Superboy's First Kryptonite

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, there was Kryptonite everywhere on Earth for Superman to encounter. 

But, one of those encounters had to be the first!

So, let's travel back to the time when Superman was a boy in Smallville, and let young Clark Kent tell the tale of his first encounter with green Kryptonite under this Curt Swan/Stan Kaye cover!

Superboy's Last Day

It was related in Adventure Comics #251 (August, 1958, by Otto Binder and George Papp), as a nostalgic Superboy related the tale of a day like any other day, as he worked on a geology project for school.  Pa Kent brought home a glowing green rock for Clark to see, yet, as Clark Kent suddenly developed his first illness when he came home, Pa forgot to tell him about it.  The illness would come and go as Superboy left the house, yet every time it came back even worse.  If not for one of Superboy's earliest robots (who was lead lined), Clark wouldn't have figured out it was the rock (which they would dub Kryptonite) that was causing his illness.

Oddly, the DC Calendar puts this event as happening on August 5th, yet, the calendar on the Curt Swan/Murphy Anderson Superboy #165 (May-June, 1970) has it as August 4th (take it as the day Clark got sick to when he found out it was the rock...), with the Kryptonite flashback being set for "seven years earlier", around the time of Adventure Comics #170.

Blue Devil Two By Two 2

Looking back, and picking up where we left off a while back, more coverage of that movie stuntman turned super hero, the Blue Devil!  

(If you missed the previous column, go read it quickly here, and come back!)

Throwing a little more joy into the world with more coverage of a superhero who has fun!

 

Get Me Out Of Here

To be fair, things didn't start out as fun for Dan Cassidy after being trapped in his Blue Devil suit by the demon Nebiros, but Dan was making the best of it in Blue Devil #2 (July, 1984) by Gary Cohn, Dan Mishkin, Paris Cullins and Gary Martin (with a cover by Paris Cullins... 

...which was slightly misrepresentative... 

...but more on that later).

New villain Shockwave was breaking into S.T.A.R. Labs in Metropolis, as stuntman mystically into his enhanced exoskeleton Dan Cassidy was also dealing with the crowds in Metropolis.  As Blue Devil (which he is all the time now), Dan drew quite a bit of attention, as well as caved an old couple from a mugging.  While in California, his friend, Marla Bloom took him to a doctor, but there was nothing an ordinary doctor could do for Dan.  

So, Dan headed out to Metropolis to check on his investment properties, and while there, earned the ire of the studio head (as Dan was filmed as Blue Devil, messing with the promotion for the upcoming movie release).  While talking with Marla via phone, Shockwave came down Dan's street, wrecking Dan's building....forcing Blue Devil to take super heroic action to stop the destructive super-strong villain.  

While fighting Shockwave, Dr. Jenet Klyburn of S.T.A.R. Labs approached Dan, letting him know that Shockwave stole a new form of "super" Kryptonite from the lab, and that they need him to stop Shockwave from getting away with it and using it on Superman (and, thinking to herself she doesn't want Superman to know of it).  The battle was being televised, forcing Mr. Verner to call Marla, threatening action as Dan was showcasing the Blue Devil before planned marketing (with Marla calling lawyers herself to take action).  

The battle continued, with Dan eventually getting the super Kryptonite away from Shockwave just as he was about to escape with minions of his employer.  Giving it to Dr. Klyburn, Dan asked her if S.T.A.R. Labs could help get him out of the suit.  Then, Blue Devil was approached by the worse menace of all...a lawyer!  Marla had an injunction filed against Dan, to prevent him from appearing as Blue Devil (but, again, Dan is stuck in the suit!!!).  

This issue especially shows the influence of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko on some of Paris Cullins' work!

Heart Of Stone

For a previous issue that tried to make the main villain a bit of a secret, this cover of Blue Devil #3 (August, 1984) featuring Metallo didn't do the greatest job of that (but what a great Paris Cullins cover it was, and to be fair, the previous issue both referred to Superman foe, Metallo, in the next issue blurb and on the letters' page).  But, back to the issue by Gary Cohn, Dan Mishkin, Paris Cullins and Gary Martin.

Blue Devil was at S.T.A.R. Labs, being investigated, probed and scanned by the scientists there (much to the uncomfort of Dan Cassidy, stuck in the suit), while Metallo was chewing out Shockwave for not getting the super Kryptonite, vowing to go to S.T.A.R. Labs and take it himself!  

Meanwhile, at WGBS news, anchorman Clark Kent learned of the Blue Devil/Shockwave battle, and of S.T.A.R. Labs' super Kryptonite.  Meanwhile, back in California, Marla Bloom goes at Mr. Verner for the injunction against Dan, and actress Sharon Scott gets on a plane to go to Metropolis to support Dan (who, via flashback, we know had revealed his feelings for her, but that the relationship can't go anywhere while he is in the suit).  

