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"Supergirl: "The Untold Story of Argo City"": This story is reprinted from Action Comics #309.

Quote1 The Satan Ring and the scroll were destroyed by the heat. But please don't tell anyone I once was a she-devil. It's something I'd rather forget. Quote2
Supergirl

Adventure Comics #416 is an issue of the series Adventure Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1972.

Synopsis for Supergirl: "The Untold Story of Argo City"

This story is reprinted from Action Comics #309.

Linda Danvers and her boyfriend Dick Malverne attend Midvale Orphanage's Annual Reunion. While giving a lecture, Linda finds out an orphan kid has been reunited with his birth parents, who weren't dead after all, and can't help but remember her own parents, Zor-El and Allura In-Ze, who got killed together with all the other Argonians when a meteor shower damaged the shielding covering Argo City's Kryptonite soil.

For the next nights, Linda is troubled for weird dreams from her parents floating in a blank space and begging for help. Feeling extremely disturbed, Linda starts wondering if they may be still alive and trapped in some kind of dimensional trap like the Phantom Zone. Finally, she decides she can't rest easy until she has checked. Linda changes into Supergirl, heads towards the Fortress of Solitude and activates a device which monitors the Phantom Zone. Nevertheless, she can't find her parents in there.

Berating herself for holding onto a foolish hope, Supergirl is leaving the Fortress when she bumps into Comet. Comet confirms she's getting faint telepathic messages. Thanks to Comet she mentally sees her parents telling her they're alive and in the Zone. Supergirl thinks that message may mean her parents are alive in the Phantom Zone... or the Phantom Zoners are setting a trap for her. Needing confirmation, Supergirl grabs the Phantom Zone Projector and streaks back to Midvale.

Supergirl asks her adoptive parents Fred and Edna to send her into the Zone to perform a secret mission, adjusting the controls so she'll be out of there in ten minutes. As soon as Supergirl emerges into the Zone, she bumps into four Phantom Zoners. Dru-Zod, Kru-El, Va-Kox and Jax-Ur probe her mind telepathically and state that her parents are indeed in the Zone but they'll never reveal their location. Supergirl scours the Zone, trying to ignore their taunts and gloating. Finally, she runs into an inmate who is willing to help her. Jer-Em blames himself for the demise of Argo City and wants to make up for his crime by telling her where her parents are. Sadly, Zod and his cohorts make sure to scramble Jer-Em's thoughts out of spite. Supergirl can barely understand the word "Survival".

Unfortunately, the ten minutes are up, and Supergirl is pulled out of the Zone by her adoptive parents. Supergirl is afraid of telling them about her birth parents' survival out of fear to hurt them, and flies back to the Fortress accompanied by Comet, intending to use Superman's Chronoscope to see images of the past.

Supergirl beholds her father and uncle talking after the latter builds a dome protecting Argo City, several months prior to the explosion. When Krypton exploded, only her cousin's rocket and Argo City made it out of the planet. Zor-El was chosen leader of the survivors, and he made sure that the food and water replicators worked and the now-radioactive soil was lead-shielded. Later he married to Allura, and Kara was born.

Still Zor-El was aware they couldn't wander around the galaxy indefinitely. He designed a jet-drive to guide Argo towards some habitable planet. When Argo came near from a yellow star, the Argonians discovered they developed powers in presence of a yellow sun. Zor-El was aware of it, having observed his nephew Kal-El on Earth. Zor-El planned to move the whole city to Earth and establish a race of super-beings.

Nevertheless, Jer-Em was incensed, thinking Kryptonians weren't meant to fly. He slipped out of the dome and guided the planet away from the yellow sun. The Argonians lost their powers and they couldn't guide their city back to the yellow star because the jet-engine was nearly out of power. Jer-Em was apprehended and banished to the Phantom Zone by the angry Argonians.

Soon afterwards, a meteor shower smashed holes in the lead shielding, and Kryptonite radiation started leaking out. Zor-El had discovered the existence of a pocket dimension which he called Survival Zone, so he developed a ray gun to teleport people in there. Zor-El and Allura tested the ray gun, but it apparently failed, so Zor-El destroyed the device, and he and Alura devoted their energies to save their daughter's life.

