That's the Kind of Trouble I Need Plenty Of - Superboy 80

Superboy #80 (April 1960)
"Superboy Meets Supergirl"
Jerry Siegel-Curt Swan/John Forte

Doug: As we've discussed before, Silver Age DCs can be a lot of fun if you prep your mind before reading. Looking at the production date on today's issue, I made sure to know my expectations before diving in. I am reading and scanning from my recently-purchased trade Superboy: The Greatest Team-Up Stories Ever Told.

Here's your plot synopsis, in a 100-Word Review:

In the present of 1960, Superman and Supergirl enjoy some recreation time together. But Superman suddenly turns melancholy as he reflects on a childhood with no peers with whom to share life. Supergirl, in a moment of inspiration, decides she’ll help her cousin out by flying into his past and cheering him up. Superboy is overwhelmed by her strength and speed and the cousins engage in all manner of games – darts, leapfrog, hide & seek, catch, and swimming. Of course they end up saving the world, and Supergirl even comes up with a way to maintain the integrity of the timestream.

This was a short story at only 10 pages, one of three tales in the issue. I love the art team of Curt Swan, he of all things Super, and John Forte -- one of the very earliest artists on the Legion of Super-Heroes. Their styles mesh really well. The end product is a sort of wholesome, even cute, depiction of these characters. Superboy and Supergirl really do look like young teenagers, and Jerry Siegel's script nicely adds to the feeling. Well, hey -- it seems like I'm already commenting on... 

The Good: Art, script, the general quaintness of the story. Just a moment ago I discussed having the right mindset for tales of this vintage. Our friend Paul O'Connor of Longbox Graveyard proposed this earlier this year. I think he's exactly right. Of course that doesn't mean that you're going to like everything or excuse plots or story elements that are just plain stupid. But it has helped me to get past some of the "written for a 10-year old" complaints I've made in the past. 

I felt that the interplay between Superboy and Supergirl exuded joy. I really felt that, as a reader, I was watching these two kids have a great time. And a great time just being kids -- no pressures, no real responsibilities. Of course, when the universe is your playground the possibilities for fun are endless. The duo started out on Earth, but soon took their games into space and even to other planets. They encountered a few menaces, and interrupted a plot by some alien menace to fire "death-rays" at our planet. Overall it was just a fun story.

As with any Silver Age story, a deus ex machina lurks around the next corner, and we saw it here. We all know when sitting down to read one of these time travel yarns that somehow, some way, the time stream has to be unaffected. If Superman was moping around in 1960 about how sucky his childhood was, you can't very well have Supergirl suddenly changing that. You know how much Kang the Conqueror loves to screw with divergent time streams! The "giant red flowers"... get outta here. But I rolled with it, smiling.

The Bad: As a parent, I don't care if they were Super or not. I don't want to see two kids throwing lawn darts at each other's chests! I darn near killed my aunt with one of those things when I was little.

Why is Superman always portrayed in the Silver Age as a SuperD!(k? Supergirl seemed genuinely agitated about what Superman would do to her when he found out she'd messed with the timestream. Sheesh... the days of Super-spankings were long over by the Silver Age. 

To some extent Jerry Siegel plagiarized himself with this plot. The basic premise of this story -- a Super-longing for a true peer -- would be repeated only 13 months later with Supergirl as the protagonist.

The Ugly: In the 21st century it's difficult to read "that's the way it was back then" sorts of things and not have a response. Whether it's racism in the pages of Tarzan or the Lone Ranger novels or whatever, there is a certain cringe-factor on the page. There was nothing egregious in Jerry Siegel's script, but I did pause at the blatant sexism when Superboy remarked (out loud), "How did you, a mere girl, ever get here ahead of me?" Too bad Supergirl didn't give him a Super-wedgie.

I had a fun time reading this. It was quite short, only about a six or seven minute read, but a ton of fun. If you're interested in the Superboy team-ups trade, by the way, there are also stories involving Luthor (natch), Superman, a young Green Arrow, Robin, Jor-el, Aquaman, a young Hal Jordan, Lori Lemaris, and a young Bruce Wayne. Shoot -- you'd think Bob Haney had a hand in some of these stories!