WC: ACTION COMICS #338

Another 1966 issue of ACTION COMICS, and another one in which the content is hard-pressed to match the title. The book wasn’t about action at this point at all, despite the name. This issue presented another story in the short-lived “Superman of 2965” series, which postulated the adventures of the Man of Steel’s descendant 1000 years in the future. Editor Mort Weisinger attempted to make a recurring series out of these stories, but only three or four were produced, indicating that they weren’t especially popular. Still, a nice attempt to do something different.

This particular story, written by Edmond Hamilton and illustrated by the crackerjack superman art team of Curt Swan and George Klein, introduces the future Superman’s arch-foe, Muto. He didn’t quite have the staying power of a Luthor or a brainiac, but he did turn up in at least two Superman of 2965 stories. The game in these pieces, of course, was to update all of the familiar elements of the Superman legend but to put a futuristic twist on them. So Klar-Ken-T5477 is still a journalist, albeit for the Daily Interplanetary News. His boss, PW-5598 is a computer designed by the descendant of Perry White to mimic the old editor’s style and approach. The story opens with PW telling Klar and fellow reporter and girlfriend Lyra 3916 that Muto has been spotted in Sector Z-44.

Muto is a super-intelligent mutant whose creation was the byproduct of a feat performed by this Superman’s father and predecessor, born in a mysterious space-warp formed in the aftermath of Superman destroying a threatening comet. Muto hates his ugly form, and he blames the entire Superman line for his misfortune, seeking revenge on all of the Supermen. To that end, Muto has established a gang including a trio of powerful alien warlord and let his whereabouts be known so that Superman will track him to the Weapons World, where dangerous weapons from across the cosmos are stored for safe-keeping, where Muto and his gang can ambush him.

And a scheduled pause here to show off another House Ad for an upcoming 80-Page Giant full of vintage classic reprints. This one is dedicated to stories involving Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.

This story does actually have a lot more action to it than most tales from this period, as Superman is forced to deal with Muto and his lieutenants as they unleash banned weapon after banned weapon against him. The Superman line has developed an immunity to Kryptonite over the years, but the future Man of steel is instead vulnerable to a particular radioactive isotope that was caused by the fallout of the Atomic Wars and which settled in the seas of every planet. Accordingly, Muto unleashes a flood that threatens to sweep up some nearby children. The Man of Tomorrow streaks to the rescue, but the kids are actually androids created by Muto, and so Superman’s sacrifice has been for nothing. Submerged in the deadly sea water, Superman can feel his power ebbing. And the story is To Be Continued as Muto gloats about his victory and exclaims that he plans to use the weapons on this planet to conquer the universe!

The Metropolis Mailbag this time out includes an extra surprise bonus: the Statement of Ownership that includes circulation information on the title. From this, we can see just how well ACTION COMICS was performing in 1966. The short answer is, very well. According to this data, the most recent issue had sold 542,003 copies off a print run of 830,00, giving it an efficiency rate of just over 65%. That’s way better than just about any other Statement we’ve come across so far, and given when these numbers would have been generated, it’s likely that this doesn’t yet include the spike for the BATMAN television show.

The back-up story features Supergirl, which was definitely a part of the appeal of the title that permitted it to reach such high circulation numbers. It was written by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by Jim Mooney, and it concerns a villain, Raspor, who is obsessed with marrying Supergirl–and who also claims to be responsible for the destruction of Krypton. Either of these concepts would be enough for an emotional story, the two of them together form a one-two punch. It’s a typically crazy Weisinger-era affair, but the wild verve of it is very entertaining.

Supergirl first encounters Raspor while performing in a charity event. Raspor demonstrates his power to control animals and leers at Supergirl in a creepy way. He insists that he is destined to marry Supergirl, despite her distaste. Flying home, the Maid of Might is attacked by Viperie, Raspor’s accomplice who loves him and refuses to allow Supergirl to steal him away from her. But her weapons are no match for the Girl of Steel. It’s in Viperie’s lair that Supergirl sees images on a Cybernputer in which Raspor has re-created his past misdeeds as a kind of self-aggrandizing autobiography. Supergirl is horrified as Raspor plants a Z-Bomb at the core of Krypton which will detonate at some random time in the next 100 years if the Kryptonian Elders don’t surrender to Raspor’s benefactors, the Warlords of Gryyx. The detonation of this bomb is apparently what destroyed Krypton.

And a pause here for a full-page ad for DC’s new teen humor series SWING WITH SCOOTER. And, boy, you have to give them credit for trying to speak the language of the kids, even though they don’t understand any of it a whit. The weird poem that makes up the bulk of this ad is completely tone-deaf and sure to alienate as many teen readers as it might pull in.

Despite all of this, Supergirl presents herself to Raspor and declares that, despite his horrific crimes, she’s still completely smitten by him. After Raspor exiles Viperie to a Nightmare Dimension to get rid of her, he and the Girl of Tomorrow head out to have their wedding on a beautiful far-away planet. The wedding is all a sham, of course, and the kicker is that the planet is abandoned because the Warlords of Gryxx years ago had implanted a Z-Bomb at its core as well–one that might detonate at any moment, or in a thousand years. Supergirl strands Raspor there, believing it to be a fitting punishment for the destruction of Krypton and the murder of all of its citizens. But here’s the kicker, which Supergirl never finds out: Raspor is innocent! He’d never been to Krypton and had just made up all of those exploits to pad his reputation! Supergirl, of course, had deactivated the Z-Bomb before leaving him there to suffer the uncertainty of a sword hanging over his head–but even this seems like cruel and unnecessary punishment for a man whose worst crime was talking big and pretending to be a genocidal killer. It’s such a weird beat to go out on–but it does make the story memorable, albeit for all the wrong reasons.