With the tests completed at S.T.A.R. Labs, Dan was getting ready to wait for the results with Dr. Klyburn, as Metallo and his minions arrived and attacked!  Blue Devil goes to stop them, and is taken out by Metallo's henchmen, Smithers and Rojek, before he faces Metallo (who does get the super Kryptonite).  Superman is on his way...but, doesn't go in the building as Metallo activates his new power source (bathing the whole building in Kryptonite radiation).  As the two comedic henchman take Blue Devil's body to their saucer so Metallo can experiment on him later, Dan recovers, and takes them out.  

Dan puts his super suit through its paces taking out all of Metallo's henchmen and freeing the captive S.T.A.R. scientists, all while Superman can only observe from a distance.  Blue Devil finally faces Metallo, taking out his new Kryptonite heart, so Dr. Klyburn can encase it in lead....allowing Superman to save Blue Devil from the last two of Metallo's henchmen.  

As Sharon arrives in Metropolis, Superman lets Blue Devil know a little of Metallo's history (giving Dan pause, as thought Metallo was just a robot, not a man with his own grafted on super-suit requiring Kryptonite as a power source).  Superman is concerned that S.T.A.R. Labs is developing their own Kryptonite (which Jenet says was to use against Phantom Zone villains should they attack when Superman is not around....).  

Superman lets Blue Devil know he was impressed by his actions, and, with Dr. Klyburn saying there is little S.T.A.R. Labs can do to help, Superman volunteers to take Dan to someone who knows more about magic and demons than he, and they leave, just as Sharon arrives at S.T.A.R. Labs.

The next issue cover lets you know who Superman's magic expert is, and, later installments will cover this, as well as later fun filled (and as of yet, uncollected) issues of Blue Devil, with the life and friends of Dan Cassidy!

Superman Gets Sick: The Last Days Of Superman

Sure, Superman is more powerful than a locomotive, but even though he can handle the biggest threats and largest menaces....there are things that can stop even a Superman.


Amazingly, it could be a miniscule microbe that could finally spell doom for the Man of Steel, leading into...."The Last Days Of Superman", the comic being covered today.


Superman #156 (October, 1962) was by Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan and George Klein, with Swan/Klein giving us the cover.

Superman's Death Sentence

It all started innocently enough, with Jimmy Olsen calling in Superman to have him stop a collision between a space capsule and a green meteor.  Superman deflects the meteor to the ground, saving the capsule, but Jimmy Olsen the Daily Planet photographer and Superman go to investigate.  At the crash site, Superman reads Kryptonian writing on the meteor, telling that it contained samples of Virus X, a plague that had been released on Krypton years before (and Superman recalled as a baby, hearing of this from Tharb-El, and how he treated the virus and sent it into space).  Superman buries the meteor with a boulder, as a wind blows from the direction of the meteor towards Superman.  As Superman approaches Jimmy Olsen while he takes pictures, Superman feels ill...and thinks he might have caught Virus X! 

Going to an Earth doctor, the doctor says he has no way to check Superman in any meaningful manner, but that his increased heart rate and sudden weakness lead him to believe Superman has less than 30 days of life left.  Superman leaves the hospital and his Daily Planet friends, and contemplates how to better the world, enlisting Supergirl's help to gather others, as Superman has his robots construct an isolation chamber around him (as Superman feels weak when talking to Jimmy Olsen).

The Super-Comrades Of All Time

As Supergirl recruits more help, including Krypto the Superdog, Lori Lemaris of Atlantis, the Legion of Super-Heroes (except for Brainiac 5, who mysteriously won't join in) and the Kandorian Superman Emergency Squad to perform many duties to make the Earth better and to keep the planet safe from threats that will menace the planet after Superman is gone, Superman gets another bout of weakness as Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane visit Superman in his self-imposed exile in the desert.   The heroes find ways to stop a rouge planet from eventually crashing into Earth as well as stopping a cloud of space fungus that would kill all plant life on Earth should it have reached our planetary orbit.  All this activity has stressed out poor Lois Lane, who faints from the pressure, with Jimmy Olsen taking her back to Metropolis in the Flying Newsroom, only to come back to find Superman has left his cell. 

Annoyed by the lack of participation by Brainiac 5, Supergirl heads back to the future to confront the intelligent Legionnaire, finding he had not turned to evil like his ancestor (and Superman foe, Brainiac), but instead was working in the lab to find a cure...but was unable to find one on Earth.

