Silver Age Super Girls

And note that she had full super-powers under a red sun, which suggests that under a yellow sun she'd become even more powerful -- far stronger than Superman, in fact.

Lois wasn't the only one who kept gaining -- and losing -- super-powers during the Silver Age. Here's a fun little story in which Lana Lang becomes super-strong and invulnerable.



7. LANA LANG, GIRL ATLAS

Appeared in: "The Girl Atlas," Lois Lane 12 (October 1959)



A scientist gives Lois a sample of a super-strength formula with a request that she pass it on to Superman for vetting. When Lois gets home, she finds Lana waiting by the door to ask if she can spend the night while her apartment is being painted.





Lana "summons" reporters to a demonstration of her powers ...



But when she tries to help Superman at a couple of his public appearances, wardrobe malfunctions ensue.





A suspiciously helpful Lois advises Lana: "Use your powers for the good of the people! Volunteer for charity drives! Use your strength to serve others!" So Lana goes on tour, using her super-strength round the clock, performing at charity shows and helping people in need. But when Lois and Superman visit her after her return ...



Actually, Lana, some guys would be into that.

I'm going to put this thread on hold for a while so I can spend time on my workshop story. Don't forget to leave a "thank you" as a vote for more of these,

Now that Ace and I have finished our workshop story, it's time to revive this thread. And since our story featured Lana Lang as the Superwoman of Metropolis, I thought I'd start off with a "Super-Lana" story from 1961.

8. SUPER-LANA (1)

Appeared in: "The Day Superman Married Lana Lang," Lois Lane 26 (July 1961)

In this "imaginary story" -- "which may, or may not, ever happen" -- Superman marries Lana Lang and gives her a "serum" that endows her with super-powers, along with a costume.



Does anyone else think it's kind of controlling that Superman gives Lana a costume that's basically a copy of his own?

Anyway, the couple move into an idyllic "floating estate."



And so they are, until ...



Before long, Superman starts moping over the fact that Lana's immunity to kryptonite makes her -- gasp! -- mightier than he is ... and everyone keeps pointing it out.



Artist Kurt Schaffenberger did a good job conveying Superman's dejection -- the slumped shoulders, the bowed head, the downcast expression.

Later, red kryptonite sends Superman on a "destructive rampage" and Lana has to restrain him until the effect wears off.



And then, the drama!



And so Super-Lana flies off to another galaxy -- leaving Superman defenseless against the next "gangland kryptonite trap."

As always, take a moment to leave a "thank you" if you'd like to see more of these.
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I've read that during the Silver Age, editors would often come up with ideas for intriguing or eye-catching covers, which they would pass along to their artists. Then their writers would have to come up with stories to go along with the covers the artists drew. Sometimes it was obvious that a writer was "shoehorning" a cover scene into a story that really didn't have much to do with it. Case in point --



If you think it's a little weird that Superman is making out with an adult double of his teenage cousin, while his teenage cousin looks on ... just wait.

9. LUMA LYNAI

Appeared in: "When Supergirl Played Cupid," Action Comics 289 (June 1962)

After watching a sad movie on TV, Supergirl decides to find a wife for Superman so that he won't end up as a lonely bachelor. She tries, unsuccessfully, to fix him up with Helen of Troy and with a grown-up Saturn Girl; then (since third time's the charm) she sends him off to meet the super-heroine of a distant planet.





Even by the "compressed" standard of Silver Age storytelling, this is pretty extreme. Luma isn't given a back-story, or any personality to speak of, and even though the story is billed as "Superman's Super-Courtship" on the cover, we're not shown any details of their courtship. After six panels, Luma is back on Staryl and off to comic-book limbo. As far as I know, she was never seen, or even mentioned, again.

And why did Supergirl send her cousin off to Staryl? Let's back up a bit:



I'm sure the story's preadolescent readers didn't give that panel a second thought, but damn -- what were the writer and editor thinking? It's as if Superman is testing the waters, and the only thing holding him back are the marriage laws (however enlightened) of a planet that no longer exists. Props to artist Jim Mooney for the terrified, deer-in-the-headlights look on Supergirl's face.

So how does Supergirl get out of this awkward situation?



"Look, Superman! I found you someone who's exactly like me -- except that she's, you know, a grown-up ... and not related to you!"

I love this. Even the awkward and vaguely creepy part.

