But unless you release me immediately-- you will not be able to stop Jorlan from carrying out the mission it was programmed to perform! A mission that will lead every child on the face of the earth to a horrible and unavoidable death! Trust me, Superman-- for your sake-- and those of the children! 
- — Orn-Zu
Action Comics #505 is an issue of the series Action Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1980.
Synopsis for "The Creature that Charmed Children!"
Superman returns to Earth, and is followed by a beast from Krypton with the power to lead children like a Pied Piper. In Marpleville, all the children silently leave class and gather around the Jorlan. They return to normal as Superman chases it away.
Once Lana Lang has completed her report on the strange event, she invites Clark Kent to her apartment for Lasagna, but a phantom telepathic voice interupts and demands Superman's presence. Using Super-Ventriloquism, Clark fakes an important call and uses it as cover for his escape. The mental message leads him to the Jorlan in a playground, where it and Superman battle. Surprisingly, Superman is unable to defeat the creature, and the children chear the Jorlan on. When it saves them from a tiger attack, Superman realizes that it is somehow protecting the children.
Realizing that the telepathic message has originated in the Phantom Zone, Superman travels to the Fortress of Solitude where he speaks with Orn-Zu on the Phantom Zone viewer. Orn warns Superman that, unless he is released, all children on Earth will die.
Appearing in "The Creature that Charmed Children!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Morgan Edge (Cameo)
- Lana Lang
- Jimmy Olsen (Cameo)
Antagonists:
- Jorlan (First appearance)
- Cats
- Agatha (an escaped tiger)
Other Characters:
- Marpleville Elementary School
- Sixth Grade Class (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
- Miss Butterworth (Sixth Grade Teacher) (Single appearance)
- Mr. Patterson (Principal) (Single appearance)
- Two Teachers (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
- Students (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
- Sheriff Harvey (Single appearance)
- Pete (Sheriff's Helicopter pilot) (Single appearance)
- National Guard (Mentioned only)
- Morgan Edge's Chauffeur (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
- Village Residents (Unnamed)
- Abner (Single appearance)
- WGBS Employees (Behind the scenes)
- Pied Piper (Mentioned only)
- Matty (Lana Lang's underword informant) (Mentioned only)
- Baby King Kong (Mentioned only)
- Six Children of Metropolis (Unnamed)
- Metropolis Police Department
- Officer (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
- Mike (Single appearance)
- Zookeeper (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
- Phantom Zoners
- Orn-Zu (First appearance)
- Kryptonians (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Space
- Star System (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Earth
- Marpleville (several miles west of Metropolis)
- Marpleville Elementary School
- Sixth Grade Classroom
- Route 7
- Marpleville Elementary School
- Metropolis
- Galaxy Communications Building
- Lana Lang's Office
- WGBS Studios
- Lana Lang's Apartment
- Belmont Building (Mentioned only)
- Metro Children's Park (20.5 degrees north by northwest)
- Jungle Gym (Destroyed)
- Galaxy Communications Building
- Village (Unnamed) (saved from an avalanche)
- Smallville
- Smallville High School (Mentioned only)
- Arctic Circle
- Marpleville (several miles west of Metropolis)
- Phantom Zone (On a TV or computer screen)
Items:
- Lasagna
- Phantom Zone-Viewer
Vehicles:
- Marpleville Sheriff's Helicopter
- Flying Newsroom (Mentioned only)
See Also