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"Superman: The Super-Powers of Perry White!": This story is reprinted from Action Comics #278.

Superman #227 is an issue of the series Superman (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1970. It was published on April 14, 1970.

Synopsis for "Superman: The Super-Powers of Perry White!"

This story is reprinted from Action Comics #278.

While out relaxing in his garden, Perry White spots a strange alien plant growing in his yard. Perplexed by its appearance, he none-the-less eats one of its fruits and goes about his business. Later that day he has trouble opening his safe when suddenly he gains super-human strength and rips the door right off its hinges. Perry initially dismisses the situation as a fluke, but later on he realizes he's gained powers similar to that of Superman, including super strength, flight and x-ray vision. Later while supervising a color photo shoot of fake Kryptonite, Perry wonders if he has the same weaknesses as the Man of Steel.

Curious to know, Perry fashions a costumed identity and calls himself Masterman (being careful to line his mask with lead to protect his identity even to Superman) and go out to test his powers and learn their weaknesses. Flying into space, Perry learns that he is immune to the power of Kryptonite and returns to Earth and appears in the public as Masterman. Returning to his civilian guise, he gloats to himself over how the Daily Planet staff is stumped over Masterman's true identity. When Jimmy Olsen makes up a lame excuse to get off work so that he can see a baseball game, Perry sees through the lie when his x-ray vision spots baseball tickets in his pocket. Perry catches Jimmy by allowing him to take the time off, but states that he is going to have to cover the game himself.

When a lion escapes from the Metropolis Zoo, both Clark Kent and Perry White excuse themselves to change into their respective secret identities. While changing into Superman, Clark uses his x-ray vision and spies on Perry changing into Masterman, learning his identity. Deciding to investigate how Perry got these powers, Superman watches as Masterman recaptures the lion and returns to his home. Spying on Perry with his x-ray vision, Superman is shocked to find that Perry has been taken over by an alien plant lifeform called Xasnu, who contacts his masters on his home world and reports back to tell them that the only way their invasion of Earth can succeed is if they eliminate Superman.

As Xasnu researches everything there is to know about Superman, the Man of Steel contrives a countermeasure to stop the alien being. First, he sends Supergirl out on a mission into space while he hypnotizes himself to not feel pain when exposed to Kryptonite. Back at the Daily Planet as Clark Kent, Superman allows Perry to spy his Superman costume with his x-ray vision. When Perry attempts to expose Clark to Kryptonite when he calls Clark, Lois and Jimmy into the office, Clark's hypnotic suggestion prevents him from showing pain.

Going to his Fortress of Solitude as Superman, Clark puts on his lead Kryptonite-proof armor and waits for Masterman to track him down. Armed with a sword and spear made out of Kryptonite, Superman battles Masterman, ultimately disarming him, however his lead suit is destroyed, and the Bottle City of Kandor is seemingly destroyed. Before the fight can continue any further, Supergirl arrives with a chunk of White Kryptonite. The Kryptonites power to kill plant life causes the spores of Xasnu inside Perry to die, ending the creatures control over the newspaper editor. Going to Perry's home, Superman destroys the rest of Xasnu. When Perry revives he has no memory past the point when Xasnu took over his body.

Back at his Fortress of Solitude, Superman finds Supergirl saddened by Kandor's apparent destruction, however Superman reveals that the Bottle City that she saw destroyed was really a decoy and the real thing is still safe and sound in a secret hiding place.

Appearing in "Superman: The Super-Powers of Perry White!"

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  • Xasnu and Y'Trom

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Synopsis for "Superboy:The Great Kryptonite Mystery"

This story is reprinted from Superboy #58.

Superboy builds up an immunity to certain Kryptonite chunks through repeated exposure so that he may use them against Kryptonian criminals in the future.

Appearing in "Superboy:The Great Kryptonite Mystery"

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  • Kryptonian criminals
    • Kra-Lus (Single appearance)
    • Mar-No (Single appearance)
    • Eight unnamed others (Single appearance)

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Synopsis for "Superman: The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!"

This story is reprinted from Superman #157.

Phantom Zone prisoner Quex-Ul's 25-year sentence is up, and Superman releases him from the Zone, to which he was sent for allegedly killing the rondors and stealing their "healing horns" for use in a medical scam. Quex-Ul promises to destroy Superman with Gold Kryptonite, a new variety that Superman knows nothing about. They battle inconclusively when Quex-Ul calls a truce so that he can save a man whose life is endangered, which causes Superman to question Quex's criminal inclinations.

Superman travels back in time and space to pre-cataclysm Krypton. There he witnesses the real slayer of the rondors, Rog-Ar, using a hypno-jewel on Quex-Ul, who had intended to turn him in. Instead, Rog-Ar hypnotically compells Quex-Ul to operate his "hall of healing", to take the blame if exposed, and forget Rog-Ar.

Quex-Ul has trapped a submarine in an undersea crevice near the box of Gold Kryptonite, hoping to lure Superman into a trap. Quex-Ul boasts to Supergirl that he has trapped Superman, but she reveals the truth of his false imprisonment. Repentant, Quex-Ul frees the sub, exposing himself to the Gold Kryptonite which extinguishes his powers, and almost his life. When his body drifts far enough away from the Gold Kryptonite, Supergirl and Superman rescue him. Once conscious, Quex-Ul has amnesia from the Gold K exposure. Superman arranges with Perry White to have Quex-Ul, who thinks he is an Earthman, employed in the Daily Planet's production department.

Appearing in "Superman: The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!"

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  • Jor-El (On a TV or computer screen)
  • Kryptonian Science Police
  • Quex-Ul (First appearance)

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  • Locomotive
  • Submarine

Synopsis for "Superman: The Invasion of the Super-Ants"

This story is reprinted from Action Comics #296.

A colony of giant ants, mutated by a nuclear war on another planet, comes to Earth with a warning, and Superman uses Red Kryptonite radiation to give himself an ant's head in order to communicate with them.

Appearing in "Superman: The Invasion of the Super-Ants"

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  • Giant Ants
  • Colonel Larson (Single appearance)

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Synopsis for "Superman: Secret of Kryptonite Six!"

This story is reprinted from Action Comics #310.

Jax-Ur tricks Superman into taking him along on a mission back to old Krypton before its destruction, to gain a cure for an Atlantean plague--and, unknown to the Man of Steel, a form of crystal which is used to form Jewel Kryptonite.

Appearing in "Superman: Secret of Kryptonite Six!"

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Notes

  • An all reprint issue.



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