10 Insultingly Dumb Superman Comic Storylines
Looking at the Superman stories that DC Comics REALLY want you to forget about.
One of the hardest things to do in the comic industry is to keep a character relevant. Considering Superman has been around for eighty years, it is astounding how he is still one of the most recognisable characters in all literature.
To maintain interest for over eight decades, the writers and publishers had to experiment with DC's most famous figure. They might write a story where a central character is killed or Superman develops new powers.
Sometimes, this has a positive lasting effect on the series. At first, the Superboy series sounded like a stupid idea but it actually introduced a lot of key figures including Bizarro, Lana Lang, and General Zod.
When the writers try to mix it up, more often than not, it doesn't work out. That's fine. After writing thousands of stories about the The Last Son of Krypton, they're not all going to be great.
But there are some tales that aren't just bad. They're stupid. Insulting. Mind-bogglingly inappropriate. Here is a list of Superman stories that are so unbelievably dumb, you will be bewildered how they got published.
10. Fighting Nazi Aliens With Orson Welles - Superman #62 (1950)
If Superman teaming up with Citizen Kane actor, Orson Welles, to battle aliens sounds like a ludicrous idea, that's because it is.
The comic begins with Welles working on his latest film before noticing an alien spaceship nearby. Curious, he enters the vessel only to have the door behind him seal shut. The ship automatically travels to Mars where Welles stumbles upon an alien called Martler.
Martler explains how he used a radio to study Welles' homeworld. When he learned about Adolf Hitler, Martler was won over by the dictator's rallying speeches and thus, formed a group of Nazi Martians called The Solazis. Just to be as unsubtle as possible, Martler wears a Gestapo uniform and sports a Hitler moustache!
Welles uses the aliens' radio to send a SOS message to Earth. Since Welles faked an alien invasion on the radio several years prior, the people of the world ignore his plea. Superman uses his super-hearing to validate that Welles is actually on the planet, Mars. After he flies over to the red planet, Supes allies with the Oscar-winning actor to thwart the Solazis.