Credits | Characters | Plot Summary | Comments | Reprinted In Superboy Chronology | Legion Chronology Editor: Mort Weisinger Writer: Unknown Artist: George Papp Feature Character: Superboy Supporting Characters: Krypto (in flashback), Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent, Lana Lang, Pete Ross Guest Legionnaire: Colossal Boy Villains: Bank robbers Other Characters: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (in silhouette), workers at the Brunswick Atomic Research Plant, an unnamed teen at Smallville High (who later acts in the play), citizens of Smallville, a statue of Smallville's first settler, an undersea diver, a radio announcer (not seen), a helicopter pilot "The Titanic Boy of Steel" (9 pages)
This story takes place over a three-day period: a Wednesday, a Thursday, and a Friday (the day of the play). It is possible that the Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, as someone in Smallville, upon seeing a giant Superboy in the sky, comments: "Up there! One of those balloons for the Thanksgiving Day parade!" The Brunswick Atomic Research Plant is mentioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in this story. The plant contains a large cyclotron. The first cyclotron was invented by Ernest Orlando Lawrence in 1932 at Berkeley. The cyclotron seen in this story appears larger than the 184" one built in 1942 so apparently, in the Silver Age universe, technology is more advanced. The Brunswick mentioned could be the one in Maryland. Its close proximity (44 miles) to Washington D.C. could be what prompted the President himself to alert Superboy as to the crisis. Coincidentally, there is currently a Brunswick Nuclear Generating Station located in North Carolina. Superboy is already starting to collect and label specimens of red kryptonite for future use. As Superman, he will continue to have a collection on file located at his Fortress of Solitude (Action Comics No. 284). An approximately seven storeys high statue of Smallville's first settler is being erected as part of their Thanksgiving celebrations. Traffic runs two ways between the statues legs. Smallville is situated on the eastern coast of the United States (and not in Kansas, as it is widely accepted today), proven again in this issue by the fact that the giant Superboy uses his body to prevent a tidal wave from flooding Smallville's dock area by the sea.
Pete Ross was shown to be in the Smallville High drama club back in his first appearance in Superboy No. 86. Pete plays "Jack" in their production of "Jack in the Beanstalk". Lana appears to be playing his mother in the play, and an unnamed male teen appears to be playing a woodcutter. In the Smallville Mailsack of Adventure Comics No. 318, Greg Faaborg of Columbus, GA writes:
Actually, the helicopter seen in the story is not drawn to look like a replica of the first one made by Berliner, which looked like a plane with three rotating horizontal propellers. It looks more like the Sikorsky VS-300 built in 1939, with its single 3-blade rotor. As mentioned above, the Silver Age universe is naturally more scientifically and technologically advanced, being populated by 20th century super-geniuses like Lex Luthor who has built time-machines in his backyard! Superboy says that Colossal Boy "isn't powerful enough to support the bridge". Obviously he means support it indefinitely, since the Legionnaire is obviously holding it up, and only Superboy could repair it with his heat vision. The broken cables are repaired also, so we must assume that Colossal Boy later held each end of dozens of broken cables together for Superboy to fuse together with his heat vision. Superboy keeps a stretchable spare Superboy uniform and face-mask in the Legion clubhouse for such emergencies.
No reprints as of this writing. |
Responding to an emergency
call by President Roosevelt, Superboy flies to the
Brunswick Atomic Research Plant and plugs up the barrel
of the defective cyclotron there with a radiation-proof
chunk of red kryptonite. Since that particular chunk of
red K had previously reduced him and Krypto to doll size,
Superboy was confident that he would not be affected a
second time by the same piece. After the cyclotron is
fixed, however, Superboy begins to feel a tingling
sensation signifying exposure to red K. In the early
morning, as Clark sleeps in his bed, he grows to gigantic
size! That day, Superboy performs a number of super-feats
as a giant Superboy. Lana Lang, who always suspects Clark
of being Superboy, thinks that Clark can't show up to see
the school play of "Jack and the Beanstalk" if
he is so afflicted. Superboy shows up and plays the giant
but Clark is notably absent. After the performance, the
red K effects wear off. Lana goes to Clark's house and
sees that he is not a giant. Clark says he had to miss
the play to catch up on his homework but Lana thinks that
the red K effects wore off and wonders if Superboy will
still be a giant when she next sees him. Clark knows that
he's not off the hook yet. Suddenly, a radio bulletin
announces that the giant Superboy's recent weighty
movements in the area have caused an underground tremor
that threatens to collapse the uprights of the new
bridge. Lana takes Clark with her to get aerial photos
for the school from a helicopter. Superboy is more
surprised than Lana to see a giant Superboy already on
the scene holding up the bridge. Clark guesses that his
"double" is really Colossal Boy of the Legion
of Super-Heroes and secretly uses his heat vision to
repair the bridge. Later, in an isolated spot, Colossal
Boy reveals that he had been watching on the Legion's
time monitor and saw that Clark was in a spot so he
masqueraded as the giant Superboy. The Legionnaire then
returns to his own century in the time-bubble.
