The current scare about would-be terrorists trying to smuggle
explosives onto planes in the form of apparently inert liquids that
become explosive when mixed has -- for some reason -- triggered off a
vague recollection in my mind of some baddies trying the same trick
when Superman was offering tours of his Fortress of Solitude (he
rumbled it, needless to say). This would have been back when I was a
kiddie, about 40 years ago.
Does it ring any bells with collectors?
It's "Superman's Fortresses of Solitude," Action 261 (Feb 1960). (The
cover calls the story "Secrets of the Fortress of Solitude.") Superman
has flown his entire Fortress to Metropolis so people can tour it; the
admission charges go to charity. (Seems like a lot of effort to make
for the handful of people we see on the tour.) Two disguised crooks
from the Anti-Superman Gang take the tour along with everybody else,
and they use a binary formula (ink from a pen and coffee from a
Thermos) to create a gas that will result in an "atomic explosion" an
hour after mixture, after Superman has returned the Fortress to the
Arctic. While the hour ticks by, Superman dreamily recalls his other,
former Fortresses.
Odd bit: While Kandor plays a part in this story, it looks to me like
the word Kandor has been patched in after the pages were finished, as
if the word had been substituted for some other, longer word -- like
Kryptonopolis, say. I've seen another early Kandor story where the
name Kandor isn't used at all; it's simply called the Krypton Bottle
City. Since the name Kandor was used in the debut story (Action 242,
Jul 1958), I wonder what was going on?
BTW, Action 261 also introduces Streaky the Supercat in the Supergirl
backup story.
It's included in the b/w 'Showcase' collection Superman (Volume 2).
--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland
"Slipped the surly bonds of Earth...to touch the face of God"
"GordonD" <g.d...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
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<glynn....@gmail.com> wrote in message
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I answered this last August. Here it is again:
> It's "Superman's Fortresses of Solitude," Action 261 (Feb 1960). (The
> cover calls the story "Secrets of the Fortress of Solitude.") Superman
> has flown his entire Fortress to Metropolis so people can tour it; the
> admission charges go to charity. (Seems like a lot of effort to make
> for the handful of people we see on the tour.) Two disguised crooks
> from the Anti-Superman Gang take the tour along with everybody else,
> and they use a binary formula (ink from a pen and coffee from a
> Thermos) to create a gas that will result in an "atomic explosion" an
> hour after mixture, after Superman has returned the Fortress to the
> Arctic. While the hour ticks by, Superman dreamily recalls his other,
> former Fortresses.
>