Action Comics #274 (1961)
by Jerry Siegel & Jim Mooney
cover by Curt Swan
It’s hard to believe, but this time Superman’s story is not the dumbest one.
We’re actually going to have a look at a Supergirl story that I skipped in her retrospective.
Honest question: do orphanages really have swimming pools?
When “mister Stark” gets a cramp (despite being a “famous swimming champion”), Supergirl shows up to help.
And that was the story of how Stark adopted his son.
However this story is not about Supergirl’s first team-up with Iron Man: it’s about her having to write an essay on which part history the writer can butcher the most.
So Supergirl decides to go back to 1885 to meet Annie Oakley.
It’s a good thing Supergirl is here right now, because apparently Annie is too sick to perform.
I’m not enough of an Old West buff to say whether this is a believable portrayal or if “Becky Daggert” is a real person.
But from a modern perspective it seems she’s having something way worse than a migraine.
No problem, Supergirl can easily impersonate her.
Annie would have been 25 in 1885 and Supergirl is canonically 15 right now.
This is particularly a weird choice because Annie Oakley DID start her career as a shooting contest when she was 15 years old.
Also, we actually DO have pictures of Annie Oakley from circa 1885 and to be honest I don’t see the resemblance to Supergirl.
Who cares about Annie, I want to know about this horse that can evidently fly!!!
I did not cut any panels from this scene.
After THAT, would you even care about trick shots?
Which is a shame because there’s no mention of Supergirl using heat vision to do this, so I guess she just has super-aim.
During the tricks, Supergirl discovers that there’s Kryptonite in 1885 even though Krypton has not exploded yet!!! That’s going to be the mystery of the story.
Supergirl leaves this time period, and Annie Oakley believes she forgot the entire exhibition.
Sounds legit.
Next stop is 1776, to see Betsy Ross delivering the first US flag to Washington.
From what I understand, there isn’t a lot of historical proof that Betsy Ross really did make the first US flag, and at the very least there’s some level of legend there.
Which is all well and good, but we lost the legend that Supergirl made the flag by mixing the Union Jack and a scarecrow’s jacket.
But once again Kryptonite shows up. George Washington even sits on it!
It is interesting to see that Supergirl already feels herself American, considering that she arrived on Earth a couple of years earlier in publishing time.
Next stop is 1607, where… oh boy.
Please don’t do anything racist please don’t do anything racist please…
Yeah the actual Pocahontas story bears little resemblance to any of this. Going into the details would make this review ten times longer.
There’s a lot I don’t know about Native American beliefs, but even I know that calling Manitou “the Indian God” is really reductive. Props for a 60s comic to at least TRY giving a more complex depiction, though, even if it doesn’t stand the test of time.
Supergirl saves Pocahontas, leading her to believe her prayer really worked.
For a second I was worried Supergirl was going to paint her skin to impersonate Pocahontas, but thank Manitou she went in a different direction.
Also, since I did this with Annie Oakley… Pocahontas was born around 1596 (exact dates are hard to come by that far back), and this is explicitly 1607 so she would have been about 11 years old.
So she has the OPPOSITE problem of Annie.
Obviously, Supergirl is a bit much for these people.
But even here there’s Kryptonite. Specifically, Supergirl survives a Kryptonite Tomahawk to the head!!!
Okay I know the speed and severity with which Kryptonite affects her and his cousin fluctuates, but SURELY this should have killed her!!!
And now that the story is concluding, what better time than a game of “Guess the stupid ending”.
Why did Supergirl encounter Kryptonite in the past?
A) she didn’t: this was a dream
B) Krypton’s explosion sent Kryptonite into the past
C) Superman accidentally sent Kryptonite into the past
D) Superman planted Kryptonite in the past to teach her a lesson
E) Annie Oakley, Betsy Ross and Pocahontas were actually Lex Luthor in drag
Great job, Superman.
Don’t you just love the way Jim Mooney draws facial expressions? He absolutely sells Superman thinking how he screwed himself over.
And ALL OF THAT was basically useless because Supergirl can’t even write the essay she wanted.
Wait, the teacher never said anything about all students having to choose a different historical person!
So she just plagiarizes a book about Joan of Arc: we don’t even see DC’s take on her.
Given the others… you got lucky, Joan.
