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"Lois Lane: "Target of the Tarantula"": Lois Lane encounters a vigilante that calls himself the Tarantula. The vigilante is determined to eliminate members of the mob using execution style tactics. Lois works in conjunction with the S.I.A. to apprehend the criminal. While on the case, Lois se

Quote1 Some patterned himself that the hero of that old television series... right down to the cap and boots! Metropolis has a real live Tarantula on the loose, executing criminals in cold blood! Quote2
Lois Lane

Superman Family #169 is an issue of the series Superman Family (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1975.

Synopsis for Lois Lane: "Target of the Tarantula"

Lois Lane encounters a vigilante that calls himself the Tarantula. The vigilante is determined to eliminate members of the mob using execution style tactics. Lois works in conjunction with the S.I.A. to apprehend the criminal. While on the case, Lois seems to be talking to an invisible entity that she calls Simon. Clark Kent follows Lois to find out who she is secretly talking to while she goes about her daily routine. At one point Lois discovers that the Tarantula is actually a fictitious TV character. She visits the home of super fan Gerald Lester who wrote several fan letters to the TV station while the Tarantula show was still on the air. Lois meets with Gerald’s parents, but they inform her that their 22-year-old son Gerald never leaves his room. Mr Lester informs Lois that he is a retired detective and that he feels that the mobsters got what they deserve. Lois leaves and the retired couple admits that their son has been missing for the past week. They wonder if their son is can really be the Tarantula. In the meantime, Clark discovers that Lois has been using a secret telephone line and traces it back to S.I.A. headquarters. He learns that Lois has been acting as a secret undercover agent for the past six months. He also learns that she was involved with a deceased agent named Simon Cross who was killed in the line of duty. Superman reasons that this is the same Simon that Lois keeps talking to in her conversations. Superman then uses a Kryptonian Ectoplasmic Exorciser to summon the ghost of Simon Cross. The ghostly figure appears in Clarks apartment and accuses Superman of jealousy. The two converse while Lois tracks down Tarantulas whereabouts to a remote cabin in Spencer Valley. She immediately locates Gerald and is shocked to find that he is not really the Tarantula. It turns out that the Tarantula is actually Gerald’s father Mr Lester. He had taken up the mantle of the Tarantula to continue fighting crime after he lost his private detective license. Lester had inadvertently used his son to make him the center of suspicion while he continued his murderous actions. Lester is then about to kill Lois by shooting her with his gun when Superman makes a sudden appearance. He subdues the vigilante and explains that he was worked in conjunction with the ghost of Simon to rescue her. Simon’s ghostly figure appears and admits that he realizes that Lois is still in love with Superman. The ghost then disappears forever leaving Superman and Lois behind.

Appearing in Lois Lane: "Target of the Tarantula"

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  • Superman
  • Simon Cross (As a spirit) (Final appearance)

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  • Secret Intelligence Agency (S.I.A.)
    • Chief
  • Gerold Lester (Frank's son) (Single appearance)
  • Mabel Lester (Frank's wife) (Single appearance)
  • Metropolis Police Department

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Synopsis for Jimmy Olsen: "The League of Fantastic Superman"

This story is reprinted from Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #63.

Four Kandorian criminals gas the population of Kandor into unconsciousness and escape from the city's bottle. But Jimmy Olsen, visiting in the Fortress of Solitude, uses a Red Kryptonite ray on them, and thus gives the four of them outlandish-appearing heads. Later, the four Kandorians are captured by members of the Legion of Super-Villains who imitate them as part of a plot to free the Phantom Zone villains, but Jimmy, Supergirl, and the Superman robots capture them instead.

Appearing in Jimmy Olsen: "The League of Fantastic Superman"

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Synopsis for Supergirl: "The Anti-Supergirl Plot!"

This story is reprinted from Action Comics #350.

Linda Danvers is attending a party and watching a band of performers called "The Heroes" who disguise themselves as Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Batman, and Supergirl. However, the band is a front for a gang of thieves that case mansions while their audience is distracted with their solo singer.

After two consecutive instances of a mansion being plundered after a "The Heroes" performance, Linda grows suspicious. As Supergirl, Kara interrogates Kim Lorne, the Supergirl-costumed solo singer, and learns Kim believed her band were honest musicians, but she has just found out they are crooks, and they have threatened to harm her parents if she goes to the police.

Supergirl has the idea to impersonate Kim. Later, during another gig in the Metropolis Atlethic Club, Kara delivers an amazingly good performance as the gang cases the club, and the gang leader "Fingers" Cooley grows suspicious. Later Supergirl attacks them when they are sneaking into the place, but Cooley immobilizes her with a piece of Green Kryptonite stolen during their latest heist. Supergirl accidentally collapses against the light switch and blacks out the room.

The gang turns the light back on and they are going to finish their heist when they are ambushed by the real Justice League. Then Kim takes off her disguise and reveals she noticed the missing piece of Kryptonite when she was looking in their hideout for evidence. Realizing Cooley was setting a trap, she put on her Supergirl disguise and rushed to the Club. She was the one who put out the light and then swtiched places with Supergirl. Supergirl was still too weak to move so the summoned the real JL.

Appearing in Supergirl: "The Anti-Supergirl Plot!"

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  • The Heroes (Single appearance)
    • "Batman"
    • "Green Arrow"/"Fingers" Cooley
    • "Green Lantern"
    • "Supergirl"/Kim Lorne

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Synopsis for Superboy: "Krypto's Mean Master!"

This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #269.

When Superboy reprimands Krypto for playing super-pranks, the Dog of Steel goes into space and finds a new super-powered master in Solar Boy, who turns out to be a sadistic tormentor of the dog, depriving Krypto of his powers through the same solar ray machine that empowers him. However, Krypto is able to trick one of Solar Boy's robot housekeepers into damaging the machine so that his powers are restored, and then thoroughly demolishes the machine before returning to Earth, having learned a valuable lesson about how lucky he is to have a compassionate master.

Appearing in Superboy: "Krypto's Mean Master!"

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  • Solar Boy (Single appearance)

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Synopsis for Superboy: "Clark Kent's Super-Dad"

This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #236.

A strange power-rod Superboy brings back from a dead planet gives Jonathan Kent super-powers, and he assumes the secret identity of Strongman to help his foster son.

Appearing in Superboy: "Clark Kent's Super-Dad"

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  • None

Synopsis for Bizarro: "The Good Deeds of Bizarro-Luthor!"

This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #293.

When Bizarro No. 1 and his family are exiled from Htrae for making something perfect--the "S" symbol on the Bizarros' shirts--he creates a Bizarro-Luthor with the imperfect duplicating ray to help him regain his status. The Bizarro-Luthor is as noble as the real Luthor is evil, so he demands Bizarro do three good deeds before he will help. Grudgingly, Bizarro does the deeds, and Luthor gives him the idea he really needed: mass-produce Bizarro shirts with the "S" symbol backwards. With the terrible fashion misstatement now corrected, the Bizarros welcome their first family back to Htrae, and Luthor is honored with a pie in the face.

Appearing in Bizarro: "The Good Deeds of Bizarro-Luthor!"

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  • Superman (Cameo)
  • Danny (Single appearance)

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Notes

  • "Target of the Tarantula": This story is set six months after the last Lois Lane story, in Superman Family #166.



See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

Superboy Vol 4 69
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