Superman #199 (1967)
by Jim Shooter & Curt Swan
cover by Carmine Infantino
This is the last review in the retrospective to be unquestionably set in the Silver Age, and it’s shocking that it took this long before a race between Superman and the Flash.
Jim Shooter was about 16 years old when this story was published; he was 5 years old when the Flash was created!
Aren’t you supposed to be one of Superman’s best friends, Batman?
I will never understand the Silver Age constantly spoiling their own stories in the teaser page.
Our villains begin their scheme by timing how fast superheroes do their job.
The Flash must be having an off day if he’s going THIS slow.
We have an exact date for the event: June 10th, which actually WAS a Saturday in 1967.
You’d be surprised by how often comics drop a day of the week and I find out it’s wrong.
Even better: the comic has a cover date of August, so it’s possible it was published very close to this date.
The reason for the race is that the United Nations is out of money.
Both heroes have already helped the United Nations before: Superman by rebuilding a several dams…
…and the Flash by playing ping pong.
Can you tell Jim Shooter is primarily a Superman writer at this point?
This kind of event would be fine for post-Crisis Superman and Flash, but how does this work with the Silver Age versions? They could both run faster than time!
Well… not great: they’re just going to circle Earth three times.
By comparison, it would take light THREE-FIFTHS OF A SECOND to make this trip: I don’t think you can add enough obstacles to make a difference. And remember, these guys can run FASTER than light.
Also: maybe the United Nations would have more money for charity if they didn’t spend it on this completely useless gigantic model.
This is, evidently, world news.
Good thing that nothing interesting was going on during June 10th 1967.
As spoiled by the teaser page, there are two competing teams of criminals betting against one of the two heroes.
Ah yes, famous criminal mastermind Werner Von Broder, known from this comic and… nothing else.
According to the cover, Batman was rooting for Flash and Hawkman for Superman… but it’s either the other way around or they end up cheering for both.
Okay limiting the speed for the race makes sense if you want to be able to follow it, but without setting up a precise speed, what does this even mean???
Also how is anyone except Green Lantern going to follow this race at all???
Shooter might not be a regular Flash writer, but he does get to be creative in the use of his speed as much as he is with Superman’s powers.
Superman is even being a good sport!
Flash later returns the favor when Superman randomly comes across a piece of Kryptonite thrown out by a volcano.
Wait you mean to tell me you’re going THIS FAST and a random guy riding a cart is a problem to avoid?
There’s a joke sometimes made about the fact that you could tell what Jim Shooter was studying in high school when writing his stories. I think it’s overblown, but I’m willing to bet that he came up with this story in geography class.
Given that Captain Cold is one of the Flash’s main villains, are we supposed to believe that coldness is the natural enemy of speed?
Superman, not everyone has the same ego as you; Barry Allen is such a nice guy that I’m positive he wouldn’t care if you helped him.
The rules prevent Superman from flying, sure, but couldn’t he just leap? Or is that also not allowed for some reason?
If the entire race is going at 140 miles per second, circling the Earth 3 times would take them a little under 9 minutes.
By the way, if all these locations sound random, it’s because I’m showing the scenes out of order to showcase various aspects that are happening at various times: the route they are following is somewhat believable (which is what makes me think Shooter wrote this in geography class).
I’m not attempting to draw a map since they’re doing this trip multiple times across the planet so they could also be out of order in-story AND most of the locations are too vague to identify precisely.
It’s only at PAGE 19 (of a 24 page story) that the villains actually attempt to sabotage the race.
And THE TRAP WORKS!!!
The big plan is to replace both heroes with a guys wearing rocket boots.
The heroes shouldn’t be too worried though, since the Justice League is following the race I’m sure they will notice and… OH COME ON !!!
The real heroes end up saving each other. I can understand Superman, but couldn’t the criminals be bothered to JUST SHOOT the Flash while he was unconscious???
It’s not long before the two impersonators figure out about each other.
I’m sure there is a universe where that panel is a meme.
But in this universe, the real heroes just zip by the impostors…
…and rush to the finish line, arriving at the same time and therefore preventing BOTH crime syndicates from collecting the money.
Well that’s settled. I’m sure we won’t see this question tackled ever again.
Historical significance: 6/10
It doesn’t really affect either character, but this is a trend: these two race A LOT.
The tie again in Flash #175, published the same year…
…and it’s only in World’s Finest #199 from 1970 that the Flash BARELY wins.
But come on. There is only ONE possible winner here.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
All things considered, given the subject, surprisingly tame.
Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
Out of all the Superman-Flash races… and there are A LOT of those… this might be the most honest and straightforward.
We’re here for the race itself and that’s 99% of what the comic is focused on, whereas most of the other times the plot hijacks the race.
It’s also VERY explicitly giving a reason why both competitors are not going all-out, which is something a lot of the other races struggle with.
And it’s also careful at showcasing the abilities of both heroes, something particularly of note in a Superman book.