I had gotten back into the habit of buying ACTION COMICS after a break of three or four months. I don’t remember making any specific determination that I wasn’t going to follow the Superman titles any longer, it was just a thing that happened–possibly because my financial resources were being strained by all of the new Marvel series that I was then buying. But possibly due to the build-up and arrival of SUPERMAN THE MOVIE, I took the plunge again and remained a faithful reader for several more years.
But before we get into all that, a brief digression. I’m pretty sure that it was during this Christmas break that my Mom took me to see INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS at our local theater. She wanted to see it, and needed somebody to go with her, so as the oldest I was selected. And I must have had some interest in seeing it, as I can recall sitting through the original 1956 version on Channel 5 sometime immediately before taking in the 1979 version. The 50s version didn’t do much for me–I was too young to appreciate the allegory. But the modern version scared the ever-lovin’ crap out of me. I’d always had a weird fear of doppelgangers, likely instilled in me through the one-two punch of my favorite TWILIGHT ZONE episode, “Mirror Image” which freaked me out as a young boy, and an early issue of Justice League of America in which teh JLA was systematically defeated and replaced by a Super-Justice League who possessed none of their weaknesses. When my imagination would run wild, I would suspect that there was another evil Tom waiting up in our unfurnished attic for the moment where he’d be able to pounce and replace me. Anyway, RIP Donald Sutherland–you were the scariest mofo I ever encountered in those days, even with that hair.
And speaking of moves, the inside front cover of the DC books this month ran a full-page ad for the in-release SUPERMAN THE MOVIE, albeit one that didn’t actually show anything apart from the cool crystal logo. My family took it in during this holiday break as well, and I enjoyed it though it wasn’t life-changing for me, strangely. But I’ve come to appreciate it more and more over the years. For those who are interested, here are my modern day thoughts on the film:
And so, finally, on to ACTION COMICS #493–an issue about which I remember nothing. It’s another completely reliable story from the editorial stable of Julie Schwartz, written by Cary Bates, a favorite of mine for years, and illustrated by Curt Swan, the one true Superman artist of the period. With the film in the offing, it was time for the folks at DC to start making Superman’s comic book adventures align with what people would be seeing on screen, so among other things, this story puts Clark Kent back to work as a reporter for the Daily Planet after several years being primarily a newscaster on WGBS.
This switch-over is predicated upon Jimmy Olsen suddenly coming down with a devastating flu, preventing him from making his interview with Metropolis millionaire Lyle Corliss. A stricken Jimmy asks Clark to fill in for him in getting this interview, and he gives Kent his Superman Signal Watch, telling him that Clark may be rusty from all the time he’s done behind a newscast desk and this way he can call for Superman’s aid if he gets into trouble. The Man of Steel chuckles inwardly at this. As Superman arrives and begins to change back into Kent for the interview, his super-senses detect a flying drone that’s attempting to assassinate Corliss. Superman arrives in time to save Corliss’ life, and teh billionaire is remarkably even-keeled during the whole of the encounter.
Superman doesn’t know who sent the drone, but he gathers up the pieces in order to investigate further. But before that, he needs to get into his Clark Kent gear and make his interview time. But when he shows up at Corliss’ door, the millionaire reveals himself to be a telepathic alien. What’s more, he knows that Kent is Superman, and in fact he agreed to Olsen’s interview request with the intention of contriving this very confrontation with the Man of Steel. And so saying, Corliss activates a device that is disguised as a television set that pulls Superman into another dimension. Corliss is, of course, teh advance scout of an alien invasion–they’re always this, aren’t they? The drone that was attacking Corliss wasn’t attacking him at all. Rather, it was downloading data to him telepathically about the Earth.
A quick pause here for a centerspread house ad. With a movie in theaters, DC did as much as it was permitted to do to take advantage and cash in on the expected Superman-mania. So they issued two new Treasury Editions. One was a FAMOUS 1st EDITION, the first they’d done in several years, reprinting SUPERMAN #1 from 1939 (not 1938 as the ad says, though that was when Superman first appeared) in its entirety, and the second a movie magazine showcasing photos and secrets behind the film, and pointing out in great detail how virtually every aspect of the movie had its roots in older DC Comics.
With Superman out of the way, Corliss is calling in the invasion fleet. The dimension he’s trapped Superman in has a soporific effect upon the Man of Tomorrow, preventing him from focusing and using his super-powers to escape. But it turns out Superman still has an accidental ace in the hole. He’s still wearing Jimmy Olsen’s signal watch, and by activating its hypersonic distress signal, he’s able to give himself a focal point to concentrate on, which lets him break free of his prison and return to Earth through the television transporter. From there, clobbering Corliss is the work of seconds–why did this guy go to all of teh trouble to establish an Earthbound identity as a millionaire philanthropist anyway? It doesn’t seem to factor into the plot apart from giving Jimmy an excuse to want to interview him. But anyway, Superman is still too late–Corliss has sent the Yota-Pulses necessary to summon the alien armada already. These pulses are often mistaken by Earthlings as being UFOs, ironically enough, hence the story’s title.
