DC Finest - Superman Family - Forum 2.0

I received my copy of Superman Family last week and have caught up with this discussion. Here are my (late) thoughts on what’s been discussed so far:

I am pleased to report there there is very little duplication between the DCF volume and the four Showcase editions.

Unfortunately, the duplication is at the very beginning of this collection. That’s OK, I don’t mind. These stories are such cotton candy that even when I’m reading them for the third or fourth time I’ve forgotten how they ended.

ACTION COMICS #266 - "The World's Mightiest Cat" by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney

We already covered this in the "Supergirl Archives" discussion.

Yep, this story has been reprinted recently — and frequently. Not only is it in the Supergirl Archives, but also the Silver Age Supergirl omnibus and Showcase Presents: Supergirl. And this book isn’t reprinting all the other Supergirl stories in those books. So why is it here?

I went through the Table of Contents, and the only other story from Supergirl’s solo series that’s included is “Battle of the Super-Pets” from Action Comics #277. That’s also included in the Supergirl reprint books mentioned above.

And it also features Streaky. But we’re not getting all the Streaky stories. If that was the intent, they would have started this book with his first appearance in Action Comics #261. (This book begins with his second appearance, in Action Comics #266.) And the book as is collects Superman Family stories from July 1960 to October 1961 — if we were getting all the Streaky stories, then this book would have included “Supergirl’s Fortress of Solitude!” from Action Comics #271, and “Supergirl’s Secret Enemy!” from Action Comics #279.

So, what do those two Action Comics stories have in common besides featuring Supergirl and Streaky, and having already been reprinted recently? I’ll tell you: Krypto plays a significant role. So I think Superman Family is going to include all stories where Krypto plays a role, whether they have been reprinted recently or not.

He is the family dog, after all.

Krypto also appears in other stories in the time frame of this book that are not included. But I don’t think he plays a significant role in those stories — he’s just flying along with Superman on a cover or in a given panel. I think that’s the case — I didn’t actually look up all those stories. Life is short!

So I may be wrong. But we do get more stories in this book starring Krypto (without Streaky). Like “Krypto’s First Romance!” in Superboy #87, and “Krypto vs. Titano!” from Superman #147.

I think my suggestion is supported by other stories in the book, in that they feature Superman Family members who don’t have a place in the Supergirl, Superman or Legion of Super-Heroes reprint series. Like “The Super-Powers of Perry White!” in Action Comics #278 and “Pete Ross’ Super-Secret!” in Superboy #90. Lois and Jimmy stories that appeared in books other than their eponymous titles are included, too.

BTW, I always hated the way Jim Mooney drew Streaky, with big Looney Tunes eyes. It’s especially noticeable in stories where Krypto appears, and is drawn like a normal dog. The Supergirl strip was aimed at little girls, so maybe the old men writing and drawing these stories thought little girls would like that.

So, I guess it’s OK for her to reveal herself to “primitives”, knowing that “civilized” (i.e., white) men won’t believe them?

This is what I refer to as casual racism. The misogyny is casual, too — it’s an aspect of the prevailing culture at the time, and white people (especially men) didn’t give it a second thought. Not around Little Me, anyway.

Supergirl feels bad for Paul because everyone’s calling him a lying scumbag.

I felt badly for Paul, because the Superman-and-Supergirl-lie-about-everything premise never set well with me, and here it’s hurting someone directly. Even when the Krypto excuse is trotted out, he still has to convince himself he imagined some of Streaky’s antics. I predict mental health problems for Paul in the future. He will never again trust his lying eyes.

That cover was kind of misleading, though.

Yes, it was, and I found that odd. I mean, we’ve been told repeatedly that Weisinger’s method was for his artists to come up with a surprising, bizarre or inexplicable cover and then have his writers come up with a story to justify it. And normally that’s just what we see. This is an aberration, and we don’t know why.

SUPERMAN'S GIRLFRIEND, LOIS LANE #19:

"The Day Lois Forgot Superman" by Robert Bernstein - Lois agrees to have herself hypnotized to forget Superman. The ending is telegraphed on page three.

Yeah, it is. You can’t hit a home run every time at bat.

"Not a hoax, not an imaginary tale... a drug-induced hallucination."

You could make a fortune selling those flowers!

The cover story, "Mr. and Mrs. Clark Kent" by Jerry Siegel, was previously covered in the "Imaginary Stories on Infinite Earths" discussion.

I’m wondering if the beginning of this series is why this book began where it did (and reached back one month to get that Krypto story in).

As to the book as a whole, Lois is her usually pathetic Silver Age self in most of them, whining about not getting a good-night kiss, or mooning over Superman, or being overly aggressive with other men when Superman’s not in the picture. Marriage, baby — that’s what she wanted!

Which falls into the “casual misogyny” box for me.

But I’ll say this: Three full stories in one issue? You got your full 10 cents’ worth in the Silver Age!

SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #47:

"The King of Crime" by Robert Bernstein and Curt Swan: This is not a well thought out plan in any case, but Superman happens to be on a mission in outer space and is therefore unavailable should Jimmy happen to get into any trouble.

Right. This is a REALLY bad plan, with a bad ending (Winky shows up and the gang kills Jimmy) baked right into it. All through that story, every time I’ve read it (probably four or five times now), I’m baffled at how Jimmy doesn’t seem to have any plan in mind for when Winky inevitably shows up, either in person or on TV. He escaped prison, he didn’t fall off the planet.

I suspect Superman spent more time on "space missions" in the Silver Age than Green Lantern did.

I suspect Superman claimed “space mission” a lot just to get away from Lois and Jimmy for a few pages.

"Jimmy Olsen Grows Up!" - by Otto Binder and Curt Swan: Jimmy visits "zany scientist" Professor Potter and ingests a growth serum which ages him to adulthood. Then his "friends" conspire to make him regret his choice.

A lot of Silver Age stories depicted Superman teaching someone (usually Lois) a lesson. Which only makes sense if you accept the subtext I see that Superman is the only adult in the room, and is the pater familias of the children who are the other characters. He does seem to enjoy dishing out lessons a bit too much, though.

