26: The Hardy Boys Casefiles #51: Choke Hold Franklin W. Dixon

#51 The Hardy Boys Casefiles

Tags:
Climb into the ring with the big boys - and you're asking for big trouble!

Archive

gellaho

🚨 Hardy Boys Casefiles (tm) Poll Time 🚨 This time, you must choose which sport will terrorize the Boys:

⚾ #46 - Foul Play

🤼‍♂️ #51 - Choke Hold

🏈 #95 - Illegal Procedure

Vote by reaction on this post.

Dolphin cop Thrillho

Number 80 is all “No, not that way, you idiot!”

FancyShark

Dangit. Was making a joke about a typo on Illegal Procedure before realizing part of the cover was torn

FancyShark

"That football's a computer! Get away before it explodes!"

Evil J

"stop all the downloading"

Mo's Over, Synergy

that's the nuclear football, you dumbass!

FancyShark

Frank in the common sports fan attire of pink sweater and jorts

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

I'm voting choke hold because I'm hoping for an exploding wrestler

gellaho

The people have spoken, we will be reading about the Hardy Boys in the wrasslin' ring. How will Frank and Joe escape being maimed by the "muscle-masters"? Is Sammy "The Kung Fu King" Rand related to Superstar Rapster Randy Rand? This Friday, 5pm eastern, Franklin W. Dixon dares Vince McMahon to sue him in The Hardy Boys Casefiles (tm) #51: Choke Hold.

gellaho
gellaho

@Brockway pin this like a roided out man-beast pins a weak teenage Hardy Boy

John

He even has a sergeant's insignia on his onesie. I can't wait to find out his legally-distinct-from-Sergeant-Slaughter name.

Gentleman Brendan

He's actually Randy the rapper in a unitard

gellaho

Coming up on the hour, it's The Hardy Boys Casefiles (tm) #51: Choke Hold. Here's your preview

FancyShark

Not an illegal move!

gellaho

Frank clearly thinks it being illegal is worse than the broken neck

FancyShark

I wish he'd been consistently worried like that. "Oh no! They cut that lady in half! That's illegal!"

Metal Sheepdog, Killology PhD

Are they in mexico? Because piledrivers, afaik, are only illegal in lucha libre rules

FancyShark

Frank Dixon is probably counting on his readers not knowing anything about wrestling. Which is a dangerous gamble given the target audience and era it was published

Mo's Over, Synergy

you could just say it was the territory's rules, where's my no-prize

Metal Sheepdog, Killology PhD

according to the wiki, it was published in 1991. 5 years later, a lot of confused wrestling fans bought this book and wondered why they didn't do a swanton

gellaho

I guess we're skipping the formalities, they're already in the ring

FancyShark

I'm glad they mentioned the hammerlock or this would have started weird

John

After space camp, the logical next stop was wrestling camp.

gellaho

The traditional Kung fu attire

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

he's...dressed like Luke Cage?

Metal Sheepdog, Killology PhD

Or Adam from Streets of Rage 1

gellaho

Sammy Rand the Kung Fu Master, wrassler, and karate instructor

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

Danny Rand going under an assumed name but also not being too bright

FancyShark

When you want to learn wrestling, you go to a karate master who calls himself the Kung Fu King

gellaho

Sammy didn't explain why he was taking two high school boys across state borders

FancyShark

Kung Fu reasons

gellaho

Sammy breaking kayfabe

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

oh good I was kind of worried we were gonna go under the "wrestling is real" assumption for this book

FancyShark

Joe and Frank's childhood just ended

gellaho

Where do you go after the chair doesn't work? Ammonia poisoning, obviously

gellaho
FancyShark

It was supposed to be filled with strychnine

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

you put cat piss in a guy's bottle one time and suddenly it's a murder attempt

gellaho

Well, once the owner of the company ignores this, your next step is your former students

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

I mean, this tracks with what I know about vince mcmaha- NAAW? REALLY?!

gellaho

Best not take the bottle to the police or anything

FancyShark

There's a janitor that's wondering where his chair and bottle of ammonia went

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

"let's not go to the cops, I will instead ask children to solve this mystery. this is a logical thing done by smart people"

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

alternatively, a very confused cat

gellaho

And, when a wrestler turns you down, completely give up and try selling your company

Metal Sheepdog, Killology PhD

Well, steroids and concussions lead people to make questiobable choices

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

again, tracks with what we know about vince

100%

FancyShark

"Sir, there's other wrestlers..."

