The Great Superman Book (The Complete Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes; Vol. 3) ( PDFDrive )

338 THE GREAT SUPERMAN BOOK

man to observe events in the undersea realm of 243, Aug '58: "The Lady and the Lion"). It is through
Atlantis (Act No. 310, Mar '64: "Secret of Kryptonite
Six!"), and a sophisticated "interdimensional moni­ this telescope that Superman photographs the newly
tor" enables him to communicate, both visually and erected statue of Lex Luthor on the planet LEXOR in
orally, with the inhabitants of the fifth dimension October 1963 (S No. 164: pts. I-II-"The Showdown
and presumably other extradimensional worlds Between Luthor and Superman!"; "The Super­
Duell").
as well (8 No. 174/2, Jan '65: "Super­
Other important apparatus housed in the Fortress
Mxyzptlk . . . Hero!").
The Fortress also houses the "Kandar-scope" snd includes ii "time-space viewer," which "picks up light

other devices necessary for communicating with the and BOund wavesfrom thepast" and thus enables one

inhabitants of Kandor (8 Nb. l51/3, Feb '62: "Super­ to view selected hsi torical events (WF No. 146, Dec
'64: "Batman, Son of Krypton!" pta. I-II-no title;
man's Greatest ·Secret!"; snd others); the various
shrinking rays, exchange rays, and other apparatus "The Destroyer of Krypton!"); a "psycho-locator,"
. which Supennan has employed to enable him to @nter built by the scientists of Kandor, which, through the
and leave the tiny city (S No. 158,Jan '63: "Superman electronic analysis and long-distance sensing of
in Kander" pta. I-III-"Invasion of the Mystery brain·wave patterns, can locate a selected individual
Super-Men!"; "The Dynamic Duo of Kandor!"; "The "anywhere in space and time" (S No. 168, Apr'64: pta.
City of Super-People!"; and many others); and the I-Il-"Luthor--Super-Hero!"; "Lex Luthor, Daily
special "anti-gravity shoes" which any: ordinary Planet Editor!"); a spherical, transparent "time
capsule," for traveling through space and time (Act
earthling must wear if he is to walk comfortably in No. 310, Mar '64: "Secret of Kryptonite Six!"); and a
special ray-device capable of endowing an ordinary
Kandor's alien environment (S No. 158, Jan '63: individual with super-powers for a period of twenty­
"Superman in Kandor" pts. I·III-"Invasion of the four hours (WF No. 109, May '60: "The Bewitched
Mystery Super·Men!"; "The Dynamic Duo of Kan­ Batman!").

dor!"; "The City of Super-People!"; see also WF No. Many of Superman's "super-robots" (S No. 134,

143, Aug '64: "The Feud Between Batman and �an '60: chs. I-III-"The Super·Menace of Metropo'
Superman!" pts. I-U-no title; "The Manhunters from lis!"; "The Revenge Against Jor-Ell"; "The Duel ofthe
Supermen!"; and many others)-and the special lead
Earth!"). (See KANDOR.) armor which Superman often wears when dealing
with kryptonite (ActNo. 241,Jun '58: "The Super·Key
In addition,theFortress housesthe"zone-ophone"
and other devices needed for observing events taking to Fort Superman"; and others)-are also kept at the
place in the Phantom Zone and communicating with Fortress of Solitude. (See section G, the equipment.)
its inhabitants (S No. 157/1, Nov '62: "The Super­
Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!"; and The Fortress is also equipped with various facili·
others); the "Phantom Zone projector" and other ties with which Superman can clean thestains offhis
devices needed to project individuals into the Phan­
tom Zone or release themfromit(ActNo. 284, Jan '62: indestructible costume (see section C, tlie costume).
"The Babe of Steel!"; and many others); and the
He can take a dip, fully clothed, in his lava·filled
complete "microfilm gallery of Phantom Zone
criminals" presented to Superman by Kandorian •

law-enforcement officials (8 No. 164/2, Oct '63: "The " WITHIN. I FIRST TOOK
Fugitive from the Phantom Zone!"). (See PHANTOM A " HOT" SHOWER", "

