- Okay – tryin' to kill me is one thing – but that was my only jacket! This means war!
- — Superboy
Adventures of Superman #501 is an issue of the series Adventures of Superman (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1993.
Synopsis for "The Adventures of Superman... When He Was a Boy!"
A group of thugs in a taxicab drive by the Superman memorial statue in Centennial Park and begin shooting at it with their guns. Soon after, they attempt to run down an attractive jogger, but a young boy claiming to be the man of steel intercepts them. Crushing the car, he steals a pair of trendy sunglasses from one of the goons and kisses the would-be victim before flying off.
In Suicide Slum, a homeless woman throws a satchel containing three puppies into the harbor. She cannot afford to feed them and would prefer to save them the pain of hunger by drowning them. Fortunately, Bibbo Bibbowski is nearby and dives into the water to save the puppies. He only manages to rescue one before they drown and decides to adopt it. He names it Krypton after the birth planet of his favorite hero, Sooperman.
Meanwhile, the young Superman arrives at the Daily Planet announcing his triumphant return. Lois Lane meets him and is hardly convinced that this is in fact the one, true Superman. This Super-boy begins to flirt with her until he sees a younger reporter, Tana Moon, leaving the Daily Planet building. He introduces himself to Tana and learns that she works for Vincent Edge at WGBS. Tana convinces Superboy to give her a talk-show exclusive interview and he finally broadcasts to the world that he is not the true Superman, but rather his clone. Lex Luthor discovers the news broadcast and summons Project Cadmus administrator, Carl Packard, to his office.
At Galaxy Communications, Vincent Edge develops a scheme to maintain exclusive rights to report on the new Superboy. He convinces Tana to stay close to the kid and keep abreast of all of his activities.
Superboy learns of a hostage situation taking place on Easy Street in the Suicide Slum district of Metropolis. The Intergang leader known as Steel Hand is laying siege to the city and Superboy is the only hero powerful enough to stop him. Superboy zooms in, destroys all of Steel Hand's weapons and easily knocks him out with a swift blow to the jaw.
After the dust settles, the Metropolis Kid flies to a nearby rooftop where he finds Guardian of Project Cadmus waiting for him. Guardian does not approve of Superboy's reckless behavior, but admits that the kid is handling things far better than he had predicted.
Appearing in "The Adventures of Superman... When He Was a Boy!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Alice
- Bibbo Bibbowski
- Carl Packard
- Cat Grant
- Guardian (Jim Harper)
- Jimmy Olsen
- Jonathan Kent
- Krypto (Earth dog) (First appearance)
- Lex Luthor
- Lois Lane
- Martha Kent
- Tana Moon (First appearance)
- Vincent Edge
- Whit
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Briscoe (Single appearance)
- Deke (Single appearance)
- Gordon (Single appearance)
- Sal (Single appearance)
- Tony (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Metropolis
- New Troy
- Suicide Slum
- Easy Street
- Silk Glove Club
- Easy Street
- Kansas
Items:
- Superman Memorial Statue
Vehicles:
Notes
- Despite Superboy's claim to the name, Superman does not make an appearance in this issue.
- This comic book is triangle #15 for the year 1993.
- This comic book is part of the Reign of the Supermen! story-arc continuing throughout all four concurrent Superman titles.
- This issue was published as both a direct market edition and a newsstand edition. The direct market edition featured a die-cut cover enhancement and a centerfold poster of Super
boyman. The newsstand edition cost .45 cents less and did not feature a cover enhancement. - First appearance of Tana Moon. Tana will become a recurring character in the Superboy ongoing comic book series.
- This issue is reprinted in Superman: The Return of Superman and Superman: Reign of the Supermen.
Trivia
- Superboy acquires his trademark sunglasses and leather jacket in this issue.
- There is a newspaper article pinned to the front of Lois' desk, which reads: "Ordway to sponsor Batson Expedition". Ordway is of course named after writer/artist, Jerry Ordway and the Batson Expedition is a reference to one of Ordway's upcoming comic book projects, the The Power of Shazam!.
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Superboy (Kon-El) Recommended Reading
- Superman Recommended Reading
- Action Comics (Volume 1)
- Action Comics (Volume 2)
- Adventures of Superman (Volume 1)
- Batman/Superman (Volume 1)
- Batman/Superman (Volume 2)
- Batman/Superman: World's Finest (Volume 1)
- DC Comics Presents (Volume 1)
- Superman (Volume 1)
- Superman (Volume 2)
- Superman (Volume 3)
- Superman (Volume 4)
- Superman (Volume 5)
- Superman (Volume 6)
- Superman/Batman (Volume 1)
- Superman Confidential (Volume 1)
- Superman: Son of Kal-El (Volume 1)
- Superman: The Man of Steel (Volume 1)
- Superman: The Man of Tomorrow (Volume 1)
- Superman/Wonder Woman (Volume 1)
- World's Finest (Volume 1)
Links and References
Previous Superman #78 |
Superman Triangle Numbers |
Next Action Comics #688 |