After Kara Zor-El was blasted off into space, Zor-El and Allura set up a disaster headquarters. Kryptonite radiation slowly killed every man, woman and child in Argo City until only Zor-El and Allura were left. Both spouses were waiting for the end in their headquarters, when their bodies started to fade. Zor-El realized their ray gun actually worked, but K-radiation caused a delayed reaction.

Supergirl turns off the Chronoscope. Now she knows her parents are alive after all. Kara wonders, though, why her parents waited years to contact her. Comet theorizes the Survival Zone drifts away and it hadn't come near from Earth until now.

Supergirl heads out of the Fortress. Somehow, she can feel her parents now. Supergirl doesn't know how she can reach them out and get them out of the Zone, but she promises to bring them back.

Meanwhile, her parents are watching her, longing for the day when they are together again.

Appearing in Supergirl: "The Untold Story of Argo City"

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Synopsis for Supergirl: "Supergirl's Rival Parents"

This story is reprinted from Action Comics #310.

It's been days since Supergirl has discovered her birth parents are alive, but she hasn't received further telepathic dreams. She's also worried about her birth parents' return affecting her relationship with her adoptive parents, who continue being extremely loving and supportive.

Kara heads towards the Fortress of Solitude to ask the Kandorians to aid her. The people of Kandor are thrilled at the news and pore over all bit of available information on Zor-El, Allura and the Survival Zone. Kandor's hyper-speed computers deduce an ion-storm caused the Survival Zone drift towards "New Krypton", a memorial planet built by Superman and Supergirl.

Kara streaks towards the planet, and upon landing she meets two robots she created in her parents' likeness. Both androids lead Supergirl to an experimental lab. Kara picks up a thought-casting helmet and manages to contact her parents, but she can barely see them or understand what they are saying, so she comes up with the idea to use a vibro-projector to send herself into the Zone. Her Allura Robot warns her that her plan is deadly dangerous because the vibro-projector isn't perfected yet, but Kara doesn't care and orders her to shoot. Her robot obeys but she shoots the Zor-El Robot instead, which is obliterated.

Kara's mind is still reeling when she sees her parents disappearing. She manages to make out they are drifting back towards Earth due to the cosmic storm, and she will need several rare elements to build a ray gun.

Supergirl flies back to Earth and her home in Midvale. As her adoptive parents are away, gone to the cinema, Kara builds an hyper-sensitive radar in the lab basement. The device manages to detect her parents' silhouettes and translate their thoughts into sound. Zor-El tells her how to build an ionic ray to release them from the Zone.

Kara sets to work, and is so engrossed in her task she doesn't notice the basement door opening and her adoptive parents entering the room. Fred and Edna figure out their daughter is trying to bring her parents back and are afraid of losing her, but they stand back and keep quiet.

Supergirl activates the machine but something goes wrong and the ray starts killing Zor-El and Allura. Kara is wondering what to do when Fred Danvers rushes forward and manipulates the controls. Kara panics, but being an electrical engineer, Fred knows what is wrong. He turns a dial to full power, and Zor-El And Allura's molecular structures become stable again. Kara is surprised, but Fred explains there was a power blownout in Midvale. Said blackout got them back home early, since the theater shut down, and nearly caused her ray to fail. Kara then confesses she was afraid to tell them she had found her birth parents again.

Zor and Allura finally step out of the Zone and hug their daughter sobbing while the Danvers try to pretend they aren't heart-broken over their return. Kara takes her birth parents outside to teach them how to use their new powers and show them around.

Back home, Zor-El announces his plans to move his family to his nephew's Fortress of Solitude the next morning. He admires how well the Danvers are taking the news until his wife urges him to use his super-senses and see their real reaction: they're utterly miserable. Not wanting to make anybody unhappy, the Els consider several options before taking a decision.

Supergirl goes back home after spending a while discussing her dilemma with Comet. She finds her birth parents left suddenly. They asked her to meet them at the Fortress of Solitude, so Supergirl heads towards the place. Once there, she finds her parents used a shrinking ray on themselves and entered the Bottle City.

