Action Comics Vol 1 256
From DC Database
Calm down, Lois! You wouldn't look good with a... er... swelled head like the Ultra-Superman!
- -- Clark Kent
Appearing in "The Superman of the Future!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- Dirk Folgar (a foreign assassin)
Other Characters:
- Captain Saunders (a US Navy submarine captain)
- Professor Wright (a famous scientist)
- The President of the United States
Locations:
- Metropolis
- Professor Wright's laboratory
- Bay Bridge
- Washington, D.C.
Items:
- Kryptonite
- Time-Cabinet
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "The Superman of the Future!"
A number of reporters have gathered to witness Professor Wright test his Time-Cabinet - a time travel device. Superman has agreed to help test the invention and seemingly disappears when the professor sends him to the year 100,000 A.D. When the Man of Steel reappears, his head is much larger and his fingers are longer - this man claims he is the Superman of the future and that he is taking the place of his contemporary counterpart for a day. He tells everyone present that he has come to the past in order to prevent four disasters from coming to pass.
The first three disasters come to pass as ordained, and all who were present during the Time-Cabinet display travel with this Ultra-Superman to see if he can prevent the disasters from happening. All three times he fails to stop the disaster from happening, proving to himself that he cannot change the past revealing that the final disaster is the assassination of the President of the United States.
When the intended assassination occurs, the culprit Dirk Folgar, exposes himself as a spy when it turns out the Future-Superman was the only one riding the car and was uninjured. The Ultra-Superman turns out to be the modern day Superman, and that the whole Time-Cabinet display as a hoax perpetuated by Superman with the aid of Professor Wright to expose the spy, and that all the three previous disasters were additional hoaxes that were prepared by Superman. With Folgar's plot foiled, he is arrested by the police.
Appearing in "Janu, the Joker of the Jungle!!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- None
Other Characters:
- Harold (a movie director)
- Percy Pierce (a child actor)
Locations:
- Unknown
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "Janu, the Joker of the Jungle!!"
- Synopsis not yet written.
Appearing in "The Great Supergirl Mirage!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Dick Wilson (see Notes) (First appearance)
- Superman (Behind the scenes)
Villains:
- None
Other Characters:
- None
Locations:
- Midvale
- Midvale Hospital
- Midvale Orphanage
Items:
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "The Great Supergirl Mirage!"
While secretly flying over Midvale, Supergirl begins to practice using her super-powers in secret so that she can be useful to Superman in the future. Believing that she is high enough to be unseen, she is unaware that fellow orphan Dick Wilson has taken her picture with an "eagle eye" camera lens. After finishing some super-feats she returns to the orphanage unaware that the snooping Wilson had noted that a essay that is due that afternoon is unfinished by Supergirl's civilian identity, Linda Lee. Realizing that the report is due, she uses her super-speed to finish writing the essay, arousing Dick's suspicions about her, Linda dismisses them by suggesting that what he saw was an unfinished draft.
Linda realizes that she now has her own version of Lana Lang, when Dick develops his photograph and realizes that he took a picture of a flying girl (and not a bird as he originally thought.) Suspicious that Linda is really this Supergirl, Dick tries different methods of exposing her secret identity. His first attempt, using a dummy of himself being thrown off a cliff fails when Linda sees through this plot, but when she tries to use her x-ray vision to witness the spectacle, they accidentally set the dummy ablaze. Linda covers her tracks by bringing in a thunder cloud which strikes the dummy with a lightning bolt, which eliminates Dick's certainty about Supergirl's identity.
His next trick is using a set of prop dumbbells and real weights hoping to trick Linda into thinking that what is supposed to be a prop is a real weight, thereby exposing the fact that she has super strength. Also seeing through this ploy, Linda cruses a chunk of coal into a diamond and uses her super breath to secretly bore out the insides of the weights, making them as light as the props, once more throwing Dick's exposé off.
Finally, to set matters at ease, Superman (learning of Linda's plight) has a Supergirl robot built to cover for her and explain the existence of a "Supergirl" by having it put on a public show for the kids before departing.
Notes
- Superman appeared last in the first story of World's Finest Comics #104. He appears next in the first story of Superman (Volume 1) #132.
- Lois Lane appeared last in the third story of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #39. She appears next in the first story of Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #12.
- The President of the United States is drawn with his face obscured. Assuming no change in administration occurred, this is the same person that appeared in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #38.
- Congo Bill appeared last in the second story of Action Comics #255. He appears next in the second story of Action Comics #257.
- Congorilla appeared last in the second story of Action Comics #255. He appears next in the second story of Action Comics #257.
- Janu appeared last in the second story of Action Comics #255. He appears next in the second story of Action Comics #257.
- Supergirl appeared last in the third story in Action Comics #255. She appears next in the second story of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #40.
- Dick Wilson is the same character as Dick Malverne. He appears next in the second story of Action Comics #282.
Trivia
- When Lois asks if he could travel through time under his own power, Superman confirms that he can.
- The year is mentioned to be 1959 several times in the first story.
- One TV network in the city of Metropolis is WMXTV.
Reprints
- "The Superman of the Future" is reprinted in Superman (Volume 1) Annual #3.
- "The Great Supergirl Mirage" is reprinted in Adventure Comics #390 and Best of DC #17.
Related Articles
- Superman image gallery
- Superman appearances list
- Superman quotes page
- Superman Rogues Gallery
- Lois Lane image gallery
- Lois Lane appearances list
- Lois Lane quotes page
- Supergirl image gallery
- Supergirl appearances list
- Supergirl quotes page
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- Action Comics series index at the Grand Comics Database
- Wikipedia:Superman article at Wikipedia
- Superman article at Supermanica
- Superman article at Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics
- Superman article at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- Superman article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Congo Bill article at Wikipedia
- Congo Bill article at Supermanica
- Congo Bill article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Congo Bill article at Mike's Amazing World of DC
- Congo Bill article at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- Congorilla article at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- Lois Lane article at Wikipedia
- Lois Lane article at Supermanica
- Lois Lane article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Lois Lane article at Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics
- Supergirl article at Wikipedia
- Supergirl article at Toonopedia
- Supergirl article at Supermanica
- Supergirl article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Supergirl article at Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics
- Supergirl page at DC Comics
- Supergirl page at Kara Lives
- Notes/Appearances]]
