World's Finest Comics #82, May/June 1956, was published around March 29, 1956. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of a dime. The editor was Jack Schiff, and the cover was drawn by Win Mortimer.
The Superman/Batman story for this issue was the 12 page story titled The Three Super Musketeers, written by Edmond Hamilton, pencilled by Dick Sprang and inked by Stan Kaye. This story was reprinted in The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told (which was the edition where I first read this story), World's Finest Comics Archive vol. I and Showcase Presents: World's Finest vol. I.
At a historians' convention, scientist and historian Dr. Carter Nichols declared that he was going to attempt to solve the mystery of the identity of the Man in the Iron Mask in 17th Century France. Reporter Clark Kent was in the audience. That evening Clark changed into Superman and flew to Wayne Manor, near Gotham City. Superman entered Wayne Manor through a chimney. The Man of Steel asked Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson if they were going to help Dr. Nichols solve his mystery. Bruce and Dick were, and Superman asked if he could tag along as Clark Kent.
Dr. Nichols used his time ray, combined with hypnosis, to send them into the past. They arrived in 17th Century France and changed into their superhero costumes to better fit in with the local fashions. They were met by D'artagnan and the Three Musketeers, wounded and fleeing Bourdet's guards. The Three Musketeers were wounded in an attempt to free the Man in the Iron Mask. The World's Finest heroes helped D'artagnan drive off Bourdet's guards.
After finding refuge for the Three Musketeers to recuperate, Superman, Batman and Robin became the new Three Musketeers. Along with D'artagnan, they rode to the Castle of Pignerol, where the Man in the Iron Mask was incarcerated. Superman approached the castle alone, and cannonballs bounced off his chest. The Man of Steel used two cannonballs to break the chains holding the drawbridge up, and the New Musketeers stormed the castle.
Bourdet brought the Man in the Iron Mask, and blackmailed the World's Finest Musketeers with his prisoner's safety. Superman was surprised to learn that the iron mask hiding the prisoner's face contained lead, and was unable to learn his identity. Our heroes allowed themselves to be bound in chains, while Bourdet and his men took their prisoner out of the castle. They had rigged a fuse in the arsenal to blow up the gunpowder. As soon as Bourdet and his men were gone, Superman broke their chains and extinguished the fuse just in time.
Batman remembered that, according to Dr. Nichol's history, the Man in the Iron Mask was taken to the Batille, where he lived for the rest of his life. The Four Musketeers rode to the Bastille. While Batman and Robin left to bring the King, Superman and D'artagnan watched the prisoner. Bourdet's men chased Batman and Robin, thinking they were two of the Musketeers. Batman and Robin rigged sticks on their saddle, covered with their French hat and cloak. They jumped onto low hanging branches and pounced on their adversaries, dismounting them.
They climbed the palace and entered the King's private chambers. The King knocked himself while attacking Batman and Robin, thinking they were assassins. Quick thinking Batman disguised himself as the King and dressed the real King in his Batman costume. When the King's men entered the chamber, the "King" said the strangers were his friends, and ordered he be taken to the Bastille.
A guard warned Bourdet using a carrier pigeon. Bourdet ordered the Man in the Iron Mask be disposed of and made to look like an accident. The dungeon was flooded, but when it was drained, the Man in the Iron Mask was still alive. Bourdet then ordered the door to his cell to be covered by blocks, but the Man in the Iron Mask burst out of his cell, and singlehandedly vanquished Bourdet and his men. Batman and Robin and the King entered the dungeon, and the "King" ordered the prisoner to be unmasked. His identity was revealed to be Superman.
The real prisoner in the iron mask was indeed Count Ferney, who was guarded by D'artagnan. The real king ordered Bourdet to be imprisoned and forced to wear the iron mask, for the rest of his life.
Superman, Batman and Robin returned to their own era, changing back into Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson before they returned to Dr. Nichol's lab. They had discovered that two men were the Man In The Iron Mask, one innocent, the other guilty, not counting Superman, of course.
This was a great swashbuckling tale, with the World's Finest Heroes becoming the New Three Musketeers. It was a nice combination of the three superheroes with classic literature. There's no surprise that this story was picked as one of the greatest superhero team-up stories. It was cool, how Batman and Robin threw off their pursuers. I wonder how weird it was for the French King to be waking around in Batman's costume. I give this story 5 Superman Capes out of 5.
While doing some brief research about the classic Alexander Dumas novel, The Man In The Iron Mask, I discovered that there was a historical masked prisoner in the Bastille during the 17th Century. There is a mystery about the identity of the prisoner, and historians have theorized about several possible candidates. The Man In The Iron Mask was the third novel in author Alexander Dumas' trilogy, after The Three Musketeers, 20 Years Later. I tried to read it in high school, but didn't get very far. Instead of checking it out again, I just returned it to the library and never picked it up again. It wasn't as dense as Herman Melville's Moby Dick, but I do recall that the language of the translation I read was a little old fashioned, But then the book was written in the 19th Century.
The second story was the 6 page tale, The Indian Fortune Teller, starring Tomahawk and drawn by Fred Ray. Tomahawk and Chief Maker Of Wind solved the mystery of the tribe's disappearing animal pelts.
Green Arrow starred in the 6 page final story of the issue, The Pictures Of Peril. The Grand Comic Book Database at comics.org gave the name of the writer as possibly being Dave Wood, and the artist was George Papp. This story recapped the Green Arrow's origin, and in this era before tight continuity, was different that any other Green Arrow origin. In this origin, Oliver Queen grew up in the American West, and learned his archery skills from his friend, a Sioux teen named Little Otter. Green Arrow and Speedy foiled the plans of a gang who had kidnapped a reporter, and replace him with one of their gang. The reporter had scheduled an interview with Green Arrow about his origin, and the gang used the opportunity to get rid of Green Arrow and Speedy.
Elsewhere in DC Comics, 27 titles carried the May or May/June 1956 cover date.
Next Episode" Superman Comic Books Cover Dated July 1959: Superman #130 & Action Comics #254!
In 2 weeks: Superman Family Comic Books Cover Dated June 1956: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #13!
Check http://supergirlpodcast.wordpress.com for information about theSupergirl Podcast, premiering sometime this August!