Superman can’t stop the Yota-Pulses, but he has learned enough about them to alter them with precision bursts from his X-Ray Vision. He knows that they function analogous to morse code, and so he changes the message to the fleet to indicate that Earth is unsuitable for their purposes. Upon receiving this report, the massing fleet moves on to other prospective conquests, leaving Corliss in place on Earth in case conditions there should grow more favorable to them in the future. The threat to Earth is now neutralized, and without Superman needing to go to war with an alien armada.
And then, the final page returns us to the Daily Planet where Jimmy is recuperating (they quarantine him and a few other Daily Planet personnel who are similarly stricken there for reasons that really don’t make a whole lot of sense). Perry White pulls Kent aside and tells him that WGBS boss Morgan Edge has decided that Clark will be moving back to the Daily Planet as a reporter. This sort of comes out of nowhere, but the fact that the film is in theaters makes it totally understandable.
The issue closed with another Daily Planet preview page, which included another dopey gag cartoon by fan cartoonist Fred Hembeck. As I’ve said before, Hembeck became a huge favorite of mine, and these strips were my first exposure to his work. This one, though, went over my head at the time. I was also quite fond of Bob Rozakis’ Ask the Answer Man column, in which he’d answer random questions posed by the readership concerning all aspects of DC’s operation and history.
The Tom Brevoort Experience 
Well as telepathic alien foes of Superman goes, I like Xviar ( a.k.a. Mister Xavier/Mr. X – Superman#258 – 299 ( November 1972 -May 1976 ) — human guise of an alien saboteur of the mercenary organization identified only as “Homeworld” — dc.fandom.com ) better. Not impressed by the Superman villains ( the Batman class ones ) in DC’s Who’s Who and not on the internet yet ( so no comics.org to guide me ) when ever I was in a comic book shop in or outside of my city I would go through the back issues to see if their were Superman foes ( Superman Class foes ) more worth of a Who’s Who entry: like Radion [ Superman#308 ( February 1977 ) beautiful Neal Adams cover ] who reminds me of both the Leader ( because he wants to create other mutates like himself ) and Magneto. The Protector was the only other mutate under his command who appeared first in the previous issue ( FYI, for some reason other forces were trying to convince Superman that he was a mutated human and not a Kryptonian ) — Gerry Conway & Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Radion was powerful and do more than project radioactive blasts, so I don’t get why they just threw him away and created Neutron years later.
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Sutherland also scared me with that scream at the end, I think it was the first time I had drank alcohol as a stupid teen (peppermint schnapps) and when we left there were 2 figures stumbling at us out of an alley so we hightailed it out of there
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Tom, I read your 15 Thoughts On Superman: The Movie ( 1978 film with Christopher Reeve ) and the comment by the others ( I thought about leaving my comments there ). I like Superman: The Movie and tolerated Lex Luthor & Otis, Superman’s Lois & helicopter rescue was my favourite scene in the movie. Unlike others I like Man of Steel ( 2013 ) — I liked Russell Crowe’s cool Jor-El ( I remember hoping Superman made a copy of Jor-El’s AI cause I wanted to see him again ). I like the superior to Superman II fight with the Kryptonians thanks to modern CGI, plus their Kryptonian uniforms are far superior in look. I liked that I didn’t have to sit through Superman’s origin because they did it in flashback. It was their choice for Lois Lane ( Amy Adams ) I wasn’t sold on. As for Superman snapping Zod’s neck, how else was he going to stop him from horribly murdering that family with his heat vision? Plus my mind went straight to Gladiator snapping Hyperion’s neck in Quasar#54 ( January 1994 ) — luckily Hyperion healed ( Like Bruce did when the Maestro did it to him ).
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“As for Superman snapping Zodās neck, how else was he going to stop him from horribly murdering that family with his heat vision?”
Considering how many innocent people must’ve been killed while he and Zod were crashing through all those skyscrapers, I’m not sure why Superman suddenly decided that one family had to be saved at all costs. Then again, since Jonathan Kent taught him that human lives (including his own) were inconsequential, I suppose we should be grateful that Supes cared about people even that small amount.
(Not a fan of that movie, in case you couldn’t tell.)
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Funny, I grew up on Marvel Comics but when it comes to Marvel Movies I like the some of the DC Movies better ( The Don’t depower their Heroes, Their Mythological Gods are mythological gods not aliens ( Granted in Greek Myth — Athena who is stronger than Ares is the Ares killer — she was originally suppose to be the new ruler of the Gods until Zeus ate her pregnant mother in myth ),to name a few ). Sure there are things I don’t like Batman the world’s greatest detective being tricked by Lex Luthor into trying to kill Superman — doesn’t work for me to name one. When it comes to Jonathan Kent, the one in Smallville had as much blame in turning Lex Luthor into a villain as Lionel Luthor. Smallville’s Jonathan just seemed to have such rage inside him, I’m amazed Clark didn’t turn out to be Ultraman. Michael Rosenbaum is the Lex Luthor I measure all others ( I hated when he became Lex Luthor cause just like with Peter Jackson’s King Kong I was hoping the ending for both would change — knowing it wasn’t ).