Historical significance: 0/10
Silver Age-ness: 
/ 10
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
Yeah there’s a reason why I skipped this one.
What else was in Action Comics #274 ?
The cover story has Superman accidentally losing his powers in an effort to become immune to Kryptonite.
Which leads to Superman IMMEDIATELY proposing…
…which makes Lois hesitate, because she’s not sure she can love him if he doesn’t have powers.
Love story of the century material there.
But as you saw from the cover, she has his powers now.
Great idea to spoil on the cover something that happens at page seven.
You wouldn’t typically associate Kurt Shaffenbgerger’s artwork with great action scenes, but holy crap is this panel gorgeous!
Now there’s not something you’d expect Silver Age Lois Lane to say.
Turns out that during the whole story “Superman” was really just one of his robots who has had enough of Lois.
And in the end, nobody learns anything.
Guess you did read the Superboy comic where he meets Ben-Hur.
At some point I will do a Superboy retrospective, and you can believe Superboy #92 will be there.
There’s barely any white in the British flag and enty of blue. How she made an American flag using a blue jacket is a mystery.
Looking forward to your Superboy retrospective!
Specifically, Supergirl survives a Kryptonite Tomahawk to the head!!! Okay I know the speed and severity with which Kryptonite affects her and his cousin fluctuates, but SURELY this should have killed her!!!
Your description is a bit unclear, but if you’re stating that Supergirl should have been killed by the green-k tomahawk striking her head (vice from the radiations of the kryptonite itself), then that’s wrong—according to Superman lore.
Mort Weisinger stated in a number of letter-column responses that, because of the chemical-physical process undergone in its transformation, kryptonite was not indestructible, as were other things from Krypton under a yellow sun. It could be cut, melted, burned, or even pulverised into dust. Weisinger iterated this fact in his “Superman Legend” and “Superboy Legend” text pieces from the early ‘60’s.
Therefore, a tomahawk made of green kryptonite would simply—as is shown in the story—bounce harmlessly off of the Girl of Steel’s noggin.
“Wait a minute, commander! You’re forgetting that the green-k radiation would’ve affected Supergirl instants before striking her, and thus, she would’ve been vulnerable to the weapon’s impact.”
No, she wouldn’t. The idea that Superman or Supergirl becomes vulnerable to harm under the influence of green kryptonite is a common misconception that popped up often in stories involving Superman that weren’t edited by Mort Weisinger. (Particularly, the JLA stories written by Gardner Fox.)
In response to a question printed in the Metropolis Mailbag of Action Comics # 290 (Jul., 1962), asking about the effects of kryptonite on Superman’s powers, Mr. Weisnger responded, thusly:
You are somewhat confused as to the insidious effects of green kryptonite on [Superman’s super-powers]. Its main effect is to render Superman helpless to fly or to use his super-strength . . . However, in the early stages of exposure to kryptonite, he is still able to use his X-ray and heat vision at short range. He is also able to use his super-ventriloquism and super-breath—but with modifications. Of course, even those powers keep fading the longer he endures exposure to green k. An interesting sidelight is that no matter how long he is exposed to the stuff, his body, at all times, is invulnerable to weapons, explosives, acids, etc.
Note that last sentence. Even under the influence of green kryptonite, Superman and Supergirl retain their invulnerability. And since kryptonite is not indestructible, an object made of it will shatter or ricochet off of them without doing injury. Aye, Superman or Supergirl would be affected by the green-k radiation, but not the impact of the green-k projectile itself. And there were occasions in the Superman stories themselves that supported this.
That’s why all of those post-Weisinger Superman/boy stories showing him threatened, or even wounded, by a firearm discharging a kryptonite bullet are wrong.
Now, it’s very possible that panel in the Supergirl story from Action Comics # 274, the one showing the tomahawk bouncing harmless off of her head, raised just that sort of question in the minds of some readers. And, perhaps, prompted Bill Love, of Tucson, Arizona, to write the letter which appeared in issue # 290, when Mort explained the whole thing.
As for why Supergirl wasn’t afflicted by the radiations of the green-k tomahawk, I’m sure Mr. Weisinger would’ve explained that the tomahawk was thrown with such force that, after causing Supergirl momentary pain in its passing, it sailed far enough away to be beyond the effective range of the kryptonite rays.
Or, plot armor valid only in the mainstream.