Also, if you have any original publication date about a Superman story about his alien zoo, reprinted in the 1970 Superman Bumper Book in the U. K., contact me!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups or pages on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League Of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork. Check it out to discover other fine Superman podcasts.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics. Any cover art displayed with the show notes is done for entertainment and educational purposes only. I post these episodes to share my enjoyment of Superman comics and do not earn any money from this podcast.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Action Comics #253, June 1959, was published around April 30, 1959. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of a dime. Mort Weisinger was the editor, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.
The first story of the issue was titled The War Between Superman And Jimmy Olsen. This 12 page tale was written by Alvin Schwartz, pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. It was reprinted in Superman: The Man Of Tomorrow Archive vol. II and Showcase Presents: Superman vol. I.
Superman took Jimmy Olsen to the Fortress of Solitude to write a feature story about the Man of Steel's secret refuge, wrapping Jimmy in his indestructible cape as protection against the cold. Inside, Superman showed Jimmy a Chameleon Jewel from Venus, which changed colors when he touched it, and a plant from Mercury that shot out spores. The Man of Steel hadn't had a chance to study them, but guessed they might act like a powerful vitamin.
Jimmy also got a look at the bottle city of Kandor (although it was not named in this story). He even got to look at the people inside the city through a microscope.
After the tour was over, Superman wrapped Jimmy in his cape to protect him against the elements. Jimmy asked to look at the scenery for once, but the Man of Steel told him that it was too cold to expose him to the elements.
After returning to Metropolis, Jimmy showed Clark his labeled reporter's notebook, filled with his notes on the Fortress, and mentioned that he forgot to ask Superman about the location to the Fortress of Solitude. This made Clark concerned about Jimmy.
Soon, both Clark and Jimmy received summons to testify against the Double X Gang. As police officers escorted them into protective custody in a police van, Clark and Jimmy learned that they would need to be sequestered for three days for their safety during the trial. That didn't sit with with Jimmy, who ripped the door off and escaped. Clark chased after him, but Olsen gave him a super powered shove and escaped.
Clark quickly changed into Superman, and heard Jimmy's signal watch alert. Superman found Olsen outside Metropolis, holding a giant boulder with one hand. He threatened to throw the rock into the path of an oncoming train unless the Man of Steel took him back to the Fortress of Solitude. Superman destroyed the boulder with one punch and refused to give in to Jimmy's demand. Olsen flew away and threatened to use his own superpowers to blackmail Superman.
Jimmy flew high above Metropolis and used his super breath to freeze the water in Metropolis harbor during summer. When Clark Kent emerged from the courthouse after the trial was over, he responded to the threat by changing into Superman and diving into the ice, breaking it up.
Then Jimmy stole a lightning rod off of a building and attracted a lightning bolt that destroyed a Superman statue. Olsen then aimed the lightning rod at Superman, who deflected the lightning bolt back at Jimmy. That scared Olsen because he wasn't used to being invulnerable.
A B-24 plane flew overhead, and Jimmy used his x-ray vision to short out the engines. Superman saved the plane from crashing by throwing it like a toy glider, giving it enough airspeed to be able to land safely.
Jimmy hijacked a tank on the base and drove it toward the Officer's Club. Superman blocked its path and let it crash into him, destroying it. Olsen then rushed to a Munitions Depot building and caused an explosion. Superman flew around the building, throwing up a wall of sand and rubble to dampen the impact of the explosion.
The Man of Steel then challenged Jimmy, saying that he wasn't ready to go all the way in his conflict, and retrieve the kryptonite rock underwater at Pointer Reef they dropped there last year. After Jimmy left, Superman rebuilt the Depot building.
Jimmy retrieved the kryptonite using very long tongs, and chased Superman all the way back to the Fortress of Solitude. Jimmy dropped the rock by the weakened Man of Steel and crashed through the mountain wall into the Fortress.
Inside the bottled Kryptonian city. Kryptonian authorities were with the real Jimmy Olsen, inside the lab of Kryptonian criminal El Gar Kur, who had built a device to switch places with Superman's Pal. The authorities were puzzled by how it worked, but Jimmy activated it by stepping into it. Just then the ground tilted, as Kur picked up the bottled city and was about to destroy it.
Just then Superman burst out of the kryptonite rock. He took the bottled city away from Kur, and revealed that the kryptonite rock was fake, and the other Superman was a robot. Just then, El Gar Kur disappeared as he switched places back with Jimmy. Just before Kur disappeared, the Man of Steel reminded him that he could have used his telescopic vision if he were more experienced. Superman was assured that the real Olsen had returned when he cut his finger on the edges of the fake kryptonite. The Man of Steel used his microscopic vision to see El Gar Kur being returned to prison by Kryptonian authorities.
As Superman carried Jimmy back to Metropolis, wrapped in the Man of Steel's indestructible cape, they both agreed that the location of the Fortress of Solitude needed to remain secret.
The only possible plot hole, or mystery about this story was when El Gar Kur was able to switch places with Jimmy without catching Superman's attention. It was quite a coincidence that a Kryptonian was a twin of Jimmy Olsen and sound like him, but in later silver age Superman stories, we will meet a Kandorian double for Superman himself. More on him when we get there. This story would have fit in Jimmy Olsen's title just as well.
We were given a few clues that served as possible causes of Jimmy's odd behavior, and it was an epic silver age battle between Jimmy and Superman. It's unclear when Superman switched places with his robot and hit in the fake Kryptonite, but I enjoyed seeing the Man of Steel once again out think the villain. Brains beat brawn every time. That's something we haven't seen in recent Superman stories.
Jimmy's impulsiveness came in handy when he stepped into El Gar Kur's device. This was a great story of what turned out to be Kryptonian vs. Kryptonian, and I give it 5 Superman Capes out of 5.
The second story of the issue was the first solo Supergirl story. This 8 page tale, The Secret Of The Super Orphan, was written by Otto Binder and drawn by Jim Mooney, who would be the main Supergirl creative team for the next decade of stories involving the Girl of Steel. This story was reprinted in Supergirl Archives vol. I and Showcase Presents: Supergirl vol. I.
On Get Acquainted Day, childless couples were going to go to Midvale Orphanage to meet the orphans, and hopeful adopt some of them. Headmistress Hart organized the older girls to help prepare refreshments. Linda Lee, secretly Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, was assigned to prepare the ice cream. She discovered that the freezer had not been cold enough for one reason. To remedy the situation, she secretly used her super breath to refreeze the ice cream. (I hope nothing else in the freezer was spoiled.)
