545 – Clark Messing With Time

In “Superman’s Other Life!”, a story in Superman #84 (July 1953), Clark gets fed up with Lois Lane always trying to prove that he is Superman. Rather than tell the truth to this woman he obviously loves, he decides instead to travel back in time and change the timeline so he never gets a job […]

Read More »

542 – Kryptonite from Bullets

In Action Comics #183 (June 1953), Luthor discovers that every bullet that strikes Superman’s invulnerable body gains the minutest trace amount of kryptonite. This results in Luthor’s henchmen wasting round after round to a confused Superman. After the bullet extraction process, Luthor distills a sample of pure kryptonite, which he then uses to pelt Superman […]

Read More »

537 – New Krypton?

In Action Comics #182 (May 1953), scientists on Earth detect a new planet entering the solar system. It turns out to be a perfect replica of Superman’s home planet, Krypton. So Superman goes to investigate: Of course due to the intense gravitational power of the planet, Superman has to borrow a rocket to fly around […]

Read More »

529 – Stretching Believability

In “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with Superman”, a story from Superman #81 (January 1953), the writers get even crazier with Superman’s costume. Earth passes through a kryptonite dust cloud, meaning all of Earth’s air has become lethal (or is it just weakening?) to Superman for one day. He retreats under the water and solves […]

Read More »

523 – Superman’s Big Bro

Continuing the tradition of Jor-El super-coincidences in which Jor-El was involved with nearly every entity that Superman meets from space… In Superman #80 (November 1952), Superman discovers an alien has crash-landed on Earth and carries with him instructions from Jor-El mentioning his son. Superman assumes this means “Halk-Kar” is Superman’s older brother. Of course Halk […]

Read More »

521 – Superman on TV

In October 1952, most of DC comics had a cross-promotion for a new TV show: The Adventures of Superman! Starring George Reeves as the titular character, this show would be a pretty big hit and was the first television show based on a comic book character. I remember watching some of these in rerun syndication […]

Read More »

520 – Superman in the Sun

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 […]

Read More »

519 – Wonder Woman at the Movies

In Wonder Woman #56 (Sept 1952), Steve Trevor takes Wonder Woman out on a date to see a movie. What movie? Superman and the Mole Men of course! Wonder Woman would not see a theatrical release for another 65 years!

Read More »

513 – Adult Lana

Lana Lang makes the leap from Superboy to adulthood in “The Girls in Superman’s Life”, a story written by Edmond Hamilton in Superman #78 (July 1952). Lana wants to become a journalist and heads to Metropolis where Perry White is convinced to give her a shot. Lois Lane takes her under her wing and Lana […]

Read More »

512 – Beast from Krypton

In Superman #78 (July 1952), Bill Finger expands the mythos of Krypton with his story of “The Beast From Krypton!”. This story brings another survivor of Krypton, this time a savage beast that Jor-El basically genetically modified to ravenously eat metals and then imprisoned on a moon. When it arrives on Earth, as all things […]

Read More »