Sent to deal with supervillains at Doc Magnus’s robotics lab by the telepathic Captain Comet, Superboy found bad guy Raze, but not the Atomic Age superhero. He was greeted by the US Army, demanding his arrest.
Fleeing home to Smallville, a chat with Ma and Pa Kent has Clark suspecting he’s been played.
Having decided to keep an eye on the younger hero,Captain Comet has been employed as Clark Kent’s history teacher, Adam Blake, so he really isn’t tough to find.
Which might be OK, except Comet has now put Superboy on the radar of the US government. ‘You’ll figure out something,’ is the unwanted mentor’s helpful response, before he flies away, leaving Clark to resume his school day. That involves chopping up a frog.
Or not, if you have a sensitive pal like Pete Ross who will swoop in and grab the scalpel. It turns out the poor frog stinks inside due to some disease… which gets Clark thinking, prompting another visit to Captain Comet, whom he catches experimenting in his shed.
The older hero has some kind of space illness that’s been damping down his powers, explaining why he vanished off the public scene years previously. But Clark having donned the costume, he felt he had to dig out his own hero duds and help Superboy achieve his potential. And while it’s possible Clark can boost Blake’s out-of-alien-fuel Cometeer spaceship off the planet, giving him a chance to find more super-gas and maybe even a cure, Captain Comet says No – he’s going to hang around and help Clark.
Clark protests, but accepts his decision.
The biggest lesson Captain Comet teaches Clark? Superdickery! Yep, all those Silver and Bronze Age stories in which our hero gaslights his nearest and dearest to ‘teach them a valuable lesson’ retroactively begin here.
First the good Captain gives Clark and his parents a new set of worries around his identity being uncovered. Then Comet winds him up about his illness… that it’s true isn’t the point, he’s met the Kents and surely knows what good influences they are. He’s seen Clark in action as Superboy. So why does he think lessons must be taught by him?
Because he’s having fun, that’s why. Dick.
Which isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the latest script from Mark Waid. It’s very readable and Superboy shines. I was fascinated to see Waid bring back the ‘soul vision’ power first (only?) seen in Waid and Leonil Francis Wu’s Superman: Birthright maxi-series over two decades ago. I wonder if Clark will be spotting auras more often from here on in.
Pete’s rescuing of Clark from frogicide has me wondering if this version – who we can now assume is from the Birthright origin – went on the famous camping trip and learned Clark’s secret ID… I’m on a cruise this week and spotty wifi keeps me from checking over at DC Infinite. It could be that Pete is ‘just’ a great friend to Clark and when he stops him being bashed by bully Kenny Braverman earlier this issue, there’s no Superboy-related motive.
Lana is also in the Kenny scene, showing her character to great effect.
Skylar Patridge’s art is, as usual, appealing in its simplicity and solidity. The artist is excellent at showing people moving, or, occasionally, still; I especially like the scene showing Martha, Jonathan and Clark sitting by the latter’s bed, there’s an appealing naturalness to it.
Ivan Plascencia is a colourist whose work I usually enjoy but here the facial tones are often unsubtle blotches; possibly Patridge isn’t putting enough lines into the art to allow for more. Full marks, though, for the outdoor scenery and special effects.
Steve Wands gives us a sharp lettering job, but the title of the story is ‘Wanted’ and he didn’t grab the old comic logo from DC’s library.
Come on Steve, lean into that nostalgia!
And that’s the first storyline for Superboy in Action Comics over, I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next. And maybe eventually, a return by Captain Comet, cured and ready to team up with Superboy as an equal.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
If I’m honest, I’m not a fan of soul vision. It doesn’t really add anything for me. It feels too close to the idea that he has an aversion to killing because of how things look, rather than he’s a psychologically healthy person.
I like a super-sniffer though. That sort of thing isn’t brought up enough.
I’m not a fan of the shrinking universe elements of Superboy meeting General Lane before he meets Lois, but glad we got around to Captain Comet not being awful, although the whole elaborate testing of the hero thing is a bit old hat. Shouldn’t a super advanced person recognise that this isn’t really the most effective way to get a point across. He could have a chat with Clark to the same end, he must see that Clark is open to other people’s viewpoints!