ZONE, THE.) -iii

To enable Superman to broadcast important �
messages to the world at a moment's notice, the
Fortress is equipped with a sophisticated. "super­ ,
telecaster" with which the Man ofSteel can black out
every television program in the world and broadcast Inside the Fortress, Superman uses 0. "super.
his own announcements over every network simul· blowtorch" to bum the dirt and stains off his
taneously. Superman uses this apparatus to broad­
cast KULL-Ex's confession to the world in January indestructibk costume, 1960
1960, so that people everywhere will know that the
destructive acts attributed to Supermanwere actually
performed by Kull-Ex (S No. 134: chs. I·III-"The
Super-Menace ofMetropolis!"; "TheRevengeAgainst
Jor-EI!"; "The Duel of the Supermen!"). He uses it
again in February 1962, this time to make Supergirl's
existence known to the world (Act No. 285: "The
World's Greatest Heroine!").

A powerful "super-telescope," located elsewhere in
the Fortress, is capable ofsuch incredible magnifica­
tion that Superman can actually use it to seek out
individual persons on far·distant planets (Act No.

SUPERMAN 339

swimming pool (Act No. 247, Dec '58: "Superman's Feb '62: "The Three Tough Teen-Agers!"), Perry
Lost Parents!"); take a "shower" beneath the white­
hot flame of a special "super-blowtorch" (S No. 134, White(Act No. 302, Jul '63: "The Amazing Confession
Jan '60: chs. I-III-''The Super-Menace of Metropo­ of Super-Perry White!"). and LANA LANG (Act No.
lis!"; "The Revenge Against Jor-EIt"; "The Duel ofthe
Supermen!"); or burn away the dirt and grime with an 304, Sep '63: "The Interplanetary Olympics!").
ordinary acetylene torch (Act No. 286, Mar '62: "The
Jury of Super-Enemies!"). CEDRIC AND MILLICENT CARSON tour the Fortress in

The precise location of the Fortress of Solitude is December 1958 while posing as Jonathan and
one of the world's most closely guarded secrets. In Martha Kent, but Superman ultimately uses his
June 1958 Superman observes to himself that "No command of "super-hypnotic forces" to erase from
one suspects its existence," although the text also
their minds all recollection of the secrets they learned
notes that Superman has already entrusted his there (Act No. 247: "Superman's Lost Parents!").

"crime-fighting friend, the Batman," with its precise Visitors to the Fortress, unless they possess super·
location and given himfree access to "all [its] secrets" powers of their own, are taken there wrapped in
(Act No. 241: "The Super·Key to Fort Superman"). Superman's "weather-proof, indestructible cape" to

By late 1958 both Jimmy Olsen (Act No. 244, Sep protect them against freezing to death in the sub-zero
'58: '·'The Super-Merman of the Sea") and Lois Lane
have clearly learned that the Fortress exists and that Arctic cold (Act No. 253, Jun '59: "The War Between
it has an Arctic location, although its exact location
remains a mystery to them. Lois Lane tours the Superman and Jimmy Olsen!"; and others) as well as
Fortress a8 Superman's guest in October 1958 so that
she can "write it up as a newspaper feature" for the against the potentially fatal "friction caused by
Superman's flight" (Act No. 302, Jul '63: "The
DAILY PLANET, suggesting that the entire world will Amazing Confession of Super-Perry White!").

soon know of the Fortress's existence (Act No. 245: Because it could be calamitous if villains were to
"The Shrinking Superman!"). succeed in penetrating the Fortress, a network of
alarms and security devices has been installed to
Indeed, by Febr-uary 1960 Superman has temporar­ safeguard Superman's sanctuary against intTuders.
ily transported the entire Fortress to a site "on the "Booby traps" of an unspecified nature have been
outskirts of Metropolis" and has begun conducting installed inside the lockofthe massive front door (Act
guided tours through it with the proceeds earmarked
No. 300, May '63: " Superman Under the Red Sun!"),
for charity. However, Superman warns the throngs of
visitors that "some of the rooms contain super­ and an electric-eyebeam, crossing the doorin frontof

