Reign of the Supermen #38: Super-Merman

Source: Superman vol.1 #139 (1960)
Type: HoaxI'll let Lois say it: "-Sob- Superman has changed himself into a super-merman so he can marry the mermaid he loves! There's no longer a chance for me!"

That's more or less the plot of 30% of all Superman Silver Age stories.

So it goes like this: Clark and Lois do an interview with a millionaire who knows Lois from way back on his yacht. He wants Lois to marry him, and Clark agonizes over this. Then former underwater flame Lori Lemaris shows up all tangled in a fisherman's net. Superman saves her, and now Lois agonizes over the fact Superman had an impossible love kind of deal with Lori. Thank Poseidon she's married. After Superman hasn't been seen for days, Lois goes to Jimmy who shows her his televiewer that shows what Superman is doing. She sees him at the side of Lori's dying husband, Ronal, who wrings a promise out of Superman: To become a merman with Atlantean technology and marry Lori. Lois waterboats to the rendezvous and finds the fish-tailed Superman embracing Lori. To her credit, she gives them her blessing and believes she'll never see Super-Merman again. So the rich dude asks her in marriage, but if Superman won't have her, NO MAN CAN HAVE HER. She drives off all emotional and crazy and almost gets into an accident. Superman rescues her with both his legs, and he reveals it was all a hoax (which included pre-taped sequences featuring Lori, Ronal and an underwater volcano, the cooperation of Jimmy and Perry, a fake televiewer, and a mermaid costume). He didn't want her to wait for him when she could have married bliss with another man. Awww, sweet. OR IS IT?!

And now, funny panels from this story...
Clark Kent should stick to the blue suit:
"He tried to look up my skirt... we really had something, didn't we?"
How to get into an accident: Take your hands off the wheel.
Oh, it's a tearjerker all right...

Comments

Austin Gorton said…
he reveals it was all a hoax (which included pre-taped sequences featuring Lori, Ronal and an underwater volcano, the cooperation of Jimmy and Perry, a fake televiewer, and a mermaid costume).

And that's pretty much the plot of 60% of all Superman Silver Age stories.