Superman #136
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSuperman #136 is a well-rounded example of the Silver Age anthology format at full stride, packing three tonally distinct stories — romantic science-fiction, continuity mythology, and comedy — into a single 10-cent issue. Its middle story, 'The Secret of Kryptonite!', uses a Superboy flashback framework to dramatize the in-universe history of how Superman's greatest weakness became public knowledge, cementing Kryptonite lore that would remain canonical for decades. The issue also introduces three minor but catalogued characters — X-Plam, 'Sad Sam' Smith, and Professor Stanley Halley (alias Mel Evans) — offering a snapshot of how Silver Age DC writers populated their world with disposable yet imaginative one-off figures. Its selection for DC's premium Archive Editions reprint program confirms that editors and historians have regarded it as representative of the era's storytelling ambitions.
In "The Man Who Married Lois Lane!", a mysterious visitor from the future named X-Plam arrives with a startling claim: he’s destined to marry Lois Lane tomorrow. When he presents undeniable proof, Lois is stunned—yet intrigued—by the prospect of a future life with him. Written by Robert Bernstein and illustrated by Wayne Boring, with inks by Stan Kaye, this 1960 classic features Curt Swan’s iconic cover, capturing the moment of impossible romance.
In a twist of time and love, a mysterious man from the future named X-Plam arrives in Metropolis with a startling proposal: he’s destined to marry Lois Lane tomorrow. When he offers undeniable proof, Lois finds herself caught between her life in the present and the promise of a future she never expected. With a flash of memory from Power-Man’s past adding a hint of mystery, the question isn’t just about love—it’s about what fate truly demands.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue carries a cover date of April 1960 and was published on February 4, 1960, under DC's then-standard lead time. Writing duties were split among Jerry Siegel — Superman's co-creator, who returned to DC periodically through this era — and Robert Bernstein, a prolific Silver Age scripter; interior art was handled by Wayne Boring and Al Plastino, the two workhorses who defined Superman's visual style in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with Stan Kaye inking. The cover was pencilled by Curt Swan, whose clean, authoritative draftsmanship was already becoming the face of the Superman line. No unusual editorial circumstances have been documented for this specific issue.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: April 1960; on-sale date: February 4, 1960 (Superman Vol. 1, #136, DC Comics).
- Three stories: 'The Man Who Married Lois Lane!', 'The Secret of Kryptonite!', and 'The Super-Clown of Metropolis!'
- Cover pencilled by Curt Swan; interior art by Wayne Boring and Al Plastino, inked by Stan Kaye.
- Writing credited to Jerry Siegel and Robert Bernstein (story attribution per Grand Comics Database via eBay product data).
- Introduces three new characters: X-Plam (a time-traveling, chameleon-like being from 2360 who briefly marries Lois Lane before dying), 'Sad Sam' Smith (a billionaire who has never laughed), and Professor Stanley Halley (a disguise used by Mel Evans).
- 'The Secret of Kryptonite!' is structured as a Superboy-era flashback in which young Clark Kent learns of his vulnerability to Kryptonite after Pa Kent brings a fragment home, and a criminal later exploits the discovery — an in-continuity retelling of how the weakness became known to the world, with Lana Lang appearing in the Smallville sequences.
- Bizarro, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Jonathan Kent, Lana Lang, Superboy, and Jimmy Olsen all appear only in flashback or cameo roles; no new appearances of these characters in the main timeline.
- All three stories were selected for inclusion in DC's hardcover Superman Archive Editions reprint program, placing the issue in that premium collected-edition lineage.
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↩ Reprints The Adventures of Bob Hope #17 (1952)
Reprinted in Lois Lane Annual #2 (1963), Superman #2 (1965), World's Finest Comics #171 (1967), Superman #47 (1968), Showcase Presents: Superman #2 (2006), Superman: The Man of Tomorrow Archives #3 (2014)
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