secrets, which no other person must ever learn!" the door's gigantic keyhole inside the Fortress, sets
These rooms, explains the Man of Steel, "are off a "super-sonic alarm" audiblf'to Superman at any
forbidden to all visitors!" (Act No. 261: "Superman's
Fortresses ofSolitude!"). ByAugust 1960 itappearsto distance (WF No. 153, Nov '65: "The Saga of
be public knowledge that Superman's Fortress of Superman vs. Baiman!" pts. I-II-"The Clash of
Solitude is situated somewhere in the Arctic (S No.
139/3: "The Untold Story of Red Kryptonite!"). Cape and Cowl1"; "The Death of a Hero!"). In the
1970s a hidden "mirage projector" was installed to
Although the entire world now knows of the disguise the Fortress's entranceway completely,
creating the illusion ofan ice-covered rock cliffwhere,
Fortress's existence, however, its exact location is in actuality. the massive front door and gigantic key
known only to a trusted few. These include Batman
and Robin (WF No. 100, Mar '59: "The Dictator of are located (LC No. C-48, OcUNov '76).
Krypton City!"; and others), Supergirl and Krypto the [n addition. the Fortress is guarded in Superman's
Superdog (S No. 134, Jan '60: chs. I-Ill-"The Super­
Menace of Metropolis!"; "The Revenge Against Jor­ absence by the SUPERMEN EMERGENCY SQUAD (Act
EI!"; "The Duel ofthe Supermen!"; and many others), No. 303, Aug '63: "The Monster from Krypton!"), and

and the LEGION OF SUPER·HEROES (S No. 152/1. Apr explosive "protective devices," installed in the

'62: "The Robot Master!"). Fortress's "secret rooms," will destroy any evidence
Other individuals besides these have visited the of Superman's secret identity, or those of his various

Fortress as Superman's guests, but they have been super·friends, in the event an intruder attempts to
kept ignorant of its precise location. These include force open their doors without knowing the "secret
Lois Lane (Act No. 245, Oct '58: "The Shrinking combinations of the doors' locks" (S No. 142/3, Jan
Superman!"), Jimmy Olsen (Act No. 253, Jun '59: '61: "Flame-Dragon from Krypton").
"The War Between Superman and Jimmy Olsen!";
Act No. 286, Mar '62: "TbeJury ofSuper-Enemies!"), Although the walls of the Fortress have been
Hyper-Man (Act No. 265, Jun '60: "The 'Superman' insulated with a "thick coating of lead" since April
from Outer Space!"), the infant son of Bizarro and 1961 to prevent kryptonite radiation from penetrat­
BIZARRO-LOIs (S No. 140, Oct '60: pts. I-III-"TheSon ing the Fortress (S No. 144/3: "The Orphans of
of Bizarro!"; "The 'Orphan' Bizarro!"; "The Bizarro Space!"), Superman has installed both a "kryptonite
Supergirl!"), a teen-ager named Artie (S No. 15111, detector" (Act No. 243. Aug '58: "The Lady and the
Lion") and a "red kryptonite detector" to detect the
presence of unwanted kryptonite inside the Fortress
(S No. 154/2, Jul '62: "Krypton's First Superman!").

A special "super-fumigation system," mounted in
the Fortress walls, releases "jets of antibiotic gases"

into the air to ensure that no extraterrestrial
microbes-carried unwittingly into the Fortress by

Superman or by new additions to his interplanetary

340 THE GREAT SUPERMAN BOOK

FAA 10 '1£1 NORTtI, 11\1 "THE UN1NHA91TED ARCTIC WASTES, STANDS A LOFTY CLIFF. rT LOOKS
LIK£ AMY OTHER ICE - ENCRtlSTEP ROCK MASS - BUT HOW DIFFERENT IT /S/ FOR A HIWEN MIRA6.!
A SOliP ICE FACe, I7ISGUISING A LEDGE, WHERE A MASSIVE �
PDROOJERO CITSOSRfTCAIIUliTSOESTTHEH.ESIOLLUUPSI�ON O.F ntAT DQOR--WHICH CAN ONLY BE OPfNeD ey A
SA�ND BIlf8HIINtIP� COOlD LIFT IT FROM. WHEIlE IT STANP:5 ON T1E1 LEDGE·,
�y SO HUGE ONLY .suPERMAN OR
IS ll1E SE.CRel ,SANCTUARY OF TIlE. MAN OF ST�E/" !

I/ GINn AI1:ROW KEY
TIME USEDAS All! I10tJIE
the FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE SIGNALING.

NOTES: THE 'lOP SlORY CONTAINS ®

:?'-- ..,. @,____ StJlM1lE A/I'I5 PRIVATE QUARTERS,

�E HE CAN Ii'E11I<'E TO SHUT

OUT THE. WORLD FOR A SHORT

TIME.

