Reign of the Supermen #162: Baby Kal-El

Source: Superman vol.1 #106 (1946)
Type: The real deal (since retconned)Superboy Month ends today, so we're going back, way back, in time to Kal-El's VERY FIRST adventure. Before the Boy of Steel, you might argue even before the Babe of Steel. Bet you didn't know Kal-El's rocket took a detour on its way to Earth. Now, the story can be told (and by "now", I mean 1946)!

In the original telling, the rocket wasn't so much a gestating chamber, but an actual spacecraft, and Baby Kal-El could already walk and talk (albeit with a limited vocabulary). So there he is in his rocket, playing with his toys, when he's distracted by what always seems to distract Super-Baby: Shiny things. He pushes the rocket's door opens and flies to a golden meteor where the shiny thing is revealed to be a crystal mantis. Ladies and gentlemen, Superman's first fight:
Drawn back to the rocket by his toys, the craft then brought him to Earth and rest, as they say, is history!

Bonus: Astronomers can now reveal that by pushing off the meteor, Super-Baby changed its trajectory away from Metropolis, making it the first time Superman ever saved the city!

Comments

Matthew Turnage said…
That brings to mind another story where Superman had an adventure before his rocket arrived on Earth. Action #370 revealed that Superman lived out a life on another planet for 100 years before being de-aged and sent back on his way.

One of those crazy Silver Age ideas that, as far as I know, was never referred to again (rightly).
Siskoid said…
Ooh, I gotta check up on that one!
Yes! That is one of the coolest stories, too. Pretty neat cover, too.