synopsis:
Archaeologist Kent Nelson and his wife, Inza find a large collecion of antique masks while on a trip sponsored by Rex Tyler. When the Nelsons return to the city, the masks are placed on an exhibition, but a strange man lights fire nearby them and causes Rex's girlfriend, Wendi Harris, to take the masks off the exhibit and give them to a beggar on the streets, while all the people are forced to laugh. When the strange event ends, nobody understands what happened, but at that precise moment, a man has taken away the masks from the beggar. The man who took the masks is Roger Hayden, the second Psycho Pirate after the predecessor, Charles Halstead died in prison, giving him the knowledge about the Psycho Pirate abilities and the Medusa Masks. With the powers of the ancient masks, Hayden starts a criminal spree in the city, which gets the attention of Doctor Fate, who is on the lookout for the masks. During their confrontation, the Psycho Pirate uses his abilities to distract Fate with illussions of his old enemies and he successfully escapes, leaving the hero stumped. Rex Tyler is next confronting the criminal, but he finds no better luck than his peer. Doctor Fate and Hourman decide to combine forces to confront Psycho Pirate in his own hideout, but they are still affected by the madman's powers. Eventually, Hourman's powers run out, but Doctor Fate finds a way to counter the powers of the Psycho Pirate. Fate defeats Pirate and creates a mask that covers his face to prevent him from using his powers again. Afterwards, the whole affair is cleared and Rex Tyler convinces Wendi to marry him.