1. The Grayson Submarine
    Adventures of Superman Radio Serial - May 1941

    Jimmy, Clark, Perry and Lois all find themselves embroiled in the U.S. government’s attempts to protect inventor Charles Grayson’s groundbreaking new submarine from the destructive hands of enemy agents, personified in the mysterious Dr.Deutch (The counterintuitive spelling of his name actually plays a role in the next story arc).

    The series’ second recurring villain - depending if you count Keno and The Wolf altogether as part of The Yellow Mask’s entourage - Mr.Deutch personifies an increasing presence of “foreign agents” in these pre-war adventures.

  2. The Scientists of Sudden DeathSuperman daily newspaper strip (Apr 21 - May 22) The League to Destroy Superman gets an official moniker by way of The Scientists of Sudden Death – I told you it was a good name – and their chairman, crooked real estate magnate Ralph Roland, draws up the batting order: First it’s Dr.Carlos, then Coker, then three men with the unlikely surnames of Slag, Fant, and Sleez, and lastly the beautiful blonde big game hunter Liv Danvers, aka The Blonde Tigress! She blames Superman for the murder of her father and she is champing at the bit to have her chance at the Man of Steel! Dr.Carlos goes first, however, and becomes the first criminal to notice the apparent connection between Superman and Lois Lane. Abducting the star reporter, Carlos and his henchman place her in a glass-protected nook in the Doctor’s insidious hotbox, a steel-enclosed room which can have its temperatures raised high enough to kill even Superman! He may go down in the history books as the first baddie to use Lois as bait, but he doesn’t live to tell about it; succumbing to the terrible heat and helplessly watching as Lois’ glass-protected nook begins to buckle to the point of rupture, Superman has no choice but to break through the protective glass behind which Carlos, his henchman and the room’s temperature controls reside. Carlos doesn’t survive the tremendous heat now rushing into his control room, but the Scientists of Sudden Death have a whole roster waiting to take up the slack.

    The Scientists of Sudden Death
    Superman daily newspaper strip (Apr 21 - May 22)

    The League to Destroy Superman gets an official moniker by way of The Scientists of Sudden Death – I told you it was a good name – and their chairman, crooked real estate magnate Ralph Roland, draws up the batting order: First it’s Dr.Carlos, then Coker, then three men with the unlikely surnames of Slag, Fant, and Sleez, and lastly the beautiful blonde big game hunter Liv Danvers, aka The Blonde Tigress! She blames Superman for the murder of her father and she is champing at the bit to have her chance at the Man of Steel!

    Dr.Carlos goes first, however, and becomes the first criminal to notice the apparent connection between Superman and Lois Lane. Abducting the star reporter, Carlos and his henchman place her in a glass-protected nook in the Doctor’s insidious hotbox, a steel-enclosed room which can have its temperatures raised high enough to kill even Superman!

    He may go down in the history books as the first baddie to use Lois as bait, but he doesn’t live to tell about it; succumbing to the terrible heat and helplessly watching as Lois’ glass-protected nook begins to buckle to the point of rupture, Superman has no choice but to break through the protective glass behind which Carlos, his henchman and the room’s temperature controls reside. Carlos doesn’t survive the tremendous heat now rushing into his control room, but the Scientists of Sudden Death have a whole roster waiting to take up the slack.

  3. The League To Destroy SupermanSuperman Daily Newspaper Strip - March 10, 1941 to April 19, 1941 The daily newspaper strip will spend the better part of 1941 pitting Superman against a coterie of revenge-driven killers and madmen. Having put away a number of crooks and thugs, and having foiled no small share of inventive and insidious plots, Superman has easily acquired the ire of  all sorts of nefarious nogoodniks who have been, up to this point, merely sitting around and brooding about revenge. It takes a crooked real estate mogul named Roland to bring them together under a single roof, calling on his fellow crooks to contribute funds to make for a million dollar bounty on the Man of Steel’s head and then entertaining all comers as they pitch their schemes to kill Superman. It’s like Dragon’s Den for bad guys, an American Idol of super-assassins… Although the Superman Revenge Squad will become a popular set of adversaries later on in Superman’s Silver Age, Roland’s assembly predates them by a couple of decades - making them the FIRST team of baddies dedicated to Superman’s destruction (and possibly the first dedicated revenge squad in comics). They won;t have a name until the next chapter of the arc (it’s a good one, though), but they’ve already secured a place in Superman lore.

