I don’t care for most of the Pulp Heroes annuals, and skip over a lot of them. But Adventures of Superman Annual 9 has one of its three stories that needs to be written about.
Mike W. Barr, Dale Eaglesham and Scott Koblish bring back an obscure western hero, Saganowahna, also known as Super-Chief, in second story in the issue.
Superman is in his blue energy form, but also in western gear. At least they avoid making this story overly racist, as Superman comes to the aid of natives who Super-Chief is strong-arming, forcing them to sell their lands to a casino development.
It’s odd to see Super-Chief shown as a bad guy. He was a hero in his own series in the 60s, and largely out of it in the Swamp Thing issue he appeared in a few years earlier. But here he is really a pawn of the developers, mind-controlled by the stone that gives him his powers.
He defeats Superman, but avoids killing him when he has the chance.
Still, he works with the bad guys, helping them after they have kidnapped a little girl.
The girl and her mother have the last name Cloud, leaving it open that they are related to Navajo ace Johnny Cloud.
It’s not clear if this Super-Chief is the same, old and dying one, who appears in 52.
Tagged: Adventures of Superman, Dale Eaglesham, DC Comics, Johnny Cloud, Mike W Barr, Pulp Heroes, Saganowahna, Scott Koblish, Super-Chief, Superman
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