I have a question about this one. Jimmy is frequently referred to as a “boy” throughout, and is not fully grown. How old is he supposed to be? He has a job and an apartment, and no visible parents, so … late teens? I’m trying to remember if we were called “boys” and “girls” in high school in the mid-1970s, and don’t remember. “Teens” was the usual label. And shouldn’t an 18-year-old or a 19-year-old have their full height? The need for a new wardrobe feels more 14-ish than 19-ish. (I grew a couple of inches in college, but I was an outlier. And my clothes still fit me.)

Also, I noted that Jimmy switched to a long tie because bow ties were for boys and long ties for men. I had no idea that a bow tie was an age signifier in the ‘60s! But then, I don’t remember anyone actually wearing one.

"The Monsters from Earth!" - by Jerry Siegel and Curt Swan: This story is a sequel to one I have not read.

Oh, I have, and I enjoyed it. It’s much like this one. I love the “monster” design, and the conceit that we’re as hideous to aliens as they are to us. Curt Swan seems to be having a lot of fun with the “monsters.”

Basically, an alien race wants to film a movie starring Jimmy Olsen. (Classic alien design.) This premise sound like Bereet and the Hulk (or rather the reverse, I suppose), but it reads more like the X-Men's "Mojo".

Those are good comparisons. I wonder if Chris Claremont or Bill Mantlo ever read these stories? I bet they did.

Although he does not appear, Superman is not on a space mission in this story, but one is mentioned. (He once saved the world of Xantha from exploding.) I'm not going to count that one in my tally, but it strikes me that there was probably enough fodder for an entire series of Superman's space missions.

According to my theory, half of those “space missions” would show Superman chilling on the couch watching TV, ignoring Jimmy’s signal watch and not answering Lois Lane’s phone calls.

Or maybe having a conversation with another grown-up. He probably has to talk to Van-Zee or somebody just for his mental health. “Any advice, Kal? Little Lyle-Zee keeps pulling on the dog’s ears!” “That’s nothing, Van! Jimmy turned himself into a giant turtle man and destroyed a bridge! And then Lois fell out a window!” “Man, you’ve got to start doing time-outs with them, Kal. I do with Lyle and Lili, and that’s the only way I can get any work done.”

SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND LOIS LANE #20

"Superman's Flight from Lois Lane!" by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger - This is an odd one. DC had pretty strict rules concerning time travel back in the Silver Age. I don't know for certain when they were established, but this story (from 1960) seems to break two of them.

Agreed. This is another aberration. Maybe Weisinger didn’t have his formula quite in place yet. By the mid-1960s, the Super-universe was very consistent, which is very appealing to children.

The premise is this: in order to get away from the increasingly annoying Lois Lane, Superman decides to time-travel to the past and take a job at somewhere other than the Daily Planet so he never has to meet her.

Adds a little muscle to my “space mission” theory, doesn’t it?

Superman/Clark returns to the present, where in encounters the present-day Liza Landis and body shames her (to the readers), by thinking, "rerat Scott! That was Liza Landis grown enormously fat through the years! *GASP* Thank goodness I never married HER! WHEW!"

I thought nothing of the fat-shaming so prevalent in the Super-books, because I think it was just imbedded in the culture at the time. But getting fat was shorthand in pop culture in those days for lazy and/or greedy characters, or pampered “Mama’s Boys,” who, it was assumed, needed to go outside more. Fat kids in my elementary school — and they were rare — were in for a lot of verbal abuse and teachers weren’t sympathetic.

"The Luckiest Girl in Metropolis!" by Robert Bernstein and Al Plastino - This is an improbably story about Lois Lane who apparently gains the extrasensory power of predicting the future after being the first person to enter the tomb of a "Norse sorcerer."

This story was not researched very well, or thought out very well.

In the first place, Norse runes weren’t “secret hieroglyphics of Norse sorcerers” — they were the ordinary alphabet of Scandinavians during the viking age.

The vikings did have sorcerers, though. They were called völvas or seiðrs.

And what kind of curse is seeing the future? Sounds more like a gift to me.

There’s an awful lot of “heathern” and “pagan” references that aren’t very complimentary. Robert Bernstein (or maybe Mort) wanted to make sure we didn’t give the slightest credence to any non-Christian faith! We all know the True Religion, don’t we, kids?

And this is another one where it’s pretty obvious what’s going on, especially since Lois Lane makes a point of thinking she has to take her glasses off while she sleeps. That was unnecessary information (especially to someone who wears glasses) that someone had to write, someone had to letter and someone had to make room for in the panel. Which means it’s necessary information, and it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out why.

Also, this plan is a Rube Goldberg machine. As Jeff says:

The whole thing is quite incredibly unlikely; something could have gone wrong at any point in the gangster's impossible plan, yet it went off without a hitch... until Superman got wise.

Exactly. And if Superman hadn’t gotten wise, I’d wonder just how Super-smart he really is.

“Lois Lane’s Super-Daughter!” by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger – This is a sequel to “Mr. and Mrs. Clark Kent” from Lois Lane #19. I’m not going to spend too much time on it because it’s an “imaginary story” and never really “happened.” It can also be found in the Superman in the Sixties collection (1999).

Once again, Lois proves herself self-absorbed and immature. This version of the character probably isn’t a fit mother.

But the child-protective woman is WAY too judgmental and aggressive and commites unlawful entry to “catch” Lois being a bad mother. And how bad is it to make children do chores or to be spanked? By that standard, my mother and father weren’t fit parents. The story wouldn’t work without this woman, but she’s really not realistic in any way.

Also, this simply isn’t a problem the Super-folks — or even ordinary folks — couldn’t solve. The system would probably be glad to get rid of the unadoptable Linda Lee (something always goes wrong!), who will age out in two years. Linda could just live with the Kents anyway, showing up to the orphanage for roll call or whatever. Or just “run away.” She could adopt a new identity — why stay “married” to the Linda Lee persona? — until she’s 18, and then as an adult, child services has no claim on her.

This was an ending in search of a story.

SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #48 - (all stories by [unknown], Curt Swan and John Forte):

"The Story of Camp Superman!" - Jimmy is counselor at Camp Superman but the campers outperform him at every turn. The real "conflict" (more of a mystery, really) arises when one of the boys knows the endings to all of Jimmy's stories. Superman is away for most of the story on an "outer space mission" which plays into the resolution of the plot.

I thought it odd that the first few pages were the kids showing Jimmy up, then it took a right turn into the mystery of one kid knowing the ending of all Jimmy’s anecdotes. The earlier angle seems to have been dropped. That’s not bad, just surprisingly poor story structure.