In a five panel flashback, Supergirl's origin and journey to Earth and Midvale Orphanage, from the previous issue, was recounted.
After the couples arrived at Midvale Orphanage, Linda was worried about any interest in adopting her. She was concerned about protecting the secret identity. When a couple showed interest in her, she used her x-ray vision to peek into Mr. Trent's coat pocket, to see his plumber's union card. She purposefully asked if he had a famous job like a scientist, and not an ordinary job. That was enough to cool the Trents' interest in her.
After a group of orphans showed their talents in music and dance, Linda found an orphan boy named Tommy crying by himself. He felt insignificant, not having any special talent because he was just a farm boy. Linda introduced him to the Wilsons, a farming couple. They warmed up to Tommy quickly, but unfortunately do not meet the orphanage's financial requirements to adopt.
That gave Supergirl an idea. Secretly, she flew to the Wilson farm and burrowed underground. Unfortunately, she didn't find any gold, oil or other valuable metal or mineral. But that didn't stop her. Supergirl found a large boulder and burrowed all the way to Italy, near the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Mr. Wilson installed a telescope and turned it into a tourist attraction. For $1.00, people could look through the telescope and look at the Tower through the tunnel. By the time the tunnel collapsed, the Wilsons had enough money to adopt Tommy.
Supergirl's plan took an unexpected twist when the Wilsons decided to move into town, and thought Tommy might not like city living.
Back at the orphanage Linda presented Tommy with a magician's set that was stored at the orphanage. Before the Wilsons arrived at the orphanage, Linda worked with Tommy on a few magic tricks. Of course she secretly used her super powers to make the tricks work. Tommy performed several tricks. He made a message introducing his magic act appear on a chalk board, thanks to Linda's x-ray vision. Then Linda used her super strength to burst out of chains wrapped around her chest, then used her flying power to levitate. The Wilsons were impressed enough with Tommy's magic talent to adopt him.
The story ended with Linda reading a story about Superman saving a ship from an iceberg. She felt content using her superpowers in secret to help people.
I have to admit that I wasn't sure how well I would like the Supergirl stories. Other than the crazy plot twist of Supergirl creating a tunnel to Italy so people could see it through a telescope, this was a nice, simple human interest story. I was hooked when Supergirl used her powers to help the Wilsons find something of value under their land. I was surprised she wasn't in a hurry to be adopted. I would think that it would be easier to keep her double identity secret with a private home than in an orphanage filled with children. I guess it's part of her personality, to put others over herself.
The upcoming relaunch of the Girl of Steel has her not sharing her older cousin's affection for humans. That may make sense today, with our more sophisticated storytelling in comics, but I am enjoying these simpler Supergirl stories from a more innocent time. It's a nice change of pace to the darker, more adult comic books today. That's both good and bad.
Check http://supergirlpodcast.wordpress.com for information about the Supergirl Podcast, premiering sometime this August!
The third and final story of the issue starred Congo Bill in the 7 page tale, The Destroyer Of Congo Bill, written by Jack Miller and drawn by Howard Sherman. This was Congo Bill's 6th appearance as Congorilla.
Elsewhere in DC Comics, there were 31 titles which carried the June or June/July 1959 cover date.
Next Episode: Superman Family Comic Book cover Dated May 1956: World's Finest Comics #82! (I'm looking forward to this issue. You'll find out why next week.
In 2 Weeks: Superman Comic Books Cover Dated July 1959: Superman #130 & Action Comics #254!
Also, if you have any original publication date about a Superman story about his alien zoo, reprinted in the 1970 Superman Bumper Book in the U. K., contact me!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups or pages on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League Of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork. Check it out to discover other fine Superman podcasts.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics. Any cover art displayed with the show notes is done for entertainment and educational purposes only. I post these episodes to share my enjoyment of Superman comics and do not earn any money from this podcast.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #12, April 1956, was published around February 21, 1956. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of a dime. The editor was Mort Weisinger, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Ray Burnley. They were the art team for all three 8 page stories, which were written by Otto Binder.
Jimmy Olsen, Prince Of Clowns began with the cub reporter interviewing one of the stars of the circus which was performing in Metropolis, Tad King. Tad was going to make his premiere performance with his famous dad Joe King, as the Clown King and Clown Prince. Tad was anxious about living up to his Dad Joe's talent as a clown.
Joe had a sad expression on his face as he finished his clown makeup and wardrobe. Tad asked his Dad if he thought he would make the grade. Joe, still frowning, told Tad to do his best. Joe then left to check on their props. A still anxious Tad tripped and hit his head on a travel case.
Jimmy helped Tad to a bunk. The Clown Prince had a nasty bump on his head. Jimmy noticed that Tad was about the same size and build that he was, which gave Olsen an idea. While Tad recuperated, Jimmy put on Tads' clown costume and clown makeup, and quickly memorized their act. The clown makeup hid Jimmy's true identity from Joe, who thought he was Tad.
The Clown King and Clown Prince began their act by driving their Dadmobile and much smaller Sonmobile into the ring. Suddenly the Sonmobile began to buck uncontrollably, almost throwing Jimmy out. Olsen was saved when Clark Kent, who was in the audience, secretly used his x-ray vision to burn out a spark plug wire. Jimmy ad libbed, acting as if it was part of the act, and got a laugh.
Clark used his x-ray vision again, and noticed that it was Jimmy, not Tad, under the clown makeup.
Between parts of the act, Jimmy asked Joe why the car malfunctioned if he had checked it out. Joe said that it must have been an accident. Joe offered his "son" a chance to bow out if he was too shook up from the incident. Jimmy wondered why Joe urged his "son" to quit so easily.
For the next part of the act, Jimmy grabbed some helium filled balloons, which slowly lifted him off the ground. Jimmy acted as if he was walking up invisible stairs, while Joe held his hand as Jimmy's sleeve stretched as he rose. Some of the balloons began to burst, and Clark, using his super vision, noticed that Joe was shooting pellets from his mouth. Jimmy was barely high enough so that Clark was secretly able to use his super breath to blow Jimmy to a trapeze bar. Olsen improvised some acrobatic moves, after feeling the gust that pushed him to the bar. He correctly assumed that Superman must be somewhere in the circus tent.
