Action Comics Vol 1 364

Superman: "The Untouchable of Metropolis"

Cover

Superman: "The Untouchable of Metropolis"

Supergirl: "The Kiss of Death"

Inkers

Kurt Schaffenberger

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Action Comics # 363	Action Comics # 365

So you took my bait, eh, Jacquie? I figured you couldn't resist those sparklers if you were the real thief!

— Supergirl

Action Comics #364 is an issue of the series Action Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1968.

Synopsis for Superman: "The Untouchable of Metropolis"

Superman, infected by Lex Luthor with Virus X, would die within days. He makes one last visit to his Daily Planet office, where he says good-bye and flees Lois Lane.

Criminals, usually combative, surrender at the first sight of the "leper of Krypton". The United Nations summons the world's foremost doctors, but they fail to cure Superman -- they could only provide a clear Virus X-proof oversuit. Only his enemy, Lex Luthor, proffers a cure. Lex cons a million dollars from Superman's supporters; only to have been offering false hope, and to gloat in Superman's green scaly face.

The Phantom Zone is Superman's last option, and Supergirl trains the Phantom Zone Projector on him, but the immaterial criminals psychically bar him access; for fear of the leprosy spreading in the Zone. After being rejected by Krypton's worst criminals, Superman resigns himself to his fate, and boards a funeral capsule that will rocket his body to cremation in Flammbron, the hottest sun in the universe.

Appearing in Superman: "The Untouchable of Metropolis"

Featured Characters:

Superman

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Brainiac (Mentioned only)
Doctors
Gimmick Gang
Kandorians
Luthor's Henchmen
Mon-El (Mentioned only)
United Nations General Assembly

Locations:

Fortress of Solitude
- Bottle City of Kandor
Metropolis
- Daily Planet
- Metropolis Airport
- Metropolis Hospital
- Metropolis Prison
- United Nations Building
Flammbron (First appearance)

Items:

Medico-Spectrum Ray (Hypno-Ray)
Phantom Zone Projector
Vibro-Ray
Virus X

Vehicles:

Funeral Capsule (Rocket)
Humane Society Van
Luthor's Acme T.V. Transmitter Van
Gimmick Gang's Tractor
Traincars

Synopsis for Supergirl: "The Kiss of Death"

Linda Danvers's Ichthyology Professor, Ms. Vandarr, quits her teaching job to marry Count Durkla. Linda takes a picture of the bride but it comes out oddly blurry. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Ms. Vandarr unexpectedly dies when she kisses her new husband. Durkla bursts out in tears. Linda scans Vandarr and finds a strange radioactive tattoo on her arm.

Some while later, Supergirl saves a stunt diver called Dorah who has a radioactive tattoo identical to her ex-Professor's. Supergirl is shocked to learn that Dorah's fiancee is also Durkla; now a colonel. At their wedding, Dorah dies similarly after kissing Durkla and Supergirl decides to investigate.

Since both women were connected with water, Supergirl follows that lead and finds another tattoo-wearing victim -- a gondolier called Jacquella. Kara convinces Jacquella to take over Prof. Vandarr's former job and Jacquella accepts. She mentions that Vandarr and Dorah were her best friends and their killer was after her, even though she is innocent.

Supergirl duplicated her radioactive tattoo, and posed as Jacquella. A few days later, Durkla turned up, posing as an Arabian sheik. He had followed his ring's geiger counter to the tattoo's radiation. Supergirl plays along when Durkla romances her and accepts his wedding proposal.

On their wedding day, Kara learns that Durkla didn't kill with a kiss; but with a poison wedding ring. The needle shatters against her skin, but Kara plays dead. Once Durkla had been left alone with her, Kara learns that he was an executioner of a water world named Valair. There, the three women had been undersea pirates and when they were caught, their radioactive tattoos ensured that they could be tracked, and Durkla was appointed their executioner. Unfortunately, the trio broke jail, escaped from Valair, and headed to Earth.

The truth exposed, Supergirl declares that she will not let Durkla get Jacquella until she checks her claim that Jacquella was innocent. Durkla protests, as Jacquella has been tried and sentenced fairly, but Supergirl flew off.

Supergirl took Jacquella to the Fortress of Solitude, where the gondolier claims that she was framed by her cousin -- the real Jacquella -- and that she didn't even know the first two victim-brides. Supergirl leaves Jacquella alone in the Fortress; where she could't help but steal a bunch of gems while Supergirl secretly watches her. She'd become suspicious when Jacquella said she didn't know her partners, yet just days before, she'd called them her best friends. Tricked into showing her true colors, Jacquella tries to escape across the top of a (strangely uninsulated) vat of liquid helium, and falls to her frozen death.

Supergirl brings Jacquella's frozen body to Durkla, and he returns to Valair with the three dead women after fulfilling his planet's brand of nuptual justice.

Appearing in Supergirl: "The Kiss of Death"