- O, great Caesar! Forgive me! I never intended to offend you! P-please don't punish me for saying "Great Caesar's ghost" all these years!
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #10 is an issue of the series Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1959.
Synopsis for "The Cry-Baby of Metropolis!"
Lois Lane has a fitful dream wherein she tampers with one of Superman's inventions after he warned her not too and he breaks off their relationship. Waking up and looking in the mirror, Lois notices that she is starting to show signs of age, and wonders if there is anyway to get rid of her wrinkles.
Later that day she and Superman are seeing Professor Lockhart, a man who has invented a machine that can reduce the age of whatever it's exposed too. His machine succeeds in reducing a full grown chicken down to the age of a chick. While Superman and Lockhart are examining the results of the experiment, Lois decides to use it on herself to get rid of some of her wrinkles. She is later shocked to see Lockhart's chicken has regressed in age to the point where it's an egg again, however the results are reversed thanks to Superman's x-ray vision.
Lois decides not to mention anything so that she doesn't get Superman mad at her for disobeying him and thinks nothing will happen. However, much to Lois' surprise she wakes up and finds that her age has regressed further, reducing her age to 16 years. Lois hopes to trick Superman into using his x-ray vision so that she can be cured without telling him what she has done. She goes to a teen dance that is hosted by Superman and attempts to get Superman to use his x-ray vision to count a jar full of jelly beans, however Superman refrains from using his x-ray vision and instead counts the beans via super-mathematics.
Returning to her apartment, Lois finds that her age has regressed further and she is now 12 years of age. Dressing up as a Tenderfoot to be at another Superman appearance, she asks Superman to help her light a fire. However, the Man of Steel only agrees to do so if she does a good deed for the day. She tries to find the Tenderfoot mascot, a cat, but fails by finding a skunk instead. Although she failed, Superman agrees to help her anyway, and lights her fire by rubbing two sticks together.
Now having de-aged to 8 years, Lois attempts once more to get Superman to use his x-ray vision by pretending to be lost and being taken to the police station. There she locks herself in a safe knowing the police will call in Superman to open it. Sure enough, when Superman does, he finds an infant Lois Lane waiting for him inside. He decides to take the baby to Lana Lang's place while they try and find the baby's mother.
Lois is furious at being trapped in a baby's body, and worse that she is under the care of the woman who she is in competition for Superman's affections. After a time, Superman finally lets in that he's know it was Lois all along as the device took her picture, and the line about how only Superman's x-ray vision being the only way to cure her was a hoax to teach her not to be so impulsive. He explains to her that there is an antidote and delivers one final humiliation: she has to drink it out of a baby bottle.
Appearing in "The Cry-Baby of Metropolis!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Professor Lockhart (Single appearance)
- Teenagers (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
- Girl Scouts (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
- Troop Leader (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
- Citizens of Metropolis (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
- Metropolis Police Department
- Officer (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
- Sarge (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Metropolis
- Lois Lane's Apartment
- Metropolis Research Laboratory
- Metropolis Police Department
- Lana Lang's Residence
- Smallville (Mentioned only)
Items:
- "Youth Ray" Machine
- Daily Planet Newspaper
- Youth "Reversing" Antidote
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Lois Lane's Romeo!"
At the wedding of one of her co-workers, Lois Lane ends up catching the bouquet, and remarks that she'll become an old maid before Superman finally proposes to her. The next day at the Daily Planet, Lois and Clark are assigned to cover the Roman Film Festival where Superman is supposed to appear as a guest of honor with movie star Gina Loretti to be part of the welcoming committee. Lois is instantly worried that the bomb-shell movie actress will be able to win the Man of Steel's heart.
When they arrive in Rome and Lois spies Gina Loretti arriving at the airport, it takes a gigantic blow to her confidence and leaves her to decide to opt out of covering the event, letting Clark cover it alone. Changing into Superman, Clark realizes that Lois is worried that the Man of Steel might fall for a movie star, even though he has no interest in Gina or any other star, but is glad Lois is not going, as it allows him to be Superman without worrying about his double identity.