Zor-El and Allura explain they don't believe they can fit among Earth people. And they didn't want to take her away from her adoptive parents. So they'll live in Kandor and she can alternate between staying with them and her foster parents. And if she ever needs help, she can count on them.

Kara hugs them crying and after going back to Midvale she can't help but think how lucky she is.

Appearing in Supergirl: "Supergirl's Rival Parents"

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Synopsis for Johnny Thunder: "The Black Canary"

This story is reprinted from Flash Comics #86.

Johnny Thunder is summoned by a beautiful blonde who requests that he retrieve a mask for her from a safe in a nearby building. Johnny retrieves the mask and tosses it down to the blonde female but she quickly disappears. Johnny is then abducted by a gang of thieves who are upset at the loss of the mask but Johnny easily subdues them with the help of an invisible force. His magic thunderbolt finds him sitting on top of all the thugs he apprehended. Johnny finds out that the thugs were planning to rob Socks Slades’ Kooblin Saphire. They turn over the thugs to the authorities and they head to a debutante party being thrown by Socks Slade. All guests in attendance were sent a special mask to gain admittance. Meanwhile in the library, the Black Canary is stealing the Kooblin Saphire while wearing the mask she obtained with the help of Johnny Thunder. Johnny and the bolt burst into the room and apprehend Socks and his gang who had stolen the Saphire from a certain Mrs Van Ept the previous month. The Black Canary escapes leaving Johnny wondering when he will meet her again.

Appearing in Johnny Thunder: "The Black Canary"

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  • Socks Slade
    • three hoods
  • three rival gangsters

Synopsis for Wonder Woman: "Villainy, Incorporated"

This story is reprinted from Wonder Woman #28.

Wonder Woman captures a group of Saturnic prisoners, As she leads them away to their spaceship their group leader Eviless pleads for mercy. She asks that the females be allowed to stay on paradise island to avoid repercussions for their conquest failure. Wonder Woman agrees to keep the women but straps them down with Venus girdles. The girdles remove all desire to do evil and compels the wearers to submit to authority. Eviless feigns sickness and faints but she secretly ties wonder woman’s rope around her arm. She later revives and is placed in a holding cell where she uses the golden lasso to escape. She rounds up her gang of Saturinic girls and she is also joined by villains from the prison. They capture Queen Hippolyte and use her to round up the rest of the Amazon’s on the island. The Amazons are gassed and fitted with belts to keep them subdued. Wonder Woman returns to the island to rescue her Amazon sisters but she is immediately captured by Eviless and her band of villains.

Trap of the Crimson Flames

Wonder Woman is captured and taken prisoner. She is transported by boat to Transformation island. On the way there she rescues Evilness from drowning when she falls over the side but Evilness shows no gratitude and recaptures Wonder Woman. Once they reach Paradise Island, Queen Hippolyte and Wonder Woman are tied to a pole with flaming chains. The chains get tighter and tighter as they burn. In the meantime, the Amazon prisoners on the island revolt under the leadership of a prisoner named Irene. They overtake the Saturnics and rescue the princess and her mother. They discover that four prisoners have escaped, Clea, Giganta, Hypnota, and Zara. They also discover that the queens Crown Jewels have been stolen. Wonder Woman returns to the Mans world to pursue them. Back in Washington DC, Diana receives a tip that a brunette is trying to sell a diamond that matches the description of one of the Crown Jewels. Diana confronts an office worker named Clarice Mystik to see if she is the one with the diamond but Clarice denies any knowledge. Wonder Woman spies on Clarice and observes a crimson flame emerge from her purse. The flame hypnotizes Clarice to come to the Temple of Flame. She follows Clarice and observes her disappearing down a manhole in the street. Wonder a Woman follows her down but she is quickly captured by Zara. Zara shows her that she has also captured the Holliday girls and orders Wonder Woman to execute them with a flaming sword as she is hypnotized