    The League To Destroy Superman
    Superman Daily Newspaper Strip - March 10, 1941 to April 19, 1941

    The daily newspaper strip will spend the better part of 1941 pitting Superman against a coterie of revenge-driven killers and madmen. Having put away a number of crooks and thugs, and having foiled no small share of inventive and insidious plots, Superman has easily acquired the ire of  all sorts of nefarious nogoodniks who have been, up to this point, merely sitting around and brooding about revenge.
    It takes a crooked real estate mogul named Roland to bring them together under a single roof, calling on his fellow crooks to contribute funds to make for a million dollar bounty on the Man of Steel’s head and then entertaining all comers as they pitch their schemes to kill Superman. It’s like Dragon’s Den for bad guys, an American Idol of super-assassins…
    Although the Superman Revenge Squad will become a popular set of adversaries later on in Superman’s Silver Age, Roland’s assembly predates them by a couple of decades - making them the FIRST team of baddies dedicated to Superman’s destruction (and possibly the first dedicated revenge squad in comics). They won;t have a name until the next chapter of the arc (it’s a good one, though), but they’ve already secured a place in Superman lore.

  4. Action Comics vol.1 #21 - Cover date February 1940 It is the final adventure of the Ultra-Humanite in the pages of Action Comics - or, in fact, in any comic for several decades - putting a seemingly final end to Superman’s first and most deadly nemesis. In this adventure, scientist Terry Curtis brings the facade of an apartment building down on Clark Kent (and a few pedestrians saved by the disguised Superman’s quick and timely throwing arm) in the middle of the atom-splitting experiments he’s unwisely chosen to conduct in the heart of busy Metropolis. Shaking off a little negligent manslaughter between bros, Clark gets the story about Curtis’ ground-breaking work on the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, the Atomic Disintegrator. Kent’s article catches the attention of Ultra - still occupying the body of screen siren Dolores Winter - who uses his newly acquired feminine wiles to ultimately abduct the scientist and his terrible weapon. From there, the brakes are off and the story moves at breakneck pace - booby-traps threaten Metropolis’ doom, Superman is coerced into fighting both the entire metropolitan police force and the National Guard, then there are death-traps for the Man of Steel in a glass city hidden within a volcano and the threat of atomic armageddon looming forever overhead. Ultra ends the episode by willfully plunging his stolen body into the merciless magma of the rumbling volcano, and Superman sees to it that the secret of the Atomic Disinitegrator follows thereafter. A humbled Curtis is urged to forget the whole thing, and subsequently vanishes. (At least until 1983, that is - this story is one of a handful retro-engineered by comics scribe Roy Thomas to act as launching points for stories in his Golden Age comics paean, All-Star Squadron. Ultra and Curtis - now the villain Cyclotron - return with only a year having passed, as far as the story was concerned.  It may be worth mentioning that Ultra, in the body of Dolores Winters, had made his re-appearance three years earlier and had become a regular if not consistent  face in an assortment of Earth-2-related titles, some of which contradict Thomas’ explanation of how Ultra survived his volcanic plunge) Ultra’s resemblance to Lois Lane - another brunette with flashing eyes - is worth mentioning, possibly as an additional reason that the villain would soon disappear from the Superman titles despite the fact that the number of super-stories were multiplying rapidly and villains would soon be needed by the bucketful. It’s also well-accounted for in Jerry Siegel’s own words that not only Lois Lane’s look but her ingenuity and fearlessness were based on the model hired to pose as Lois for artist Joe Shuster - then Jolan Kovacs, later Joanne Siegel. With that in mind, then, was there also a woman of Siegel and Shuster’s acquaintance who inspired the callous, cruel spirit within the beautiful form of Dolores Winters?  It’ll be impossible to say, particularly as here we say goodbye to Ultra in the pages of Action, whoever’s face he chooses to wear. Beginning in the very next issue of Action, there will be something of a So You Think You Can Arch-Enemy roll call of short-lived thug tacticians, would-be fascist bully-boys and super-scientists appearing before Superman, not the least of which being Ultra’s spiritual successor, the insidious genius and the Man of Steel’s greatest nemesis, Lex Luthor …

    Action Comics vol.1 #21 - Cover date February 1940

    It is the final adventure of the Ultra-Humanite in the pages of Action Comics - or, in fact, in any comic for several decades - putting a seemingly final end to Superman’s first and most deadly nemesis.