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Proof that Fred Hembeck is a time traveler: how else could Fred get his hands on a Mike Deodato Wonder Woman comic years before it was published?
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I forget how old I was when I saw the 70s Body Snatchers. But I do remember it was very unsettling. I should give it a rewatch. RIP Mr. Sutherland.
I completely forgot about “Ask the Answer Man”! I loved those as a kid, and something I always took the time to read. I liked Hembeck’s art style, but don’t always get the jokes. When I do though, they certainly put a smile on my face! š
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Bob bummed me out on one answer. Only one, but it scarred me for life. š And perpetuated an idea that has always bugged me. So someone writes Bob, asking the Answer Man how much weight can Superman move with his tongue. Sounds like a goof. A peanut butter nut, or a Tootsie-Roll Pop afficionado.
But it was Bob’s answer that annoyed me. He said Superman would be able to move the same amount of weight with his tongue, as he would any other part of his body. It’s all “super”. Oy. Well, I don’t know about ol’Bob, but I can move much more weight with my hand or my foot, than I can with my tongue. So it should be the same for Superman, too.
I guess the fact that this has bothered me for 45 years tells you more than you’d want to know about me. š
But it’s like the argument that all Kryptonians would have the same level of superpowers. No, they have the same kind of powers. But not at the same level. Superman should be stronger than Supergirl, the way he’s built, and how she’s built, just as he would be if neither of them had super strength. Same for a Kryptonian like Non or whatever Zod’s thug henchman’s name was in the 70’s movie. He’d likely be stronger than Superman.
“FINAL Answer”, Bob! š
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Whatever mechanism Kryptonian super-strength works by, it’s clearly not a function of muscle mass. Everyone from Superbaby to Krypto to the miniature members of the Superman Emergency Squad have been depicted performing Superman-level feats of strength. So Bob’s answer is consistent with the evidence. (And if you go by the Byrne reboot, it’s all just telekinesis anyway…)
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Nah. I’m not buying it. That doesn’t work for me. There’s plenty of “canon” that I consider B S. And I don’t spend my $ on it. I loved those characters, but I’ve missed chunks of their comics because of the poor or inane qualities & elements like that.
I switched to following comics pros over characters 3 decades ago. While Carlin was putting out 4 monthly Superman books, I preferred to get my fix through Morrison’s “JLA”, & even Moore’s “Supreme”. Both were way more satisfying than what was going on in his solo series.
So there’s tons of continuity & “canon” that actually diminishes the character for me.
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Well sure, it’s all made-up stuff anyway, and we all get to construct our own personal canon. But castigating poor Bob Rozakis because he didn’t tell you what you wanted to hear is a bit much. I never paid much attention to the “Answer Man” column anyway, since it seemed like 90% of the people who wrote in just wanted him to look up back issue prices in the Overstreet Guide (seriously, what was up with that?).
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Not according to Who’s Who the Definitive Directory of the DC Universe#22 ( December 1986 ) — Superman possesses vast superhuman strength. It has been theorized that he could easily lift the weight of the Great Pyramid of Egypt, were it possible to do so without destroying the structure. By force of will he can defy gravity and fly [ Superman#1 ( January 1987 ) -He can fly objects ( Like the lab on Page 5 ) ] — it isn’t all telekinesis. I know in Infinity Inc. the Golden Age Superman was stronger than Power Girl.
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The framework which seems reasonable is that “Super” is like a multiplier – an extremely large multiplier, but not an infinite multiplier. Thus Supergirl is not as strong as Superman, but that’s analogous to She-Hulk is not as strong as Hulk – both are still highly “super” strong. And that “Super” compares at relative levels. There’s been plenty of stories where it’s been shown that a powered Krypto can injure a powered Kryptonian, comparable to how an ordinary dog can injure an ordinary human. And direct fighting with e.g. Phantom Zone escapees is bruising or worse (I’ve always thought such a battle would logically be a brutal hand-to-hand bare-knuckles fight, since throwing boulders or trees would just be like foam or pillows – and this is why Krypto is very dangerous to Kryptonians, because his teeth are intrinsic cutting/puncture weapons).
But if Superbaby or slightly-enlarged Kandorians are only e.g. 1/100th as strong as Superman, that’s still a mind-boggling large number. It’s like the difference between lifting a 1000 million tons, and 10 million tons. If your wealth is 10 million dollars, that’s far from 1000 million dollars, but it’s still very rich.
Thus I think the answer to “How much weight can Superman move with his tongue” would be roughly how much he weight can move in general, divided by something like 500. Of course, nobody would want to pin down an exact number (I know, I know, it’s really whatever the plot requires). But whatever the value, it’s still an enormous amount.
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John & Seth, the new Answer Men!
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I forgot about this ( Doesn’t show who is stronger — but Kryptonian Dev-Em got bruises & was bleeding while fighting a number of Daxamites mind controlled by Darkseid. ) [ The Legion of Super-Heroes#294 ( December 1982 ) The Great Darkness Saga! ].
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If the Daxamites’ accent was similar to a Bostonian, they might say “Daxide”. š
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