® AT ONE SlDS ARtl.RT FROM 1'HE.
�, IS A PRIVATE MOPULAR

APARTMEtH FOR. stIPERGIRL,

WHICH SHE. HERSELF DESI6NEP

AND FURNISHED.

,

,

,

®, DEeP IN lliE. EARTH, FAR
BELOW THE FORTRESS, IS THE
Pl'5INTEGIi'ATICN PIT.

CD iHE. TROPHY
,,

. - . - ..- -- --

ROMO ' .J

o

SUPERMAN 341

<D SUPERMAN'S o

TROPHY ROOM

o

TROPHY ROOM

5TATUI!S JOR-a ANOLARA

�.:: �PTONIAN MEMORIAL.
0
� SUPER WeAPONS

o ANTI· BACTERIAL GAS lO oeslRCY

o ® THE COMMUNICATION AReA IS T1iE. � AliEN MICROBES
MOTO COMptE.� I!VER CONSTRUCTED. SECURITv SYSTE...
5f'EClAL.MOoIITOR SCREENS ALERT ,
S�MAN "lO !.YoERGENCIES TtEt
1'-'- o
o� W'Omt) OVER.TlREl E ARE "HcruNe Do
000
oU � CHANNElS TO TlIE. UN, THE WHITE

oo ijQ!JSE ANt) METROPOLIS POLICE

HEADQUAIrEr RS. TMeRE ARE

INPERSPACf RA0I05 I"I1ICH CONTACT

t)IFFERfNT WORLDS.

G) STATUES OF JOR-!.l Il,ND LARA-'
GUAIW THE I<�PTON MEMORIAL.

"TIlES!!. STATUES WERE CARVED 6Y

SUPERMAN MIMSELF FROM

(9 = 0 SUPER· MEMOR:Y.

G) THE I(�PTON MEMoRIAL. WILL
KEEP FOREVER AliVE lHE

REMSRANCf OF THE SHATTERED

n PLANET WHERE. SUPERMAN WAS

"'". 9ORN. INCLUDEtl 1$ A COMPLETE

U' Re-CReATION Of. A TYPICAL
IOlYPTONIAN H�, WITH EVERY·
o0
®THING ,''' PERFECT 'IHOI' G DlWER.
0 00 SLlF'ERWEAPOtIS ROOHI CONTAINS
WEAPONS CONFISCATED FROM

VILLAINS OF MANY WORLDS.

® ANTI- BAClERIAL GAS WHICH
DESTROVS ALIEN MICROBES IS

PERIOOICALLY RELEASED FROM DISINTE6"'ATION
THIS POINT TO DESTROY ALIEN '"

10 "CO,," ""'. W., MICROBES SUPERMAN MAY CARRY ® DISINTEGRATION PIT- DEEP
CIfI ATED BY 9UPERMAN TO THE. I=OIl:lRESS FROM SPACE.
�9ELF AND 15 (H09EFULLV)
IN TI1E fAIlfH snow TilE
KlOt.F'ROOF.
FORTRESS IS THE DiSINTEGRATION

PIT !:"lLlED WITH I<'AOIOACTlVE ELEMENTS

R<'OM KANOOR. IT CAN Ii'fTif ANlLY

DlssmVE ANY WEPPONS TOO

DA�GEROUS 70 KeEP.

�

•

Floor plan of the Fortress of Solitude's first level

342 THE GREAT SUPERMAN BOOK

OF

FORTRESS
OF SOLITUDE

CONTAINING THE '·0"-
MOST INCREDIBLE
@" ,
• MIRACLE IN THE WORLD
*(j) THe BorTlE.-CITY OF KANO,RO ONCE
"THE:: BOTTLE-CITY CAPITAL OF kRYPTON. WAS SHRUNK AND
sTOLEN BY BRA/NIAC BEFORE TlIAT PlANET'':;:
OF DE'ATH.SV� RECO'o'EI?ED TIlE BOTTLE
IN WHICH /mNPOR WAS KEPT, AND
I<'ANPOR P�ACED IT IN HIS FORTRESS FOR SAFE­
I(EEPtNG. TANKS KEEP IT SUPPLIED WI1H
AN ATMOSPHERE ExACTlY LH<E n/AT
OF KI?'/PTON. IT HAS ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY

AND A MINIATURE RED SUN, TOO.

o fc�.(:J® THE ,,:wAN1OM .TONE "IEWER
SUP£R�AJV 10 kEEP TABS
, "'KRYPTON/AN Y!UAlNS
B'f 8EtN� BANISHED TO·· -"·

DIMENSION. NI:'ARBY IS

A. ARTIFICIAL REP SUH.

e.. CITY OF KANDOR.

