Showcase Presents Superman, Volume II: Hilarity

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Is anything funnier than Silver Age Superman?

Here are some panels that made me actually laugh out loud from this latest volume. I'm only about a third of the way through so far, but I had to share these:


To add to the comedy, they keep referring to that thing as a sea monster. That's a walrus. A very big walrus.

This is great. Mean Superman decides to dress Perry White in funny costumes for his own amusement. But nothing beats him turning Perry into a 'bum,' then taunting him, then taking his picture. The best part? I'll bet Superman didn't even have a dime on him.


What makes Superman mad? When ladies don't notice him...or his fake arm.

Then there was this whole other story that just needs to be told pretty much in its entirety because it's just that amazing.

It's the story of a love affair Superman has with the mysterious Mighty Maid. They meet, they both have the same powers, they fall in love in a hurry, and Superman decides to ask her to marry him. This naturally makes Lois sad. And it doesn't help that Superman is being a real ass about it.


Nice, Superman. Real nice.

Anyway, it all turns out to be an elaborate hoax. Overly elaborate if you ask me. Suspiciously elaborate, even. Because Mighty Maid turns out to be none other than Superman's teen cousin, Supergirl.

Ew?

Ok, here's the worst part: Supergirl was not even really in on the gag. She was being kept totally in the dark. So basically you have Superman telling his child cousin to make out with him in public and not ask questions.

And why was it that he insisted on this ridiculous plan? There were some aliens who wanted to wipe out every last Kryptonian, and since they believed him to be the last one, he tricked them into thinking he left Earth for another dimension, never to return again. That would force them to give up, and not blow up the Earth as planned. So it was noble. And COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!

Superman basically had one objective: keep Earth from being blown up by angry aliens. The only plan he could come up with involved making out with his cousin for a few days. I just don't buy it. If that's the only idea you have, you have to think a little harder. Clearly Superman was just looking for an excuse. Any excuse.

Everything ends well for Lois.

I love so many things about these two panels:

a) Lois is falling off a building, and she looks almost bored. It just happens so often.

b) Lois is rescued in mid-air...actually, not even technically rescued yet...and all she's concerned about is Superman's marriage.

c) "It's true! Supergirl is 15 years old!" hahahaha...no, wait. Gross, Superman. That's not funny. That's gross.

d) Lois just heard Superman say that he almost married a 15 year old and all she can think is "Gee, still a chance for me!" Yup, Lois. He's all yours. Quite a catch. Guard your daughters.

I could practically scan this whole book. Every page is comedy gold. I don't know why they don't just market it as such.

Review of Superman as husband, by Johnathan.

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Granted, this is a dream sequence - Supes' cousin Supergirl is hell-bent on finding der Man of Steel a wife (and incidentally causing untold damage to the space-time continuum and my suspension of disbelief in the process) and so visions of marital servitude are naturally enough dancing in her head.

All that aside, though: Superman is a terrible better half, just terrible. Here are some reasons:

a) Superman is a master roboticist/ virtual demigod, yet poor Mrs. Kent still apparently spends her days puttering around their horribly-decorated split-level bungalow, while her so-called better half has exciting adventures in exotic lands. She apparently has so little to do that she has become the greatest cook in all of creation, when really she should be spending her days in a Martian pleasure-palace, waited on hand and foot by automatons and subjugated supervillians.

b) This alien guy. I've read plenty of Sixties Superman comics, and I gotta say: 75-90% of the time, anyone that the Big Blue befriends turns out to have a heart full of betrayal and a secret stash of kryptonite. If he keeps bringing home every 'friend' that he makes once he's outside the ionosphere, sooner or later ol' wifey's going to get fragged. And her with nary a robot in sight to protect her...
Even assuming that Superman never accidentally brings home his new pal the Predator or something, this is a troubling little scene. Why? Three words: explosive allergic reaction. I get the impression that the Two Space Amigos have just dropped in unannounced, and Super-housefrau has pulled the latest in the endless series of meals that she cooks just to ease the bitter loneliness of her existence off of the stove and served it up. Further, I'm betting that even the Universe's Greatest Cook doesn't constantly have a series of different meals on the go, each tailored to a different alien biochemistry, and that one day an unexpected extraterrestrial dinner guest is going to end up as a thin film spattered liberally throughout the dining room. Come to think of it... maybe it's already happened, and that's why the walls are such a terrible shade of yellow.

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As a final aside: at the end of the story, Superman described his ideal bride, and it turned out to be someone just like Supergirl, but not his cousin. Uk.

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