DC Special #18 is an issue of the series DC Special (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1975.
Synopsis for Superman: "The Super-Human Bomb!"
This story is reprinted from Action Comics #342.
Grax attacks Brainiac in space. He steals Brainiacs Force Shield in hopes of using it to attack Superman on Earth. Clark immediately detects an alien capsule in the sky above Metropolis and flies out to investigate. While he is examining the capsule, a bomb attaches itself to his utility belt. He then hears the voice of Grax as he explains that the device around his waist is actually a K-Meson bomb that is capable of destroying the entire planet. Grax has further encased the planet in Braniacs force shield to prevent Superman from leaving earth and detonating the bomb in space. Grax goes on to explain that the bomb will detonate in 24 hours and annihilate all of Supermans loved ones. Superman enlists the help of top scientists all over the world to figure out how to remove the bomb but the situation is hopeless. The clock ticks down and Superman realizes he is defeated. He contacts Grax and offers to let himself be destroyed in exchange for sparing the Earth but he does not respond and only gloats at his accomplishment. In the meantime, Brainiac has revived from his attack and realizes that he has to help Superman in order to snatch away Grax’s greatest triumph. Brainiac mentally instructs Superman to take a giant magnet to attract Grax’s spaceship and hold it in place next to the force shield. The bomb will still explode but at least the blast will dispose of Grax as well. Realizing that he too will perish, Grax instructs Superman on how to penetrate the force shield and jump into his ship. The ship flies into space and the bomb detonates. Grax escapes harm by turning himself into an immaterial phantom and Superman saves the earth with the assistance of his arch enemy Brainiac.
Appearing in Superman: "The Super-Human Bomb!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Grax (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- World Experts
- Bomb Disposal Experts
- Locksmiths
- Professor Potter
- Scientists
- Perry White (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Red Sun
- Solar System
- Earth
- Earth's Core
- Marianas Trench
- Challenger Deep
- Metropolis
- Daily Planet
- Metropolis Observatory
- Earth
Items:
- Force Field
- Giant Super-Magnet
- H-Bomb
- K-Meson Bomb
- Grax's Robots (Flashback only)
- Mushroom Cloud
- Space Transfer Beam
Vehicles:
- Brainiac's Space Saucer
- Grax's Spacecraft
- Missiles
- Space Capsule
- Space Lifeboat
Synopsis for Green Lantern: "Catastrophic Crimes of Major Disaster
This story is reprinted from Green Lantern (Volume 2) #43.
Hal Jordan and Barry Allen are both shocked when they learn that both Carol Ferris and Iris West have found out their secret identities. Having Flash bring Iris to Coast City so that they can have a double date with Carol and Green Lantern, their date is soon interrupted by an earthquake created by the new criminal Major Disaster. While the Flash saves civilians, Green Lantern goes after Major Disaster, however Disaster manages to escape. Hal realizes that the the secret of their identities might have come out if somebody had read Pieface's secret case book, deducing that although he blanked out Pieface's mind to never remember Flash's secret identity, he never thought to condition the case book to shield his and Flash's secret identities to anybody else.
Checking at Pieface's home, they find that book has indeed been looked at by somebody other than Pieface. Dusting it for finger prints, the two heroes turn it over to the police for analyzing the finger prints. When they return to Hal's dressing room so that Hal can recharge his power ring, the two heroes are shocked to find that their powers have switched. Returning back to the police station, they learn that there are two sets of prints, one belonging to Pieface, and the other to a Paul Booker.
Using his Green Lantern-like powers, Flash tracks down the location of Paul Booker to Major Disaster's hideout. While the heroes are on their way, Major Disaster boasts about how he learned of the heroes identities one night when he had broken into Pieface's home to escape the police and came across his Green Lantern case book by stroke of luck. When Major Disaster sends meteors to crash into Coast City, the two heroes go to stop Disaster. Taking the fight to him, and switching their powers back, the heroes make it to Major Disasters lair. Disaster is about to activate one of his devices, but in his hurry to destroy Green Lantern and Flash, he forgets to put on his insulated gloves and electrocutes himself and seemingly dies. Afterwards, they find that the people of Coast City have suddenly forgot all the events of the day, including Carol and Iris who no longer know their secret identities. Hal and Barry surmise that it was probably due to the meteors which Major Disaster attempted to use against them. The two heroes then resume their normal lives, knowing that their identities are safe once more.
Appearing in Green Lantern: "Catastrophic Crimes of Major Disaster
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Major Disaster (First appearance)
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Coast City
- Central City
- Pineaire City
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Captain Marvel Battles the Atomic Fire"
This story is reprinted from Captain Marvel Adventures #122.
Billy Batson listens as a news flash announces that a big forest fire is raging out of control in the West. He quickly flies out as Captain Marvel and arrives to find a group of men attempting to save a mill from going up in flames from the oncoming fire. Captain Marvel spreads silver iodide powder over the clouds resulting in gushing sheets of rain. All seems well as the men celebrate their victory but they are soon surprised that the fire is still spreading. The mill burns to the ground and the owner John Jackson is beside himself with grief especially now that the fire threatens the remaining trees in the forest. Captain Marvel is still puzzled as to how the fire burns in spite of the rain. A man by the name of professor Kane arrives on the scene and announces that he is an expert in scientific fire fighting. He states that the fire they are fighting is actually an Atomic fire which burns atoms and everything on Earth including water. He also reveals that he has been offering his services to Jackson for over a year but he was too foolish to take him up on the offer. Jackson begs Kane to stop that fire which Kane agrees to do but at a high price. Kane instructs Captain Marvel to spread a canister of foam over the flames but it has no effect on the fire. The men are horrified to learn that there is no way to put out the fire and this could mean the end of the world. Marvel tries to smother the flames by dropping a mountain and a glacier on it but it only adds more fuel and the flames continue to spread. Hope is bleak and Kane confesses that it was he who set the fire in the first place, Captain Marvel reveals that he suspected Kane all along and flies him to jail. He tells Kane that he has figured out a way to stop the flames but was waiting for his admission of guilt. Marvel proceeds to fly back to the fire and cuts out the 100 mile section of land that is burning. He takes the burning circular section and flies it out to space where he hurls it at the sun thus saving the Earth. Captain Marvel then brings in an iron meteor and places it on Jacksons land to fill the void he cut out. This way Jackson will have the means to open an Iron mine and continue his livelihood.
Appearing in "Captain Marvel Battles the Atomic Fire"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
See Also