DC Silver Age Classics: Action Comics Vol 1 252

"The Menace of Metallo": This story is reprinted fromAction Comics #252.

"The Menace of Metallo"

DC Silver Age Classics

April,1992

Synopsis for "The Menace of Metallo"

This story is reprinted fromAction Comics #252.

John Corben is an unscrupulous reporter that works in theMetropolis area. Aside from his mustache, Corben is practically the spitting image ofSuperman. While driving his car, Corben gets into a terrible accident and is nearly killed. His broken body is taken to the laboratory ofProfessor Vale who replaces Corben's failing limbs with a super-strong metallic alloy. He replaces his heart with a surrogate pump made ofUranium and covers the endoskeleton with a foam-latex sheathe resembling human skin. The operation is a success, but soon after, Professor Vale suffers from a mild stroke.

Dubbed "Metallo", Corben begins his new life – a life of crime. Metallo's Uranium heart will only last for one day before it needs to be replaced, so Metallo begins breaking into various facilities to steal more Uranium. Whenever he feels his Uranium stores running low, Metallo becomes weak and dizzy.

Corben gets a job at theDaily Planet and begins courtingLois Lane. Lois is enamored with Corben due to his physical resemblance to Superman – a fact that invariably irritates Clark Kent.

Professor Vale meanwhile, discovers thatGreen Kryptonite can work just as effectively at powering Metallo as Uranium, but with the added benefit that it will no longer need to be recharged. Metallo steals a Kryptonite rock from a local exhibition hall and has Vale implant it into his chest. Metallo learns that Kryptonite can also destroy Superman. Certain that Superman will likely try to arrest him for his recent crimes, Metallo decides to use the power of his Kryptonite heart to strike the first blow against the Man of Steel.

He baits a trap for Superman, but Superman manages to avoid exposure to Kryptonite and pursues Metallo. He chases him back to Lois Lane's apartment when suddenly Metallo begins to feel weak. What neither Vale nor Metallo realize was that the Kryptonite that had been used to power his heart was actually fake. It was nothing more than an ordinary rock painted green to resemble Kryptonite. Unable to recharge himself, Metallo falls over dead from a heart attack.

Appearing in "The Menace of Metallo"

Featured Characters:

• Superman

Supporting Characters:

• Jimmy Olsen
• Lois Lane
• Perry White

Antagonists:

• Metallo(First appearance)(Dies)

Other Characters:

• Professor Vale(First appearance)
• Edith
• Sherry Blair

Locations:

• Metropolis
  • Daily Planet

Items:

• Green Kryptonite
  

Synopsis for "Congo Bill Dies at Dawn!"

This story is reprinted fromAction Comics #252.

Congo Bill is leading an expedition into the desert and they are quickly in need of water. They stop at an oasis by Fort Devaux that Congo Bill knows, but he is suspicious, as there was no one to great them. About then they all begin to feel dizzy and drop over unconscious because the water was drugged. Some renegade mutineers planning to rob tourists have taken over, with Sgt. Hallix the leader. Bill, seemingly the leader of the caravan , is placed in a separate cell from the others, but they are all going to be executed by morning.

Once incarcerated and alone Bill rubs his ring, swapping minds with the mighty golden gorilla,Congorilla that fortunately is 30 minutes away at the jungle edge.The renegades notices the wild animal nature now possessing Congo Bill. Congorilla arrives and disarms may of the soilders, and some exclaimed “Nom d’un Nom” running from the gorilla. He bent a coconut palm back like a sapling launching the coconuts into the soldiers, dodging artillery fire, and still having enough time to lay himself out flat as a bridge to allow the one honest soldier, Gabin,to escape safely on a motorcycle for recruits.

He is able to scale the wall of the fort by tossing barrels of tar on their machine guns. With the intellect of Bill and the gorilla’s strength he takes out the rest like bowling pins with canon balls and frees the commandant and Sir Rupert from the caravan. Once no one was around, Bill in the gorilla’s body, rubs thering thus sending Bill back to his own body before Sir Rupert finds him in his cell. The gorilla heads back to the jungle and no one is the wiser

Appearing in "Congo Bill Dies at Dawn!"

Featured Characters:

• Congo Bill
• Congorilla

Antagonists:

• French Legion mutineers
  • Sergeant Hallix

Other Characters:

• Sir Rupert
• Corporal Gabin

Locations:

• Fort Devaux

Items:

• Kawolo's Magic Ring
  

Synopsis for "The Supergirl from Krypton!"

This story is reprinted fromAction Comics #252.

Clark Kent is working alone in his office one afternoon when he catches something out of the corner of his eye. Using his x-ray vision, he witnesses a purple colored rocket ship crash landing several miles away. Switching into his Superman costume, he flies off to investigate. When he arrives, he is shocked to discover that the rocket's sole occupant is anotherKryptonian – a young blonde-haired girl namedKara.

Kara tells Superman that her home town,Argo City was blasted free ofKrypton's destruction in a bubble of compressed air. The island soared through space as free-floating planetoid. Her father was a scientist namedZor-El who created a force field bubble around the city to contain the atmosphere and also coated the ground with sheets of lead to prevent traces ofKryptonite in the ground from poisoning the populace. Years later, when Kara was a teenager, a meteor shower in space penetrated the air bubble and tore through the lead shielding. In order to save his daughter from Kryptonite poisoning, Zor-El designed a space ship to rocket her away from the city. His wife learned of the existence of Earth, and its Kryptonian hero, Superman. They chose to send Kara to Earth so that she can be with one of her own.

Superman realizes that Kara's father, Zor-El, was the brother of his own father, making the two of them cousins. He is elated to find another Kryptonian but remorseful for the fact that like him, Kara is now an orphan.

Superman cannot take charge of Kara because he needs to protect his own secret identity. However, he flies her to the nearby town ofMidvale and registers her at theMidvale Orphanage. He provides her with a brown pig-tailed wig, and Kara chooses the name Linda Lee as her new Earth name. Superman promises to train Kara in her new super-powers, stating that this Supergirl will become his new secret weapon against fighting crime.

After Superman leaves, Kara settles in at the orphanage. She begins testing her new powers by cleaning her room with super-breath and fixing a bent iron bed leg with super-strength. She cannot wait for her first official adventure asSupergirl.

Appearing in "The Supergirl from Krypton!"

Featured Characters:

• Supergirl(First appearance)(Origin)

Supporting Characters:

• Superman
• Zor-El(Flashback only)(First appearance)
• Allura In-Ze(Flashback only)(First appearance)

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

• Miss Hart(First appearance)(headmistress at orphanage)
• Mister Dixon(First appearance)(headmaster at the orphanage)

Locations:

• Earth-One
  • Metropolis
    • Daily Planet
  • Midvale
    • Midvale Orphanage
• Krypton(Flashback only)
• Argo City(First appearance)(Flashback only)

Items:

• Anti-Kryptonite(First appearance; unnamed)(Flashback only)
• Space Telescope

Vehicles:

• Supergirl's rocket

Notes

• This comic incorrectly credited the inker of the cover image asStan Kaye, rather thanAl Plastino.
• This comic reprintsAction Comics #252. For further notes, see the original comic.

See Also

Recommended Reading

• Superman Recommended Reading

• Supergirl Recommended Reading

Links and References