And once again, how old is Jimmy supposed to be? According to the one where he becomes a man, he could be the same age as these kids. If we go with late teens, he’s still too close in age to be “Uncle Jimmy.” I guess he’s whatever age he needs to be to make the story work.

“The Disguises of Danger!” – In a formulaic story, Jimmy tries to get a 50¢ tip from a gangster in order to obtain a particular half dollar in pursuit of a tip. He dresses as a window washer, a bell hop, a shoeshine boy, a barber, a waiter and a beggar.

Formulaic is right. I actually got tired of this story, because it was so predictable. And you knew — YOU JUST KNEW — that there would some sort of SMH ending worthy of a sad trombone.

"The Mystery of the Tiny Supermen!" - The first appearance of the "Supermen Emergency Squad”

This is one of those stories where a simple conversation could have cleared everything up and there’s be no story, only for that conversation to NOT happen and the confusion to continue until the end of the story where everyone has to come clean.

The Squad could simply have flown to Supergirl, told her of the danger to her secret identity, let her take care of it and gone home.
The Squad could have gone to Jimmy, told them who they were, and that they needed him to move the “kryptonite.” (They don’t even have to tell him about their real objective.) He’s Superman’s Pal, so he ought to help the Kandorians help Superman, and not need an explanation beyond “Superman needs for us to do this.”

But there are more plot holes than that. For one, the Squad could have taken care of the fingerprints from a distance, with their collective heat vision. It’s what Supergirl ends up doing anyway. Or they could have moved the fake kryptonite with tongs or a pick or some other tool they make out of scrap metal, as Superman is always doing. Or they could have Krypto knock over the souviner bookshelf and swipe the raygun in the confusion. Or have Krypto steal it.

In short, there are probably a dozen ways the Squad could have handled this that don’t require them to tie Jimmy to an office chair.

But then, that wouldn’t explain the cover, would it?

SUPERMAN'S GIRLFRIEND, LOIS LANE #21:

"Dolls of Doom!" by unknown and Kurt Schaffenberger - Lois Lane is duped by the Anti-Superman Gang into modeling for a line of "Lois Lane" dolls in a convoluted plot to bomb Superman's Fortress of Solitude. The dolls walk, cry, sneeze, sleep and say, "Love that Superman!" The line is quite successful, selling 10,000 in a short time (and raising the question why didn't the gansters just make dolls?). To promote that milestone, they manufactured a life-sized model with a bomb hidden inside they planned to give to Superman in hope he would display it as a trophy in his Fortress. But the doll malfunctions and, unknown to the gansters, the store owner convinces Lois pretend to be the mechanical doll and demonstrate its functions in the storefront window. when it comes time for her to "sleep," she's not tired, so the store owner gives her a sleeping pill. Later, it is the unconscious Lois and not the doll Superman transports to his Fortress. Then he is called away on a space mission (his fourth in six issues fo far). Then, through a highly unlikely series of events, Lois ends up trapped in the Bottle City of Kandor and hijinks ensue.

This is too dopey to analyze. And this time Superman does carry the idiot ball, by not noticing the Lois "doll" is breathing, instead of emitting electronic noises.

"The Battle Between Super-Lois and Super-Lana!" by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger - Lois and Lana gain temporary super-powers. It says "permanent" on the cover, but that is a deliberate falsehood (on the part of the editor, not Superman).

Yes.

Remember the days when fans debated whether Lois or Lana was Superman's one true love? That debate has pretty much been settled (in Lois's favor) some 30+ years ago. Superman must decide which of his now-super-powered girlfriends to marry. Actually, there is a third option. What would William Moulton Marston have done?

I’m trying very hard to NOT imagine what Marston would have done, so I take your point!

William Moulton Marston would have required bondage in any case.

Dang it! Now I’m thinking about it!

As to this story, I doubt anyone old enough to date, then or now, could buy into this story. Two girls battling for a man’s attention in silly ways, and somehow he MUST marry one of them, and he’s still deciding? And this nonsense will guide him to whom he’s going to spend the rest of his life with? This isn’t adult courtship behavior! It’s children squabbling over who gets the front seat.

It’s silliness. But if you turn your brain off, and pretend Lois and Lana are six years old, it can be fun silliness.

SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #49:

"Jimmy Olsen's Gorilla Identity!" by (unknown) and Curt Swan - This is a deliciously convoluted story. Congo Bill arrives at the Daily Planet seeking Congorilla, who was "captured in the Congo and shipped to the vicinity of Metropolis." [Congo Bill has been around since More Fun Comics #56 (1940), and transforming into Congorilla since Action Comics #248 (1957).]

These stories need to be reprinted.

Bill confides his secret to Jimmy Olsen (for some reason), then leaves his magic ring with Jimmy so that Superman will be able to identify Congorilla,

The only way this makes the remotest amount of sense is if Congo Bill has heard of Jimmy Olsen as Superman’s pal, but knows nothing at all about him, and assumes he’s a competent adult.

Still, I can’t imagine Bill ever parting with that ring for any reason whatsoever. Especially in this case, where he says he can’t rub it in case the gorilla is dead. So hey, guy I just met, why don’t you hold the ring, in case it gets rubbed accidentally? Right, then! I’ll just be standing over there with my "jungle boy" watching to see if you keel over.

… because the ape wears an identical ring (as if Superman wouldn't be able to find a giant golden gorilla otherwise!).

Or Jimmy, for that matter. How hard can it be to find ANY gorilla in a North American city?

Jimmy goes out looking for Congorilla on his own, and after a couple of false leads, finds him on a wild animal farm outside the city. Jimmy contrives to have himself knocked unconscious by a kangaroo while simultaneously switching his mind with Congorilla's.

See above about “competent adult.”

Amazingly, the timing of this transfer works, and Jimmy finds his mind in Congorilla's body while Congorilla's occupies Jimmy's unconscious body.

They didn't have Ambien back then, so "sleep by kangaroo" was Jimmy's only option.

Just about then, Lois Lane tracks down Kimmy and revives him. Hijinks ensue. Luckily, Superman decides to "look up from the center of the earth to see how things were going up here." For some reason, the lead that was preventing Superman from hearing Jimmy's signal watch didn't block Superman's x-ray vision, and order is restored.

