ACTION COMICS 357 (1967)
by Otto Binder & Jim Mooney
Did you know Supergirl was married? Don’t worry, she didn’t either!
We begin with Supergirl being harrassed by a random guy, and for some reason she doesn’t punch him into orbit.
Turns out that this is her husband, something that’s very surprising to her.
Turns out she DOES have a wedding ring in her purse, so she agrees to drive him home as an excuse to check his fingerprints.
Which is useful because she has memorized THE ENTIRE FBI DATABASE.
Also, “No soap!” needs to come back as an expression.
He also knows that she’s Supergirl!
Ah, Jim Mooney reaction shots. I’m going to miss you when the retrospective is over.
Okay I get why Supergirl wants to learn more about this whole situation, but I think she should be A LITTLE more suspicious.
He has an explanation for why she has forgotten about him: a Kryptonite gun gave her amnesia!
Sounds legit.
Also this guy turns out to be an alien. Because of course he is.
They met when Supergirl saved some people on his planet when the Sea Of Oil caught fire. (!!!)
You might think that the husband was one of the people she rescued…
…but nope! He’s like his planet’s Jimmy Olsen, except not terrible.
And naturally they immediately fell in love. Since his Earth name is Joaquin Jarl, perhaps she has a thing for the initials J.J. instead of L.L. ?
This was published in 1967 where showing a married couple was a big no-no, especially at DC, but at least this time there’s some explanation.
Next day they have some visitors from the husband’s planet, including the guy she rescued.
Apparently he became a stalker, watching Supergirl doing her hero stuff on Earth. Including that time she SET HERSELF ON FIRE.
The fact that Supergirl is now married means that the stalker can’t get with her, even if he narrates that he left his fiancée for Supergirl!
And that’s enough to let Supergirl figure out that her husband is a woman!
Considering that Supergirl once had three girlfriends, perhaps she’ll like the news!
I guess the moral is that Supergirl is absurdly naïve because she fell for the laziest scam ever.
At this point Supergirl could simply punch her “husband” into outer space, but she decides to turn her clothes into a feminine dress.
Where did the shoes come from!?
I guess this is supposed to be a happy ending, but Veena is still marrying a guy who left her for an alien he met for five minutes tops.
According to Supergirl, she knew all along that she was married to a woman.
Hey wait a minute! That’s not what you showed the first time!!!
You can’t use fake thought bubbles to cheat!!!
Also: she knew he was a woman? Really?
Just admit that you fell for a very stupid con, Supergirl!
Historical significance: 0/10
Of course we’ll never see the husband’s planet again.
Silver Age-ness: 5/10
At least she didn’t really get amnesia thanks to Kryptonite, but still…
Does it stand the test of time?: 0/10
“Supergirl is gaslighted into believing she’s secretly married” has enormous potential! Which is completely and utterly wasted in this story.
Of course we never see that planet again. It has an ocean made of oil, for crying out loud. The whole planet is one spark away from ecological collapse as a flaming sea consumes all the oxygen in the atmosphere and spikes the global temperature a few hundred degrees. Not going to be a handy Kryptonian around every time the silly thing catches ablaze. It’s a wonder the natives lived long enough to evolve sentience.