Clark left the audience to change into Superman in order to investigate why Joe was trying to sabotage his son's act. The Man of Steel talked with Tad in his tent, then x-rayed Joe's diary, to discover that Joe was purposefully trying to rig Tad's act for failure. He felt Tad's bad rehearsal showed that he wasn't cut out to be a circus clown. Then Superman's attention was drawn to Joe's circus scrapbook.
The next part of the act was for Joe to examine a dummy elephant while Jimmy threw a giant pill in the elephant's mouth. However, Joe had replaced the "pill" with a heavy stone. Fortunately for Jimmy, Superman burrowed up from underground and threw the pill into the fake elephant's mouth. As he did, the Man of Steel whispered to Jimmy to return to Tad's tent.
Joe saw Superman's arm and head emerge from underground, and finally noticed that it was a sweaty Jimmy, not his son Tad in the clown makeup. Jimmy excused himself to touch up his clown makeup.
A broken hearted Joe juggled some egg, one of which hatched in mid air with the bird flying away, while thinking that Jimmy was giving Tad a bed turn (false hope). The Clown Prince then returned to finish the act, doing a back flip off of a see saw and making a perfect landing. to loud applause from the audience.
As the clowns took off their makeup, Joe saw that it was Tad, not Jimmy removing his clown makeup. Jimmy had found Tad recovered when he returned to the tent to retouch his makeup, and Tad finished the act. Superman reminded Joe of the newspaper interview from his scrapbook, where Joe talked about having bad rehearsals but great performances.
Joe and Tad went on to break box office records as a father and son clown team, according to the front page headline a proud Jimmy read in the Daily Planet. He was brought back down to Earth when Perry yelled at him for misspelling names in one of his reports, calling Jimmy a first rate clown as a reporter. Perry knew how to encourage a guy.
I missed the clues to the mishaps in the clown act, until after reading the story, then saw where Joe became a suspect. But then, I'm not good at picking whodunit. He seemed to forget what it was like when he was young, when you're more inclined to take risks.
It was a stretch for Jimmy to be able to memorize and perform the acrobatic clown act on such short notice, not to mention sounding like Tad when he talked to Joe. I did enjoy the scenes of the clown act, and Clark's secret use of his super powers. I'd like to see this clown act in real life.
This was a down to earth human interest story which reminded me of the 1950's Superman TV show. It was a touching father and son story. My own father passed away in 1982, and I have a 21 year old son, so stories like this mean a lot. There weren't any major heroics, just a touching personal story, and I give this story 5 Superman Capes out of 5.
The Secret Of Dinosaur Island began as Jimmy and Clark took the Daily Planet's Flying Newsroom to Mystic Isle to investigate rumors of dinosaurs. Apparently Clark has a helicopter pilot's license as well as Jimmy, and pilot Jumbo Jones didn't make an appearance. I wonder if he was laid off?
As they approached landing, they saw a brontosaurus, now called an apatosaurus. After landing, they left the helicopter to explore, but Clark suddenly became weak and dizzy, and returned to the Flying Newsroom. As Jimmy began to explore, a Tyrannosaurus Rex approached. Clark used his super breath to cause an avalanche and scare away the T-Rex.
Despite the scare, Jimmy began exploring Mystic Isle, but was soon approached, not by another dinosaur, but by a robot which had a sign on its chest, This robot is trained to smash your camera. Jimmy outsmarted the robot by escaping through a narrow crevice.
Clark kept tabs on Jimmy with his telescopic vision, and saw the robot approach the Flying Newsroom. Clark used his x-ray vision to fuse the sand near the helicopter into glass, causing the robot to slip and fall. Clark removed the internal mechanisms and wore the robot's lead body like armor. He was able to hear the supersonic signal recalling the Guardiac.
Clark was led to a cabin belonging to an ill scientist, Professor William March, a naturalist. He ordered Guardiac to bring a tape recorder. As he told his story, we saw it in flashback. While exploring Mystic Isle, he found a cavern which contained dinosaurs frozen in ice. Using heaters to thaw the specimens, he saw them come to life, and began studying them. To keep other people away he built the Guardiac robot. Experiments proved that the dinosaurs would not live over a year because of the modern air. He realized that he would not survive beyond the dinosaurs because of his own heart condition. March decided to leave his work to science after his death.
The Professor ordered Guardiac to scare off the trespassers without harming them, and to ruin their photos at all costs. Remaining in the robot shell, Clark ruined several of Jimmy's photographs on several occasions, then flew back to the Flying Newsroom ahead of Jimmy. He replaced the internal parts of the robot and sent it on its way.
Undaunted, Jimmy reloaded his camera and left to try again. A weak Clark left to find the robot, and it was here we learned that Mystic Isle was loaded with kryptonite. Clark again found the robot, and put on its armor once more.
Back at March's lab, we learned that he had placed the robot's mechanisms in a lighter steel suit. Jimmy was determined to keep the robot from ruining any more of his photographs. Jimmy dropped a rock on the robot's head to topple it, but did not realize that the rock contained kryptonite. He left the robot to finish taking his photos.
The robot was found by the Professor, who discovered Clark inside it. March learned that Clark Kent was Superman.
Later, in the lead robot suit, Clark moved at super speed to create a blur in front of Jimmy;s camera, so that his pictures appeared to be out of focus. Jimmy did not find it out until he developed the film on the trip back to the Daily Planet. He blamed it on defective film.
In a series of thought balloons, we learned that Clark had burrowed into a geyser before they left. This would hide the island in a fog to keep explorers from finding Mystic Isle again. That way Professor March could use his remaining time to finish his research, then leave his work to science once he and the dinosaurs were gone. This was the deal Clark and Marsh made to keep their secrets safe.
Once the Professor died, Clark would arrange it so that Jimmy would break the story about the late dinosaurs of Mystic Isle.
This was another great story in this issue. It had it all, dinosaurs, Clark's secret revealed. Maybe it's a good thing Lois doesn't find out Clark's secret identity. Otherwise she'd have to live the rest of her life alone on a deserted island. I liked how Clark's weakness was a mystery in the first part of this story, and also rate this story 5 Superman Capes out of 5.
The Invisible Jimmy Olsen began as Clark and Jimmy left the Daily Planet building for different assignments, Jimmy had some interviews to do around town, while Clark needed to finish his expose on "Blacky" Blake's crime ring.
Jimmy interviewed Doc Brane, a scientist. In his lab, Brane put Jimmy in a clear glass chamber in which he teleported Olsen to the Fourth Dimension. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to bring him back. Jimmy left Doc's lab and walked, invisible, through Metropolis, while Brane worked on a solution.