    In this adventure, scientist Terry Curtis brings the facade of an apartment building down on Clark Kent (and a few pedestrians saved by the disguised Superman’s quick and timely throwing arm) in the middle of the atom-splitting experiments he’s unwisely chosen to conduct in the heart of busy Metropolis. Shaking off a little negligent manslaughter between bros, Clark gets the story about Curtis’ ground-breaking work on the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, the Atomic Disintegrator.

    Kent’s article catches the attention of Ultra - still occupying the body of screen siren Dolores Winter - who uses his newly acquired feminine wiles to ultimately abduct the scientist and his terrible weapon.

    From there, the brakes are off and the story moves at breakneck pace - booby-traps threaten Metropolis’ doom, Superman is coerced into fighting both the entire metropolitan police force and the National Guard, then there are death-traps for the Man of Steel in a glass city hidden within a volcano and the threat of atomic armageddon looming forever overhead.

    Ultra ends the episode by willfully plunging his stolen body into the merciless magma of the rumbling volcano, and Superman sees to it that the secret of the Atomic Disinitegrator follows thereafter. A humbled Curtis is urged to forget the whole thing, and subsequently vanishes.

    (At least until 1983, that is - this story is one of a handful retro-engineered by comics scribe Roy Thomas to act as launching points for stories in his Golden Age comics paean, All-Star Squadron. Ultra and Curtis - now the villain Cyclotron - return with only a year having passed, as far as the story was concerned. 

    It may be worth mentioning that Ultra, in the body of Dolores Winters, had made his re-appearance three years earlier and had become a regular if not consistent  face in an assortment of Earth-2-related titles, some of which contradict Thomas’ explanation of how Ultra survived his volcanic plunge)

    Ultra’s resemblance to Lois Lane - another brunette with flashing eyes - is worth mentioning, possibly as an additional reason that the villain would soon disappear from the Superman titles despite the fact that the number of super-stories were multiplying rapidly and villains would soon be needed by the bucketful.

    It’s also well-accounted for in Jerry Siegel’s own words that not only Lois Lane’s look but her ingenuity and fearlessness were based on the model hired to pose as Lois for artist Joe Shuster - then Jolan Kovacs, later Joanne Siegel. With that in mind, then, was there also a woman of Siegel and Shuster’s acquaintance who inspired the callous, cruel spirit within the beautiful form of Dolores Winters? 

    It’ll be impossible to say, particularly as here we say goodbye to Ultra in the pages of Action, whoever’s face he chooses to wear.

    Beginning in the very next issue of Action, there will be something of a So You Think You Can Arch-Enemy roll call of short-lived thug tacticians, would-be fascist bully-boys and super-scientists appearing before Superman, not the least of which being Ultra’s spiritual successor, the insidious genius and the Man of Steel’s greatest nemesis, Lex Luthor …

  5. Action Comics vol.1 #20 - Cover date January 1940 Superman collects more than a handful of iconic images during his first few years in action, from the sedan-smashing panic of his first appearance and his smiling, soaring form over the skyline of Metropolis in the first issue of his own magazine to potent in-story images such as his first meeting with Lois Lane, or speeding ahead of the rushing waters of Valleyho Dam… Not the least of these is the above set of panels - Superman recognizes in the striking eyes of actress Dolores Winters the blazing, hate-filled glare of his old enemy The Ultra-Humanite, given a new lease on life, vitality and strength! This issue marks the penultimate appearance of the Ultra-Humanite - for a good few decades, in any case - which means there’s a lot to discuss. Ultra was Superman’s first nemesis, his first recurring foe, and frankly the first human being capable of going toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel and live to tell about it - in whichever body he chooses to occupy. Taking a working vacation to Hollywood, Clark Kent saves beautiful young starlet Dolores Winters from an assassin’s bullet. Taking her up on an offer to interview her at her home later that night, Clark is instead rebuffed by the once-grateful actress turned suddenly cold and cruel. Before long, Winters has abducted dozens of Hollywood’s leading personalities aboard her private yacht, holding them ransom for a small fortune in exchange for their safe return (Of course, she plans to murder them all once the money is received). Superman interrupts her plans, but also uncovers her secret - her young, strong body now houses the brain of The Ultra-Humanite, believed to be deceased, no longer crippled and confined to his wheelchair! Deadlier than ever!  Although it’s not directly addressed in the comic - with his biologically male mind in the biologically female body of Dolores Winters - Ultra is technically the first transgendered character in comics. None of the obvious questions are addressed by Superman or his deadliest foe in this particular instance, but one has to imagine that there were plenty of popular, young, healthy, wealthy and male actors in Hollywood whose body would have suited Ultra’s needs as well as Dolores’. Ultra’s impetus for switching genders might provide much grist for modern-day writers retelling the tale… On the creative side at the time, it most likely had to do with not wanting to pit handsome, strong and visibly masculine Superman against an enemy with similar qualities - Ultra’s success as a nemesis had much to do with his withered body and cruel, ugly appearance.  And while Superman had any number of tough thugs and an increasing number of mad scientists lining up to battle him, he lacked one thing which many other pulp and four-color heroes - The Spirit, Sargon, Conan, and particularly his pal Batman, for instance - would have in abundance: the femme fatale. With Ultra’s burning hatred for Superman and all he stood for, their relationship might have lacked the undeniable attraction that was the hallmark of those situations, but a deadly woman had a sufficient appeal as a villain that it was the first resort of the movie serial many years down the road. More intriguing to me, in regards to this particular issue, is why Ultra’s men initially staged a very public, highly visible assassination attempt against young miss Winters when whatever they needed to do to engineer their boss’ body-switch was done quietly between panels before Clark Kent even had time to pay a visit. Some genius…