Since this makes no sense at all, I’m not fooled. Superman was on the couch watching TV, and every once in a while glanced Jimmy’s way, because Jimmy does something life-threatening a few times every day. Also Lois, because she’s falling out of a window at any given time.

"The Fat Boy of Metropolis!" by (unknown) and Curt Swan - Jimmy goes to visit Professor Potter and is purposefully given a weight-increasing serum by a man named Rance, a diamond smuggler who is posing as Potter's assistant. then Jimmy goes to have a "sleep over" at Perry White's house. (Perry has offered to help him work on a story.) In the morning, Jimmy weighs 300 pounds. Then, as one might expect, Jimmy has a series of unlikely weight-related misadventures. I hate to keep using the word "convoluted," but this is all part of an outlandish plan by the diamond thieves to smuggler 300 pounds of stolen jewels into the country. Luckily, Superman, who is not on a space mission this time, sees through their scheme.

The Silver Age Superman occasionally has to carry the idiot ball, but he’s too smart to be fooled by the crooks in this issue with their really bad plans.

And, yes, we’re fat-shaming again. Since nobody thought anything of making fun of fat people, they were fair game. And hey, fat jokes worked for a lot of comedians by the time of this story, like Roscoe Arbuckle, Jackie Gleason, Curly Howard, Oliver Hardy, etc.

"Alas, Chip O'Doole!" by Jerry Siegel and Curt Swan - In an ill-conceived plan to win Lucy Lane's affection, Jimmy masquerades as rock 'n' roll singer Chip O'Doole (who is based on no one in particular).

I'm pretty sure it's Elvis -- or what middle-aged writers thought Elvis was.

Especially in “shake my hips a little more” line, the "sneer" line and the clothes -- you can find Elvis in jeans or sailor cap or leather jacket or boots in photos online, although not necessarily all at the same time. To middle-aged men, though, he had a bad boy image that this mirrors.

Elvis was the top musical act in 1960, and his competition was (according to the internet) Marty Robbins, Johnny Preston, Mark Dinning, Connie Francis, The Hollywood Argyles, Brenda Lee, Brian Hyland, Chubby Checker, Larry Verne, The Drifters, Ray Charles and Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs. Not a hip-shaker among 'em. Well, maybe Chubby Checker. But Chip O'Doole is not Chubby Checker.

Change of subject: I was amused that, while Jimmy was a teenager in this story, he still talked like the middle-aged man who writes him. Calling blue jeans “dungarees,” for example. And hating rock and roll music. If that scene in the car had gone another panel, he’d have been calling it “noise,” I’m sure.

One the best pieces of advice I ever received about dating is to try to make sure that she is into you a little bit more than you are into her. This story is a perfect example of that. Jimmy is head-over-heels in love with Lucy, yet she is indifferent toward him, and Lucy is head-over-heels in love with "Chip", yet he is indifferent toward her. This story should be required reading for every adolescent.

Yeah, but she was faking, to teach him ”a lesson.” Lucy is kind of a pill, but she apparently falls on the Superman side of adults vs. children.

Replies

Jeff of Earth-J May 4, 2025 at 3:35pm
SUPERMAN'S GIRLFRIEND, LOIS LANE #22:
- "The Day When Superman Proposed!" by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger - One day, apparently out of theblue, Superman decides he wants to marry Lois Lane. He proposes, but she is suspicious. To prove his love, he takes her on a trip through time so that he can spurn Cleopatra, Helen of Troy and Marie Antoinette. He even gives her a Lois Lane robot and asks Lana Lang to propose to Lois on his behalf. As proof of his love for her, Lois demands that he tell her his secret identity. Just as he is about to comply, it is revealed that he has been under the influence of Red Kryptonite for the entire s tory (which should come as a surprise to absolutely no one as an experiment involing Red K exploded on the first page). As an added kicker, he takes back the Lois Lane robot because it does know his secret identity, so all :ois would have had to do was ask. The story explains why Superman was behaving so out of character, but not why Lois was. If she would have just not been so suspicious, she'd have been Mrs. Superman. Oh, the irony!
- "Lois Lane's X-Ray Vision!" by Robert Bernstein and Kurt Schaffenberger - (cover story) Lois Lane acquires a pair of "x-ray specs" that actually work.
- "Sweetheart of Robin Hood!" by Robert Bernstein and Kurt Schaffenberger - A dream.
RECOMMENDATION: Mail-Order Mysteries by Kirk DeMarais. "Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads!" This book features the ads we all remember so well plus detailed descriptions and photos of the actual products.
- Richard Willis > Jeff of Earth-J May 4, 2025 at 5:01pm
  
  How did they deal with Marie Antoinette? Was this before her ill-fated marriage?
- Jeff of Earth-J > Richard Willis May 4, 2025 at 8:29pm
  
  Well, let's see. According to Wikipedia, Marie Antoinette was married on May 16, 1770 when she was 14 years old. According to Lois Lane #22, Superman and Lois visited her in 1773. She ascended to the throne in 1774 and was executed in 1793. How did they deal with it? Marie Antoinette appears in only two panels and does not speak. In fact, the story deals with all three historical beauties in only six panels, total. The story doesn't mention that she was already married, nor that she was only 17 years old. Don't expect historical accuracy.
- JD DeLuzio > Jeff of Earth-J May 4, 2025 at 9:02pm
  
  What you thought you'd get
  
  vs
  
  What you actually got.
  
