Action Comics 258

ACTION COMICS #258 (1959)
by Otto Binder and Jim Mooney
Cover by Curt Swan

 

Throwing family members into space is apparently hereditary for Kryptonians.

We begin with Supergirl (in her civilian identity) saving some kids from a falling tree.
That is a heck of a strong wind to blow over that big tree!

After she saves them, she meets Krypto for the very first time. This is only 6 issues of Action Comics after her first appearance.

I wonder how old can Kryptonian dogs get? Krypto is at least as old as Superman: he was shot into space by Jor-El when Superman was still a baby (as a reminder, “shoot it into space” is Jor-El’s answer to everything).

Their first encounter is possibly the most wholesome panel in all of comics.

In this period, Supergirl’s existence was kept a secret to anyone except Superman, so if she wants to play with Krypto it has to be something that doesn’t attract attention.
Like flying through a mountain. (!!!)

Once Superman finds out he’s angry, but not for causing needless damage.

No, because she revealed her existence TO A DOG.

I mean… there’s being paranoid about secret identities, and then there’s THIS.

So because she revealed her existence to a freakin’ dog, Superman exiles her to space for an entire year.

He could just fly her there, but he uses a super-strong capsule to prevent Krypto from finding her with his super-scent.
Because as we all know dogs are incapable of fetching things you throw.

Specifically, she’s been exiled to one of those Earth asteroids with giant green mushrooms.

Also two-headed parrots and giant pink coconuts.

She also keeps an eye on the orphanage where she lives in her civilian identity of Linda Lee.
So… did Superman come up with an excuse for Linda’s disappearance? The orphanage seems to continue with business as usual: a forest fire.

First the wind, now fire… I’m starting to think Mother Nature has something against this orphanage.

Supergirl wants to save those kids, but she’s forbidden by Superman from leaving that asteroid.
Since she is Jor-El’s niece, her solution is to throw something into space.

How is shooting icicles going to stop a fire?

Sounds legit.

Superman then has Krypto deliver a letter to Supergirl to ask her to return to Earth for one day, because the asteroid will soon go through a Kryptonite dust cloud.

This raises a few questions.
Why does Superman send Krypto there instead of flying by himself? And where did that Kryptonite cloud come from?

By the way, Superman DIDN’T say anything to the orphanage: they’ve been looking for her for an entire week.
So thanks for making them worried, Superman.

She comes up with an easy explanation: she was lost in the woods.
But considering she’s supposed to stay at the orphanage only for 24 hours and then resume her exile, I wonder what’s her plan following this.

This makes the news, with several reporters showing up to interview her.
On the same day of her return.

But one reporter wants to go the extra mile.

It’s a legitimate question, but even if she made up the “lost in the woods story”, what’s the newsworthy part of exposing her?

Unless you expect her to suddenly reveal that she’s an alien.

In case you didn’t notice, that reporter is Clark Kent.
Not only Supergirl noticed, buy she also deduced that he’s Superman.
No idea why this revelation makes Clark open his shirt to reveal the Superman costume.

She discovered it because she tried to break Clark’s glasses to prevent him from noticing that she didn’t have mosquito bites on her arms.
Naturally, a reporter who questioned her cover-up story wouldn’t have found anything weird with his glasses unexplainably cracking.

Turns out that Superman sent Krypto because he wanted to tempt Supergirl into breaking the exile.
Presumably, there was no Kryptonite dust cloud.
And all of this was to test her ability to keep her existence a secret!
So no, despite this book’s reputation, Superman didn’t really exile Supergirl because she was talking to a dog.

You made the orphanage waste a week searching for her, Superman, and probably causing a lot of stress. Both for the staff AND the other orphans, mind you!

Supergirl naturally wonders if this means that she’s finally allowed to be a superhero in the open, but Superman isn’t done being awful.

Yes, all of this was just a test to make sure that Supergirl would be able to keep his secret identity, well, a secret.

You definitely made orphans cry over this, Superman.

 

Historical significance: 6/10
Supergirl discovers Superman’s secret identity, and she also meets Krypto for the first time.

Silver Age-ness: 2/10
Considering the sheer ridiculousness of the rest of the Silver Age, this is relatively harmless.

Does it stand the test of time? 2/10
Wow, Superman is horrible in this! He doesn’t care how his actions affect other people, AT ALL. Out of all the ways to test Supergirl’s ability to keep secrets he exiles her into space? As a reminder: Supergirl lost her parents and her entire world SIX ISSUES AGO. But sure, let’s take her away from her newly found home and trick her into believing that her only relative has lost faith in her.
The only redeeming part is Supergirl’s determination to keep doing her superhero job even when she’s in exile.

 

Interesting letters: it’s been 61 years since this letter and she’s still Supergirl.