Archie's Super Hero Special #1

In "The Nightmare World of the Skull," the villainous Skull, reeling from yet another loss to the Black Hood, puts up a million dollars for a plan to finally end the hero's reign. The Abominable Schemer steps in with a sinister idea: to strike the Black Hood not in battle, but in his dreams.

When Archie stumbles upon his own PH Factor, he gains the power to transform into Pureheart the Powerful—but the real challenge isn’t the heroics, it’s the fact that no one remembers him after he’s done. The more powerful he becomes, the more completely he vanishes from everyone’s memory.

In "It All Began...," Betty Cooper finds herself in a sticky situation—literally—when her hair gets caught in a twist while she and Archie hang on a precarious ledge. The unexpected tangle somehow triggers her transformation into Superteen, a surprisingly heroic twist for the usually grounded high schooler.

In "Marco's Eyes," Jo and her friends attend a talent show where Marco’s loss sparks a bizarre scheme: he uses a giant, hypnotic billboard to manipulate bankers and jewelers into stealing for mobsters. When The Fly intervenes, he discovers the sign’s hidden periscope and speaker amplify Marco’s control—only to find himself trapped in the gaze until a clever trick breaks the spell.

In "Pureheart the Powerful in the Center Ring," Archie and Reggie don the heroic personas of Pureheart and Evilheart when a mad clown kidnaps Veronica at the circus, mistaking her for his ex-wife. With the big top as their battleground, the duo must outwit a lunatic with a grudge—before the final curtain falls.

In "The Double Life of Private Strong," a young boy named Lancelot—adopted after surviving a car wreck—grapples with the secret of his origins when his extraordinary abilities begin to surface. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this 1978 tale explores the quiet tension of a life lived in two worlds, where a child’s past is as mysterious as his powers.

In "Spawn of the 'X' World!" from Archie's Super Hero Special #1 (1978), Lancelot Strong stumbles upon the wreckage of Professor Fleming’s vehicle and, after donning the mysterious suit within, quickly finds himself thrust into action. With no time to understand his new powers, he faces an otherworldly threat and calls himself Shield—just in time to leave the police with a name they’ll never forget.

In "Mystery of the Vanished Wreckage," Lancelot follows a haunting lead to the wreckage where he once found his costume, triggering long-buried memories of childhood experiments. As he returns home, the weight of his past collides with a sudden and unexpected turn—his draft notice awaits.

In "Maid of Mischief," Superteen faces off against the delightfully chaotic Magnet-Girl, a glamorous foe whose mysterious gun turns anyone into a magnet—for anything at all. When she targets Archie with a girl magnet blast and Veronica with a mustard magnet twist, chaos erupts in Riverdale, testing Superteen’s wits and nerve.