10. MYRA MASON

Appeared in: "Space Ranger's Super Girl Friend," Tales of the Unexpected #56 (December 1960)

Space Ranger is a 22nd-century interplanetary crime-fighter whose adventures appeared in Tales of the Unexpected and Mystery in Space. He was assisted in his exploits by Cryll, a shape-shifting alien, and Myra Mason, his "girl Friday." Myra generally just tagged along, but she had the spotlight in this story.

. .



Space Ranger and his companions rocket off to the planet Ular to investigate the disappearance of King Doro. But when Space Ranger goes missing himself, Myra and Cryll go looking for him.





It's Myra to the rescue ...





Myra easily overcomes the giant beast, but succumbs to a second blast from a volta ray gun, which robs her of her super-powers.



Not a great loss? Some of us beg to differ, Space Ranger. Suppose the weakening effect of the volta rays wear off, like kryptonite radiation. Or suppose Mya made a return visit to that mountain?

That definitely has a Silver Age vibe.

Woodclaw wrote:

argonaut wrote: That definitely has a Silver Age vibe.

I'll look around for the gallery, I remember at least two more in the same vibe.

Here's a link to the guy's gallery with lots of 'I wish she was super' pictures.

Link

The Silver Age was awesome. The idea of women transforming into future versions of humanity by accelerated evolution was a. common enough theme of the time. And the idea that those future women were both super-muscled and super-intelligent. I love the optimism embedded in that imagination.

That's the era of comic-dom that I grew up in. I was 8 when the Silver Age began, and 22 when it ended.

I thought it was really cool the way Lady Blackhawk went from Homo Sapiens (20th century) to Homo Exaltus (5000th century) to Homo Supernus (10,000th century). I don't remember that panel per se, but this was likely the earliest origin of thinking that led to my creating the Homo Supremis (Velorians).

Still, the imagination and the art of that era left nothing on the table compared to today. In fact, I think the art was better. Despite all the muscle, they managed to maintain a strongly feminine yet exaggerated body. Some big imaginations at work back then.

Which begs the question: Did comic art (at least for our genre) reach its peak in the Silver Age? Today's computer-assisted imagery seems to have taken a step backward.

Shadar

The link above to Angel Eyes gallery on comicartfans is a great one. He has commisons by Robb Philips and TGK among others. I highly recommend it

The Silver Age superwomen had a kind of pin-up quality in a sort of Vargas or Evergren way: knock-out sexy (and in this case super powerful), but with a kind of innocent "Who me?" take on things.

For female transformation, I would give it to the Bronze Age. Early issues of Savage She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel spent panels on quite drawn out changes for example. Even already-super women were powered up further. Think of telekinetic Marvel Girl becoming the interstellar Phoenix for example. Another one I can think of off the top of my head is supervillainess Silver Swan, when Helen Alexandros becomes imbued with goddess-powers.

Woodclaw wrote:

shadar wrote: I thought it was really cool the way Lady Blackhawk went from Homo Sapiens (20th century) to Homo Exaltus (5000th century) to Homo Supernus (10,000th century). I don't remember that panel per se, but this was likely the earliest origin of thinking that led to my creating the Homo Supremis (Velorians).

Still, the imagination and the art of that era left nothing on the table compared to today. In fact, I think the art was better. Despite all the muscle, they managed to maintain a strongly feminine yet exaggerated body. Some big imaginations at work back then.

I'm sorry Shadar, but you do realize that these aren't original panels from any story, but commisioned pictures from a present day artist.

shadar wrote: Which begs the question: Did comic art (at least for our genre) reach its peak in the Silver Age? Today's computer-assisted imagery seems to have taken a step backward.

Shadar

I would like to understand how computer coloring seem like a step backward?

Oh, bummer. They reminded me so much of Silver Age work that I enjoyed so long ago (too long ago to remember specifics, only the flavor). . I guess the good news is that we might see more of it over time if it's current work with an audience.

To your question, I don't have any particular issue with computer coloring, but the style of artwork that emerged after computer assisted drawing (or whatever it's called) came about doesn't appeal to me.

Shadar

Before there was Supergirl, there was ... Super-Girl!



The cover is somewhat misleading: Super-Girl only appeared in the first chapter of the "3-part novel," and she had no secret identity.

The story may have been a "trial balloon" to see whether readers of the Superman comics would like to see a super-girl added to the cast of characters. Presumably the response was favorable, since the canonical Supergirl made her debut in Action Comics about a year later.

The engineer of that train seems to be enjoying the view!

