It’s going to be more Bobby and Binks and the Magic Crystal of History. Remember, this is all technically cannon to Earth-Two continuity, and so is very interesting if you care about that kind of thing. And if not… sorry.

Peter the Hermit:

Bobby and Binks check out the life of Peter the Hermit, a wandering religious man who is credited as the inspiration for the First Crusade, seen here as he influences the Pope (unnamed here but that’s Pope Urban II) to get things rolling on that. In our world his role in this is probably apocryphal, but this is comics and there are different rules. The kids also witness the People’s Crusade, aka a bunch of poorly armed and provisioned civilians who get so excited about the idea of taking the Holy Land that they set out ahead of the people who are going to do the actual conquering and get themselves slaughtered. Featuring Peter’s companion Walter the Pennyless, aka French knight Walter Sans Avoir.

The kids’ potted history of the Crusades ends with the capture of Antioch under Godfrey of Bouillon, and it’s odd to see that they seem to be simultaneously be broadly in favour of the Crusades as a concept while disapproving of the wanton slaughter of Muslims. Not a common combo nowadays. (More Fun Comics 025, 1937)

Henry the Fowler:

The kids (here called Johnny and Jane for some reason) witness the unification of post-Charlemagne Germany under the rule of Henry I, aka Henry the Fowler. This is possibly the least guest-star-packed episode of the Magic Crystal of History at a grand total of one: Frankish king Charles the Simple. (More Fun Comics 026, 1937)

Henry II of England:

Next up: the conflict between Henry II of England and Thomas Becket over the rights and privileges of the clergy,

This of course famously comes to a head when Henry kind-of sort-of says something about how it would be great if someone killed Becket and four knights (Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Morville, William de Tracy, Richard le Breton) do just that. Henry then claims that he was joking. (More Fun Comics 027, 1937)

John I of England:

Next up, the reign of King John I of England, aka Prince John of Robin Hood fame. Despite being foiled all those times he does eventually get to be the King when Richard I dies. John’s nephew Prince Arthur, meanwhile, is raised by King Philip II of France and eventually takes his foster father’s advice to make a play for the throne of England.

John wins the fight against Arthur but the rest of his monarching career is a series of fumbles: losing Normandy to the French, getting excommunicated for a while and finally acting like such an ass that his nobles gang up on him and make him sign the Magna Carta. Bobby and Binks like this, possibly because they view the Plantagenet line as illegitimate. (More Fun Comics 028, 1937)

Henry III of England:

In contrast to the entry on his fellow Henry (the Fowler) above, the tale of Henry III of England, son of John I, is simply awash with guest stars, including:

• Lord Pembroke, regent for the underage king
• Prince Louis of France, unwanted claimant for the throne
• Earl Hubert de Burgh and Bishop Peter des Roches, co-regents after the death of Pembroke, the latter of whom conspires to depose the former.
• the Lord Mayor of London, who is forced to violate de Burgh’s claim of sanctuary by order of the King. According to Wikipedia, this mayor would have been a fellow named Andrew Buckerell.

As with many of these histories, the kids have very definite opinions about the strength and weakness of various Medieval figures, and Henry III is not a favourite of theirs. (More Fun Comics 029, 1938)

William Wallace:

Though this Magic Crystal of History entry is nominally about King Edward I of England and his attempted conquest of Scotland, the King himself never actually makes an appearance. Instead we see his foes, starting with William Wallace. The kids get to see not just a bloody battle but the capture, torture and execution of Wallace, though the text elides his quartering as “the brutal manner in which his body is treated.”

Wallace’s death of course inspires Robert the Bruce to take up the cause alongside a fellow heir to the throne of Scotland named Comyn (aka John Comyn III) and then have to kill him as a traitor before becoming King Robert I of Scotland. (More Fun Comics 030, 1938)

Edward III of England:

We and the kids next see the adventures of Edward II of England as he attempts to assert his somehat feeble claim to the throne of France via wholesale invasion. Featuring Queen Philippa & Edward, the Black Prince! (More Fun Comics 031, 1938)

Richard II of England:

The Black Prince never ends up becoming the Black King due to the fact that he dies before his father does. Instead we see Richard II, his son, ascend the throne at the tender age of eleven. Classically, this is when a rascally regent gums up the works and in this case the text blames John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, who levies an unjust an unjust tax on the populace.

This inspires the Peasant’s Revolt, lead labourer by Wat Tyler, who is eventually slain by William Walworth, another Lord Mayor of London in disputed circumstances. (More Fun Comics 032, 1938)

Joan of Arc:

Bobby and Binks next get to watch as a peasant girl named Joan of Arc is divinely inspired to lead the armies of Charles VII of France to victory over the English forces besieging Lorraine. The Magic Crystal of History does not weigh in on whether Joan is actually hearing the voice of the archangel Michael or not, but does present her as being able to pick the King of France out of a crowd by vibes alone as a sign of her holy nature.

No retelling of the story of Joan of Arc is complete without a horrific execution at the stake, and the kids get to watch that as well, while sagely opining on her role in French history. (More Fun Comics 033, 1938)

Henry VI of England:

Not content with a mere execution by fire, the kids next tune in to the extremely long and bloody Wars of the Roses, witnessing the madness of King Henry VI of England, the revolt and execution of Richard, Duke of York, the counter-revolution of Queen Margaret of Anjou on behalf of her son Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, and more general slaughter in the name of monarchical claims than you can shake a stick at. (More Fun Comics 034, 1938)

Henry VII of England:

Bobby and Binks skip the reign of Richard III entirely (though I do believe that he is the corpse on the ground behind Henry VII as he is crowned, above. This entry in the Magic Crystal of History series might just be the lowest-quality of all, so I will refrain from further images. It concerns the two Pretenders: Lambert Simnel, who posed as Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick (who himself was confined and later executed for being inconveniently royal), and Perkin Warbeck, who posed as the younger of the two Princes of the Tower who were assassinated by Richard III to shore up his claim to the throne. (More Fun Comics 035, 1938)