"Forget it. They'll probably all say no. This whole business was a dumb idea."

gellaho

Don't stretch yourself too hard coming up with wrestlers for your book

gellaho

"I couldn't get reruns for Happy Days so I'm selling the TV Network now too"

FancyShark

Major Disaster doesn't sound scary when it's what you call a colossal failure

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

why are the two wrestlers we've seen both wearing baggy pants?

I don't watch a lot of wrestling but isn't baggy clothing a bad idea?

gellaho

I'm getting mixed signals on the reality here

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

what

FancyShark

Wow, flirting works different in wrestling

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

I can't tell if it's gay chicken or high commitment to kayfabe even though the only audience is two kids in on it

FancyShark

If it's the latter, it further cements that Disaster is a better actor than Sammy

gellaho

These are some swell names, Franklin

FancyShark

Seems like Fred Stone would have been a much cooler name

Slim sounds like a weasel. Not metaphorically

gellaho

Time for our first patented Hardy Boys cliffhanger

FancyShark

So he'll...slip?

gellaho

Not really

FancyShark

Doomed!

C'mon, Frank. They're not fighting over a snake pit

gellaho

"'Check into possible murderer,' it's a good thing I wrote that down. I could have forgot!"

FancyShark

"I don't really know the guy, but I suspect him of murder"

gellaho

Alliteration is not always the best idea

FancyShark

"He tore the ligaments out with his bare hands. It accomplished nothing but it was badass."

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

I hate this Mayflower bullshit already

3 characters with alliterative M names and they're all related to each other

that's not gonna be hard to keep track of or anything

gellaho

ICE ALERT

FancyShark

It's so they can get bulk orders of monogrammed towel sets

gellaho

@che jakesy, sports revolutionary we have an Ice Alert!

FancyShark

Give your love to an Ethan Berry man

gellaho

Jesus Christ Frank, you're supposed to be the smart one

FancyShark

"What do you mean 'wins'?"

gellaho

"Are you okay, Frank?"

dr

“ok but when they throw you at the ropes why do you keep running? Can’t you just stop?”

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

jesus christ they didn't know?!

FancyShark

"Frank, did you not hear the first thing I mentioned?"

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

so they just blew past the fake chair last chapter?

didn't stop to think about that?

gellaho

"Frank, you didn't catch on that this was fake when I told you he was supposed to use a rigged chair?"

FancyShark

"It was supposed to be balsa wood" didn't provide any kind of hint?

gellaho

"Or when I said we choreographed the matches?"

FancyShark

"Or when you looked over at the other wrestlers practicing their routines?"

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

frank you're supposed to be the smart Hardy!

Mo's Over, Synergy

Frank rn:

https://youtu.be/Yvd3aEsThbc?t=13

FancyShark

Joe must be foaming at the mouth

gellaho

I don't know enough about wrestling to know if Warfield is supposed to resemble a real person

FancyShark

Joe's been saying all this out loud

"He'd let his body get out of shape now."

"Hey, screw you!"

gellaho

They just let their competition into the training facility while they're filming?

dr

Depends if the next paragraph is about him suing a website to death for linking his sextape

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

marvel lawyers: pardon?

FancyShark

East is upset he couldn't find any buyers for his corporation

gellaho

So mad he couldn't give up completely

FancyShark

"I can't take it anymore! Guess I'll keep going."

gellaho

Frank figuring he can just commandeer vehicles

FancyShark

Frank knows he can rely on Joe being a voyeur

Also, has Disaster done anything around them to warrant suspicion yet?

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

he was very angry at rand?

gellaho

They saw him and Missy leaving the room with the rope climb

So not really

Frank follows Disaster to an office building and

FancyShark

Please be a security guard

gellaho

An actual cliffhanger? I don't know if this is legal

FancyShark

Just to confirm his suspicion, Joe will now stalk the Roman brothers

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

there's a reason real life pro wrestling uses "face" and "heel"

gellaho

This fake confrontation is going on for a long time

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

frank is absolutely shit at writing wrestler beef dialogue

FancyShark

"Your mouth against my muscle" doesn't sound as threatening as you might think it does, Sammy

gellaho

How dare he

gellaho

"He expects me to do my job? I almost fell off the rope climb!"

