Superman (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 1959.
Synopsis for "The Ghost of Lois Lane"
At the Daily Planet a salesman manages to sell Jimmy Olsen a typewriter that is so sensitive that it can type up words with only a breath from the writers mouth. Lois is asked by Perry to bring a briefcase belonging to Professor Grail on Warder's Island and try to get a scoop on his latest experiment. Lois goes, but forgets the briefcase, Professor Grail delightfully allows her to view his latest experiment unattended, as he intends to take a boat back to the mainland anyway. Before leaving he shows her his latest invention, a device that may transmit people through space via radio. Back on the mainland, Superman arrives at the Daily Planet and is asked by Perry to bring the briefcase to the island.
When Superman arrives he uses his x-ray vision to look into the building accidentally activating the device and causing a huge explosion. Believing that Lois Lane was killed, and blaming himself, Superman believes he is haunted by Lois's ghost as it appears wherever he goes. Returning to the Daily Planet and changing into Clark Kent, Superman is still being followed by Lois's supposed ghost. Just then, Jimmy's typewriter springs to life, Lois is able to manipulate the hyper-sensitive tool and informs everyone that she is trapped in the 4th Dimension and asks for Superman's help in rescuing her.
Clark changes back into Superman and returns to Professor Grail's lab where he repairs the device and uses it to bring Lois back to Earth. They deduce together that Superman was the only one who could see her because whenever he used his x-ray vision it made her visible to him.
Appearing in "The Ghost of Lois Lane"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Great Caesar (Mentioned only)
- Professor Grail
Locations:
- Earth-One
- Fortress of Solitude
- Lois Lane Room
- Metropolis
- Warder's Island
- Fortress of Solitude
- Fourth Dimension
Items:
- Jimmy's new typewriter
- Professor Grail's lab equipment
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Clark Kent, Fireman of Steel!"
Clark Kent is sent on assignment to live with the local Metropolis fire fighters for a week as part of a story for the Daily Planet. The firemen dismiss Kent as not having what it takes to be a fire fighter. However, secretly being Superman, Clark Kent is not at risk of any danger. When they are called to duty to clear a blaze, Clark is asked to go into a burning building to look for people who may be trapped. Clark amazes them when he complies and secretly uses his super-powers to try and lessen the blaze. However in the action his fire uniform is burned clean off revealing his Superman costume. Quick thinking, Superman breaks into a nearby costume shop and takes a prop on temporarily to maintain his cover.
Clark similarly uses his super-powers in secret to save a cat stuck at the top of a smoke stack, putting out a fire in the Superman museum, and dousing a chemical fire, all these feats are seen by the fire chief as dumb luck and that Kent will never know the real danger that firemen deal with every day. Ironically, while reading Clark Kent's story in the Daily Planet, the fire chiefs supper catches fire, and he is saved by Superman. The chief is relieved that it was Superman -- not Clark Kent who came to his rescue.
Appearing in "Clark Kent, Fireman of Steel!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Metropolis Fire Department
- Fire Chief Hogan
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Perry White (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Earth-One
- Krypton (Mentioned only)
- Metropolis
- Metropolis Fire Station No. 1
- Superman Museum
- Pluto (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Daily Planet
- Super Freeze-Ray Machine
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Girl in Superman's Past!"
While out at a College football game with Lois Lane, Clark muses about Lori Lemaris when Lois reminds him of her of his college sweetheart by wearing a blanket around her legs. He thinks back to his college days when he met Lori, whom he originally believed was a disabled girl in a wheelchair. In spite of this, Clark grew fond of the girl after he secretly used his super-powers to save her when her wheelchair was out of control.
He would later save her again, this time as Superman, while at an aquarium, the glass displays end up breaking and knocking Lori and others into the water and putting them at the mercy of a giant octopus. After a number of dates with her as Clark Kent, Superman realizes that he is falling in love with Lori and decides that he wants to marry her and reveal to her his secret identity. However, as fate would have it Lori reveals to Clark that their next date would be their last as she is supposed to return home.
Following her to the ocean, Clark proposes to her, and Lori reveals that she knew all along that he was really Superman but declines to give him an explanation. Spying on her trailer, he sees that she is radioing someone to pick her up. As Superman, Clark goes in to investigate and learns that Lori is really a mermaid from Atlantis. After helping Superman save people from a broken dam, she reveals her origins and that she learned his identity by reading his mind because all Atlantians communicate by telepathy. She also explains that every 100 years one of their number is sent to the surface world to check on humanities progress, and that it was her that was chosen this last time. With her mission accomplished he has to report back to Atlantis with her findings. Afterwards they have a parting kiss before she returns home.
Appearing in "The Girl in Superman's Past!"
Featured Characters:
- Superman (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
- Lois Lane
- Lori Lemaris (First appearance) (Flashback only)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Atlanteans (Flashback only)
- Merpeople (Flashback only)
- Tritonians (First appearance) (Flashback only)
Locations:
- Earth-One
- Atlantis (Flashback only)
- Tritonis (First appearance) (Flashback only)
- Metropolis
- Metropolis University (Flashback only)
- Mt. Everest (In dream sequence only) (Flashback only)
- Atlantis (Flashback only)
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- "The Ghost of Lois Lane" is reprinted in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #77, The Best of DC #38, Showcase Presents: Superman Vol. 1 Superman: The Man of Tomorrow Archives Vol. 2.
- "Clark Kent, Fireman of Steel!" is reprinted in Superman #197 Showcase Presents: Superman Vol. 1 Superman: The Man of Tomorrow Archives Vol. 2.
- "The Girl in Superman's Past!" is reprinted in Superman Annual #1, Superman #217, Superman: From the 30's to the 70's, Superman: From the 30's to the 80's, The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow Archives Vol. 2, Showcase Presents: Superman Vol. 1 and Superman: A Celebration of 75 Years.
- First appearance of Lori Lemaris. Lori makes a chronologically earlier appearance in Superman: The Secret Years #2. She chronologically appears next in Superman: The Secret Years #3. Her next actual appearance is in Superman #135.
Trivia
- "Clark Kent, Fireman of Steel!": Superman uses his freezing breath for the first time in any media.