563 – Slap Them Together

In the Captain America story in Young Men #26 (Dec 1953), a sneaky Kremlin secret agent calls together all the heroes in the Atlas/Marvel universe to fight the Reds, giving them the name “Champions”. By this time, DC had given up on the Justice Society of America three years ago and, apart from a Batman/Superman […]

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562 – The Vulture Returns!

The Human Torch and Toro are not the only ones who have returned from the Golden Age. One of the Golden Age villains called “The Vulture” makes an appearance. Actually it’s not clear this is the same Vulture that appeared back during World War II, since that was a Captain America villain, but nonetheless it […]

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560 – More Swan Superman

In Action Comics #189 (Dec 1953), the formidable team of Edmond Hamilton (writer) and Curt Swan (penciller) team up again – so it seems like I was wrong that Swan left DC soon after “The Mightiest Team in the World!“. The story is kind of meh, but what I love about it is the breath […]

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559 – Bat-Recidivism, Part Two-Face

Only one month after Catwoman went back to being a criminal, Two-Face is also re-scarred in a freak accident when Harvey Dent tried to stop some safe-crackers in Batman #81 (December 1953). Unlike Catwoman, who only kept her paws clean for a couple years, Harvey Dent has been a reformed man for ten years. Yes, […]

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558 – Amnesiac Clark… again

Well it’s been a couple years since we’ve had a prominent Superman-gets-amnesia story, so it’s time for World’s Finest #68 (Nov 1953) and “The Menace from the Stars!”. In this story, Superman saves the planet from an asteroid by smashing it and forcing it into a steady orbit around the Earth. Unfortunately, a spectroscope reveals […]

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557 – Bat-Recidivism

Despite three years of good behavior and reform, Selina Kyle gets upset when a newspaper runs a story about Catwoman being defeated by Batman in Detective Comics #203 (Nov 1953). This triggers her to put back on the costume and guess what… she’s a criminal again! I guess maybe DC realized that reforming some of […]

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556 – Super-Radioactivity

In “The Spectral Superman!”, a story in Action Comics #188 (November 1953), Superman heroically stops a nuclear reactor from exploding in Metropolis. As a result, he finds out his entire body is radioactive… maybe permanently! Despite the super-melancholia that descends on Superman, he still manages to foil some criminals, even though his radioactivity continues to […]

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555 – Jimmy Olsen Returns

While he was a regular from the Adventures of Superman hit Radio and TV shows, Jimmy Olsen finally makes his first appearance as a regular supporting cast member in Superman #86 (November 1953). We haven’t really seen him for the last nine years in the comic books though. In this story, he gets made editor-for-a-day […]

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554 – Robotman Retires

In “The Human War Machine!”, a story in Detective Comics #202 (Oct 1953), the Golden Age Robotman (Robert Crane) makes his final appearance. In it, he shows off some of his powers one last time. Including being bullet-proof: As well as having stretchable arms? DC will later revive the name and the concept with the […]

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