Krypto #73: Last Survivor of Krypton

From: Superman #195, plus Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #101 (April 1967)

Krypto doesn't have a massive role in "The Fury of the Kryptonian-Killer", but as one of the last remaining Kryptonians, he's under threat as much as Superman, Supergirl and the Kandorians are. (When I say it like that, I feel like "Last Survivor" loses some of its meaning.) The over-complicated plot goes like this: The space pirate Amalak wants revenge for his defeat at Superman's hands 5 issues before, and having escaped to the past, is uniquely positioned to see Kryton's destruction and pick up lots of big chunks of Kryptonite for use against the Man of Steel. And it could have been that simple. But he also picks up the last survivor of a nearby planet destroyed by the biggest Kryptonite chunk of all and manipulates the poor guy, one Rinol-Jag, astronaut, into following him to the present and destroying everything that's Kryptonian out of revenge. Rinol-Jag proceeds to destroy all sorts of Kryptonian artifacts, even in the normally impregnable Fortress of Solitude, and steal the Supers' trove of kryptonite (as if Amalak needed it), while the pirate watches remotely and laughs. Why so complicated, dude? This wanton destruction of priceless heirlooms makes Krypto sad too.
I'm not sure there's ANY point to making Rinol-Jag when Amalak could have done it himself. In the next phase of his plan, Rinol-Jag captures all the Kryptonians on Earth with Green K, including Krypto.
Amalak then reveals himself so he can gloat over the fact he's going to make the Earth explode and complete his revenge, which makes Rinol-Jag doubt, and forces the pirate to disable him. Superman, weak from the Green K, uses common science to stun Amalak, and it's time for apologies all around.
Note that none of this makes the destruction of Rinol's homeworld any less true or dispels any of his reasons for taking it out on Krypton's last survivors. So the guy who told you about it was an a-hole, so what? You're still the same petty, murderous vandal, man. Anyway...

Meanwhile in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #101...
...Jimmy time travels to Krypton to foolishly undo his own timeline and save the planet, meeting Baby Kal-El and Puppy Krypto in the process. His crazy stories prompt Jor-El into kicking him out of the house, and despite his best try, he doesn't succeed in causing a paradox that might have destroyed the DC Universe as we then knew it.

Comments

Anonymous said…
These stories were goofy and light-hearted, full of campiness and heroes and villains addicted to unnecessarily complicated plots. Often the stories are incredibly hilarious even though they weren't meant to be comedic.

I SO miss that era.