Also not sure that the idea of the Kents teaching Clark to respect authority figures feels right, especially nowadays. Superman was the original super hero rebel.
As you say, it’s readable, definitely, but probably won’t be a favourite run for me.
Stu
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Sure, Adam knew Clark’s inner self and the great character traits taught and fostered by his parents but would Clark have so quickly trusted that about himself had Adam not done what he did? Thanks to Adam, Clark’s confidence will grow by leaps and bounds
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Well that’s a great point!
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I’m just sick of Sam Lane full stop, but I see your point but I grew up with Superboy comics in which he was forever meeting DC superheroes before their official origins, there were so many DC did a trade. In one story they even had the Wayne family move to Smallville!
As for ‘Soul Vision’, while we can’t see auras, I reckon we all have it when we notice something is alive.
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My main worry when Captain Comet arrived on the scene was, how will he leave? It’s not like Superboy only needs a week of training before being ready to be Superman — by giving Clark a super-mentor, I was worried his presence would eventually diminish him, and the feeling of Superman being “first,” at least of the new wave of heroes. It’s nice to see him, but I didn’t want him becoming a major part of the Superman legend.
I shouldn’t have worried. Waid & Patridge come up with an elegant and heroic way for Captain Comet to leave the scene, without killing him, but also without him idly abandoning the responsibilities he assumed as Clark’s teacher. He can’t be there for Clark anymore, but he has a good reason for leaving. Well done, all around.
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t also allows Adam to have the experience with the Secret Society of Super Villains since most of it would still work with current continuity. It might be even better with no dimension hopping for Earth 2 villains. And has the SSoV’s Star Sapphire ever appeared again since then?
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There was a post-Crisis version of her – turned to glass and shattered.
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Good thinking, Rob, I’d be all in, as they say, on a modern-day Clark and Adam team-up, let’s see how they relate to each other these days.
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Hey Martin,
I’m gonna give a big hand to Waid for giving Captain Comet the key role in DC history he deserves – being an early mentor to Superman.
For me Comet and his adventures are just a pure example of that wonderful 1950s-era, pre-Silver Age storytelling that gives me a feeling of nostalgia for a time I’m too young to have lived. His creators are Silver Age icons – John Broome, Carmine Infantino, Murphy Anderson, Julie Schwartz! His stories involve typically 1950s topics – aliens, radiation, quirky fantasy! His secret ID is a libriarian and his best friend a professor!
Martian Manhunter sometimes gets referenced as the 1st Silver Age hero, but I’d argue Comet is the real bridge between the Golden and Silver ages. But for whatever reasons he has been sort of stuck in that period while Manhunter – also a cool character – has remained relevant over all these decades.
I like how Gerry Conway tried in the 1970s to make Comet DC’s Captain America – attributing the character’s not being around for 20 years to having left Earth for adventures in space, then having Comet return and pal around with the Justice League. But Conway seemed the only one interested in Comet and so that comeback was brief.
Waid’s use of Comet here reminds me of how James Robinson wrapped up his “Golden Age” miniseries from years ago with the Captain’s introduction. That series for obvious reasons is remembered as Robinson’s first real go at writing the Justice Society/Golden Age heroes. But Robinson, who obviously loves DC continuity as much as Waid, was clever enough to bring in Comet for the finale.
So having Waid through retro-active continuity raise Comet’s importance within the DC as an acknowledgement of the character’s importance in comic book histoy I think is really, really cool!
-Brian
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I’m with you, Brian, Captain Comet is certainly the first DC Silver Age hero, even if Steve Englehart did snub him in Justice League of America #144. I’ve read just a few of his adventures in reprints, but enjoyed them lots. So yes, good on Gerry Conway for bringing him back in the Seventies, but our favourite librarian was also used by Bob Rozakis in DC Special #27, Danger: Dinosaurs at Large.
Coincidentally, you can hear me and Paul Kien jabbering on about that issue next month on Paul’s DC Specialcast from the Fire and Water Network via https://fireandwaterpodcast.com/show/dcspecialcast/
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