Random Happenstance

I may have groaned loudly at the reveal in this one, so now I'm passing it on to you! Uh, you're welcome. From 1977, Adventure Comics #453, "You Too Can Be a Super Hero!" Written by Bob Rozakis, pencils by John Calnan, inks by Murphy Anderson.

Returning from a visit to the Legion in the 30th century, Superboy makes a quick pass by Camp Smallville, where he saves a young girl from drowning before swinging back into town to change into Clark Kent and then return to camp. The girl gets grounded in her bunk by her older brother Anthony, and wishes she was a superhero herself: oh, how she'd make them pay then...Luckily for her, Superboy had brought back a magic crystal from Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #230, and things might be happening. Later that night, she's forced to go out to the campfire with the other kids, as Lana Lang tells a ghost story, with Clark and Pete Ross ready to jump out and scare them...with sheets over their heads, real low production values, guys. Transforming into Mighty Girl, the little girl clobbers ghost-Clark, with a punch that would've killed a regular kid. Switching to Superboy, he's able to get back to save Pete, with the usual lie that he had already 'saved' poor Clark. Next, with a fire spreading, Mighty Girl tries to stop it but instead spreads it with super-breath. (Aside: I feel like DC did this one every so often, where a girl gets the hero's powers but just causes problems with them. I suppose most super-powers took some practice, and an 11-year-old with Superboy's powers would be trouble, but it still felt pretty condescending and sexist.)

While Mighty Girl is ready to fight for her powers, Superboy throws the crystal into the sun to destroy it, taking them away. He tries to explain that you couldn't get super-powers by wishing, but training and experience were needed. Only briefly daunted, the little girl pipes up that she will be a super-heroine someday, and that little girl was...Barbara Gordon? The closing caption box asks if you put together the clues; which I didn't really see? Her brother Tony had maybe two appearances pre-Crisis, that's not much of a clue.

Also this issue: an Aqualad short, "Aqualad--Who is Thy Father!" (Written by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Carl Potts, inks by Joe Rubenstein.) The Idylists of the underwater Hidden Valley have been stonewalling Aqualad, about who his father really was; refusing to reveal the secret, or the Hidden Valley would be doomed, and where would you get your ranch dressing then? (Boo!)