In The Hands of the Merciless

Wonder Woman is held captive by Zara. She is ordered to execute Clarice Mystik for failing to sell the Crown Jewels. Failure to do so would result in the execution of the Holliday girls. Wonder Woman fakes a stumble and instructs Etta to use the flaming sword to cut her bonds. Wonder Woman is set free and quickly captures Zara and her gang. Wonder Woman finds the missing jewels but half of them are missing. I the meantime Steve Trevor meets with a mysterious guest in his DC office. He recognizes the mystery female to be Queen Clea who is trying to purchase a surplus submarine from the government. Clea leads Trevor to a cave where he shows him her jewelry stash to prove she has more than enough to pay for the submarine. Steve recognizes the Jewels as belonging to queen Hippolyte. He attempts to take Clea into custody but he is subdued by Giganta. Clea still needs to obtain a submarine but Steve will not relent or cooperate. She then attempts to kidnap the Holliday girls to hold as buying leverage. Wonder Woman arrives to the rescue but she is overpowered by Giganta. Clea then uses Wonder Woman’s might to help her steal a submarine but she is foiled by Professor Zool and the Holliday girls who have been transformed partly into apes by an evolution machine. They capture Clea and return her to a Paradise Island to face the Queen.

Appearing in Wonder Woman: "Villainy, Incorporated"

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Synopsis for Phantom Lady: "Mystery of the Black Cat"

This story is reprinted from Police Comics #17.

Sandra Knight is entertaining guests at her fathers estate. A loud scream is suddenly heard and one of the guests named Carl goes out to investigate. He is later found dead. A hostile black cat is found near the body but the guests are unable to capture it. Sandra Knight switches to her a Phantom Lady costume and follows the black cat into a dark basement. Phantom Lady finds an Axis agent hiding in the basement and subdues him. She surmises that the agent was planting a bomb when they were interrupted by the unfortunate party guest Carl. She also reveals that the black cat was protecting her litter of kittens.

Appearing in Phantom Lady: "Mystery of the Black Cat"

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Synopsis for Merry, Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks: "The Duel of the Gimmicks"

This story is reprinted from Star-Spangled Comics #90.

Merry Pemberton AKA Gimmick girl stops a group of thieves from stealing a batch of gold nuggets. She uses her collection of gimmicks to stop the heist but the criminals get away. The leader notices the way Gimmick girl uses her devices against them and he gets the idea to create crime gimmicks of his own. The next day Merry stakes out a gold display at Kings department Store. The same criminals show up and this time they use gimmicks of their own to help them in their crime. Merry arrives on the scene and one of the criminals lobs an exploding doll at her. Merry counters with a spark gun but the criminal sprays a bottle of chloroform at her. The duel ends in a tie but merry is attacked once more the next night. This time the criminal demands Merry’s cape of gimmicks. He pulls out a spark gun from it but it turns out to be a backfiring squirt gun which blinds him. The criminal is subdued with the help of vest pocket net and Merry wins the day.

Appearing in Merry, Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks: "The Duel of the Gimmicks"

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Synopsis for Supergirl: "The Black Magic of Supergirl"

This story is reprinted from Action Comics #324.

While patrolling in India, Supergirl sees a fakir die when he is struck by a cobra. With his dying breath, Abdul, the fakir, bequeaths to Supergirl a small casket containing the Satan Ring, and a scroll. The last part of the scroll is torn off, revealing that the ring will grant wishes, but the third wish will turn the wisher into a demon--with horns such as she finds on Abdul.

Supergirl, in the days to come, uses the Satan Ring's magical powers to save Superman from Kryptonite (a pair of skeletal hands hurl it into the sea), to save an innocent man from the electric chair (a skeletal hand pulls down the knife switch while a ghostly figure sits in the chair, short-circuiting it), and, though she fears the third wish, to save her father's life during an operation (the skeletal hands guide the surgeon). As a result, Supergirl gains horns on her head, and, despite her resistance, does evil. At one point, she makes a witch's brew that produces ghostly hands to blind Superman.

However, she visits India again, and sees that Abdul is alive, after having been cleansed by fire intended to cremate him. Supergirl recovers the last of the scroll, which says the curse can be lifted by fire. Not even the heat of the sun works on her, but Supergirl comes across the Fire Falls of Krypton, hurled intact into space. She bathes herself in its Kryptonite-tinged flames, and is cured.

Appearing in Supergirl: "The Black Magic of Supergirl"

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  • Abdul (Single appearance; dies)

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See Also

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