When Superman arrives at the festival, Gina greets him with a romantic kiss. Lois meanwhile is being shown around the city by a guide who takes her past a shop window where she spies a painting that resembles her. Wanting to buy the picture, she demands the shop owner to tell her who the artist is. He points out the saddened Dino Del Monaco, and Lois is taken to the handsome man and is instantly taken by his good looks and gentlemanly demeanor. The charming Dino then takes Lois back to his loft where he shows her that he has dozens of paintings based on her, having apparently seen her in his dreams.
When Superman returns to Lois' apartment, he finds a note for Clark telling him that she has fallen in love with Del Monaco and plans to spend the next few days touring Venice with him. Knowing that Lois' impulsive behavior might get her in trouble, Superman decides to keep an eye on her. When rain threatens the couple's boat ride on the Grand Canal, Superman secretly blows the rain clouds away. When Dino attempts to paint a picture of Lois in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, an earthquake straightens the national monument. However, Superman secretly returns it to its renown leaning position before. There, Superman introduces himself to Del Manaco, who tells the Man of Steel that he and Lois intend to marry in Rome.
The following day, back in his guise of Clark Kent, Superman accompanies Lois and Dino to the festival's gladiatorial pageant. When a lion gets loose, Clark lours it away from sight and knocks it out. When the creature tears his normal clothing revealing his Superman costume underneath, Clark quickly changes into a Roman toga before anyone can see him in his iconic costume.
Before the wedding, Lois happens down the street near the shop where she bought Dino's first painting. There, she spies a blonde woman finding a picture of herself in the shop window. Following the blonde woman in secret, she sees Dino meet her and say the exact same things that he had told Lois only days before. Upset, she tells Clark the situation and the two decide to snoop around Dino's loft once more. There, they see a series of portraits based on women that Dino had photographed. Spying on Dino as his new woman has bought him a piano, she overhears Dino explaining his plot to move to America to live in rich idleness. Lois then smashes a painting over his head, revealing to him that she has learned the truth.
Walking away, Clark introduces Lois to the woman who was Dino's next "victim", who is in reality Gina Loretti in disguise who agreed to help Clark when he originally suspected Dino of being a crook. Back in Metropolis, as Superman paints a portrait of Lois at super-speed, Lois wonders how Clark may have guessed that Dino was a crook, unaware that it was Superman's x-ray vision that revealed a single tell-tale clue: That the paint on the paintings of Lois that were supposedly made days before Dino's first meeting with her, still had fresh paint.
Appearing in "Lois Lane's Romeo!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Julio (guide) (Single appearance)
- Dino Del Monaco (artist) (Single appearance)
- Lion
Other Characters:
- Girl Reporter (bride) (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
- Five Bachelorettes (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
- Gina Loretti (actress) (Single appearance)
- (also disguised as Felicia Farr)
- Art Salesman (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
- Gondolier (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
Locations:
- United States of America
- Metropolis
- Wedding Reception (Unnamed) (location)
- Daily Planet
- Perry White's Office
- Metropolis
- Europe
- Italy
- Pisa
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Rome
- Airport (Unnamed)
- Hotel (Unnamed)
- Clark Kent's Room
- Lois Lane's Room
- 1959 Roman Film Festival
- Trevi Fountain
- Art District
- Art Shop (Unnamed)
- Public Square
- Dino Del Monaco's Studio
- Roman Colosseum
- Film Festival's Gladiatorial Pageant
- Venice
- Grand Canal
- Milan (Mentioned only)
- Naples (Mentioned only)
- Switzerland (Mentioned only)
- Pisa
- Italy
Items:
- Daily Planet Newspaper
- Paintings
Vehicles:
- Gondola
Synopsis for "Lois Lane's Super-Séance!"
When Lois Lane and Clark Kent are on their way back to work from lunch, Lois spots "Mike the Moose" who is the right hand man to "Jinx" Hokey who was involved in a $200,000 heist at the Metropolis bank. Following him, they find that he is going to Madame Zabanga's Spirit Salon, a supposed medium who can read the future.
