rocketship, which is crashed on a planet in the far reaches of the Solar System. Hastings escapes, but the robbers are all killed.

In Scoop Comics #2, Hastings utilizes a rocket to travel to the planet Plexis to rescue Gloria Carter from Dr. Strange. This rocket uses a train-track system to launch.

Dynamic Comics #21 includes Dan flying to Venus in his rocket.

UNIFORMS

The uniforms and outfits worn by Dan Hastings change a remarkable amount of times, often 2-3 times an issue. There is no reason given for this discrepancy.

PUBLICATION

Dynamic Comics #8 reprints Scoop Comics #3.