In “The Man Who Went To Krypton!”, a story from Superman #77 (May 1952) written by Bill Finger, Superman discovers that a human had visited Krypton in the past. Thirty years ago, Professor William Enders intercepted radio signals from Krypton (which must have traveled through a time warp?) and learned how to communicate with Jor-El […]
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Although this isn’t the first or even second time that Superman and Batman meet in comics, Superman #76 (March 1952) is the first time the two heroes share an adventure together and learn each other’s secret identities. Written by Edmond Hamilton and drawn by Curt Swan, it’s a pretty cool story and it’s one of […]
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It wasn’t just Superman who was experimenting with life-like robots, it appears that Luthor was also doing so in Action Comics #166 (January 1952). Luthor kidnaps Perry White and switches in his robot duplicate to send Lois to dangerous assignments to keep Superman busy. Robots seem to be popping up in every comic book by […]
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Throughout the 1950s, Superman and Superboy often used a series of realistic robots to deceive Lois/Lana or others about Clark’s real identity. Action Comics #165 (December 1951) could be considered the first such use of this literary device. In it, Superman meets “Krag” a superman from the planet Mercury who joins up with criminals. Turns […]
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In “The Lost Secrets of Krypton!”, a story in Superman #74 (November 1951), Luthor uses Kryptonian technology for the first time to menace the world. Luthor discovers these artifacts while searching for kryptonite in space, but instead uncovers a cache of weapons that Jor-el had sent out into space before Krypton exploded. Superman defeats Luthor […]
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In Superman #73 (Sept 1951), “Perry White vs. Clark Kent!”, Clark gets promoted to managing editor of the Daily Planet and has to compete with Perry White who gets a job as editor of The Dispatch. While an interesting enough story, I thought it was more interesting that we get to see the first glimmerings […]
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Jim Gordon new family life isn’t the only supporting superhero character background getting fleshed out. In Superman #72 (July 1951), “The Private Life of Perry White”, Perry White is given a wife and a son all in one issue. Perry White’s son Will is looking for a job at the Daily Planet as “Will Whitman” […]
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In Superman #71 (May 1951), Superman contracts another case of “super amnesia” when he encounters kryptonite again. This time, Clark Kent becomes confused and thinks he has acquired superior mental powers to explain his super powers.
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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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In Action Comics #151 (October 1950), Superman has his first official villain team-up: Mr. Mxyztplk recruits Luthor and the Prankster to take on Superman. The trio employ “plastic proxies”, basically simulated humans to fool Superman.
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