Lois sends Clark to watch the seance while she goes and checks on Madame Zabanga. She finds that the medium has fallen ill and in her usual impulsiveness takes the woman's place before anyone can stop her. Recognizing Lois, Clark secretly uses his super-powers to make it appear that "Zabanga" has control over the spirit world. The final feat, Clark uses super-ventriloquism to make Mike the Moose believe that he is being contacted by his dead partner Lucky Louie. "Lucky Louie" warns Mike that the armored car that he purchased is a dud. Convince that he is being contacted by his friend from beyond the grave, Mike goes to test these claims, unaware that Superman has rushed ahead and built a mock up of the car out of substandard material. When Mike lets loose on it with a Tommy Gun he is shocked to find that it's easily riddled with bullet holes and would have made him vulnerable to his enemies.
Quickly returning to his guise of Clark Kent, Superman agrees with Lois that the story would be worth printing in the Daily Planet. However when they propose the idea to Perry White, he will only agree to see it if he is contacted by Cesar's ghost. Sure enough when Lois puts on another seance, Clark secretly uses his x-ray vision to make the image of Cesar's ghost on display. This however, demoralizes Perry who goes to a statue of Cesar to beg for forgiveness leading Superman to once more create a phantom image of Cesar's ghost to reassure Perry that he can still evoke his name.
Returning to the parlor, Superman is shocked to see Lois putting on a seance without him, and somehow calling for the image of Lucky Louie for both Jinx and Mike, Superman waits back to see what happens. Sure enough it's a rival gang of crooks who are tricking Jinx and Mike to lead them to their loot so that they can steal it from them. With Superman tipped off of the loots location and of this double cross, he succeeds in capturing both groups of crooks.
Appearing in "Lois Lane's Super-Séance!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Jimmy Olsen (Unnamed) (Cameo)
- Perry White
- Superman
Antagonists:
- "Jinx" Hoxey (Single appearance)
- Mike the Moose (Single appearance)
- Rival Gang (Unnamed)
- Lady (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
- Three Men (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Madame Zabanga (Single appearance)
- Dimitri (Single appearance)
- Lady (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Single appearance)
- "Lucky Louie" (Mentioned only)
- Great Caesar (In picture only) (Statue only)
Locations:
- Metropolis
- Madame Zabanga Spirit Salon
- Junkyard
- Daily Planet
- Perry White's Office
- Municipal Park
- Gallery of History
- Canyon (outside Metropolis)
Items:
- Black Cat (Statue only) (Destroyed)
- Tommygun
- $200,000
- Daily Planet Newspaper
Vehicles:
Notes
- Buzzy says "Be sure of Your Facts!" public service advertisement.
- Shorty gag strip.
- Sgt. Route-Step O'Malley gag strip.
- Peg gag strip.
- A letter to the editor from Ralph Edwards thanking the staff concerning his appearance in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #9.
- The Cry-Baby of Metropolis! is reprinted in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane Annual #1 and Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #102.
- Lois Lane's Romeo! is reprinted in 80-Page Giant #3.
- Lois Lane appeared last in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #36. She appears next in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #38.
- Jimmy Olsen appeared last in Action Comics #253. He appears next in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #38.
- Lana Lang chronologically appeared last in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #41. Her next appearance takes place in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #11.
- Perry White appeared last in Superman #130. He appears next in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #38.
- Superman appeared last in Superman #130. He appears next in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #38.
Trivia
- In the Letters to Lois from Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #13 concerning The Cry-Baby of Metropolis!
- A reader mentioned that Superman's super-math on page 5 panel 3 was wrong! 20 x 16 x 10 doesn't equal 32,000 but 3,200. The editor's response was "Don't blame Superman's arithmetic-the guilt belongs to our letterer, who inadvertently added an extra cipher to the grand total."
- On page 7 panel 6 a reader mentioned when Lois went from a little girl to an infant inside a safe where did she get the diaper? The editor's response was "At an infants' wear store, of course."
See Also