    Action Comics vol.1 #20 - Cover date January 1940

    Superman collects more than a handful of iconic images during his first few years in action, from the sedan-smashing panic of his first appearance and his smiling, soaring form over the skyline of Metropolis in the first issue of his own magazine to potent in-story images such as his first meeting with Lois Lane, or speeding ahead of the rushing waters of Valleyho Dam…

    Not the least of these is the above set of panels - Superman recognizes in the striking eyes of actress Dolores Winters the blazing, hate-filled glare of his old enemy The Ultra-Humanite, given a new lease on life, vitality and strength!

    This issue marks the penultimate appearance of the Ultra-Humanite - for a good few decades, in any case - which means there’s a lot to discuss. Ultra was Superman’s first nemesis, his first recurring foe, and frankly the first human being capable of going toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel and live to tell about it - in whichever body he chooses to occupy.

    Taking a working vacation to Hollywood, Clark Kent saves beautiful young starlet Dolores Winters from an assassin’s bullet. Taking her up on an offer to interview her at her home later that night, Clark is instead rebuffed by the once-grateful actress turned suddenly cold and cruel.

    Before long, Winters has abducted dozens of Hollywood’s leading personalities aboard her private yacht, holding them ransom for a small fortune in exchange for their safe return (Of course, she plans to murder them all once the money is received). Superman interrupts her plans, but also uncovers her secret - her young, strong body now houses the brain of The Ultra-Humanite, believed to be deceased, no longer crippled and confined to his wheelchair! Deadlier than ever! 

    Although it’s not directly addressed in the comic - with his biologically male mind in the biologically female body of Dolores Winters - Ultra is technically the first transgendered character in comics. None of the obvious questions are addressed by Superman or his deadliest foe in this particular instance, but one has to imagine that there were plenty of popular, young, healthy, wealthy and male actors in Hollywood whose body would have suited Ultra’s needs as well as Dolores’. Ultra’s impetus for switching genders might provide much grist for modern-day writers retelling the tale…

    On the creative side at the time, it most likely had to do with not wanting to pit handsome, strong and visibly masculine Superman against an enemy with similar qualities - Ultra’s success as a nemesis had much to do with his withered body and cruel, ugly appearance. 

    And while Superman had any number of tough thugs and an increasing number of mad scientists lining up to battle him, he lacked one thing which many other pulp and four-color heroes - The Spirit, Sargon, Conan, and particularly his pal Batman, for instance - would have in abundance: the femme fatale. With Ultra’s burning hatred for Superman and all he stood for, their relationship might have lacked the undeniable attraction that was the hallmark of those situations, but a deadly woman had a sufficient appeal as a villain that it was the first resort of the movie serial many years down the road.