11. SUPER-GIRL

Appeared in: "The Three Super-Wishes," Superman 123 (August 1958)



An archaeologist gives Jimmy Olsen a magic totem that supposedly grants three wishes once every hundred years. "Pure superstition, of course!" he says, but Jimmy gives it a try: "I wish that a super-girl, with super-powers equal to Superman's, would appear and become his companion!"

And sure enough ...



The next day ...





But Super-Girl, though well-meaning, turns out to be more a hindrance than a help.





You can see that this story is aimed at the pre-adolescent boys who made up the comic's target audience: Girls are pests. They're always tagging along and messing things up.

She even blurts out Superman's secret identity:



But when crooks drop a kryptonite meteor on Superman while he's repairing a railway bridge, Super-Girl swoops in to save him:



And the story ends on a poignant note:



Nice use of shadows in those panels.

As a footnote: When this story was reprinted in an 80-Page Giant some years later, Super-Girl became a redhead in an orange and green costume, presumably so that readers wouldn't confuse her with the unhyphenated Supergirl:

It seems that all those early trial-balloons they flew with a Super-Girl were intended to get Kal El properly laid. <grin>

Which probably explains why they had to make Supergirl too young and too closely related to Kal when she finally appeared to put anything amorous back on the table.

Super-sex didn't fit well with the Comics Code of the day. Too many young imaginations were already thinking that way.

Shadar

shadar wrote: Which probably explains why they had to make Supergirl too young and too closely related to Kal when she finally appeared to put anything amorous back on the table.

Shadar

Except for that one story where Superman hinted that he'd consider doing the Jerry Lee Lewis thing with his 15-year-old cousin if it weren't for the fact that marriage between cousins was illegal back on Krypton. (Check out my post on Luma Lynai, somewhere on this thread.)

Another good Silver Age tribute is Budd Roots take on Supergirl and Batgirl with alternative costumes:

"Lois Lane gains super-powers (then loses them)" -- the writers of the Superman comics went to that well pretty regularly during the Silver Age. Here's an early example of the trope, from 1959.

12. SUPERWOMAN (LOIS LANE)

Appeared in: "The Superwoman of Metropolis," Lois Lane 8 (April 1959)



I like the reversal in that panel: Superwoman scolding Clark because she has to spend so much of her time rescuing him!

Lois has been getting a little too aggressive in her attempts to prove that Clark is Superman, so Superman sits down with her and explains why it's important that his identity remain secret. Lois sees the error of her ways and promises to stop ...

Ha! Just kidding. This was the Silver Age, so Superman conducts an elaborate ruse to teach her a lesson.



You might be thinking that Superman is planning some cosplay hanky-panky, but this was the Silver Age, so get your mind out of the gutter. Instead ...



"Modulated frequency radio waves"? That's just FM radio, isn't it?

Lois realizes right away that she'll need to keep her identity a secret, so she puts on a wig. (Hey, it'll work for Supergirl.)



When Lois and Clark are covering the tenth anniversary of the "famous Metropolis time capsule," a sudden lightning storm threatens to set off the "ultra-scientific weapons" inside the capsule. (Huh?) So Lois slips away and goes into action as Superwoman. And she passes up an opportunity to discover Superman's secret identity.



Clark tries a couple of ploys to prove that Lois is Superwoman, but Lois outwits him each time ... until an emergency at a carnival forces her to reveal her identity to him.



But then ...



So Lois's powers wear off, and Clark has a horse laugh at her expense. Has she learned her lesson? You'd think, but no. Will she gain super-powers again? Yes -- ten issues later. Stay tuned.

Remember to leave a thank-you to vote for more of these.

I’m slowly procuring all the Super-Lois stories. I love these write ups and samples. I think the start of this thread made me finally breakdown and get the Super Lady Blackhawk issue for my collection.

I hate them a bit too as they add things to my want list like that Tales of the Unexpected. . And an original of that Night Girl story and all those Legion collections. They are gorgeous.

Almost done with ‘if it has Supergitl in the actual title’. But all those are all after 1970 (action comics, Adventure, etc don’t have Supergirl in the title of the comic). I’m down to some obscure stuff.

I really like this version of Superwoman/ Supergirl's costume the best!
Thank you for sharing.

Markiehoe wrote: I really like this version of Superwoman/ Supergirl's costume the best!
Thank you for sharing.

That's exactly what I was thinking. That's the best version of the Superwoman/girl costume I've seen