The Daily Planet even published a front page article asking for any information about the missing cub reporter. Jimmy returned to the Daily Planet offices and tried to convince them he was still there. He picked up a copy of the paper in front of Perry White, who thought he was hallucinating. Jimmy picked up the nameplate at his desk in front of Lois, who had the same reaction.Faring no better with the office boy, Jimmy rode the city bus, for free, to Clark's apartment.
Clark watched in shock as the invisible Jimmy typed a message on Kent's typewriter explaining his problem and asking him to contact Superman. Before Clark could respond, Blake and his gang barged into Clark's apartment and tied up Clark.
Jimmy took Clark's report, which the gang saw float in air, and hid it in Clark's freezer, then took an ice cube and touched it to Blake's neck. Blake thought he had been burned, and suspected that Clark was Superman. He was convinced when Jimmy used a letter opener to cut Clark's bonds. When Blake swung a fist at Clark, Jimmy blocked it with a steel paperweight. Jimmy then pushed Blake's gun when he shot at Clark, so that the bullet hit the wall next to Clark.
Blake and his gang surrendered to Clark, but said that they'd get the last laugh when they told everyone in prison that Clark was Superman. After police took the gang to prison, Clark left to "find" Superman. The Man of Steel took Jimmy to Doc Brane's lab and placed Jimmy in the chamber. Superman used giant forceps to pull Jimmy out of the chamber and back into the 3rd Dimension.
Jimmy returned the favor by writing what became a front page story how he had simulated Superman;s powers to save Clark from the Blake gang. Superman used his x-ray vision to spy on Blake as he read the story, furious that he had been duped. The Man of Steel was grateful that Jimmy was able to cover up his secret identity after unwittingly exposing it. To show his appreciation to Jimmy, Clark offered to take Jimmy to a movie, but Olsen declined to see The Invisible Man.
This was a common way to end a silver age story, have the characters go to a play or movie that had a title relating to the plot of the story. This particular story also had the same feel as the 1950's Superman TV show. There were a number of episodes that had stories involving brilliant but absent minded scientists whose inventions didn't quite work.
For the second consecutive episode, we had a story with one of Superman's supporting cast rendered invisible by entering the 4th Dimension. Jimmy was able to operate in the normal world a lot easier than Lois. The plot had triple jeopardy, Jimmy's invisibility, Clark captured by the gang and the exposure of his secret identity. This was a fun story with plenty of twists and turns in the plot, and I give it 4 Superman Capes out of 5.
Elsewhere in DC Comics, 32 titles carried the April or April/May 1956 cover date.
Next Episode: Superman Comic Book Cover Dated June 1959: Action Comics #253! with the first solo Supergirl story!
In 2 weeks: Superman Family Comic Book Cover Dated May 1956: World's Finest Comics #82!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups or pages on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League Of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork. Check it out to discover other fine Superman podcasts.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics. Any cover art displayed with the show notes is done for entertainment and educational purposes only. I post these episodes to share my enjoyment of Superman comics and do not earn any money from this podcast.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Even though this is the 188th official episode, because I began with an episode #0, and have had a number of multi-part episodes, especially around MegaCon earlier in the year, this is actually the 200th individual episode of this podcast. Thank you, everyone, for your continued interest in this podcast, and in the Man of Steel.
Superman #129, May 1959, was published around March 19, 1959. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of 10¢. The editor was Mort Weisinger, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye. All three stories have been reprinted in Superman: The Man Of Tomorrow Archive vol. II and Showcase Presents: Superman vol. I.
The first story of the issue was The GhostOf Lois Lane, which was featured on the cover. This 9 page story was written by Jerry Coleman, pencilled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye.
It began with a typewriter salesman impressing Jimmy with a new electric typewriter that was so sensitive that he could type by softly blowing on the keys. Perry White gave Lois a briefcase which belonged to a Professor Grail, and had been turned in to the paper's Lost and Found Department. White thought that it might give her an excuse to observe Grail's experiments in energy transmission.
Using a rented helicopter, Lois flew to the Professor's laboratory. There was no explanation why she didn't use the Daily Planet's Flying Newsroom. She was embarrassed to admit that she had forgotten his briefcase because she had been anxious to see his scientific work. Professor Grail, perhaps amused by her honesty, indulge her, with the stipulation that she not report on his work until it was finished. He explained that his work in energy transmission had lead him to research the possibility of transmitting people through space by radio, although it had not been perfected yet.
Back at the Daily Planet, Perry White asked Superman to take Grail's briefcase, which Lois had left behind. As he approached the lab, Superman used his x-ray vision to search for Lois. He wanted to give it to her so that she could give it to Grail herself. The Man of Steel saw her sitting on a chair that was part of a device, when an explosion rocked the lab. When the smoke cleared, there was no trace of Lois. Superman believed he had accidentally killed her because his x-ray vision had interacted with the unknown electronic circuits in an unexpected way.
As he searched for Professor Grail, Superman saw a ghostly image of Lois, which he thought was an illusion caused by his grief. The Man of Steel decided to lose himself in his duties as Superman.
He used his x-ray vision to check for flaws in the steel girders of the frame of a skyscraper under construction. Lois' ghost appeared again. Superman was so unnerved that he melted a steel girder in half. He flew to his Fortress of Solitude and lamented how he wished he could have had a normal life, with Lois Lane as his wife. Superman noticed a flaw in the Lois statue in the Lois Lane room. When he used his x-ray vision to examine it, the ghost of Lois appeared again.
Superman tested a theory by flying to another planet and used his x-ray vision to find his way through the atmosphere's thick clouds. Sure enough, Lois Lane's ghost appeared again. Superman returned to Earth and his job at the Daily Planet as Clark Kent. Jimmy was having trouble with his new typewriter, and Clark secretly used his x-ray vision to fuse a broken wire in the machine.
An impatient Perry White entered the office, anxious for Jimmy's story and for Lois' return from the Professor's lab. Once again, Clark saw Lois Lane's ghost in the office. Suddenly, Jimmy's typewriter began typing on its own, even though no one was sitting at his desk. The message read. Am trapped in Fourth Dimension. Contact Superman to pull down left lever in Professor Grail's lab so that I can be released. Lois Lane
A very relieved Clark Kent left the office to find a secluded place to change into Superman. He rushed to Professor Grail's lab. In the Fourth Dimension Lois could see a figure changing into Superman, but his identity shrouded in mist, and then the Man of Steel flying to the lab.