  I bought that for a friend a couple of years ago.
Jeff of Earth-J May 5, 2025 at 5:13pm
SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #50:
- "The Lord of Olsen Castle!" by Jerry Siegel and Curt Swan - Jimmy inherits an estate and title in Sweden and must perform three impossible feats in order to fulfill the conditions of the will. Lois and Clark accompany him to cover the story, but Jimmy accidentally breaks his signal watch and cannot summon Superman for help. Because he cannot plausibly help Jimmy out [SPOILER] Superman contacts Supergirl, Kryto and Bizarro (!) to help Jimmy out. Jimmy fulfils the conditions of the will, but gives up all claim tot the title and estate because "the air in this estate is so full of pollen, it aggravates my hay fever allergy terribly! It'd be no fun to own this castle if I-Im continually sneezing!... AAAA AAACHOOO!!!"
- "The Weirdest Asteroid in Space!" by Otto Binder and Curt Swan - As pre-publicity for an upcoming science fiction movie, the studio constructs a working roacketship complete with real spacesuits. As part of the press party, Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen don the spacesuits, and later sneak aboard the ship. Clumsily, Jimmy stumbles agains th lever that fires the rocket into space. Before the ship has a chance to depart solar system, Clark and Jimmy eject themselves onto a small asteroid. Jimmy cannot activate his signal watch inside the bulky suit, so Clark has to wait for an opportunity to change to Superman. As they explore the asteroid, they encounter many "odd" topgraphical features. To no readers surprise whatsoever, the "asteroid" is actually a hibernating space dragon curled up into a ball.
- "The Super-Life of Jimmy Olsen!" by (unknown) and Al Plastino (cover story)- For Jimmy's birthday, his friends charter a boat for a river excursion. Superman loans the machine Lex Luthor once used to steal Superman's powers to Professor Potter to leach off just enough of Superman's power to make Jimmy "super" for a day. But something goes wrong (of course), and all of Superman's power is transferred to Jimmy. What's more, if the power is not transferred back within eight hours, the change will be permanent due to writer's fiat. As soon as Jimmy gets Superman's powers he becomes a real @$$hole. Clark Kent remains "below decks," "seasick" this whole time, and no one notices.
Captain Comics May 5, 2025 at 6:46pm
I received my copy of Superman Family last week and have caught up with this discussion. Here are my (late) thoughts on what’s been discussed so far:

I am pleased to report there there is very little duplication between the DCF volume and the four Showcase editions.

Unfortunately, the duplication is at the very beginning of this collection. That’s OK, I don’t mind. These stories are such cotton candy that even when I’m reading them for the third or fourth time I’ve forgotten how they ended.

ACTION COMICS #266 - "The World's Mightiest Cat" by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney

We already covered this in the "Supergirl Archives" discussion.

Yep, this story has been reprinted recently — and frequently. Not only is it in the Supergirl Archives, but also the Silver Age Supergirl omnibus and Showcase Presents: Supergirl. And this book isn’t reprinting all the other Supergirl stories in those books. So why is it here?

I went through the Table of Contents, and the only other story from Supergirl’s solo series that’s included is “Battle of the Super-Pets” from Action Comics #277. That’s also included in the Supergirl reprint books mentioned above.

And it also features Streaky. But we’re not getting all the Streaky stories. If that was the intent, they would have started this book with his first appearance in Action Comics #261. (This book begins with his second appearance, in Action Comics #266.) And the book as is collects Superman Family stories from July 1960 to October 1961 — if we were getting all the Streaky stories, then this book would have included “Supergirl’s Fortress of Solitude!” from Action Comics #271, and “Supergirl’s Secret Enemy!” from Action Comics #279.

So, what do those two Action Comics stories have in common besides featuring Supergirl and Streaky, and having already been reprinted recently? I’ll tell you: Krypto plays a significant role. So I think Superman Family is going to include all stories where Krypto plays a role, whether they have been reprinted recently or not.

He is the family dog, after all.

Krypto also appears in other stories in the time frame of this book that are not included. But I don’t think he plays a significant role in those stories — he’s just flying along with Superman on a cover or in a given panel. I think that’s the case — I didn’t actually look up all those stories. Life is short!

So I may be wrong. But we do get more stories in this book starring Krypto (without Streaky). Like “Krypto’s First Romance!” in Superboy #87, and “Krypto vs. Titano!” from Superman #147.

I think my suggestion is supported by other stories in the book, in that they feature Superman Family members who don’t have a place in the Supergirl, Superman or Legion of Super-Heroes reprint series. Like “The Super-Powers of Perry White!” in Action Comics #278 and “Pete Ross’ Super-Secret!” in Superboy #90. Lois and Jimmy stories that appeared in books other than their eponymous titles are included, too.

BTW, I always hated the way Jim Mooney drew Streaky, with big Looney Tunes eyes. It’s especially noticeable in stories where Krypto appears, and is drawn like a normal dog. The Supergirl strip was aimed at little girls, so maybe the old men writing and drawing these stories thought little girls would like that.

So, I guess it’s OK for her to reveal herself to “primitives”, knowing that “civilized” (i.e., white) men won’t believe them?

This is what I refer to as casual racism. The misogyny is casual, too — it’s an aspect of the prevailing culture at the time, and white people (especially men) didn’t give it a second thought. Not around Little Me, anyway.

Supergirl feels bad for Paul because everyone’s calling him a lying scumbag.

I felt badly for Paul, because the Superman-and-Supergirl-lie-about-everything premise never set well with me, and here it’s hurting someone directly. Even when the Krypto excuse is trotted out, he still has to convince himself he imagined some of Streaky’s antics. I predict mental health problems for Paul in the future. He will never again trust his lying eyes.

That cover was kind of misleading, though.

Yes, it was, and I found that odd. I mean, we’ve been told repeatedly that Weisinger’s method was for his artists to come up with a surprising, bizarre or inexplicable cover and then have his writers come up with a story to justify it. And normally that’s just what we see. This is an aberration, and we don’t know why.

SUPERMAN'S GIRLFRIEND, LOIS LANE #19:

"The Day Lois Forgot Superman" by Robert Bernstein - Lois agrees to have herself hypnotized to forget Superman. The ending is telegraphed on page three.

Yeah, it is. You can’t hit a home run every time at bat.

"Not a hoax, not an imaginary tale... a drug-induced hallucination."

You could make a fortune selling those flowers!

The cover story, "Mr. and Mrs. Clark Kent" by Jerry Siegel, was previously covered in the "Imaginary Stories on Infinite Earths" discussion.

I’m wondering if the beginning of this series is why this book began where it did (and reached back one month to get that Krypto story in).

As to the book as a whole, Lois is her usually pathetic Silver Age self in most of them, whining about not getting a good-night kiss, or mooning over Superman, or being overly aggressive with other men when Superman’s not in the picture. Marriage, baby — that’s what she wanted!

Which falls into the “casual misogyny” box for me.

But I’ll say this: Three full stories in one issue? You got your full 10 cents’ worth in the Silver Age!

SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #47:

"The King of Crime" by Robert Bernstein and Curt Swan: This is not a well thought out plan in any case, but Superman happens to be on a mission in outer space and is therefore unavailable should Jimmy happen to get into any trouble.

