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 One
morning in the offices of Perry White, editor of the Daily Planet...
"Clark, you and Lois know Al Fallon,
one of our staff artists. He wants to show us a new comic strip idea he's
been working on," Perry announces.
"Yes, I think I've got something a little different
here, Mr. White," Al tells them.
"Hmm...it is unusual," Perry notes.
"He's sure a strange hero. What do you call him?"
asks Lois.
"Mental-Man, the eighth wonder," Al replies.
"Not bad, eh? I think such a strip would have
a great deal of popular appeal," Perry states.
"Except who'd believe such a thing? Why, this
Mental-Man would be even more powerful than Superman!" Lois comments.
"Exactly...and here's another example of his powers.
In this scene the big neon sign is about to fall on the people below,
but Mental-Man simply commands it to float in midair, while the people
flee safely," Perry proudly says. "I'm convinced we should give it a try
and see what sort of reaction we get."
"Mind over matter! Ha Ha! What won't they think
of next?" a laughing Clark exclaims.
And so within a few days a startling feature
hits the comic pages of the Daily Planet. A man reading the strip
walks down a street, unaware of disaster threatening overhead.
"Golly! Mental-Man changed iron into gold by
a mental process. Terrific!" the unsuspecting passerby exclaims, as a
construction scaffolding falls from the sky. But in the next instant,
a mighty figure streaks to the rescue...
"I've gathered up the broken scaffolding just
in time! Had it fallen that man would've been killed!" Superman thinks
to himself.
"Gee, Superman, that Mental-Man is right out of
this world! He can do anything! Have you read his latest escapade?" the
rescued man asks Superman.
"What--? He's so engrossed, he doesn't even realize
what a narrow escape he had. That must be some comic strip!" Superman
comments to himself.
Two days later in Perry White's office...
"Congratulations, Al! Your strip's a sensation.
Mental-Man is the talk of Metropolis," the happy editor says.
"I didn't think the public would go for the idea
of a man more powerful than Superman--but I was wrong," admits Lois Lane.
Yes, Mental-Man has captured everyone's fancy--especially
this shady little group in an underworld hideout...
"Okay, Inky--what's that great artist's brain
of yours figured out now?" asks the mob boss.
"Look--I'm making an exact tracing of a car from
a photo...and here beside the photographic copy is an ordinary free hand
drawing of the same car! Notice the difference? You can tell that one
is taken from a photo," Inky explains.
"Yeah? So wot?...an’ who cares? A drawin’ is a
drawin’!" the mob boss retorts.
"You think so? Well I've got news for you! Take
a look at these drawings of Mental-Man!" Inky says, showing Mr. Mob Boss
the pictures..."Notice how they're done?...In the same style as the car
drawing I traced from the photograph. Get it now?"
"Y-you mean Mental-Man is drawn from photographs
too?" the boss inquires. "Then-then maybe there really is such a character
like this Mental-Man!"
"Right!...The person in these drawings could be
only an artist's model...but on the other hand, he could also be the real
thing!" Inky proudly proclaims.
"Boys...we're gonna pay a visit to this artist
tonight!" the boss tells his thugs.
So that evening in Al Fallon's apartment...
"Crooks! I've got to hide these photos!" a panicky
Al thinks to himself.
"We're ‘art students,’ see? We wanna learn how
you make your drawings and...Hey!...he's trying to hide somethin’! Grab
it!" orders the boss.
"Holy smokes! Inky was right! Fallon's got photos
of the eighth wonder!" one of the thugs exclaims.
"But are they genuine, or just some actor posing?"
asks the boss.
"I-I might as well tell you the truth, even though
it'll mean my ruination. The Daily Planet will kill the feature
as soon as you tell them there really is a Mental-Man," Al states sadly.
"Naw!...you got us all wrong, pal. We're on your
side--if you just play ball with us! Now--tell us where this Mental-Man
comes from," the mob boss insists.