Superman pulled the correct lever and Lois returned from the Fourth Dimension. She revealed that every time he used his x-ray vision, it penetrated the Fourth Dimension and enabled him to see her. Lois explained that she could see him changing from his civilian identity into the Man of Steel, but was unable to see his secret identity. She asked him if she would ever learn his secret, to which Superman answered that she didn't stand a ghost of a chance.
This is the second consecutive episode where we've seen a story where Superman's x-ray vision had an unexpected reaction. The explanation was typical comic book science, which would not hold up to very close scrutiny, but this is a minor point.
It was a very emotional story, with Superman tormented by guilt over the assumed death of Lois, which he caused. Superman dropped his guard, revealing his true feelings for Lois, until she returned, that is. Then things settled back to normal, with him holding her at arm's length. We learn just how deeply he cares for Lois, but is unable to express in order to keep her from being endangered by his enemies. This is a part of Superman's personality we don't see often in the silver age, and for that reason I give this story 4 Superman Capes out of 5.
Clark Kent, Fireman Of Steel was the second story of the issue. This 7 page tale was written by Otto Binder and drawn by Al Plastino.
Clark's next assignment was to live with the Metropolis Fire Department for a week and write a feature story about it. Fire Chief Hogan was annoyed with Clark's assignment to his station, despite the fact that it was arranged by the Mayor. Hogan decided to scare the mild mannered reporter to make him quit his assignment.
During the first alarm Clark was involved with, the Chief sent Clark into a burning store to search for any trapped people, since his other firemen were busy. Fortunately, the store was empty, and Clark was able to make the clogged sprinkler system activate. Unfortunately his fireman suit was burned away, so he punched a hole through the wall, into a costume shop, to take a fireman's costume. Of course, he would pay for it later. The Fire Chief chalked up Clark's fortune to dumb luck.
The next day, Fire Chief Hogan had Clark climb the ladder truck to rescue a cat trapped on top of the smoke stack, although there is nothing in the art to indicate how the cat could have climbed so high. The ladder jammed and couldn't retract, so Clark would have to jump with the cat and land in the Fireman's Net. The Fire Chief noticed too late that part of the net was unraveled, but Clark secretly used his x-ray vision to cause a close fire hydrant to burst open, creating a geyser that slowed his fall enough to land safely. Fire Chief Hogan thought Clark lived a charmed life.
The third alarm Clark responded to was at the Superman museum. Clark didn't wait for the Fire Chief to order him into the building. There were too many irreplaceable souvenirs inside. Unseen, he used his super breath to extinguish the flames, then noticed that the front of his fireman's suit was burned away, exposing the Superman shield of his uniform. Clark used a barrel to hide his burnt uniform, much to the Fire Chief's amusement. Chief Hogan credited a Plutonian Freeze Ray machine with extinguishing the fire, which was fine with Clark since his secret identity would be safe.
At the site of the fourth alarm Clark responded to, he used his own body to shield the rest of a lab from damage from an explosion. He had finally learned his lesson by putting his fireman's suit under his Superman uniform as soon as he was alone in the burning building, then putting his fireman suit on the outside before the Fire Chief got to him. Chief Hogan found Clark in an overturned vat, after thinking Clark had been killed in the explosion.
When the week was over, Clark took his leave of Fire Chief Hogan, promising to highlight the dangers the Metropolis Fire Department faced on the job. The Fire Chief scoffed at Clark, saying that a bomb could drop on Kent's head without putting a hair out of place.
While Superman was on patrol the next day, he noticed some smoke coming from a home's window. The Man of Steel used his super breath to extinguish a stove fire at none other than Fire Chief Hogan's residence. Hogan had been reading Clark Kent's article about his department, and told the Man of Steel that he was glad it was he and not Kent who responded. Superman winked at the reader.
No real Fire Chief would expose an untrained civilian to such danger for liability reasons, but it was a humorous story, as Clark secretly used his powers to foil Chief Hogan's attempt at intimidation. It seems that everyone must know about Clark Kent's meek and mild reputation, for the Fire Chief to try to scare him off the assignment. When I recorded the episode, I completely missed the fact that the Fire Chief had the same last name as me.
I don't understand why Clark didn't just climb down the stuck ladder with the cat, but then it would have been a less interesting panel. I would rate it a 2, except for the humor of the story, which raises it to 3 Superman Capes out of 5.
The Girl In Superman's Past was the third and final story of this issue. This 10 page story was also subtitled An Untold Tale Of Superman, the third such story to be labeled. It was written by Bill Finger, pencilled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye.Along with the other reprint editions previously mentioned for this issue, this particular story also appeared in Superman From The Thirties To The Seventies and The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told, which was the reprint edition I first read this story in.
While Clark and Lois watched a football game at Metropolis University, the blanket that Lois covered her lap with reminded Clark of a woman named Lori, so cue the flashback.
During Clark's senior year at Metropolis University, he saw a girl in a wheelchair rolling uncontrolled down a hill. As he rushed toward her he used his x-ray vision to melt the tires so that they would stick to the sidewalk and slow down. He got to her just in time as the wheelchair stopped suddenly, throwing the girl out of her seat and a blanket still wrapped tightly around her waist covering her feet. They looked into each other's eyes, and for Clark it was love at first sight.
She surmised that her wheelchair's tires over heated from the speed she was traveling downhill, and Clark thought to himself that she said it as if they both knew it wasn't true.
At the Ark, a floating aquarium near the university, Clark's thoughts were only about the girl he had met, whose name we learn was Lori. A boiler explosion aboard the ark caused some of the fish to escape, and panic among the tourists. Clark dove overboard, and was able to change into his Superman uniform, which he carried in his briefcase. He wove a net out of seaweed and was able to capture most of the escaped fish.
Superman was surprised to see Lori underwater, her blanket still wrapped tightly around her legs, and in the clutches of a giant octopus.The Man of Steel noticed that Lori's lips seemed to be moving, as if she was talking to the octopus. Suddenly it released her and swam away, and Superman brought Lori to the surface.
Clark began to date Lori, but she said that she always had to be home by 8:00 p. m. Regardless, Lori was always on Clark's mind. In astronomy class he fantasized about carrying Lori in a pressurized sphere to see the planets. In art class he fantasized about carving her bust on a mountainside. And in music class Clark fantasized about carrying musicians around the world on a platform while they played a song he composed for her.