Right. This is a REALLY bad plan, with a bad ending (Winky shows up and the gang kills Jimmy) baked right into it. All through that story, every time I’ve read it (probably four or five times now), I’m baffled at how Jimmy doesn’t seem to have any plan in mind for when Winky inevitably shows up, either in person or on TV. He escaped prison, he didn’t fall off the planet.

I suspect Superman spent more time on "space missions" in the Silver Age than Green Lantern did.

I suspect Superman claimed “space mission” a lot just to get away from Lois and Jimmy for a few pages.

"Jimmy Olsen Grows Up!" - by Otto Binder and Curt Swan: Jimmy visits "zany scientist" Professor Potter and ingests a growth serum which ages him to adulthood. Then his "friends" conspire to make him regret his choice.

A lot of Silver Age stories depicted Superman teaching someone (usually Lois) a lesson. Which only makes sense if you accept the subtext I see that Superman is the only adult in the room, and is the pater familias of the children who are the other characters. He does seem to enjoy dishing out lessons a bit too much, though.

I have a question about this one. Jimmy is frequently referred to as a “boy” throughout, and is not fully grown. How old is he supposed to be? He has a job and an apartment, and no visible parents, so … late teens? I’m trying to remember if we were called “boys” and “girls” in high school in the mid-1970s, and don’t remember. “Teens” was the usual label. And shouldn’t an 18-year-old or a 19-year-old have their full height? The need for a new wardrobe feels more 14-ish than 19-ish. (I grew a couple of inches in college, but I was an outlier. And my clothes still fit me.)

Also, I noted that Jimmy switched to a long tie because bow ties were for boys and long ties for men. I had no idea that a bow tie was an age signifier in the ‘60s! But then, I don’t remember anyone actually wearing one.

"The Monsters from Earth!" - by Jerry Siegel and Curt Swan: This story is a sequel to one I have not read.

Oh, I have, and I enjoyed it. It’s much like this one. I love the “monster” design, and the conceit that we’re as hideous to aliens as they are to us. Curt Swan seems to be having a lot of fun with the “monsters.”

Basically, an alien race wants to film a movie starring Jimmy Olsen. (Classic alien design.) This premise sound like Bereet and the Hulk (or rather the reverse, I suppose), but it reads more like the X-Men's "Mojo".

Those are good comparisons. I wonder if Chris Claremont or Bill Mantlo ever read these stories? I bet they did.

Although he does not appear, Superman is not on a space mission in this story, but one is mentioned. (He once saved the world of Xantha from exploding.) I'm not going to count that one in my tally, but it strikes me that there was probably enough fodder for an entire series of Superman's space missions.

According to my theory, half of those “space missions” would show Superman chilling on the couch watching TV, ignoring Jimmy’s signal watch and not answering Lois Lane’s phone calls.

Or maybe having a conversation with another grown-up. He probably has to talk to Van-Zee or somebody just for his mental health. “Any advice, Kal? Little Lyle-Zee keeps pulling on the dog’s ears!” “That’s nothing, Van! Jimmy turned himself into a giant turtle man and destroyed a bridge! And then Lois fell out a window!” “Man, you’ve got to start doing time-outs with them, Kal. I do with Lyle and Lili, and that’s the only way I can get any work done.”

SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND LOIS LANE #20

"Superman's Flight from Lois Lane!" by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger - This is an odd one. DC had pretty strict rules concerning time travel back in the Silver Age. I don't know for certain when they were established, but this story (from 1960) seems to break two of them.

Agreed. This is another aberration. Maybe Weisinger didn’t have his formula quite in place yet. By the mid-1960s, the Super-universe was very consistent, which is very appealing to children.

The premise is this: in order to get away from the increasingly annoying Lois Lane, Superman decides to time-travel to the past and take a job at somewhere other than the Daily Planet so he never has to meet her.

Adds a little muscle to my “space mission” theory, doesn’t it?

Superman/Clark returns to the present, where in encounters the present-day Liza Landis and body shames her (to the readers), by thinking, "rerat Scott! That was Liza Landis grown enormously fat through the years! *GASP* Thank goodness I never married HER! WHEW!"

I thought nothing of the fat-shaming so prevalent in the Super-books, because I think it was just imbedded in the culture at the time. But getting fat was shorthand in pop culture in those days for lazy and/or greedy characters, or pampered “Mama’s Boys,” who, it was assumed, needed to go outside more. Fat kids in my elementary school — and they were rare — were in for a lot of verbal abuse and teachers weren’t sympathetic.

"The Luckiest Girl in Metropolis!" by Robert Bernstein and Al Plastino - This is an improbably story about Lois Lane who apparently gains the extrasensory power of predicting the future after being the first person to enter the tomb of a "Norse sorcerer."

This story was not researched very well, or thought out very well.

In the first place, Norse runes weren’t “secret hieroglyphics of Norse sorcerers” — they were the ordinary alphabet of Scandinavians during the viking age.

The vikings did have sorcerers, though. They were called völvas or seiðrs.

And what kind of curse is seeing the future? Sounds more like a gift to me.

There’s an awful lot of “heathern” and “pagan” references that aren’t very complimentary. Robert Bernstein (or maybe Mort) wanted to make sure we didn’t give the slightest credence to any non-Christian faith! We all know the True Religion, don’t we, kids?

And this is another one where it’s pretty obvious what’s going on, especially since Lois Lane makes a point of thinking she has to take her glasses off while she sleeps. That was unnecessary information (especially to someone who wears glasses) that someone had to write, someone had to letter and someone had to make room for in the panel. Which means it’s necessary information, and it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out why.

Also, this plan is a Rube Goldberg machine. As Jeff says:

The whole thing is quite incredibly unlikely; something could have gone wrong at any point in the gangster's impossible plan, yet it went off without a hitch... until Superman got wise.

Exactly. And if Superman hadn’t gotten wise, I’d wonder just how Super-smart he really is.

“Lois Lane’s Super-Daughter!” by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger – This is a sequel to “Mr. and Mrs. Clark Kent” from Lois Lane #19. I’m not going to spend too much time on it because it’s an “imaginary story” and never really “happened.” It can also be found in the Superman in the Sixties collection (1999).

Once again, Lois proves herself self-absorbed and immature. This version of the character probably isn’t a fit mother.