FancyShark

Jeez, Sammy. Maybe he'll be more sympathetic if you tell him you broke a nail?

dr

I can’t believe anyone in the wrestling business would crave money or attention like that!

gellaho

This is 1991? Sure, I completely and totally believe this

FancyShark

Mars is in retrograde and I still have to wrestle?!

FancyShark

His campaign was "Give me all your steroids or I'll kill you"

gellaho

Nineteen

FancyShark

She sounds terrifying

gellaho

So he's complaining about getting hit in the side with a wooden chair?

FancyShark

Sammy would later change his name to Tony Romo and play football

gellaho

People took chair shots to the head

This is a terrible murder attempt

FancyShark

hahaha

gellaho

Also terrible motive

gellaho

I don't think that's it either, Sammy

FancyShark

haha, Dixon

Death by Christmas steroids

dr

Going to be extremely disappointed if the real motive isn’t just CTE

gellaho

Frank, how did you lose sight of the guy you were following

FancyShark

Major Disaster did three tours in 'Nam. He knows how to evade pursuit

gellaho

Now, why would a wrestler go see a shady doctor Frank

dr

Take it easy, I’m exactly the sort of person you’re paid to beat on!

gellaho

Uh, oh. Joe's on the loose

FancyShark

That's a good question, Sammy.

Wait, is spreading mustard on rye bread a way to express anger?

gellaho

Jesus Christ, Frank. You are really dumb in this one

FancyShark

Piling ham and cheese equals quizzical

dr

That sandwich is going to be important to the plot later

FancyShark

This is teaching me there's an entire play of emotions going on when I go to Subway

gellaho

Sure

FancyShark

heh

gellaho

Frank, I know this isn't the first time that this has happened to you

Shark Puke Fetishist GDC

Frank, you know you can't drive a manual.

FancyShark

The best way to survive a car crash is to just let it happen

gellaho

Meanwhile, Joe's stalking has ended predictably

FancyShark

Do it, Mitch

gellaho

This seems like a real interaction between two people

FancyShark

So many burglars have used this ploy to rob Mitch blind

Shark Puke Fetishist GDC

Mitch. Don't get distracted. Joe is a danger to your sister.

gellaho

Joe, I'm not sure this is the best gambit

FancyShark

Joe, he has a gun

gellaho

OK, Gorgeous George is real. You can't be doing that

FancyShark

"Introduce him to the old man" means "bury him alive in the cellar floor"

gellaho

The father's name can't also be Mike

gellaho

Stop it

FancyShark

The 'M' key got stuck, okay?

Joe really likes taking note of other men's muscles

gellaho

Joe's staying for dinner now

gellaho

For some reason

FancyShark

Hopefully, they're going to cannibalize him

gellaho

Why is this happening

FancyShark

A three-brown meal

gellaho

Is Missy actually his manager? She's 19 and this is supposed to be fake

FancyShark

Vegetables are for the weak

gellaho

Sure, normal thing for former wrestlers

FancyShark

"Remember, Joe. I can use any one of these on your penis if you lay a hand on Missy"

gellaho

So, how old is the major?

Ferroday, Summer Variant (SSR)

they're painting disaster as such an obvious villain that I'll honestly be disappointed if he turns out to be the culprit

gellaho

"Cocaine, booze, and horse tranquilizers my boy"

FancyShark

At least we've got a more apparent crime now

"Wrestlers also fought to the death back then"

gellaho

Knives: famous for sawing

dr

Bowie knives are like two fucking feet long

What sort of purse is this

FancyShark

Since there's no personal massager in there, I think we know what the knife is for

gellaho

"I want to obscure my license plate, but only at night"

FancyShark

Yeah, cops won't care about that

gellaho

"I should be alone, so the murderer has an easier time"

FancyShark

"Who's Joe?"

"Dammit, Frank."

gellaho

Seems like somebody who should be trusted in the ring

dr

I mean I’m pretty sure that’s how you get a WWE audition?

FancyShark

I can see why Missy liked him

gellaho

I'm pretty sure this isn't how this works

gellaho

especially considering these two are in a different company

FancyShark

Jimmy is also short for 'victory', because they're not very bright

gellaho

"Don't let the Romans buffalo you" - I've never seen anyone unironically use the verb form of Buffalo

gellaho

Also, is wrestling real or not?

FancyShark

"Tear off his head and fuck the bloody stump! Wrestling's all in good fun, kids!"

gellaho

I can't understand the reality of this

gellaho

Frank can't do the count

FancyShark

So they rehearse but they're fully capable of beating each other to death

dr

Like

Wouldn’t this be way more compelling if the Hardy’s thought this was a worked fight?