Clark's reverie was broken when, one morning, Lori informed him that she would return to her home country that evening. He decided to propose to her, and give up his career as Superman to avoid making Lori a target for his enemies.
Unfortunately for Clark, he was restricted to his dorm room as part of a fraternity initiation. He created a way to get out of the room by using his super breath to create a downdraft and fill the dorm with smoke from the fireplace. He caught up to Lori on the beach, knelt on one knee and proposed.
Lori declined his proposal because she knew he was Superman. Clark told her that, as the Man of Steel, he could search the world for a cure for her paralysis. But Lori stuck to her decision.
A despondent Superman spied on Lori, and he overheard her talking to someone on a radio. He wondered if she was a spy. After Lori left her trailer, the Man of Steel broke into her home and noticed that there was a salt water tank inside, but no bed. Then he realized what the truth about Lori must be.
Superman caught up to her at the beach, and she realized that he had discovered the truth. But before they could discuss things further, his super senses discovered a burst dam. He carried Lori to the sight of the emergency, and confirmed his suspicion when she dove into the flood waters and revealed herself as a mermaid. Together they saved the threatened residents and their homes.
After the rescue was finished, they returned to Lori's trailer, where she filled Superman in about her history. Her ancestors lived on the continent of Atlantis, who survived its sinking under a transparent dome. Eventually their scientists discovered a way for their citizens to breathe water, and they dismantled their dome. Once every century, one of their citizens would return to the surface world to learn how civilization developed, and this was what brought her to Metropolis.
Back at the ocean, Superman and Lori exchanged a final underwater kiss and she swam away, but not in his heart.
At the football game, Lois asked Clark why he had a far away look on his face. Clark simply told her that he was thinking about a friend and why he never married. Of course, it reminded Lois about Superman. If the Man of Steel wouldn't marry her, he wouldn't marry any woman because he'd have to give up being Superman. The story ended as Clark thought to himself that once, Superman almost did.
This story is my favorite Untold Tale so far. This story was adapted by John Byrne in Superman (vol. II) #12, December 1987, published on September 8, 1987, in the story, Lost Love.
The only negative comment I have about this story is why Clark was being initiated into a fraternity if he was a senior in college? Perhaps his mild mannered persona delayed his initiation until his senior year. I guess they had to find some way for Clark to be confined to his dorm and have to make a reason to leave. Otherwise it was a great story about the first great love of Clark Kent's life. He was driven to some impulsive actions, as love is wont to do to a young man. This story had all of the elements of a good love story, including a mysterious foreign woman. And, like a young man in a classic love story, he has to choose between love and his destiny. Once again, Lana Lang has come in second place to another woman, and this time to a mermaid.
It is no surprise this story was selected as one of the greatest Superman stories ever, and I give this story 5 Superman Capes out of 5.
Action Comics #252, May 1959, was published around March 31, 1959. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of a dime. The editor was Mort Weisinger, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye. This issue was reprinted in its entirety in DC Silver Age Classics #1 and Millennium Edition #32.
The Menace Of Metallo was the Superman story of the issue. The 13 page tale was written by Robert Bernstein and drawn by Al Plastino. This story was reprinted in Superman: The Man Of Tomorrow Archives vol. I and Showcase Presents: Superman vol. I.
The story began with reporter John Corben driving on a road outside of Metropolis as he listened to a radio show, Crime File, whose motto was, There is no perfect crime. Corben disagreed, having killed the only man who discovered that he was a thief and an embezzler. He had wiped his fingerprints off of the murder weapon, and staged his victim to look like a suicide.
Corben's vehicle swerved off of the road and over a cliff. He was found by an elderly couple, who took his broken body to the husband's nearby lab. After a few days, Corben awoke and was informed by the Professor that his human brain had been transported into a robot body. Corben's human body had been injured too severely for him to survive otherwise. His mechanical heart was powered by uranium, one of only two elements that could keep him alive.
Before Corben could learn what the second element was, storms caused a landslide which struck the house. The stress caused the Professor to suffer a stroke, and Corben, being the compassionate man he was, left the elderly man to be found by his housekeeper.
The next day, Corben got a job at the Daily Planet, thanks to an excellent recommendation Perry White had received. Perry introduced Corben to the staff, and Clark was surprised by the strength of Corben's grip. After Lois showed Corben to his desk, she brushed off his very crude lunch offer after he flirted with her.
While Clark left to respond to a submarine emergency, Corben conducted a number of raids on various facilities which contained uranium. The next day, authorities concluded that the raids could only have been done by an indestructible robot they dubbed Metallo.
Later, Clark faked a stomachache to cover his absence so that he could respond to a woman who was attempting to ride Niagara Falls in a barrel. While he was gone he was concerned for Lois' safety because she was working on a gang expose.
For whatever reason, Lois changed her mind, and walked with Corben to a restaurant for lunch. Some gangsters drove by and shot at Lois. Corben's indestructible robot body deflected the bullets, convincing Lois that he was Superman. At the restaurant, a radio news report stated that the area uranium had been place under guard at Fort Taber. Lois read her fortune cookie, which read, N'er faint heart nor false heart e're won a fair maid.
Lois gave Corben an idea, and he disguised himself as Superman and drove to Fort Taber, where he claimed to volunteer to help guard the uranium as he posed as the Man of Steel. At an opportune moment, he stole the uranium and drove away in his car. The real Superman chased him, but had to break it off to keep a globe from a statue from crashing during instillation.
Corben was able to escape and make his way back to the Professor, who was now confined to a wheelchair. The elderly man informed Corben that the other element that could power his mechanical heart was kryptonite. The Professor happened to have a sample in his lab. He had planned on attempting to develop an antidote for Superman, but felt Corben needed it more. Corben thought that the old man must not have heard the news reports about Metallo.
Instead of installing it in his body, Corben hid it in the basement of a Metropolis exhibit hall, which was filled with Superman souvenirs for a charity show. Superman arrived to set up for the show, and walked into Corben's trap. Corben took the sample that Superman had among his exhibits, put it in his chest, and left the Man of Steel to die from kryptonite poisoning.
Superman summoned his remaining strength and concentrated his x-ray vision on the kryptonite, succeeding in melting the kryptonite and saving his own life.
