Superman #167

Few villain team-ups in 1964 carried quite the menace of this one — the cover by Curt Swan and George Klein lays it out with gleeful malice: a miniaturized, powerless Superman stands trapped inside a hanging birdcage while Brainiac and Lex Luthor bicker over which of them deserves the honor of destroying him, Brainiac wielding a shrinking ray and Luthor clutching a serum vial. The cover blurb says it plainly — "There has never been a menace like this!" — and with Superman reduced to a helpless prisoner between two of his greatest enemies, it's hard to argue. Edmond Hamilton and Cary Bates script the interior, with Swan and Klein's clean, expressive linework making this February issue a vivid showcase of the Distinguished Competition at its Silver Age best.