Appearing in "Superman Under the Green Sun!"
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Adversaries:
- Drago
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Synopsis for "Superman Under the Green Sun!"
Superman arrives on a distant planet when he spots a monstrous creature terrorizing it's people. After disposing of the monster he realizes that all the people of this world are blind. One of the elders explains that everyone except for a tyrant named Drago, whom put them in this condition with a special device, are blind. He then learns that the people have been oppressed and forced to labor endlessly on a gigantic dig, while in secret they have been unsuccessful in finding a cure for their condition.
Superman offers to dispose of Drago and flies toward his fortress, however, the Hitler-esque villain activates a satellite that filters the planets blue sun so that it turns green, rending Superman powerless. Although he is powerless, the Man of Steel refuses to give up and attacks a pair of Drago's troops who are herding some workers. Using the planets unique plant left to help, Superman frees the workers and later uses more plants to get them food.
Going off to confront Drago ends in Superman's capture, where he is easily subdued and taken before Drago himself. Gloating over his victory over Superman, Drago then douses Superman in a special gas that renders him blind and then sends him off to toil with the other workers on his mysterious digging project. Superman is forced to work and his morale is broken. He is about to give up when one of the blind workers tells him how Superman will save them, inspiring the Man of Steel to continue his efforts to free these people.
Escaping from the group, Superman uses his other senses to trail his way back to the hidden cave of the people he rescued earlier. He then reworks the mechanical insect steed that he had stolen so that it's thought control helmet can allow Superman to see through the creatures eyes. Superman then storms the castle, deactivates the satellite and unleashes the antidote bomb. However, before Superman can capture Drago, he seemingly kills himself by detonating his base. With the destruction of the base and satellite, Superman manages to save a trophy from the explosion. Taking it back to the people he met earlier, he reveals that Drago had intended to have the people his world carve the entire planet into his own image.
He then reveals that one of their number, a man named Aton, is really Drago in disguise and that he had been using the double role to spy on the resistance movement. Drago reveals that he is suffering from an eternal disease and that his plot was an attempt to construct an eternal memorial of himself. Just then, the moment where his illness reaches it's critical and fatal stage, Drago suddenly drops dead on the spot. Before leaving, a woman named Petra, still waiting for her vision to be restored feels Superman's face before the Man of Steel departs.
Months later as he is flying past the planet, he is surprised that the people of that world had re-sculpted the face of Drago to resemble that of Superman instead.
Appearing in "The Downfall Of Superman!"
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Adversaries:
- Duke Marple
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Synopsis for "The Downfall Of Superman!"
Famous wrestler Antonino Rocca has come to Metropolis to put on a charity match for the city, wherein he will go in the ring against Superman. Interviewing Rocca is Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen. When Rocca demonstrates some wrestling moves, Clark agrees to be his partner, and hams up his routine of being a weakling by pretending to be overpowered by Rocca and feigning injury after.
That night at the match, Superman arrives and to everyone's surprise Rocca manages to toss the Man of Steel out of the ring. Everyone is shocked by Rocca's sudden increased strength when Mr. Mxyzptlk appears and claims to have been responsible for giving Rocca super-strength. To further punctuate his point, Mxyzptlk then summons Samson and Hercules, whom Rocca easily defeats before Mxyzptlk sends them back to their own time and vanishes.
Later that night, Rocca is visited by Duke Marple and his gang, who asks for Rocca to help him with something. Knowing that Marple is a shady character he refuses to aid him, and is forced at gun point. Taken to the outskirts of town he is forced to remove a boulder that had fallen in the path of Marple's secret hide out. When Rocca does the dirty job, Maples sends his men in to collect the loot and then attempts to kill Rocca in cold blood. However, Duke's surprise, Rocca turns out to be bullet proof as well.
As Duke is making his escape, Superman, Samson and Hercules and Mr. Mxyzptlk arrive and capture Marple and his gang. Then to Duke's surprise, he is told that he fell for Superman's trap: "Rocca" reveals himself to be Superman in disguise, while Rocca was disguise as the Man of Steel, Samson and Hercules are in reality Cosmic Man and Lightning Man of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and Mxyzptlk was really Krypto in disguise. With the crooks capture, Lightning Man and Cosmic Man return to their own times, and Rocca wonders how he would fare in the ring against the real Samson and the real Hercules.
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