    More intriguing to me, in regards to this particular issue, is why Ultra’s men initially staged a very public, highly visible assassination attempt against young miss Winters when whatever they needed to do to engineer their boss’ body-switch was done quietly between panels before Clark Kent even had time to pay a visit. Some genius…

  6. The Mindless Slaves of Dr. GroutSuperman Sunday Newspaper Strip - December 31, 1939 to February 4, 1940 Clark - and Superman - encounter their second mad scientist, the insidious Dr.Grout who hypnotizes unemployed men into becoming mindless assassins.  As Superman makes short work of assorted thugs and ne’er-do-wells across multiple media, the cops-and-robbers elements of his stories increasingly give way to elements of science fiction. Ultra initiates the upcoming rogues gallery of mad scientists in the pages of Action, and in this arc of the color Sunday newspaper strips we’re introduced to Superman’s second evil scientific nemesis, “Dr.Grout” (A white-jacketed mesmerist who hypnotizes homeless men into becoming brainwashed assassins - some shades of “Reign of the Super Man” to be had). Although Superman’s adventures up to this point are largely ground-level, you can at least say in his defense that he’s yet to repeat a theme - he’s put the boot to one wife-beater, one lynch mob, one war profiteer, one overzealous warden, one cruel orphanmaster, and so on. It’s one beating per offense in Superman’s world!  But, of course, avoiding repetition among the violators of the social trust against whom Superman pits his tremendous strength means that the Man of Steel, in short order, will eventually find himself battling reckless drivers and pinball machine syndicates. Ultimately, labors which test his tremendous powers (and which, in turn, encourage the invention of new powers) become the order of the day, and a small army of mad scientists will lead Superman’s march into science fiction territory…

    The Mindless Slaves of Dr. Grout
    Superman Sunday Newspaper Strip - December 31, 1939 to February 4, 1940

    Clark - and Superman - encounter their second mad scientist, the insidious Dr.Grout who hypnotizes unemployed men into becoming mindless assassins. 

    As Superman makes short work of assorted thugs and ne’er-do-wells across multiple media, the cops-and-robbers elements of his stories increasingly give way to elements of science fiction. Ultra initiates the upcoming rogues gallery of mad scientists in the pages of Action, and in this arc of the color Sunday newspaper strips we’re introduced to Superman’s second evil scientific nemesis, “Dr.Grout” (A white-jacketed mesmerist who hypnotizes homeless men into becoming brainwashed assassins - some shades of “Reign of the Super Man” to be had).

    Although Superman’s adventures up to this point are largely ground-level, you can at least say in his defense that he’s yet to repeat a theme - he’s put the boot to one wife-beater, one lynch mob, one war profiteer, one overzealous warden, one cruel orphanmaster, and so on. It’s one beating per offense in Superman’s world! 

    But, of course, avoiding repetition among the violators of the social trust against whom Superman pits his tremendous strength means that the Man of Steel, in short order, will eventually find himself battling reckless drivers and pinball machine syndicates. Ultimately, labors which test his tremendous powers (and which, in turn, encourage the invention of new powers) become the order of the day, and a small army of mad scientists will lead Superman’s march into science fiction territory…

  7. Action Comics vol.1 #17 - Cover date October 1939 The mad genius calling himself the Ultra-Humanite will soon be facing the end of his machinations - in the familiar form of his twisted, aged, crippled body, at the very least. In this penultimate appearance for his original fragile form, “Ultra” is discovered to be at the heart of a sabotage ring which has already claimed the ocean-going vessel Clarion and - if not for the timely intervention of the Man of Steel - almost takes the life of everyone on board. Ultra, like many of Superman’s most interesting and popular enemies, succeeds so well as an adversary because he embodies qualities which exist in opposition to Superman’s immense physical might and crusading sense of morality. Ultra and other popular villains such as Toyman, Prankster and Mxyzpltk - all of whom will be debuting in the upcoming decade - are no physical match for Superman, but bring malicious brilliance, wild unpredictability and impossible contrivance to bear on our hero. As Superman’s polar opposite, even Ultra’s portrayal in the story differs wildly - while Superman bounds, leaps and barrels his way through action and danger, Ultra is a wily a pernicious force operating invisibly in a thousand criminal empire. In this episode, much as it has been for the entirety of his conflict with Superman, Ultra appears only at the end of the story to reveal himself, test the Man of Steel against his insidious and bizarre weaponry, and then to vanish again.

    Action Comics vol.1 #17 - Cover date October 1939

    The mad genius calling himself the Ultra-Humanite will soon be facing the end of his machinations - in the familiar form of his twisted, aged, crippled body, at the very least. In this penultimate appearance for his original fragile form, “Ultra” is discovered to be at the heart of a sabotage ring which has already claimed the ocean-going vessel Clarion and - if not for the timely intervention of the Man of Steel - almost takes the life of everyone on board.

