Superman v1 80
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Superman's Big Brother
(10 pages/62 panels)
Superman encounters an amnesiac space traveller named Halk Kar bearing a map to Earth signed by Jor-El, and concludes that he must be his older brother. The two perform various super-feats, including tracking down racketeer "Wrecker" Ross and his gang. Meanwhile, Superman keeps secret that Halk's powers are greatly reduced from his own for fear of upstaging his supposed older brother.
Halk ends up captured by Ross, due to his reduced powers, and is held hostage until Superman agrees to leave Metropolis forever. Halk had grown to enjoy being a super-hero, but sacrifices himself to save Superman's "great career."
Halk ends up being electrocuted but the great shock does not kill him. Instead, he reagains his memory and realizes he is merely a space traveller who had crashed on Krypton and had his ship repaired by Jor-El. He had left just as the planet had exploded, rendering him unconscious and drifting through space until reaching Earth. Halk declares that his powers were reduced due to his home planet, Thoron, being smaller than Krypton.
Superman and Halk part as friends, looking forward to their next adventure together, which, as it turns out, was never chronicled.
Roll Call
Key characters
In order of appearance:
- Superman (cover, 49 panels - 1 as Clark Kent, 1 as infant in flashback)
- Halk Kar (cover, 45 panels - 2 in flashback)
Villains
- "Wrecker" Ross (cover, 15 panels)
- Two unnamed cronies in the Ross gang (11 panels - 1 also appears on cover and splash page)
Supporting characters
- Jor-El (6 panels - all in flashback)
- Lara (3 panels - all in flashback)
- Lois Lane (5 panels)
Other characters
- Citizens of Krypton (1 panel - in flashback)
- Citizens of Metropolis (2 panels), including:
- An unnamed truck driver (3 panels)
- Mr. Wilson, owner of a trucking company (2 panels)
- Mr. Bronson, owner of a steel mill (2 panels)
Planets and Settings
- Earth (20th century)
- Krypton (8 panels - all in flashback)
- Thoron (mentioned only)
Technology, Gadgets & Stuff
- Halk Kar's spaceship (7 panels)
- Superman's infant rocketship (2 panels - in flashback)
- "Wrecker" Ross's electric chair (6 panels)
- Giant bell for Metropolis City Hall (6 panels)
- Ross Gang getaway car (4 panels)
Notes of Interest
First Appearances
This issue marks the first and only appearance, to date, of Halk Kar, "Wrecker" Ross and all supporting and minor characters depicted. Only mention of planet Thoron.
Into the Multiverse
This story was printed during the Atom Age of comics, a period after the Golden Age but before the universally accepted start of the Silver Age in 1956. However, many fans consider this tale to be an Earth-2 story.
Given his similar appearance, and how this story was later adapted, Halk Kar is often thought of as the Earth-2 Mon-El, even though the Legion of Super-Heroes never officially existed on that plane of reality.
Twice-Told Tales
This story was later adapted as, "Superboy's Big Brother!" in Superboy v1 #89 (June, 1961).
- Although this story itself was never contradicted specifically, there were several changes in the rewrite. Mon-El had the same powers as Superboy, rather than Halk's reduced powers. Halk had no known weaknesses, while Mon-El was famously alergic to lead. And, or corse, Halk did not end up trapped in the Phantom Zone, which had not yet been conceived.
Reboot Reference Kit
Mon-El, who debuted in the Pre-Crisis era in a story based on this issue, was rebooted in the following eras, in the following issues:
- Post-Crisis
- Glorithverse
- Post-Zero Hour (Superboy v3 18 and 19)
- Threeboot (Legion of Super-Heroes v5 24)
Other stories in this issue
Unknown
Reprints
This Legion story has been reprinted in the following:
- Superman v1 222 (January, 1970)