Superman's Last Day Of Life

Jimmy Olsen goes searching for Superman, as Supergirl helps the Legion and Superman's Robots in clearing space in Antartica, preparing to melt its ice to allow the land mass there to be inhabited by humans.  Superman had gone back to Smallville to contemplate the loves of his life: Lois Lane, Lana Lang and Lyla Lerrol of Krypton, then to Gotham City to say goodbye to Batman and Robin, then carves a message in the moon, revealing his identity (and hope for the world), before returning to his isolation chamber in the desert, where Jimmy and Lois help the now weakening Superman.  Supergirl, Lori Lemaris, Krypto and the Superman Emergency Squad stop an Atlantean monster before going to meet with the Legion and Superman.  There, Supergirl decides to go back to Krypton to find Tharb-El and see if he had found a cure.  On Krypton past, Supergirl overhears Tharb-El tell of an element 202 which would kill the virus, but Kryptonians as well; so he exposes his sample of the virus to the element, and sends it into space. 

Wait....Tharb-El killed the sample before it reached Earth?  Then, why is Superman dying?  Mon-El (at the time, a silent resident of the Phantom Zone) provides the answer....a small piece of Kryptonite had logged in Jimmy Olsen's camera, and made Superman sick every time Jimmy came near (the virus was never active or infectious).  Finding the Kryptonite, Superman recovered (and Supergirl and Krypto erased Superman's alter ego message on the moon).

So, it appears hypochondria is a surprising weakness of Superman's... ...amazing how the power of the mind can make one weak.  Still, it pays to be vigilant, as, for a run of Action Comics in the #360s, Superman would encounter Virus X again...and be infected, but that's a tale for a different time!

This full length tale from Superman #156 has been reprinted many times, including in the Limited Collectors' Edition C-52 (October, 1977), Superman in the Sixties (1999) and in Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told (2004).



 .

The Secrets Of Superman Island

John Donne once stated in a poem that "No Man Is An Island"....but, to be honest, he didn't likely meet Superman.


Superman did indeed have an island, which he and others visited twice, and here are those stories.

The Secret Of Superman Island

It was Superman who created Superman Island in Action Comics #224 (January, 1957) by Ed Hamilton, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye, all under a cover by Al Plastino....but no one knew why, and Superman wouldn't let anyone land there to find out.

Lois Lane, always curious, looked into this, and found Professor Vanley.  To verify her theory, Lois hires some men to take her to the island, but, they were Guy Blisher and Norton Larch were criminals, and wanted to break into a vault on the island, having injured Vanley before they went.  Lois tells Superman of the criminals and what happen to Vanley, and Superman leaves the crooks, takes Lois off the island to check on the professor.  Professor Vanley was fine, but he explains to Lois that he had thought he had found a way to get energy from Green Kryptonite (but he was wrong), and Superman stored all the Kryptonite he had gathered here to keep criminals from using it against him.  After the police take the criminals away in helicopters, Superman throws the island (and its store of Kryptonite) into space. 

Years after this, an experiment turns all Kryptonite on Earth into lead (see Superman #233 of January, 1971), a story which has been reprinted many times, including in Superman in the Seventies and in the Millennium Edition: Superman 233, but Action Comics #485 of July, 1978 has a few extra pages, as well as a new cover by Neal Adams.

The Return Of Superman Island

Superman Island is found again in Action Comics #513 (November, 1980) by Marv Wolfman, Curt Swan and Frank Chiaramonte (well, they related the story of it being found again, all under a cover by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano).

S.T.A.R. Labs had observed that Superman Island was returning, as reported by Bill Logan and Lana Lang of WGBS.  Lois checked with the prison warden, finding out that Blisher and Larch had been recently released, and were living in Suicide Slum.  At a local bar, Blisher and Larch were bragging about knowing about Superman Island, which got them captured by H.I.V.E. agents (Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination), who learned of the Kryptonite in the island, and killed the two criminals.  Superman, having finished a volcanic emergency, went to stop a H.I.V.E. missile from breaking the orbiting island open, but failed, being hit by a shower of Kryptonite.  A H.I.V.E. ship picked up the Kryptonite, as well as Lois Lane, as Superman was fished out of the ocean by a tractor beam from Superman Island.  Superman was cured of his Kryptonite poisoning by the Krell, an alien race who lost their own world, and settled on Superman Island, using the Kryptonite as a power source. 

They provided Superman a temporary shield against Kryptonite, allowing him to attack the H.I.V.E. base and free Lois, but he was unable to find the Kryptonite. 

Superman then threw Superman Island (with the Krell) towards a planet they could inhabit, where they wouldn't need a Kryptonite power source.

The H.I.V.E. would return, tricking Deathstroke the Terminator to attack the Teen Titans after a recent reformation, as well as menacing Superman and the reporters of the Daily Planet again.

Metallo The Man With The Kryptonite Heart

Metallo!

The Man With The Kryptonite Heart!

