This is an in-universe article with out-of-universe material.
- You forget, Supergirl, we have our arsenal of Forbidden Weapons! They're the mightiest weapons of Krypton! In Earth's atmosphere and gravity, they can even affect super-beings like you!
- — Kru-El
Action Comics #297 is an issue of the series Action Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 1963.
Synopsis for Superman: "The Man Who Betrayed Superman's Identity!"
Perry White goes undercover to investigate the whereabouts of a jewel thief named Gentleman Jim. He locates the thief but then suffers a blow to the head which results in amnesia. Perry has no clue as to his own identity until he runs into an underworld kingpin named Dirk Denver. Denver convinces Perry that his real name is Paul Webster a former reporter that ran into some hard times. Denver offers Perry a job working for his make believe magazine. He assigns Perry the task of discovering Superman's secret identity. He reminds Perry that he was once a famed reporter with great skills. Perry is then motivated to research all the information he can about Superman's physical features. He amazingly narrows Supermans secret identity down to four men, one of which includes Clark Kent. He visits each of the men to personally study their features. Perry discovers that they all have some trait that makes it possible for any of the four men to be the real Superman. He then gets the idea to write each of the suspects a note. The note describes how Perry has discovered that they are really Superman and he instructs them to meet him at the Metropolis hall of Fame. Perry figures that only the real Superman will actually show up. The four men receive the identical note but only Clark Kent responds. He shows up at the hall of fame to meet Perry. At one point Perry falls down and accidentally rips Clarks shirt open revealing his Superman costume underneath. Clark begs Perry not to publicize his identity but Perry announces that he intends to take advantage of this tremendous scoop. As Perry walks away from Clark, he trips once more and hits his head on a statue of Julius Caesar. Superman uses his ventriloquism to make the statue talk to convince Perry that it is actually Caesars ghost. Perry sees the glowing statue and repeats his catch phrase “Caesars Ghost” until it jars his memory. Perry recovers from his amnesia and sees Superman standing in front of him. He announces that he has no memory of what has occurred in the past few days. He only recalls that he was out looking for the jewel thief Gentleman Jim. Perry never realizes that he had the biggest Scoop of the century in his hands.
Appearing in Superman: "The Man Who Betrayed Superman's Identity!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Dirk Denver (Single appearance)
- "Gentleman Jerry" (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Chuck Darren (Single appearance)
- Lex Luthor (Mentioned only)
- Rand Sterling (Single appearance)
- Steve Bevan (Also portraying Samson in a film) (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Metropolis
- Clark Kent's apartment
- Daily Planet
- Metropolis Hall of Fame
Items:
- Statue of Julius Caesar
- Superman Robots
Synopsis for Supergirl: "The Forbidden Weapons of Krypton!"
In the opening scene of the story, Dick Malverne is accusing Lena Thorul of being Supergirl. He believes that she used her superpowers to turn a piece of coal into a diamond. Lena coyly admits that she is Supergirl, but she is overheard by the real Supergirl who is flying above her house. The scene changes once more to the bottle city of Kandor where science criminal Lesla-Lar is monitoring Lenas exchanges with Supergirl. Lesla takes over Lena's mind with the help of a mind control machine and then uses it to materialize Lena back into Kandor. Lesla then changes places with Lena and escapes the bottled city. Once outside, she immediately begins to formulate a plan to take over the Earth. She uses a Trans-Dimensional lens to open a door into the Phantom Zone. She releases the three super criminals known as General Zod, Jax-Ur and Kru-El. All three volunteer to help Lesla with her evil plans but once they are free, they disintegrate Lesla with a vaporizing gun. The ray from the gun also triggers an earthquake which causes Atlantis to rise from the sea. Supergirl comes to the rescue and submerges the city underwater once more. A grateful Lori Leramis informs Supergirl how she observed Lena releasing the phantom zone criminals with her device. Supergirl realizes the great danger and races off to find Superman who has traveled to the past on a mission. As she hurls towards the time barrier, she runs into a force field engulfing earth. The field prevents anyone from coming or leaving. Supergirl then has no choice but to battle the three criminals by herself, but she is no match for their superpowers. The three criminals have an arsenal of forbidden weapons which they plan to use to take over the earth. They infect Supergirl with a plant scourge that turns any animal into a plant. Supergirl realizes that she is helpless against their powers and realizes that the only person that can help her now is Lex Luthor. She contacts Luthor in prison who scoffs at Supergirl's request for help until he learns that his sister Lena has been taken captive in Kandor. Lex then vows to use his criminal talents to help his sister in any way necessary.
Appearing in Supergirl: "The Forbidden Weapons of Krypton!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Lesla Lar
- Phantom Zoners
- Jax-Ur
- Kru-El (First appearance)
- General Zod
- Mon-El
Other Characters:
- Lex Luthor (non-villainous role in this story)
Locations:
- Bottle city of Kandor
- Krypton (Flashback only)
- Phantom Zone
- Metropolis Prison
- Wegthor (Flashback only)
Items:
- Kryptonian Weaponry Cache
- Disintegrator Gun
- Force Field Generator
- Plant Scourge Ray
- Time Machine
- Lead
- Phantom Zone Projector
Notes
- "The Man Who Betrayed Superman's Identity!" was reprinted in Superman Family #165.
- "The Forbidden Weapons of Krypton!" was reprinted in Super DC Giant #S-24, Showcase Presents: Supergirl Vol. 2 and Supergirl: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1.
See Also
Recommended Reading