But the child-protective woman is WAY too judgmental and aggressive and commites unlawful entry to “catch” Lois being a bad mother. And how bad is it to make children do chores or to be spanked? By that standard, my mother and father weren’t fit parents. The story wouldn’t work without this woman, but she’s really not realistic in any way.

Also, this simply isn’t a problem the Super-folks — or even ordinary folks — couldn’t solve. The system would probably be glad to get rid of the unadoptable Linda Lee (something always goes wrong!), who will age out in two years. Linda could just live with the Kents anyway, showing up to the orphanage for roll call or whatever. Or just “run away.” She could adopt a new identity — why stay “married” to the Linda Lee persona? — until she’s 18, and then as an adult, child services has no claim on her.

This was an ending in search of a story.

SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #48 - (all stories by [unknown], Curt Swan and John Forte):

"The Story of Camp Superman!" - Jimmy is counselor at Camp Superman but the campers outperform him at every turn. The real "conflict" (more of a mystery, really) arises when one of the boys knows the endings to all of Jimmy's stories. Superman is away for most of the story on an "outer space mission" which plays into the resolution of the plot.

I thought it odd that the first few pages were the kids showing Jimmy up, then it took a right turn into the mystery of one kid knowing the ending of all Jimmy’s anecdotes. The earlier angle seems to have been dropped. That’s not bad, just surprisingly poor story structure.

And once again, how old is Jimmy supposed to be? According to the one where he becomes a man, he could be the same age as these kids. If we go with late teens, he’s still too close in age to be “Uncle Jimmy.” I guess he’s whatever age he needs to be to make the story work.

“The Disguises of Danger!” – In a formulaic story, Jimmy tries to get a 50¢ tip from a gangster in order to obtain a particular half dollar in pursuit of a tip. He dresses as a window washer, a bell hop, a shoeshine boy, a barber, a waiter and a beggar.

Formulaic is right. I actually got tired of this story, because it was so predictable. And you knew — YOU JUST KNEW — that there would some sort of SMH ending worthy of a sad trombone.

"The Mystery of the Tiny Supermen!" - The first appearance of the "Supermen Emergency Squad”

This is one of those stories where a simple conversation could have cleared everything up and there’s be no story, only for that conversation to NOT happen and the confusion to continue until the end of the story where everyone has to come clean.
- The Squad could simply have flown to Supergirl, told her of the danger to her secret identity, let her take care of it and gone home.
- The Squad could have gone to Jimmy, told them who they were, and that they needed him to move the “kryptonite.” (They don’t even have to tell him about their real objective.) He’s Superman’s Pal, so he ought to help the Kandorians help Superman, and not need an explanation beyond “Superman needs for us to do this.”
But there are more plot holes than that. For one, the Squad could have taken care of the fingerprints from a distance, with their collective heat vision. It’s what Supergirl ends up doing anyway. Or they could have moved the fake kryptonite with tongs or a pick or some other tool they make out of scrap metal, as Superman is always doing. Or they could have Krypto knock over the souviner bookshelf and swipe the raygun in the confusion. Or have Krypto steal it.

In short, there are probably a dozen ways the Squad could have handled this that don’t require them to tie Jimmy to an office chair.

But then, that wouldn’t explain the cover, would it?

SUPERMAN'S GIRLFRIEND, LOIS LANE #21:

"Dolls of Doom!" by unknown and Kurt Schaffenberger - Lois Lane is duped by the Anti-Superman Gang into modeling for a line of "Lois Lane" dolls in a convoluted plot to bomb Superman's Fortress of Solitude. The dolls walk, cry, sneeze, sleep and say, "Love that Superman!" The line is quite successful, selling 10,000 in a short time (and raising the question why didn't the gansters just make dolls?). To promote that milestone, they manufactured a life-sized model with a bomb hidden inside they planned to give to Superman in hope he would display it as a trophy in his Fortress. But the doll malfunctions and, unknown to the gansters, the store owner convinces Lois pretend to be the mechanical doll and demonstrate its functions in the storefront window. when it comes time for her to "sleep," she's not tired, so the store owner gives her a sleeping pill. Later, it is the unconscious Lois and not the doll Superman transports to his Fortress. Then he is called away on a space mission (his fourth in six issues fo far). Then, through a highly unlikely series of events, Lois ends up trapped in the Bottle City of Kandor and hijinks ensue.

This is too dopey to analyze. And this time Superman does carry the idiot ball, by not noticing the Lois "doll" is breathing, instead of emitting electronic noises.

"The Battle Between Super-Lois and Super-Lana!" by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger - Lois and Lana gain temporary super-powers. It says "permanent" on the cover, but that is a deliberate falsehood (on the part of the editor, not Superman).

Yes.

Remember the days when fans debated whether Lois or Lana was Superman's one true love? That debate has pretty much been settled (in Lois's favor) some 30+ years ago. Superman must decide which of his now-super-powered girlfriends to marry. Actually, there is a third option. What would William Moulton Marston have done?

I’m trying very hard to NOT imagine what Marston would have done, so I take your point!

William Moulton Marston would have required bondage in any case.

Dang it! Now I’m thinking about it!

As to this story, I doubt anyone old enough to date, then or now, could buy into this story. Two girls battling for a man’s attention in silly ways, and somehow he MUST marry one of them, and he’s still deciding? And this nonsense will guide him to whom he’s going to spend the rest of his life with? This isn’t adult courtship behavior! It’s children squabbling over who gets the front seat.

It’s silliness. But if you turn your brain off, and pretend Lois and Lana are six years old, it can be fun silliness.

SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #49:

"Jimmy Olsen's Gorilla Identity!" by (unknown) and Curt Swan - This is a deliciously convoluted story. Congo Bill arrives at the Daily Planet seeking Congorilla, who was "captured in the Congo and shipped to the vicinity of Metropolis." [Congo Bill has been around since More Fun Comics #56 (1940), and transforming into Congorilla since Action Comics #248 (1957).]

These stories need to be reprinted.

Bill confides his secret to Jimmy Olsen (for some reason), then leaves his magic ring with Jimmy so that Superman will be able to identify Congorilla,

The only way this makes the remotest amount of sense is if Congo Bill has heard of Jimmy Olsen as Superman’s pal, but knows nothing at all about him, and assumes he’s a competent adult.