He's been menacing Superman on and off since 1959....but what do we really know about him?

Well, let's start with his beginnings!

A Real Man of Steel

The first Metallo first appeared in Action Comics #252 (May, 1959 by Robert Bernstein and Al Plastino, in the same issue which saw the introduction of Supergirl) in "The Menace of Metallo" wherein Professor Vale takes the crushed body of thief, embezzler and murder John Corben, and puts his brain into a robotic body with artificial flesh, powered by uranium, which frequently runs out after only a day.  So, while posing as a Daily Planet reporter, Corben gets close to Lois Lane, and from Vale, realizes that Kryptonite would be a better power source instead, and becomes known as Metallo.  While setting a trap for Superman, Metallo takes a prop piece of fake Kryptonite as his power source, and dies (and Superman escaped Metallo's trap).

Another Accident

The second Metallo came about when an accident happened while Superman was facing some S.K.U.L.L. thugs...in Superman #310 (April, 1977 by Martin Pasko and Curt Swan).

This accident happened to Roger C. Corben, the brother of the original Metallo, who had joined S.K.U.L.L. to get revenge on Superman, and S.T.A.R. Labs saved Corben's life by making him into a cyborg as well, and he was also powered by Kryptonite.

Metallo blamed Superman and S.K.U.L.L. for his problems, and wanted revenge on them both.

In Superman #316 and #317 (October-November, 1977), Metallo did just that (in stories by Pasko and Swan, and stunning covers by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez and Neal Adams) and planned to take Superman's heart after the Man of Steel died from his Kryptonite trap (it didn't work out).

This didn't deter Metallo from returning again and again...being a prisoner in Superman #331 (January, 1979), facing Batman and Lois Lane in Brave & the Bold #175 (June, 1981) and Superman and Batman in World's Finest Comics #270 (August, 1981) in more schemes to power his heart...and keep himself alive!

Metallo even attacked S.T.A.R. Labs again, drawing in Blue Devil (who stopped Shockwave from getting some of the Labs' experimental Kryptonite, and himself was a man trapped in a mechanical suit, except Blue Devil was trapped by mystic forces) with Blue Devil #3 (August, 1984) which led Superman to take Blue Devil to meet the Justice League of America for assistance (though it didn't really work out...).

Metallo ended his pre-Crisis career with an appearance facing Superman in Superman #418 (April, 1986), being one of many Superman foes who didn't appear within the pages of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, which caused Superman's history to be changed (which was detailed a little in the Man of Steel mini-series, and led to...).

New Earth, New Man

Metallo returned to face Superman with Superman's new #1 in  January, 1987 (by John Byrne) for the first time in Superman's new reality!

This Metallo was more of a Terminator type robot, and kept coming back.  John Corben was a con man who was injured in a car crash, and restored by Professor Emmet Vale (as the cyborg Metallo).

In thanks, John killed Prof. Vale, and then went to attack Superman....who was saved by Lex Luthor (because Luthor felt only he had the right to kill Superman!).

Luthor used Metallo for research, but the villain came back a few times, facing Superman with the Doom Patrol (including Robotman, who had parts from LexCorp (see Doom Patrol #10 and Superman #20).  Metallo was revived again by Brainiac to keep Superman busy (Action Comics #647-649).

Mostly, Metallo was used by another villain...and Superman defeated him by taking his head off (his brain was on a separate system, so the villain survived, just wasn't threatening as a head!).

With this track record, Metallo needed an upgrade, and got one courtesy of soul-stealing Neron during Underworld Unleashed!  Now able to incorporate all metal around him into his body, Metallo became a bigger threat (but still vulnerable to having his head removed...ending his threat for a time!).

This put Metallo into conflict with Steel (the Superman substitute that became a hero on his own) in Steel #21, as well as Superboy and Robin in Superboy/Robin:World's Finest Three #1 and 2 (there, working with Poison Ivy).

Still, Metallo was mostly a pawn, even if he had quite a few appearances in this form!

Metallo had started to be a "big man", but compared to all of Superman's other foes, he was never quite the biggest!

Yet, not unlike Superman, Metallo also came back, time and again....

...when Superman had yet another historical revision with the six issue mini-series Superman: Secret Origin, Metallo was restored a little closer to his 1970s roots, being mostly a man-sized threat as John Corben, who thanks to fighting Superman in a super-suit, gets wounded and reborn as Metallo, with a kryptonite heart (thought this time, made by Luthor, and Corben is also a threat to the Clark and Lois relationship as well!).

New 52

That origin stood for a while, until DC started over yet again after Flashpoint.   This time, John Corben is a soldier in the Metal-Zero suit...and later becomes Metallo!

Seems Metallo will always return to plague Superman....he's as persistent as a heart attack!