    Ultra, like many of Superman’s most interesting and popular enemies, succeeds so well as an adversary because he embodies qualities which exist in opposition to Superman’s immense physical might and crusading sense of morality. Ultra and other popular villains such as Toyman, Prankster and Mxyzpltk - all of whom will be debuting in the upcoming decade - are no physical match for Superman, but bring malicious brilliance, wild unpredictability and impossible contrivance to bear on our hero.

    As Superman’s polar opposite, even Ultra’s portrayal in the story differs wildly - while Superman bounds, leaps and barrels his way through action and danger, Ultra is a wily a pernicious force operating invisibly in a thousand criminal empire. In this episode, much as it has been for the entirety of his conflict with Superman, Ultra appears only at the end of the story to reveal himself, test the Man of Steel against his insidious and bizarre weaponry, and then to vanish again.

  8. Action Comics vol.1 #14 - Cover date July 1939 The Ultra-Humanite proves to, once again, be the mastermind behind a seemingly pedestrian plot of criminal negligence and systemic corruption. Investigating the construction company which has used inferior building materials to construct a subway tunnel, Superman discovers his newly-minted nemesis behind the scheme (and also behind both the wheel of an invisible automobile and the trigger of a raygun which encases the Man of Steel in seemingly unbreakable crystal). This battle - like the one before it and so many more to come - ends in stalemate. Who is the Ultra-Humanite? It takes only a little imagination to link the comic book Ultra-Humanite to Siegel and Shuster’s 1933 story, Reign of the Superman, if you’re the sort of person who’s inclined to make such connections (and I am). In that story, a power-hungry scientist named Ernest Smalley recruits homeless man Bill Dunn as a test subject for Smalley’s experimental potion. Suddenly granted terrifying telepathic powers, Dunn turns to evil, apparently slaying Smalley before discovering - to his regret - that the potion’s effects are only temporary. With his powers wearing off, a deflated Dunn returns to his breadline, meek and helpless. So who is the Ultra-Humanite? Could the brilliant and malevolent Smalley have survived his attempted murder at the hands of his super-human creation, crippled but still maliciously vital? Could he be the once-superhuman Dunn, left wizened and weakened by the failing potion but ironically gifted with a mighty intellect in the wake of his terrible telepathy? Could the Ultra-Humanite be the man who was once called - or the man who once created - The Superman?

    Action Comics vol.1 #14 - Cover date July 1939

    The Ultra-Humanite proves to, once again, be the mastermind behind a seemingly pedestrian plot of criminal negligence and systemic corruption. Investigating the construction company which has used inferior building materials to construct a subway tunnel, Superman discovers his newly-minted nemesis behind the scheme (and also behind both the wheel of an invisible automobile and the trigger of a raygun which encases the Man of Steel in seemingly unbreakable crystal).

    This battle - like the one before it and so many more to come - ends in stalemate.

    Who is the Ultra-Humanite? It takes only a little imagination to link the comic book Ultra-Humanite to Siegel and Shuster’s 1933 story, Reign of the Superman, if you’re the sort of person who’s inclined to make such connections (and I am). In that story, a power-hungry scientist named Ernest Smalley recruits homeless man Bill Dunn as a test subject for Smalley’s experimental potion. Suddenly granted terrifying telepathic powers, Dunn turns to evil, apparently slaying Smalley before discovering - to his regret - that the potion’s effects are only temporary. With his powers wearing off, a deflated Dunn returns to his breadline, meek and helpless.

    So who is the Ultra-Humanite? Could the brilliant and malevolent Smalley have survived his attempted murder at the hands of his super-human creation, crippled but still maliciously vital? Could he be the once-superhuman Dunn, left wizened and weakened by the failing potion but ironically gifted with a mighty intellect in the wake of his terrible telepathy? Could the Ultra-Humanite be the man who was once called - or the man who once created - The Superman?