Still, I can’t imagine Bill ever parting with that ring for any reason whatsoever. Especially in this case, where he says he can’t rub it in case the gorilla is dead. So hey, guy I just met, why don’t you hold the ring, in case it gets rubbed accidentally? Right, then! I’ll just be standing over there with my "jungle boy" watching to see if you keel over.

… because the ape wears an identical ring (as if Superman wouldn't be able to find a giant golden gorilla otherwise!).

Or Jimmy, for that matter. How hard can it be to find ANY gorilla in a North American city?

Jimmy goes out looking for Congorilla on his own, and after a couple of false leads, finds him on a wild animal farm outside the city. Jimmy contrives to have himself knocked unconscious by a kangaroo while simultaneously switching his mind with Congorilla's.

See above about “competent adult.”

Amazingly, the timing of this transfer works, and Jimmy finds his mind in Congorilla's body while Congorilla's occupies Jimmy's unconscious body.

They didn't have Ambien back then, so "sleep by kangaroo" was Jimmy's only option.

Just about then, Lois Lane tracks down Kimmy and revives him. Hijinks ensue. Luckily, Superman decides to "look up from the center of the earth to see how things were going up here." For some reason, the lead that was preventing Superman from hearing Jimmy's signal watch didn't block Superman's x-ray vision, and order is restored.

Since this makes no sense at all, I’m not fooled. Superman was on the couch watching TV, and every once in a while glanced Jimmy’s way, because Jimmy does something life-threatening a few times every day. Also Lois, because she’s falling out of a window at any given time.

"The Fat Boy of Metropolis!" by (unknown) and Curt Swan - Jimmy goes to visit Professor Potter and is purposefully given a weight-increasing serum by a man named Rance, a diamond smuggler who is posing as Potter's assistant. then Jimmy goes to have a "sleep over" at Perry White's house. (Perry has offered to help him work on a story.) In the morning, Jimmy weighs 300 pounds. Then, as one might expect, Jimmy has a series of unlikely weight-related misadventures. I hate to keep using the word "convoluted," but this is all part of an outlandish plan by the diamond thieves to smuggler 300 pounds of stolen jewels into the country. Luckily, Superman, who is not on a space mission this time, sees through their scheme.

The Silver Age Superman occasionally has to carry the idiot ball, but he’s too smart to be fooled by the crooks in this issue with their really bad plans.

And, yes, we’re fat-shaming again. Since nobody thought anything of making fun of fat people, they were fair game. And hey, fat jokes worked for a lot of comedians by the time of this story, like Roscoe Arbuckle, Jackie Gleason, Curly Howard, Oliver Hardy, etc.

"Alas, Chip O'Doole!" by Jerry Siegel and Curt Swan - In an ill-conceived plan to win Lucy Lane's affection, Jimmy masquerades as rock 'n' roll singer Chip O'Doole (who is based on no one in particular).

I'm pretty sure it's Elvis -- or what middle-aged writers thought Elvis was.

Especially in “shake my hips a little more” line, the "sneer" line and the clothes -- you can find Elvis in jeans or sailor cap or leather jacket or boots in photos online, although not necessarily all at the same time. To middle-aged men, though, he had a bad boy image that this mirrors.

Elvis was the top musical act in 1960, and his competition was (according to the internet) Marty Robbins, Johnny Preston, Mark Dinning, Connie Francis, The Hollywood Argyles, Brenda Lee, Brian Hyland, Chubby Checker, Larry Verne, The Drifters, Ray Charles and Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs. Not a hip-shaker among 'em. Well, maybe Chubby Checker. But Chip O'Doole is not Chubby Checker.

Change of subject: I was amused that, while Jimmy was a teenager in this story, he still talked like the middle-aged man who writes him. Calling blue jeans “dungarees,” for example. And hating rock and roll music. If that scene in the car had gone another panel, he’d have been calling it “noise,” I’m sure.

One the best pieces of advice I ever received about dating is to try to make sure that she is into you a little bit more than you are into her. This story is a perfect example of that. Jimmy is head-over-heels in love with Lucy, yet she is indifferent toward him, and Lucy is head-over-heels in love with "Chip", yet he is indifferent toward her. This story should be required reading for every adolescent.

Yeah, but she was faking, to teach him ”a lesson.” Lucy is kind of a pill, but she apparently falls on the Superman side of adults vs. children.
Richard Willis May 5, 2025 at 9:24pm

As pre-publicity for an upcoming science fiction movie, the studio constructs a working rocketship complete with real spacesuits.

Back then, the NASA rockets were still blowing up on the launch pads, but a movie studio successfully builds a rocketship and life-sustaining spacesuits. O---kay.

I have a question about this one. Jimmy is frequently referred to as a “boy” throughout, and is not fully grown. How old is he supposed to be? He has a job and an apartment, and no visible parents, so … late teens? I’m trying to remember if we were called “boys” and “girls” in high school in the mid-1970s, and don’t remember.

This reminds me of the way they later handled Barbara Gordon. For story purposes she was sometimes a teenager dating Robin and other times she was an adult librarian contemplating running for Congress.

So, Jimmy is a growing boy who dates Lucy Lane? Is Lucy a pedophile?

After I got out of the Army at the end of 1969, I was struck by a newspaper article that used the term “youths” to refer to those up to age 25.

It’s much like this one. I love the “monster” design, and the conceit that we’re as hideous to aliens as they are to us.

The 1950s movies that have the grotesque aliens attracted to human women (never men) always tickle me. They should find them hideous, too.

Jimmy tries to get a 50¢ tip from a gangster in order to obtain a particular half dollar

This reminds me of an Amos and Andy episode I saw on TV (that’s how old I am). A valuable dime was the subject. It was inserted into a pay phone. The character who thought he had the right to it walked away unhappy. The character who put it into the phone asked the operator to return it, and he received the same dime back. Even as a kid I didn’t think that was likely. He would get a dime back, but the same one?

Later, it is the unconscious Lois and not the doll Superman transports to his Fortress.

No wonder Superman isn’t in a hurry to marry Lois. Even with super senses, he can’t tell his girlfriend from an electronic facsimile.

Superman was on the couch watching TV, and every once in a while glanced Jimmy’s way, because Jimmy does something life-threatening a few times every day. Also Lois, because she’s falling out of a window at any given time.

I wonder how often Superman was tempted to just let Lois hit the concrete? Several years ago I learned the word “defenestrate.”

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