"Well, one day I was out in a boat, painting a
shore landscape, when I saw a giant bubble bob to the surface... I said
to myself...‘Great guns! There's a man inside that bubble!’ At that moment
a whale accidentally came up under my boat, lifting me skyward, ready
to crash the craft to bits. It was then that the incredible occurred--as
the strange man in the bubble stared hypnotically at my boat, I couldn't
believe it! He'd somehow made my boat hang in midair, out of harm’s way,"
Al relates. "Later, this man told me an amazing story..."
Mental-Man explains: "Centuries ago, I lived in
a highly civilized nation...but this civilization was destroyed when our
continent sank beneath the waters of the Atlantic. As a scientist, I erected
an indestructible bubble into which I placed myself. Then I slumbered
on the ocean's bottom all of these centuries in a sort of suspended animation."
Al finishes his tale to the crooks: "A recent
volcanic action under the seas released the bubble, and it came to the
surface. Mental-Man awakened to find himself in our day. He brought with
him the power of the ancients to control matter by mind! I made friends
with Mental-Man, being the first to meet him. I made photos of his fantastic
stunts, then drew the strip around them.
"And now that you know the truth, what do you
want me to do? asks Al.
"Introduce us to Mental-Man! I think he can help
us with a few things," the crook replies. Suddenly...
"Look! It's him! Mental-Man, the eighth wonder
of the world!" exclaims Al.
"Wait!...maybe he's a phony! Let's see him work
one of his stunts first!" demands the crime boss.
"Uh--these are some friends of mine. They want
to witness one of your phenomenal performances. They're... er...deeply
interested in the subject of mind-over-matter!" Al tells Mental-Man.
"I see..." he replies.
The strange figure goes into a trance--and in
the next moment...
"If I didn't see it myself--I wouldn't believe
it! The desk is floating!" the startled hood cries out.
"I've seen enough!" the big boss said. "That's
perfect. Now listen--we'll give you an address where he should meet us
tomorrow. We want to introduce him to the BIG BOSS!" the crook instructs
Al.
"All right...he'll agree. You see, he doesn't
know modern law...he doesn't know who you are. He'll think it's in the
interest of--uh--science," Al replies.
But when the crooks depart, a strange scene occurs...
"It worked! They bit at your bait," Al says excitedly.
"Yes--it's worked so far. But I still have a long
way to go to find out what I'm after," replies Mental-Man, as he removes
his uniform. The figure completes his change of costume, revealing the
garb of--Superman!
"Your plan was perfect. You had Perry agree to
run such a feature in which Mental-Man could change base metals to solid
gold," Al compliments Superman.
"Yes, and also the part about convincing the crooks
that Mental-Man actually existed," agrees Superman. "Now they want me
to meet their Big Boss--and then I know they'll want me to change base
metal to gold. After that, I'll grab the mysterious leader of a worldwide
gold racketeering syndicate."
"Hmm--but there's only one trouble," Al notes.
"Mental-Man's stunts in the comic strip were all imaginary--and we had
my desk tricked up with near invisible wires, so we'd fool the crooks,"
Al points out to the Man of Steel.
"And you're wondering how I'll actually perform
mind-over-matter stunts when I meet the big boss, right?" Superman replies.
"Frankly, yes. There's no doubt you can perform
superhuman stunts...but as for changing iron into gold..." Al's voice
trails off.
"That does present a problem...but I'll work it
out somehow." Superman assures him.
Next evening, as the Man of Steel streaks toward
his destination...
"I want to get to the crooks’ place well before
Mental-Man is due!" Superman thinks as he flies past a plane...
"Here I am going 500 hundred miles an hour--and
Superman makes me feel like I'm standing still!" the pilot exclaims.
Soon, at a new swank apartment overlooking the
bay... "An unusual person, this Mental-Man, IF he's the genuine article.
We shall see when he arrives," the Leader tells his henchmen.
"So, he's the elusive criminal sought by a dozen
nations! I could grab him now--but I must find documents...evidence, and
I think I know how," the spying Superman remarks to himself.
"I've got a great idea. We'll take Mental-Man
out to the Indian monument--the big stone face--and see if he can turn
that into gold. If so, then we're rich for life," explains the Leader.