Corben, posing as Superman, went to Lois' home. When his shirt tore, revealing his metal chest, Lois realized that Corben was Metallo. He approached her, intending to kill her in order to keep his secret. Just then, the real Superman arrived to find Corben fainted on the floor. He had died because the kryptonite he had put in his chest was merely a prop from a photo shoot.
Later, at the police station, an officer informed Superman and Lois that, while Corben had wiped off his fingerprints from the murder weapon, he hadn't done so to the bullets he had loaded into the gun. Corben hadn't committed the perfect crime after all.
Corben's look reminded me of the actor Errol Flynn, with his pencil thin mustache. He proved himself to be an evil villain on par with Luthor or Brainiac. Corben's pick up line to Lois, I go for you baby! You're a cute number. How about lunch? What I'd like to know was what changed Lois' mind. It's a good thing she did, because as evil as Corben was, his metal body did save her from being killed.
This issue had the first instance in the silver age I've seen where Superman compressed his Clark Kent clothes and hid them in a pocket in his cape.
It was strange seeing Corben drive away with a metal barrel marked uranium sitting in the back seat. I just hope it was shielded enough. I was also surprised that the Professor was willing to help Corben after he left the old man after his stroke.
Also, I wonder if Superman intended for Corben to find the fake kryptonite, or was it just bad luck on Corben's part?
This was an action packed story, where Corben seemed to be the main character more than Superman. By the way, a second Metallo, named Roger Corben, would premiere in Superman #310, April 1977. I have to give this story 5 Superman Capes out of 5.
The second story of the issue starred Congo Bill in Congo Bill Dies At Dawn. The 8 page story was written by Robert Bernstein and drawn by Howard Sherman. It marked Congo Bill's fifth appearance as Congorilla.
The final story of the issue was titled The Supergirl From Krypton. This 8 page tale was written by Otto Binder and drawn by Al Plastino. Along with the previous reprint editions mentioned for this issue, this particular story was also reprinted in Superman In The Fifties, Supergirl Archives vol. I and Showcase Presents: Supergirl vol. I.
While Clark worked at the Daily Planet, his super hearing detected the noise of a falling rocket. After making a quick change into Superman, he flew to the crash site. He noticed that the crashed rocket resembled the one that brought him to Earth, but didn't expect to find anyone still alive inside the rocket.
Much to his surprise, a young blonde girl, dressed in a similar costume to his own popped out of the rocket. She informed Superman that she came from Krypton, which he found hard to believe.
In a flashback she told Superman her story, beginning when a large chunk of Krypton was thrown in to space, large enough to carry a Kryptonian city and enough atmosphere for the inhabitants to survive. Zor-El helped lead their survival by having the ground covered with lead sheeting when the soil began converting to kryptonite.
Eventually Zor-El got married and the couple gave birth to daughter Kara Zor-El. One day a meteor shower hit the remnant of Krypton, punching holes through their lead shielding. Zor-El built a small rocket, and his wife sewed a costume, similar to Superman's, after studying Earth with their telescopes. Then she was sent to Earth in her rocket.
Superman told her that he came to Earth in a similar rocket which was built by his father Jor-El. Kara realized Superman was her cousin because Zor-El was Jor-El's brother. After giving Superman a hug, she asked if she could live with him. Sadly, he told her that she couldn't because he had taken an earthly identity. He did have an idea about her future.
Kara was able to fly with Superman, and the super cousins landed near Midvale Orphanage. He brought back some earth clothes and a pigtail wig. Kara decided on her own to take the earth identity of Linda Lee, coincidentally another person in Superman's life with L. L.initials, which the Man of Steel noticed.
Superman presented Linda Lee to the orphanage, giving her the honest story that her family was lost in a disaster, but leaving out the fact that the disaster happened on another planet. Before he left, he shared a final private moment with her before returning to Metropolis. Superman promised that he would train her in the use of her superpowers and eventually present her to the public when she was ready. Until then she would live in the orphanage and adjust to life on Earth.
Once on her own, Linda was shown to her room, and when left to herself secretly used her superpowers to tidy up the room.
After lights out, Linda changed into Supergirl and flew in the night sky around Midvale, when no one would notice her. She saw a movie poster at the town's movie theater advertising The History Of Superboy. As she returned to the orphanage, she wondered if one day she would be as good of a hero as her cousin.
My only problem with the story was, when Supergirl first mentioned Zor-El's name, Superman didn't pick up on the fact that Kara's father was his uncle, until she told him that fact. There have been stories, some of which we may get to, where he had memories of his brief life on Krypton because of his more highly developed Kryptonian brain. But this was only a minor point of the story.
It seemed heartless for Superman to leave Kara at an orphanage. I don't know if it would be frowned upon in 1950's society for an older man to have his younger female cousin live with him. But, as obsessive as Lois was about learning Superman's secret identity, if Clark introduced Linda to Lois as his cousin, it might be too much of a coincidence once Supergirl began operating publicly.
When I first read this story, it seemed a little silly that Supergirl would need training to use her superpowers, but after reading the New Krypton storyline, I realized how wise Superman was in training her privately. He was doing what Superman always does, protect her.
The ending was sad for Kara Zor-El. There was no kindly couple to adopt her right away and give her the same mid-western values that Clark Kent/Superman grew up with.There will eventually be a couple who would adopt Linda Lee, but that won't be for a while yet. For Superman, it was a happy ending, in that he was no longer alone on Earth as a Kryptonian.
Because of the historic nature of the story, as well as its quality, I give it 5 Superman Capes out of 5.
Elsewhere in DC Comics, there were 32 titles which carried the May or May/June 1959 cover date.
Next Episode: Superman Family Comic Book Cover Dated April 1956: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #12!
In 2 weeks: Superman Comic Book Cover Dated June 1959: Action Comics #253! This issue will contain the first solo Supergirl story.
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups or pages on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League Of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork. Check it out to discover other fine Superman podcasts.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics. Any cover art displayed with the show notes is done for entertainment and educational purposes only. I post these episodes to share my enjoyment of Superman comics and do not earn any money from this podcast.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
The Superman/Batman story for this issue was the 12 page story titled The Three Super Musketeers, written by Edmond Hamilton, pencilled by Dick Sprang and inked by Stan Kaye. This story was reprinted in The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told (which was the edition where I first read this story), World's Finest Comics Archive vol. I and Showcase Presents: World's Finest vol. I.
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