C. SOIL AND RAW ELEMENTS.

D. UtlSTAI'ILe. COMPOUND
WHICH Cl'IISINAlLY
DESTROYED KRYPTON.

E. u� 8Ul UNIQUELY

1CJm>T00N0 COMPOUi'l05.

F. PlANET'S cmIE ELEMENTS.

(!l IDO ® SUPER·
LAB

SUPERMAN 343

THE BOTTLE-CITY OF K'ANORO

El(TERIOR AND INTERIOR.

• --

II I I II ARCHIVES

D o D8 D GJD D oq SUPER· COMPUTE'R

'I:lOlTLE-ClTY OF
KANDOR
100

LAP

o

WOPHY ROOM
ElCTENDS UP INTO

1t1IS LEVEL

o RODS FROM 1t1E COMPUTER
o ARE IMBtDDED INTO lliE

MOUNTAIN THROUGH THE FOf(TRESS

WALL IN ORDER TO USE llIE WtlOlE
MOUNTAIN RAA6E lIS AN AERIAL FOR
Tt\E. COMPUTeR Me> TtlE e>EV1C� ON
THE THIRP �E�El.

PHAHlCWI IOHE
VIEWER AND

PRO.JfCTOR

Floor plan of the Fortress of Solitu.de's second leuel

344 THE GREAT SUPERMAN BOOK

,"o-will escape the Fortress to unleash a deadly North latitude, 50° West longitude (S No. 176/3, Apr
'65: "Superman's Day of Truth!"), is stocked with
epidemic on Earth (8 No. 176/2, Apr '65: '"Tales of numerous exotic "ocean relics" and equipped with
Green Kryptonite No. 2"; see also LC No. C·48, sophisticated monitoring apparatus to enable Super·
man to keep abreast of events occurring throughout
Oct/Nov '76). the seven seas. Superman abandons the undersea
Since the massive door of the Fortress weighs Fortress after Vul·Kor and Lya·La have been defeat·
ed, however (Act No. 244, Sep '58: 'The Super·
many tons, and the only entrance, besides the door, is
"through fifty feet of solid rock," unauthorized Merman of the Sea"; see also Act No. 265, Jun '60:
infiltration of the Fortress would appear to be a
virtual impossibility. In June 1958, however, as part "The 'Superman' from Outer Space!"), and the
of a friendly joke he plays on Superman in commem­ structure is now used by the mer·people ofAtlantis as
oration of "the anniversary of(Superman's] arrival "a showplace and a tourist attraction!" (S No. 176/3,
on Earth from the planet Krypton," Batman success­ Apr '65: "Superman's.Day of Truth!").
fully infiltrates the Fortress by hollowing out the tip
of the giant key with an acetylene torch, hinging a Bizarro builds himself a crude imitation of
secret panel in the key and concealing himselfinside Superman's Fortress, the so-called FORTRESS OF
it, and then dropping unobserved into the Fortress BIZARRO, in the middle of an arid desert on the planet
after Superman, on one of his periodic visits to the HTRAE in October 1960 (S No. 140: pts. I·III-"The
Fortress, has inserted the key into the lock (Act No. Son of Bizarro!"; "The 'Orphan' Bizarro!"; "The
241: "The Super·Key to Fort Superman"). In October Bizarro Supergirl!").
1962, after exposure to red kryptonite has trans·
formed Superman into two separate individuals-. According to Action Comics No. 261, Superman
mature, responsible Clark Kent, without super· first established secret Fortresses in outer space and
powers, and an unprincipled, irresponsible Super· atthe center ofthe Earth before settling finallyonan
man, with super·powers-Clark Kent succeeds in Arctic location, but this assertion is unsupported by
entering the Fortress by flying there in a helicopter other texts and is probably inaccurate (Feb '60:
and crawling through the gigantic keyhole (Act No. "Superman's Fortresses of Solitude!").
293: "The Feud Between Superman and Clark
Kent!"). On another occasion, after having been The only extensive diagrams of the Fortress of
stranded without his super·powers one million years Solitude appear in Limited Collectors' Edition No. C·
in the future, Superman enters the Fortress in the 48, which depicts the Fortress as consisting of three
same way, after climbing painstakingly up the rock separate levels and includes diagrams of levels one
ciiffto the Fortress's massive front door (Act No. 300, and two (Oct/Nov '76). These diagrams are reprinted
May '63: "Superman Under the Red Sun!").
here. As of the late 19708, unfortunately, thediagram
According to Superman No. 174/1, "tapes" and
other documents inside the Fortress contain a of the third level has not been published.
complete record of Superman's entire life, including
"every detail and secret of Superman's past . . ." (Jan E. The Super-Powers. "The super·powers of the
'65: pts. 1·2-"Clark Kent's Incredible Delusion!";
"The End of a Hero!"), but Action Comics No. 330 Man of Steel are legendary! The whole world