"Great, he should be here within 20 minutes,"
the crime boss agrees.
"The great stone face--it's about ten miles from
Metropolis, in the hills. I've got exactly 20 minutes to do a job--then
return!" Superman thinks.
It's only seconds later when Superman descends
upon the great stone face, and...
"First, to remove the monument from the mountain,"
Superman says. Then with incredible ease the amazing Man of Tomorrow whisks
the giant carving through the air...
"Exactly 19 minutes left before I return as Mental-Man,"
Superman announces aloud.
And when finally he returns to the criminals’
lair...
"Timed it just right. I've got several
seconds left...and all the preparations are complete," Superman thinks
to himself.
A moment later...
"Mental-Man!" exclaims the startled Leader as
Mental-Man enters the room.
"I have come at the appointed time!" responds
Mental-Man. He then departs with the crooks in a waiting car.
"Gee, boss...he's spooky! Never says a word,"
the unnerved crook says to the Leader.
"Stupid. That's because he's got a mind. Now why
don't you clam up?" orders the Leader. Ten miles outside of Metropolis,
the car pulls to a stop and...
"Up there--that tremendous stone face. Can you
turn it into gold?" inquires the Leader.
"My answer shall follow my action. Stand aside,"
Mental-Man orders the crooks.
"Look...he's thinkin’...just like we saw him when
he made that artist's desk float in the air!" the crook cries out.
"SHADDUP!" orders the Leader.
The concentrated stare lasts a few moments; then
a smoke-puff shrouds the stone face--and when it clears, a fantastic sight
greets the eyes of the witnesses...
"Boss! Look! The stone statue's turned to gold!"
the stunned crook exclaims.
"Gold! Yeah! Real solid gold!" the Leader greedily
replies.
"Unbelievable, yet I saw it!" another crook cries.
"It's real gold all right! I've handled this stuff
plenty of times. Scrape it... it's solid!" the Leader comments
"Talk about the Midas touch! WOWEEE! We're rich!"
the crooks exclaim. Then..."Hey! Where's Mental- Man? He's vanished."
"Who cares? We can always summon him for other
jobs. Right now let's get some of this gold back to the vaults," commands
the Leader. But as the crooks drive back toward Metropolis, their car
laden with the precious ore, they are unaware of a figure flying overhead.
Later, back at the hideout...
"At least a billion dollars, and we got it because
a man thought stone into gold! HURRY!--I'll open the vaults," the Leader
orders.
"At last! Here's where Superman goes into action!"
the Man of Steel thinks as he peers through the window. "Now that they've
led me to the vault, I might as well do them the favor of opening it!"
"Allow me! But I'll go first, since there are
some things inside I want," Superman tells the stunned crooks as he rips
the vault door off its hinges.
"Superman! He's after the documents!...Blast him!"
orders the Leader.
"Someone told me bullets don't bother this guy--so
instead we'll flip him a ‘pineapple dessert’!" the Leader snidely says
as he tosses a hand grenade at Superman. !BAROOM!...
"EEYOW! He's the only one the bomb didn't hurt!"
the Leader regretfully says as his men lie about him unconscious.
Minutes later when the police arrive...
"Superman! We heard the blast and came as fast
as we could!" a surprised policeman says to the Man of Tomorrow.
"You'll find that the ringleader here is also
the head of a worldwide gold racketeering gang! These papers prove it.
I'm through here now!" says Superman as he hands the beaten Leader over
to the police. Next morning back in Perry's office...
"You mean you actually didn't change the stone
statue to gold?" asks Perry.
"No! I made a huge gold statue of the stone face,
over which I put a stone covering, and substituted it for the real stone
face. My x-ray vision melted away the stone covering, showing only the
gold beneath. It was enough to fool the gang!" Superman relates to Perry
and Lois Lane.
"So you see, Mental-Man never existed at all--except
as a disguise for me!" Superman finishes.
"I knew it! There's no one more powerful than
Superman!" Lois says proudly.
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