8 Real-Life Events That Forced Comics To Change

In the story Battle of the Atoms, Lex Luthor tried for the bajillionth time to take over the world. After Superman foiled his nemesis' evil plan, he approached Lex, ready to send him to jail. In a panic, the bald supervillain chucked a combustible pellet at the Man of Steel, which proved to have little effect. After handing Lex over to the authorities, Supes flew off, content he'd saved the day once again.

Even though this sounded like a pretty standard story, it was the first Superman comic ever to be censored! You see, the ineffective weapon that Lex hurled at his mortal enemy was called an 'atomic bomb'. The writers coined this term at random, oblivious that officials overseeing the Manhattan Project were constructing a nuclear weapon with the same name.

Despite the fact Lex's weapon had no resemblance to a real atomic bomb in appearance or power, the US Defence Department forced the comic to be delayed. What's worse is that the publishers of DC Comics weren't told why the story was pulled since the Manhattan Project was top-secret! Only after the US dropped the two nuclear weapons on Japan were DC Comics given permission to release the issue.