thechronologicalsuperman:
Superman vol 1 #10 - cover date May...
Superman vol 1 #10 - cover date May 1941
Lois’ vanity leads her into the clutches of a talent agency scam artist, but Clark and Superman play the voice of reason and she’s back in time to help expose the con artist behind the whole seamy affair. Back to her fighting form, in a later chapter in this same issue, Lois is key to unmasking a phony fortune-teller and fifth columnist with the unlikely name of Righab Bey (whose hypnotic powers come in briefly handy again the Man of Steel – seems Superman really doesn’t know if he’s coming or going with this hypnotism stuff).
The lead story in this issue features a crimewave of invisible crooks followed up by a disembodied voice holding the city’s water for a $100 million ransom. Behind both of these daring crimes is, of course, Luthor, bald and brazen as always. The story is very much of Siegel’s “Ultra” formula – super crimes plague a city, Superman finds a cackling mad scientist behind it all, and then an apparent death – or is it?
Typically, the early Superman stories follow familiar themes – Superman vs nature, Superman as guardian angel, Superman as conscience, Superman vs social ill. With the war looming on the horizon, the category of “Superman For Democracy” might fall under the last category, but is becoming such a component of the character it deserves its own column in the final tally sheet.
A sporting event sponsored by the nation of Dukalia turns out to be a thinly-disguised anti-American rally. Superman subsequently cleaning up on native Dukalian athletes may not end up seeming terribly heroic, it turns out later that the athletic team is harboring fifth columnists and saboteurs, so he was right to thrash them all along. Of course.
No comments:
Post a Comment