G-2

"The U.S. Intelligence Department has many heroes among its members… but one outstanding individual, Don Leash, becomes the dreaded G-2, scourge of all enemies of America…"

“G-2” filled a void in National Comics after the cancellation of the “Merlin” and “Wonder Boy” features. The feature generally bore uncharacteristically poor artwork in comparison with its contemporaries. “G-2” was preceded at Quality by “G-5,” a feature which ran in Hit Comics #5–17. The G-5 character was never given a civilian name. The premise of the feature sort of begs the question: why would an agent with undercover resources choose to don an attention grabbing costume?

G-2 was Capt. Don Leash, an officer in the Army Intelligence department of the same name. In the real world, the Army G-2 was a division charged with operational and tactical intelligence. (Also, “G-Man” is slang for “government man.”) In Leash’s second case, he met up with an insidious duo of terrorists, Gothro and Dr. Agony. These enemy agents tortured a U.S. Naval officer, and plotted an attack on New York City. The villains possessed a submarine that housed planes ready to attack. Despite suffering a gunshot wound, G-2 managed to alert the U.S. military, and sink the Nazi vessel. (National #28)

There were occasional offbeat touches to the feature such as Leash’s encounter with the so-called mystical “murder gun” (#29), and his first masked opponent, the Nazi King Spy. His Fifth Column ring took over a hotel, and began taking out prominent Washington officials. (#34)

In China, Leash met another undercover agent, QX-4: Jean Carroll, alias the Cantow Poppy. She was a counterspy to foil the Japanese. Before she sacrificed herself to take them out, she gave G-2 a goodbye kiss. (#30) Fraulein Thura was a Nazi spy chief sent specifically to capture G-2. He got the drop on her and turned her into authorities because, as he put it, “I don’t shoot women!” (#36) And in China, he met a freedom fighter called Lady Wang—the “Eastern Joan of Arc”—and saved her people by routing the Japanese invaders in her village. (#42)

In the latter part of his wartime service, Leash moved into operations in the Pacific theater. In his last adventure, he worked with an art expert, Professor Joaquim, to recover treasures stolen by the Axis forces in the Pacific. In the country of Tambang, the Japanese had taken the Kwan-Yin Vase, which was said to bestow leadership on its possessor. (#46)

His whereabouts after the war are unknown.