The Best of DC #1 is an issue of the series The Best of DC (Volume 1) with a cover date of October, 1979. It was published on June 7, 1979.
Synopsis for "Attack by the Army of Tomorrow!"
This story is reprinted from Superman #265.
Morgan Edge is unimpressed with Perry White, as he didn’t accomplish any big scoop for some time, getting his first Pulitzer twenty years ago. So Perry decides to show his boss that any people in Metropolis can have a great story and spots people wearing gloves in the middle of summer, he questions them but they shoot strange energies at him from their hands. Clark’s interest is piqued and Superman goes after the youths who are all boarding a helicopter, their psychic bolts knock out the Man of Steel, but Perry sneaks aboard in the confusion. The helicopter touches down on a secret compound in the desert, built by Calixto. In 1953, Calixto was posted in the North Atlantic to do biological research with the Atomic Energy Commission. All humans born in the area on that date within an hour of the detonation were altered by the vapors into mutants, born with four thumbs on each hand but a capacity for enormous psychic power, but vulnerable to hypnosis. Disguised as a soldier of Calixto, Perry helps Superman get free of the psychic barrier erected around the compound and now he can stop the hypnosis of Calixto by a giant tuning fork. The youths and soldiers come to their senses and Calixto remains alone with his Earth-conquering ambitions, he deliberately causes his energy-cannon to backfire into his body, allowing him to go toe to toe with Superman. Greedy for more power, Calixto attempted to backfire the rest of the energy-cannon's charge into his body, only for Superman to get in the way and take the brunt of the release instead. As a consequence, the entire hangar went up in an explosion, and only Superman crawled out of the wreckage alive. Afterwards, the Army of Tomorrow, free of Calixto's evil mental domination, decided to establish a new system of life for themselves on another planet.
Appearing in "Attack by the Army of Tomorrow!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Calixto (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Marlou
- Norm
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Midnight Murder Show!"
This story is reprinted from Action Comics #442.
Superman enacts a desperate plan to save the life of kidnapped TV host Johnny Nevada.
Appearing in "The Midnight Murder Show!"
Featured Characters:
- Superman (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- "Touch" McCoy
Other Characters:
- Johnny Nevada
- Professor Pepperwinkle (First appearance) (Flashback only)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Superman Under the Red Sun!"
This story is reprinted from Action Comics #300.
The Superman Revenge Squad manages to get Superman to strand himself on Earth in the year 1,000,000 A.D. In this apocalyptic future,the sun has turned red and Superman is the last living man on the planet. Due to the red sun, his super powers have disappeared. Superman struggles to reach his fortress of Solitude in an effort to find some way to return to the present. Rivers and oceans have dried up. Cities have been abandoned and humans have evacuated earth due to unlivable conditions. Superman finally reaches his fortress and uses a piece of red kryptonite to shrink himself. This allows him to use a Kandorian rocket to transport himself back to 1963.
Appearing in "Superman Under the Red Sun!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Jimmy Olsen
- Jonathan Kent (Flashback only)
- Lana Lang (Flashback only)
- Martha Kent (Flashback only)
- Perry White
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Chief Parker (Flashback only)
Locations:
- Smallville (Flashback only)
- North Pole
Items:
- Balloon Beasts
- Lex Luthor robot
- Lois Lane robot
- Mister Mxyzptlk robot
- Supergirl robot
- Mento Helmet
- Red Kryptonite
Vehicles:
- Kandorian Rocket
- Earth Space Ships
- Superman Revenge Squad Saucer Ship
Synopsis for "The Adventures of Mental Man!"
This story is reprinted from Action Comics #196.
Superman takes on the identity of newspaper comic strip character "Mental-Man" in order to fool and capture a world-wide gold racketeering gang.
Appearing in "The Adventures of Mental Man!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Lois Lane
- Perry White
- Al Fallon (staff artist)
Antagonists:
- Gold racketeering gang
- Inky
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Death of Superman!"
This story is reprinted from Superman #149.
Appearing in "The Death of Superman!"
Featured Characters:
- Superman (Dies)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Lex Luthor
- Al Mantz (Single appearance)
- Duke Garner (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Bizarro (Flashback only)
- Sykes (Single appearance)
- Lana Lang
- Krypto
- Lori Lemaris
- Lucy Lane
- Sylvia DeWitt
- Lyle-Zee
- Lili Van-Zee
- Van-Zee
- Robin
- Justice League of America
- Legion of Super-Heroes
Locations:
- Earth-149
- Arctic Circle
- Metropolis
- Daily Planet
- Luthor's Lair
- Metropolis Chapel
- Metropolis Prison
- United Nations Building
- Earth's Orbit
- Satellite Laboratory
- Krypton (Mentioned only)
- Phantom Zone
Items:
- Atomic Powered Top (Flashback only)
- Duplicator Ray (Flashback only)
- Green Kryptonite Ray
- Lex Luthor's Signal Watch
- Luthor's Lair Hall of Heroes
- Attila statue (Destroyed)
- Al Capone statue (Destroyed)
- Genghis Khan statue (Destroyed)
- Captain Kidd statue (Destroyed)
- Julius Caesar statue
- Phantom Zone Projector
- Kandorian Transfer Ray
Vehicles:
- Getaway Car (Destroyed)
- Satellite Laboratory
Notes
- Also contains several "Super Extras": "Superman's Costume & Clark Kent's Clothes", the morbid "Superman Cartoon", "Superman's Rogue Gallery", "Play the Graffiti Game with Superman", and "Clark Kent's Other Jobs"
- In the original version of "Superman Under the Red Sun!" Superman retrieves a specific sample of red kryptonite but then does nothing with it. Instead he uses a shrinking ray on himself. However, back in the present, Superman must wait until the red kryptonite effect wears off to grow back to normal size. This reprint fixes this plot inconsistency by showing Superman shrink himself with the red kryptonite instead.