Superman #136
Superman #136 is a well-rounded example of the Silver Age anthology format at full stride, packing three tonally distinct stories — romantic science-fiction, continuity mythology, and comedy — into a single 10-cent issue. Its middle story, 'The Secret of Kryptonite!', uses a Superboy flashback framework to dramatize the in-universe history of how Superman's greatest weakness became public knowledge, cementing Kryptonite lore that would remain canonical for decades. The issue also introduces three minor but catalogued characters — X-Plam, 'Sad Sam' Smith, and Professor Stanley Halley (alias Mel Evans) — offering a snapshot of how Silver Age DC writers populated their world with disposable yet imaginative one-off figures. Its selection for DC's premium Archive Editions reprint program confirms that editors and historians have regarded it as representative of the era's storytelling ambitions.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue carries a cover date of April 1960 and was published on February 4, 1960, under DC's then-standard lead time. Writing duties were split among Jerry Siegel — Superman's co-creator, who returned to DC periodically through this era — and Robert Bernstein, a prolific Silver Age scripter; interior art was handled by Wayne Boring and Al Plastino, the two workhorses who defined Superman's visual style in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with Stan Kaye inking. The cover was pencilled by Curt Swan, whose clean, authoritative draftsmanship was already becoming the face of the Superman line. No unusual editorial circumstances have been documented for this specific issue.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: April 1960; on-sale date: February 4, 1960 (Superman Vol. 1, #136, DC Comics).
- Three stories: 'The Man Who Married Lois Lane!', 'The Secret of Kryptonite!', and 'The Super-Clown of Metropolis!'
- Cover pencilled by Curt Swan; interior art by Wayne Boring and Al Plastino, inked by Stan Kaye.
- Writing credited to Jerry Siegel and Robert Bernstein (story attribution per Grand Comics Database via eBay product data).
- Introduces three new characters: X-Plam (a time-traveling, chameleon-like being from 2360 who briefly marries Lois Lane before dying), 'Sad Sam' Smith (a billionaire who has never laughed), and Professor Stanley Halley (a disguise used by Mel Evans).
- 'The Secret of Kryptonite!' is structured as a Superboy-era flashback in which young Clark Kent learns of his vulnerability to Kryptonite after Pa Kent brings a fragment home, and a criminal later exploits the discovery — an in-continuity retelling of how the weakness became known to the world, with Lana Lang appearing in the Smallville sequences.
- Bizarro, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Jonathan Kent, Lana Lang, Superboy, and Jimmy Olsen all appear only in flashback or cameo roles; no new appearances of these characters in the main timeline.
- All three stories were selected for inclusion in DC's hardcover Superman Archive Editions reprint program, placing the issue in that premium collected-edition lineage.
Cast · 9 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
X-Plam comes from the future to marry Lois Lane. When he provides proof that they do get married on the next day, Lois decides she will marry him and return to the future with him.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).