Action Comics #525
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIn "Neutron Nightmare!", Air Wave takes on a criminal masquerading as the Cosmic Corsair, only to be knocked unconscious and forget his own identity. With help from Karen, Hal must rediscover who he is before the crook strikes again—leading to a surprise Green Lantern costume party at the end. Written by Bob Rozakis and illustrated by Alex Saviuk, with inks by Frank Chiaramonte and colors by Jerry Serpe, this 1981 Action Comics standout features a cover by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano.
In "Neutron Nightmare!", a man left for dead after a failed attack on the S.T.A.R. Labs is abandoned by his comrades and left to die—only to be found and manipulated by Lex Luthor, who instead of healing him, amplifies his radiation exposure. Years later, the transformed Nat Tryon emerges with terrifying radioactive powers, determined to destroy those who wronged him, and now stands as a deadly threat even to Superman himself.
In "Air Wave Goes Blank!", Air Wave takes on a masked crook claiming to be the Cosmic Corsair, only to be knocked unconscious and lose his memory of who he is. With help from Karen, Hal slowly regains his identity, but not before facing off against the imposter in a fight that tests more than just his strength. When the dust settles, he trades his hero gear for a Green Lantern costume—just in time for a party.
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We Buy Collections ▸Trivia · 10 facts
- First appearance and origin of Neutron (Nathaniel 'Nat' Tryon), a nuclear-energy villain who would become a recurring Superman antagonist across Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, and New 52 continuities.
- Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciler Joe Staton, inked by Frank McLaughlin — the same Wolfman/Staton team then producing Green Lantern for DC.
- Edited by Julius Schwartz; E. Nelson Bridwell served as consulting editor.
- First appearance of the TNT Trio, Lex Luthor's gang of saboteurs of whom Nat Tryon was a member before his transformation.
- Neutron's origin: while on a mission for Lex Luthor at a nuclear power plant, Tryon is trapped under lead shielding during a meltdown — lead that blocks Superman's X-ray vision — and is mutated into a sentient nuclear-energy being requiring a containment suit to hold physical form.
- Back-up feature: 'Air Wave Goes Blank!' written by Bob Rozakis, penciled by Alex Saviuk — Air Wave battles the Cosmic Corsair (first appearance of Anthony Gilmore in that guise) and suffers amnesia.
- The issue marks the in-story restoration of the Daily Planet globe to the top of the WGBS Galaxy Communications Building, resolving a status-quo change that began in Action Comics #398.
- The issue was reprinted internationally in three editions: Supermán (Editorial Novaro, Mexico) #1384 (1982), Superman (Egmont Ehapa, Germany) #2/1982, and Superserien (Semic, Scandinavia) #11/1982.
- Neutron later appeared in animated media: as a background villain in Justice League Unlimited and as a featured character in Young Justice: Invasion.
- The Neutron storyline continued directly into Action Comics #526 ('The Man Who Murdered Metropolis!'), making #525 the first chapter of a two-part arc by the same creative team.
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Reprinted in Supermán #1384 (1982), Superman #[1] (1982), Superman #2/1982 (1982), Superserien #11/1982 (1982), Superman Poche #62-63 (1982), Hercule #28 (1983)
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