  9. Action Comics vol.1 #13 - Cover date June 1939 At the end of his first consecutive year in publication, we find Superman pitting his strength against The Cab Protection League (not precisely “The Legion of Doom”, but from such seeds do mighty forests grow) in what appears to be a boilerplate story of the model hashed out in the previous twelve issues of Action – Superman versus systemic corruption against the common man. However, here we have a milestone; the introduction of Superman’s first recurring villain. Despite being of the bald-headed, world-conquering mad scientist variety which modern audiences would associate with the Man of Steel’s nemesis Lex Luthor (whose carrot-topped debut is still a ways down the road), this is The Ultra-Humanite who first menaces our hero. Ultra – as he prefers to be called (and who can blame him with that mouthful of a name) – turns out to have his fingers in quite a few criminal pies, including the aforementioned Cab Protection League. Helming a budding criminal empire means that Ultra has good cause to cross swords with the crusading Superman repeatedly in upcoming issues. Ultra burns brightly, if briefly – he’ll soon be overshadowed by the more dynamic Luthor and crowded out by a small legion of hypnotic hustlers and fang-toothed world-beaters in his rush to kill the Man of Tomorrow. Nonetheless, he’s an inspired choice for Superman’s inaugural nemesis. Siegel and Shuster have, at this point, spent a year promoting Superman as a peerless powerhouse, possessed of a strength and vitality unmatched by mortal man. Heck, they went and invented a completely cosmic explanation just to rationalize their hero’s super-human powers. With all of that in mind, they couldn’t very well immediately pit Superman against his physical equal – there were no physical equals to Superman Rather than being an athletic marvel, therefore, Ultra is trapped in a feeble, crippled body – we see him confined to a wheelchair, he’s attended to by his assistants, he shows the physical signs of great age (and more than a passing resemblance to the title character in Siegel’s and Shuster’s early-1930s science fiction story, Reign of the Superman). Ultra’s power is housed in his unfettered, wholly malevolent intelligence – a mental marvel to Superman’s herculean frame. It’s a brilliant solution to the question of how you create a villain to go toe-to-toe with the most powerful human being on Earth – you downplay the physicality. This goes a long way to explaining the popularity of the early Superman’s many seemingly sillier foes – The Toyman, The Prankster, Mister Mxyzptlk, The Puzzler – none of whom were his physical match but all of whom had him deadlocked in wit and wiles. (Naturally, more about Ultra to come, as he - or “he”, I should say - makes appearances in upcoming issues)

    Action Comics vol.1 #13 - Cover date June 1939

    At the end of his first consecutive year in publication, we find Superman pitting his strength against The Cab Protection League (not precisely “The Legion of Doom”, but from such seeds do mighty forests grow) in what appears to be a boilerplate story of the model hashed out in the previous twelve issues of Action – Superman versus systemic corruption against the common man.

    However, here we have a milestone; the introduction of Superman’s first recurring villain. Despite being of the bald-headed, world-conquering mad scientist variety which modern audiences would associate with the Man of Steel’s nemesis Lex Luthor (whose carrot-topped debut is still a ways down the road), this is The Ultra-Humanite who first menaces our hero.

    Ultra – as he prefers to be called (and who can blame him with that mouthful of a name) – turns out to have his fingers in quite a few criminal pies, including the aforementioned Cab Protection League. Helming a budding criminal empire means that Ultra has good cause to cross swords with the crusading Superman repeatedly in upcoming issues.

    Ultra burns brightly, if briefly – he’ll soon be overshadowed by the more dynamic Luthor and crowded out by a small legion of hypnotic hustlers and fang-toothed world-beaters in his rush to kill the Man of Tomorrow. Nonetheless, he’s an inspired choice for Superman’s inaugural nemesis.

    Siegel and Shuster have, at this point, spent a year promoting Superman as a peerless powerhouse, possessed of a strength and vitality unmatched by mortal man. Heck, they went and invented a completely cosmic explanation just to rationalize their hero’s super-human powers. With all of that in mind, they couldn’t very well immediately pit Superman against his physical equal – there were no physical equals to Superman

    Rather than being an athletic marvel, therefore, Ultra is trapped in a feeble, crippled body – we see him confined to a wheelchair, he’s attended to by his assistants, he shows the physical signs of great age (and more than a passing resemblance to the title character in Siegel’s and Shuster’s early-1930s science fiction story, Reign of the Superman). Ultra’s power is housed in his unfettered, wholly malevolent intelligence – a mental marvel to Superman’s herculean frame.

    It’s a brilliant solution to the question of how you create a villain to go toe-to-toe with the most powerful human being on Earth – you downplay the physicality. This goes a long way to explaining the popularity of the early Superman’s many seemingly sillier foes – The Toyman, The Prankster, Mister Mxyzptlk, The Puzzler – none of whom were his physical match but all of whom had him deadlocked in wit and wiles.

    (Naturally, more about Ultra to come, as he - or “he”, I should say - makes appearances in upcoming issues)