In Sub-Mariner #38 (Nov 1954), Namor is called into the Emperor’s castle underneath Antarctica. In a quick exposition, we are told that the Sub-Mariner used to have incredible powers: super-strength, flight, invulnerability, but that he has lost them over his extended time interacting with land dwellers: Namor is told that their scientists have discovered how […]
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In “Superboy’s Lost Suit!”, Adventure Comics #193 (August 1953), Clark goes swimming … with his glasses on… and places his Superboy suit under a rock. He notices Bob, a meek classmate, walking by: Wouldn’t you know it? Bob finds the super-suit and pretends he is Superboy to impress a girl. Superboy helps Bob gain some […]
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In “Superman’s Blackout!”, a story in World’s Finest #61 (Sept 1952), a kryptonite meteor affects Earth’s sun, causing it to rob Superman of all his powers when exposed to direct sunlight. This eventually fades, but not before Superman has to cleverly use his powers to foil some bad guys and pull the wool over Lois […]
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In Superman #60 (July 1949), the Man of Steel demonstrates, for the first time, his ability to suck all the air out of a room…. literally!
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In Superman #49 (September 1947), “Clark Kent’s Most Dangerous Assignment” has Superman encounter radiation from a missile built by a scientist that weakens him and saps his powers, leaving with him an inability to fly. Superman waits and the dizziness and weakness eventually pass, allowing Superman to once again easily overcome his foe. I guess […]
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Remember when the Phantom Lady’s costume was adjusted to bare more skin? Well, at some point, Quality Comics stopped publishing Phantom Lady stories and somehow Fox Feature Syndicate believed they had the rights to the character. Give her a blue costume redesign, show even more skin, and why not give her a “black flashlight” that […]
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Powering-up Superman in service of the plot-of-the-month continues in World’s Finest Comics #29 (May 1947). In this issue, Superman is challenged by Lois Lane to bind different books of a collector with unique materials. In one instance he races to the lost continent of Atlantis, in another he needs to find a unicorn bone, in […]
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Right next to the lackluster comedic story of Lois-as-Superwoman, Superman #45 (January 1947) also featured a pretty cool story in which Superman is actually physically challenged for once! An inter-dimensional being appears on Earth and starts collecting Earthling specimens for his trophy collection. What ensues is a pretty intense battle between Superman and this unnamed […]
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In Superman #43 (September 1946), Superman faces off against Luthor again. This time Luthor has invented a super-hard material he calls Luthorite. The story lets writers enumerate new powers and abilities, as well as a weakness. He may have photographic memory, but it is revealed that Superman cannot see through lead with his x-ray vision […]
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In Action Comics #101 (August 1946), it is mentioned for the first time that Superman has photographic memory. In this story, Superman is exposed to a chemical that makes normal people go crazy. The only thing that sets Superman right again is being exposed to a nuclear explosion.
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