In Superboy #78 (Nov 1959), Superboy encounters an alien girl and makes a misogynistic comment about female drivers. For payback, the girl transforms Clark into a girl. He calls himself “Claire Kent” and acts as “Super-Sister”, claiming she is Superboy’s sister. In the end, Clark learns his lesson because he knows what it’s like to […]
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Showcase #22 (July 1959) finally brings us the last of the original Justice League members: The Silver Age Green Lantern. Hal Jordan, a revival of the Golden Age Green Lantern but changing the battery/ring explanation from magic to pseudo-science. Hal, a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft Company, is summoned by the dying Abin Sur to […]
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Well, after years of stories which teased a female counterpart to Superman, and testing the concept in the previous year, DC finally pulled the trigger in Action Comics #252 (March 1959) with the introduction of Supergirl into the DC continuity. Supergirl is Kara, daughter of Zor-El and cousin of Kal-El (Superman). Her father’s city survived […]
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We have had speedster heroes and speedster villains, but Adventure Comics #181 (August 1952) marks the first appearance of a female speedster. While taking dictation for a college professor, Joanie Swift accidentally recites the formula that gives Johnny Quick his powers and the two team up to battle crime. The team-up does not last long, […]
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In EC’s Weird Fantasy #12 (January 1952), “A Man’s Job” features an amusing tale from a future in which women and men’s roles are reversed: a woman president, a mostly-women Supreme Court, all women going out to work while the men stay at home and take care of the house. Truly a weird fantasy! I […]
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In Action Comics #156 (March 1951), Lois Lane has her third outing as Superwoman in “The Girl of Steel”. This time, it’s not a fever dream, or Superman faking her powers. No, this time Lois Lane actually acquires the powers of Superman thanks to a machine that Luthor invented which uses “vivanium”. She disguises herself […]
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I’ve lamented in the past how Lois Lane was gradually turned from a smart, fiery, independent career woman into a swooning, vapid, manipulative one-note character before. This causes Superman to develop the affectionate nickname of “little idiot”, as in this panel from “Superman’s Sweetheart”, a story in Superman #65 (May 1950). The women’s lib movement […]
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In Action Comics #129 (December 1948), we get an odd story about Superman thawing out a caveman, and that caveman becoming sort of a celebrity. What’s odd is that the women in the comic seem to all be harboring secret fantasies of being treated poorly by their men, like being dragged about by their hair. […]
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Tommy Tomorrow makes his way from “Real Fact Comics” to something more fitting: a feature in Action Comics #127 (October 1948). In this first story, he is given the task of collecting alien fish from the solar system for a new Space Aquarium and we meet some stock supporting characters (Joan Gordy, a radio reporter). […]
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Since the transistor was invented in 1947, I was surprised to see “electronics” mentioned in Sensation Comics #46 (August 1945) until I remembered that vacuum tubes had been around for a few decades by then. Even so, it’s called “the new science of electronics” on the splash page. It’s pretty odd timing since the atomic […]
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