And then the dudes beat the shit out of them?

gellaho

Here's the murder attempt

dr

And disaster could be the ref?

FancyShark

An illegal move in a practice match!

The stakes could not be higher!

gellaho

Major Disaster may not be the guy , but Jesus

FancyShark

Disaster's thinking to himself "Dear God, someone save those kids! I can't drop character! I have to scream for their blood!"

gellaho

Lol

FancyShark

"This ends when I say it does!"

gellaho

"I loved watching the awkward high schoolers"

FancyShark

Yeah, Sammy. You've been making the whole organization dance to your tune so far.

gellaho

What a fun interaction between two students and their former teacher

FancyShark

"I always feel clean after seeing your naked body, brother."

gellaho

Is Goldfinger behind this?

FancyShark

"Well, we tried."

gellaho

Now that the door and window are open, the temperature is rising?

FancyShark

But it's being vented out. Who cares if it rises?

gellaho

No shit

FancyShark

All of this could still be caused by Sammy being a careless idiot

gellaho

No way

FancyShark

They ignore the sign saying "Control sticks. Please use caution when setting temp"

gellaho

"I need to tell people to take care of their bodies!"

FancyShark

Those speeches are hell on the body

gellaho

I CAN'T ALLOW ANYONE TO STOP ME

FancyShark

If I don't wrestle, they'll think I think steroids are cool!

dr

But doc, we’re independent contractors! I don’t have health coverage!

gellaho

AAAAAHHHHAAAHAHA, yes

gellaho

Yesssssss

FancyShark

YEEESSS

One man must find the courage to tell kids to not use steroids

Shark Puke Fetishist GDC

The doctor is like 'I've dealt with wrestlers before. Your brain is going to make a great article in Lancet.'

gellaho

THE PEOPLE MUST KNOW

FancyShark

Jesus, Sammy. It's not the Gettysburg Address or "I Have a Dream".

Shark Puke Fetishist GDC

Taking a brave, lone stand against Big Steroid.

dr

Kinda hoping for a murder on the orient express, now

FancyShark

Who are big, because of steroids

gellaho

"4 score and seven injections ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new sports entertainment, conceived in wrasslin, and dedicated to simulated combat, brother."

This sounds like an ex-wrestler

gellaho

stuttering while talking to two teens

FancyShark

And yet he still had the balls to turn down East's offer to sell his company

Shark Puke Fetishist GDC

My autocomplete now suggests Lenny should follow Big. I blame all of you for this.

gellaho

Seems like a plan that would work

gellaho

These two resemble wrestlers

FancyShark

Man, if Joe can follow your plan, you fucked up

gellaho

They won't have them there, dipshit

gellaho

It's not a pharmacy

FancyShark

"Nothing but insulin in here."

gellaho

Who is saying that

gellaho

And why are they yelling at the nurse

dr

Motherfuckers the box won’t say “steroids” on i— never mind

gellaho

Sure, he's also there. Why the heck not

FancyShark

"Please, kids. Run away. I can't break character!"

gellaho

"An uggo," thought Frank, "he must be evil"

FancyShark

Wispy mustaches deserve hatred

gellaho

Asking for an appointment, how unreasonable

gellaho

I love that he respects the Dumpster brand name

FancyShark

"WHAT DO THOSE HAND GESTURES MEAN? WHY ARE YOU SAYING 'SHUSH'?"

Walsh, making no effort to destroy anything that could tie him to a steroid scandal before dumping it in the trash

gellaho

Curious Cat sounds threatening

FancyShark

It's an actual cat

gellaho

Whoever is trying to kill Sammy is really terrible

FancyShark

Their timing is spectacular though

gellaho

Everyone was screaming, but no one but the Hardy Boys move to help

FancyShark

The warnings sounded like more noise, but the screeching metal heard over the crowd was inaudible to them

gellaho

I think the canvas is a bigger concern, numbnuts

FancyShark

Sammy sure gives up quick for a guy determined to not let anyone stop him

"I will fight to the last breath or if I get an owie"

gellaho

These are the dumbest kids

FancyShark

"Seems worthless. Throw it away."

gellaho

Yeah, really dumb

FancyShark

I hope East is still trying to recruit him

gellaho

Well, the Hardys go over there. I guess the TV network is in driving distance, conveniently. It goes about as well as expected

gellaho