Mr. Mxyztplk makes his first appearance in Superman #30 (June 1944). In it, the mischievous court jester from another dimensions tortures Superman with his magical powers until Superman tricks him into saying his name backwards. The writers even encouraged the readers to write in if they want to see the character again.
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A rich tycoon of crime (Mr. Blob) tries every means at his disposal to kill the Man of Steel in Superman Comics #29 (May 1944). What I found interesting is that while searching for Superman’s “Achilles Heel”, the villain comes across the only time Superman was ever threatened: that time Superman’s was affected by colliding […]
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A month after Alfred debuted in his solo feature, Lois Lane is given a shot with “Lois Lane, Girl Reporter”, debuting in Superman #28, March 1944. This first story does not feature Superman, though he is referenced several times as a running gag.
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Up until now, Jimmy Olsen has had very few appearances in the comic books. Mostly as an unnamed office boy, sometimes with blonde hair and sometimes with red. The one named appearance as “Jimmy” was back in Superman #13 (August 1941), but as far as I can tell, it wasn’t until World’s Finest Comics #13 […]
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Speaking of challenging Superman, the writers brought back Lois’ niece Susie Thompkins in Action Comics #68 (November 1943). Continuity problems already DC? For shame! Lois seems to have forgot that she introduced the two earlier in the year and Susie’s hair color has changed! I also liked two things about this issue: 1) The banter […]
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Speaking of over-powered god-like beings, the Roman God Mercury awakens in Superman #20 (November 1943) and causes mischief for Superman. Eventually, Superman takes scissors and snips off Mercury’s ankle and helmet wings… a little harsh! Humiliated, Mercury stops clowning around and helps clean up the mischief and goes back into hibernation for another 1,000 years. […]
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Wonder Woman’s powers continue to grow as she uses her power of astral projection in Sensation Comics #25 (November 1943) to track down criminals. Speaking of newfound powers, over in Superman #20 (also November 1943), we learn that Superman has super-control over his super-facial-muscles: And so the super-powers arms race continues…
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Toyman makes his bland debut as the newest Superman villain in Action Comics #64 (July 1943). In a world that already has The Joker and The Prankster, it seems like a pretty gimmicky idea, but whatever. The only real memory of Toyman I have from my youth is from the phenomenal Alan Moore 2-issue story […]
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Superman stories throughout every age includes those where he suddenly appears to, or actually does, work on the side of the bad guys. In Action Comics #63 (June 1943), we get the first such story, in which invisible rays from two stars colliding in the cosmos strikes Clark and not only wipes out his nipples […]
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Lois Lane is proposed to by an obnoxious millionaire in Action Comics #61, (April 1943)… and she accepts. This forces Superman into the realization that he cares for Lois. He decides on a drastic step, to reveal his identity: … but she doesn’t believe him. In the end, it turns out Lois was only accepting […]
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