Action Comics 242 (Facsimile Edition) #[nn]
In "The Super-Duel in Space," Superman and Lois Lane face off against the alien menace Brainiac during a test flight on a prototype rocket, leading to a high-stakes battle across the cosmos. Written by Otto Binder and illustrated by Al Plastino, this 1950s classic—reissued in a 2026 Facsimile Edition—features Curt Swan’s iconic cover art and captures the era’s bold sci-fi spirit, with Superman confronting Brainiac’s plan to shrink Earth’s cities, including a mysterious bottle containing a Kryptonian metropolis that will later find a home in his Fortress.
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While on an experimental rocket, Clark & Lois encounter the alien Brainiac, who plans to shrink & bottle great cities of Earth & use them to repopulate his planet. Superman gets inside Brainiac’s ship when the villain takes Metropolis & there finds a bottle with a Kryptonian city (which in later issues will be named Kandor). He enters the bottle and with the help of a scientist restores the cities of Earth while Brainiac lies in suspended animation for his trip home. Because there is not enough power to restore the Kryptonian city, Superman places it in his Fortress, as Brainiac rockets away.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).