Adventures of Superman 557 – the Justice League and the Teen Titans join Supermans Red and Blue against the Millennium Giants

I really don’t care for the Millennium Giants story arc.  So I fully admit that I give the Kesel, Val Semekis, Rodier and Koblish story from Adventures of Superman 557 (May 1998) short shrift.

Superman Blue in incapable of stopping or even affecting the Giant shredding its way through Mexico City.  He calls on the Justice League, and Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Aquaman and Steel show up, as well as Superboy.  Two other Giants are causing problems, so they split up to fight them.

One is in Markovia.  Geo-Force and Terra are facing it alone until Superman Red arrives with some of the Leaguers, as well as the Teen Titans.  The Giant does massive damage to the country.

Superman Blue has better luck in Atlantis, with the other Leaguers, and Lori Lemaris.

The story continues in the next issue of Action.

Adventures of Superman Annual 9 – Superman vs Super-Chief

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.