refers instead to a "hidden vault deep beneath the marvels at his invulnerability, super·speed, super­
Fortress" which, claims the text, contains Super· strength and other super·skills!" (Act No. 251, Apr
man's "super·secret file" on himself, including '59: "The Oldest Man in Metropolis!").
Jonathan and Martha Kent's account of how they
found him as a baby, photographs they took of Clark J. Derivation of the Super·Powers. Superman's
Kent changing to Superboy, and other evidence of
Superman's secret identity. Inside the Fortress is a super·powers are, by and large, extraordinarymagni·
small closed box bearing this label: "Secret of fications of ordinary human abilities. Just as an
Superman's Identity/Do Not Open!" In actuality, ordinary man can hurl a baseball, Superman can hurl
however, this box contains a potent knockout gas an entire planet. Just as an ordinary man can see
designed to render unconscious any intruder who across the room, Superman can see across the
invades the Fortress and attempts to uncover unlverse.
Superman's secret (Nov '65: "The Strange 'S' Spell on
Superman.'''). Compared with the powers he possesses today,
however, the powers employed by Superman in the
Superman establishes an undersea Fortress of early texts are modest indeed. Action Comics No. 1,
Solitude-hollowed out of the side of an undersea the first comic book in which Superman appeared,
cliff-in September 1958 as part of his elaborate
scheme to trick the evil VUL·KoR and his daughter claimed only that its hero could "leap lhth of a mile;
Lya·La into believing that he has decided to abandon
the surface world forever in favor of a new life on the hurdle a twenty·story building . . . raise tremendous
ocean floor (Act No. 244: "The Super·Merman of the weights . . . run faster than an express train . . . and
Sea"). The undersea Fortress, which is reportedly that nothing less than a bursting shell could
located at the bottom of the Sargaf�o Sea, at 28° penetrate his skin!" (Jun '38).

As the years passed, however, the chroniclers
endowed the Man of Steel with ever more spectacular
powers to enable him to meet ever more exacting
challenges. Today Superman can withstand the heat
at the core of the sun, soar through the air at a speed
thousands of times the speed of light, and extinguish
a star with a puff of his breath as though it were
merely a candle on a birthday cake.

Along with the steady expansion of Superman's

SUPERMAN 345

powers has CQme a series ofchanging explanationsof chs. l·3-"The Superman ofthe Past"; ''The Secret of
how he came to acquire those powers. Action Comics
No. 1, for example, CQntains this "scientific explana­ the Towers"; "The Superman of the Present").
tion of Clark Kent's amazing strength":
Since, according to this theory, Superman owes the
Kent had come from a planet whose inhabitants'
physical structure was millions ofyears advanced ofour existence of his super-powers to the fact that he is no
own. Upon reaching maturity, the people of his race
became gifted with titanic strength! longer on the planet Krypton, it follows that Super­

-·Incredible? No! For even today on our world exist man has no super-powers wherever atmospheric and
creatures with super-strength!
gravitational conditions prevail that are identical to
The lowly ant can support weights hundreds oftimes
its own. The grasshopper leaps what to man would bethe those of his native planet.
space of several city blocks [Jun '38].
Indeed, during a visit to a man-made duplicate of
For approximately the first decade of Superman's
career, the textsadvanced thethesis that Superman's the planet Krypton in July 1953, Superman finds that
powers were merely those possessed by all the
inhabitants of his native planet. These texts de­ he can no longer fly, "since [the planet's1 tremendous
scribed the men and women ofKRYPTON as a "super­
racc" (S No. 7312, NovlDec '51: "The Mighty Mite!") gravitational power neutralizes [his] strength!"
who were gifted with X-ray vision and other powers
and who were "thousands of eons" ahead of earth· "And, because of the greater atmospheric density
lings, both mentally and physically (S No. 5311,
-!ullAug '48: "The Origin of Superman!"). on this world," notes Superman, "I can't(ugh) usemy

