Random Happenstance

As this posts, I will have been back at work for a couple of days, after an absolutely splendiferous four-day weekend; so I should be completely hating life and the living as of...hmm, now. I deal with not working just fine, but some people have trouble without the structure of their jobs; even if their job is a horrible, chaotic mess of disasters, danger, and suffering. It's nice to feel needed, I guess. From 1968, a not-GCD pretty copy of Action Comics #368, "The Unemployed Superman!" Written by Otto Binder, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Jack Abel. Cover by Carmine Infantino.

After a month patrolling in space, and visiting his mock-up/memorial of Krypton, Superman returns to earth, which he guesses will probably have built up some problems for him. Instead he finds, a completely peaceful and safe planet? That hadn't had a single crime in a month? Or a natural disaster? Returning to work as Clark Kent, Perry White tells him people aren't even getting sick anymore, and the biggest news story for him to chase was a chess tournament. (We don't see Lois in this one, because she's either deep in investigating this nonsense; or sunk into alcoholism out of boredom.) Mr. Mxyzptlk and Phantom Zone criminal Jax-Ur show up briefly, but neither cause any trouble, and both leave quietly. Starting to get itchy with boredom, Supes has three of his robots shoot confiscated super-weapons at him: it doesn't hurt him, of course, but the robots then activate their self-destructs, saying it was evil to use weapons against anyone!

Superman is puzzled, but is then joined by a "Sentinel," not a big purple robot, but a jewel surrounded by energy rings. The Sentinel explains that not only had they changed the planet and destroyed evil, but that Superman wasn't needed anymore, so he should just go off and live under a red sun somewhere. Off you go! Sadly, Superman seems to agree, packing up some stuff, including a space suit and parachute: without even saying goodbye to anyone, Superman drops down to a planet under a red sun, without his powers...to be continued? Ooh, that's going to be tough to find in the dollar bins, even a ratty copy; but the GCD entry for #369 spoils it if you can't wait. (I suspect, it's something akin to Kirk's speech at the end of the Star Trek episode "This Side of Paradise," "Maybe we weren't meant for paradise. Maybe we were meant to fight our way through, struggle, claw our way up, scratch for every inch of the way. Maybe we can't stroll to the music of the lute. We must march to the sound of drums.")

Also this issue: "Supergirl's Stand to Save Stanhope!" (Written by Cary Bates, art by Kurt Schaffenberger.) This was the conclusion of a three-parter, with some dickheads from the future having taken the entire college hostage, in search of a student that would later invent a formula worth millions to them. With the college sealed off by a force-field that would explode if a Super hit it, Supergirl exposes herself to Gold Kryptonite, taking away her powers permanently, so she could get inside; then she and the student have to contend with a hypnotized student body and assorted future robots and gadgets. It's fun to see Supergirl have to work without powers (although she had gadgets of her own!) and of course she really hadn't been exposed to Gold-K in the end.