That's a Nasty Trick, Superman!!

Superman #207 was a 30th Anniversary issue for the character, which was as good of an excuse as any for yet another collection of reprints.  But that's okay, because it printed a story I didn't remember previously reading that actually showed some depth to the character:

Awesome.  This is the guy who should be the antagonist in Injustice: Gods Among Us.

I'm sure I've talked about this before, but just in case:

How does it work?  Well, I wrote "Anti-Kryptonite Belt" right ON it!  How ELSE would it work?

And now, another episode of Superman: International Thief:

This has been another episode of Superman: International Thief.

Don't you love how Lois is already looking towards the next gift?  Dames.

Let's finish with a Random Spanking! (tm!)

I love the lesson she teaches the kids about "luring them back with candy."  Nice parenting, Lois!

See you Monday!

The Short Sad Super-Saga of Q-Energy

Superman #204 not only had pretty good artwork, but it had an idea that someone probably thought was a good idea for a long-term plot device that quickly fizzled.

But before we get to that, let's have an episode of

Well.... That's Random. (tm!)

Well.... That's Random. (tm!)

So, anyway, the plot device in question was Q-Energy.  It apparently had the oomph to knock Superman clean out of the sky.  Thusly:

It also came in handy flame form:

So what was Q-Energy?

Well, first, let's remember that unless Superman has a big power advantage over you, he is terrible in hand-to-hand combat:

Just in case you had forgotten.

Anyhoo, Q-Energy was some energy that appeared in another dimension.  It affected Superman pretty much the same way Green Kryptonite does, and considering you can get Kryptonite in the form of a solid, liquid or gas, it was probably decided that Q-Energy just didn't bring much to the table.  It would appear one more time, 10 years later, in DC Comics Presents #1, when the stuff would be used to make a cage to hold Superman.  By that time, though, no one remembered or cared about it and the revitalization was short lived.  Kind of like Heroes Reborn is going to be.

One interesting thing about Q-Energy that made it different from Green K:

It was just as dangerous to human beings as it was to Superman.  I don't think that necessarily made it more attractive as a plot device, but that's different.

See you tomorrow!

In Which a Casual Sound Effect Results in Me Complaining About the Movie Career of Shaq

What do you see on this cover?  You know it!  Say it with me!

It's Random Ray Usage! (tm!)

But before we get to that sure-to-be-a-classic, I went through two other stories.  The first had these guys.  Guess what they called themselves?

Yes.  They were known as The Long Hair Gang.

I am not making that up.  Off to the Character Hall of Shame (tm!) with them!

Time for another episode of Lois Lane: Jerk. (tm!)

This has been another episode of Lois Lane: Jerk. (tm!)

Finally, we get to the Random Ray Usage (tm!), which not only thins the masthead at the old Daily Planet, but takes out an alien named Knarff.

Again, not joking.  But how about that sound effect?

Thusly:

Yes.  That happened. And we let it happen.

We also let this happen:

Yes.  That was Shaq as the title character in the movie version of Steel, which made Kazaam look like Citizen Kane.

Anyway.  Ready for the plot twist?

It was all a dream.... or WAS it? (tm!)

Yeah, it was all a dream.

Robert Gillis found a bit of Fun with Out of Context Dialogue (tm!) that I had missed from the School for Assassins story I covered the other day:

Well, if you fail oral, you're probably gonna take it out an android if one is nearby.  Nobody wants to fail oral.

That was totally Robert Gillis's fault.

See you tomorrow!

In Which Bizarro Superman Fights... Well, I'm Not Going to Spoil It. IT'S AWESOME!

Superman #202 was nothing more than reprints of Bizarro stories from Adventure Comics gone by.

In other words, Superman #202 was awesome.

I loves me some Bizarro.  I can't make many comments because these comics aren't supposed to make sense, but I cannot deny their glory.

I love that little melee between the kids that takes place for no particular reason.  Good stuff!

I would swear that happened to me at least once.  I went to public schools.

Hmmmm... I'm not sure if we're still in Bizarro World or if we're at a United States Post Office.  More particularly, one of them in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Yeah.  I don't like my local Post Offices.  They've disappointed me too many times.

Hey!  Could it be??

It is!

BIZARRO FIGHTS TITANO!!!!

Can't... handle... all... the... awesomeness.

Hey!  It's time for a Random Spanking! (tm!)

Psyche!  Nope!  We were Bizzaroed!  AWESOME!

Check out this thing:

Just in case your kids weren't totally into witchcraft after playing with that Ouji Board.

Here's a picture of the thing I swiped:

Happy Birthday, Junior!  The store was out of chemistry sets, so I thought I'd introduce you to the occult!

See you tomorrow!

In Which Superman Just Gives Up and Takes His Own Powers Away

So, I'm reading Superman #201 and you'd think, what with this being the 201st issue, that this would be a start of a whole new era for the title.

You'd think.

Yes, Clark is cutting out the middleman and just putting himself in a situation where he has no powers.

But, to be fair, he first fights a giant forearm:

Okay, that's pretty awesome, but I'd think the creature would take a lot of eye injuries, considering the location and whatnot.

Anyway, Clark leaves Earth because of guilt over this:

Well, to be fair, the guy would have been a goner if he had stuck around because we all know that no one learns Superman's secret and lives.  The guy might not have been crushed a boulder, but he certainly would have fallen off something.  Something tall.

This was mildly interesting.  And by "mildly interesting," I mean "complete and utter shenanigans:"

So, Superman has lost his "super brain," but he's still able to create a fully functioning robot that borders on sentience.  Hmmph.

But the rest of the story is pretty consistent with what we expect to see in what is all-too-common plot device in Superman Comics:

Kromn would probably just say, "You mean I beat up Superman who didn't have his powers.  Wow, that puts me at a physical prowess level of Lex Luthor."

Finally:

You know, I did miss that issue and I've got to say that there have been times things didn't go just swimmingly for me.  I'm starting to see the connection.

See you tomorrow!