Superman #66

SUPERMAN #66 (1950)
by Bill Woolfolk & Al Plastino

One of the requests in the comments was to review the 1968 “Virus X” storyline from Action Comics. We’ll get there eventually, but looking into the origins of that plot sent me down a rabbit hole all the way back to 1950.
You may not recognize the writer’s name, but Bill Woolfolk was a prolific Golden Age writer whose claim to fame is inventing the Captain Marvel catchphrase “Holy Moley!”.

The Superman title contained multiple stories at the time, and the choice of which story use for the cover is just baffling. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, but why choose such a generic image…

…when the teaser page from the actual story is FREAKING AWESOME!?!?
Why wasn’t THIS on the cover!?

Superman, I know you’re basically invincible, but you have to know this is tempting fate.

At first glance this seems to be a rather generic Superman story from the 50s, already using Kryptonite as a crutch despite the fact that it was introduced in the comics just one year earlier…

…except Clark Kent is dying!!!

Clark overhears the conversation and initially dismisses it… until he realizes the symptoms of Kryptonite might be much worse than he anticipated.

This may sound laughable today, when we’re used to see Superman exposed to tons of Kryptonite every other day… but remember, Kryptonite had been around for ONE YEAR in the comics!
So it WOULD be perfectly believable that it has a cumulative effect after repeated exposure.

It’s also interesting to see that he thinks of himself as Clark dying first, and only then considers his Superman identity. During most of the Silver Age I’m fully convinced this would be reversed.

Also it’s unlikely the Silver Age would’ve given us a stalking Superman thinking about how pretty Lois is. Oh we would still have stalked her, but without giving compliments!

It’s not only Superman that shows an unusual level of interest: Lois is also so distressed at the thought of Clark dying that she asks Superman to find a cure!
She’s appalled that he doesn’t seem to care. Well, he still hasn’t turned into The Worst yet.

This is the scene that inspired that AMAZING teaser page. Not as good, but still a great image!!!

And that’s the main plot of the story: Superman thinks he only has days left to live and wants to do as much good as possible. His priority? Fossil fuel!

I would make a joke about Superman not being environmentally friendly… except I can’t because he’s ALSO big on solar energy!!!

Superman was earlier warned that the Earth might be destroyed in 1987. He initially dismissed the problem since by then he’ll be in a completely different continuity, but now he’s changed his mind and decides to help.

So the planet is close enough to reach Earth in 37 years, and it’s close enough to other neighboring planets that Superman can crash into it?

Sounds legit.

My first reaction was that Superman shouldn’t be able to hear anything, but:
A) he was on the planet pushing it, so if it has an atmosphere he should still hear the crash
B) Superman routinely hears sound in space anyway

All of this work has taken weeks of Superman’s time, so the deadline is almost over. What’s left for him to do at this point?

An inspirational message AND a spoiler about his secret identity!

Jokes aside, Superman’s “last will and testament” is something we’ll see again a couple of times. And its message, “do good unto others and every man can be a Superman”, IS something that really resonates with the core of all versions of Superman.

Well, all versions that don’t SUCK.

We are approaching the end of the story, and Clark has resigned himself to his fate.

Except SUDDEN KRYPTONITE!!!

Some reviews of this story incorrectly identify the photographer as Jimmy Olsen. Which is understandable, but this is actually the star photographer of the Daily Planet… “Chuck”.
Who I’m pretty sure never shows up again because Superman murders him behind the scenes for making him think he was going to die!

There’s still the problem of the massive spoiler Superman left on the Moon. It’s a good thing that clouds are covering the entire hemisphere where it’s currently night!
Then again, as far as this story is concerned the United States are the only country on the planet (Superman repeatedly mentions that “the country” will have energy shortages), so maybe there’s only one city as well!

Naturally all Superman has to do is erasing the “Clark Kent” part of the message. And apparently painting the entire Moon yellow.

And then all crime and wars ended because of a well-thought inspirational message. True story.*
(*not a true story)

A sweet finale, all things considered.

The story must’ve been a hit, because we will get a more famous remake in 1962.

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Historical significance: 7/10
While the story itself doesn’t have direct consequences, if they do a remake 12 years later it HAS to have made something right!

Silver Age-ness: 8/10
While Superman says he can’t do everything, and indeed can’t cure the deadly illness Clark is supposed to have… he can still do ALMOST anything.

 Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
This was one of the little gems of the 50s! It has everything! A bit of mystery that, even if not too complex, can conceivably be solved by the reader. Good characterization for both Superman AND Clark Kent AND Lois Lane. And a lot of heart.
It’s still very much a Golden Age story, but I can see why it received a remake.

All and all, this was great! Why don’t I review more Golden Age Superman stories? What else is in this issue?

Oh, right. THAT’s why.