According to Superman No. 33/1, ". . . Superman-­ X-ray vision here either!"Andmoments laterhe adds,
a native of the ill-fated planet of Krypton---is of a
different structure than the natives of Earth! Neither "1--1 could stay under water almost indefinitely on
his mind norhis body are susceptible to the influences
that can overcome other human beings!" (MarlApr Earth---but noton [the duplicate] Krypton! Because of
'45: "Dimensions of Danger!").
the greater exertion, I need more oxygen!" (Act No.
"Where we come from," gloats the Kryptonian
villain U-BAN in July-August 1950, "everyone has 182: "The Return of Planet Krypton!").
see-through vision, extra-strength and extra-speed!"
(S No. 65/3: "Three Supermen from Krypton!"). An identical loss of his super-powers befalls

By the late 1940s, however, the texts had begun to Superman whenever he journeys through the time
describe the people of Krypton as more or less
ordinary human beings and to attribute Superman's barrier to Krypton at a time prior to its destruction or
powers to the vast differences between the gravita­
tional pull and atmospheric conditions of Krypton pays a visit to the bottle city of KANDOR. ". . . [W]here
and those of the planet Earth. In the words of
Superman No. 58/3: Krypton's non-earthly gravity conditions are in

force," muses Superman during a visit to Kandor in

October 1958, "1 have no super-powers! I-I'm just an

ordinary man!" (Act No. 245: "The Shrinking

Superman!").

According to a revised theory of Superman's

powers, first advanced in 1960, the Man of Steel

derives his super-powers "partly from [theJ lesser

rgravity" of Earth, and partly from unique "ult a
solar rays that penetrate Earth day and night!"

"These rays," explains Superman to SUPERGIRL in

March 1960, "can only affect people who were born in

yellowother solar systems than Earth's! And only
stars like Earth's sun emit those super-energy rays!

On planets of non-yellow suns, we would not be

super-powered, even under low gravity!" (Supergirl

story in Act No. 262: "Supergirl's Greatest Victory!").

This theory is restated in Superman No. 141.

"What gave me super-powers on Earth," explains

Everyone knows that Superman is a being from Superman, "was Earth's lesser gravity and the fact

another planet, unburdenedby the vastly weakergravity Krypton'sredthat, unlike sun, Earth's solar systcm

of Earth. But not everyone understands how gravity has a yellow sun. . . . Only yellowstars radiatesuper­

effects [sic] strength! Ifyou were on a world smallerthan energy rays which give super-powers to people born
ours, you could jump over high buildings, lift enormous
in other solar systems!" (Nov '60: pta. I-III­
weights . . . and thua duplicate some of the feats of the
"Superman Meets Jor-EI and Lara Again!"; "Super­
Man of Steel! IMay/Jun '49: "The Case of the Second
man's Kryptonian Romance!" ; "The Surprise of
Superman").
Fate!").

Superman No. 146/1 refines this theory still

Subsequent texts continued to cite the importance further, attributing Superman's "muscular

of the gravitational difference between Earth and powers"-super-strength, super-breath, super·speed,

Krypton while laying increasingly greater stress on and the power offlight-to Earth's light gravity, and

the significance ofKrypton's "unique atmosphere" in his "super-senses and mental powers"-X-ray vision

accounting for the awesome powers a Kryptonian and other optical powers, super-hearing, and various

acquired once he was free of his native planet. intellectual powers-to the ultra solar rays ofEarth's

"Obviously, Krypton is such an unusual planet," yellow sun. In a flashback sequence, Superman

Superman's father, JOR-Ei.., once noted, "that when a explains that, as the result of his having been born

.native Kryptonian is elsewhere, free of Krypton's

unique atmosphere and tremendous gravitational on a giant world with heavy gravity, my muscles
superman!"pull, he becomes a automatically became super-strong in Earth's light
(S No. 113, May '57: