Superman #61
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSuperman #61 (November/December 1949) marks the single most consequential world-building issue in the character's entire Golden Age run: it delivers kryptonite's debut in the comics medium, six years after the substance first appeared on the Adventures of Superman radio serial. The lead story — 'Superman Returns to Krypton!' — does double duty, folding Superman's origin retelling directly into the kryptonite introduction so that the hero learns he is an alien and discovers his one vulnerability in the same narrative. That creative pairing transformed Superman from an effectively invincible figure into a hero with genuine stakes, a shift that editor Dorothy Woolfolk is credited with driving by declaring his invulnerability dramatically 'boring.' The word 'kryptonite' has since passed into the broader English language as a universal synonym for an Achilles' heel — a cultural reach that traces directly back to this issue.
In "The Prankster's Radio Program!", Superman takes on a mysterious swami named Riva who claims to have the power to hex him—only to discover the truth lies buried in a meteorite from Krypton. Written by Bill Finger and illustrated by Al Plastino, this 1949 classic blends cosmic mystery with a clever twist, as Superman journeys back in time to witness the final days of his home planet. The cover by Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye captures the eerie allure of the swami’s sinister scheme.
In a tale that bridges time and planet, Superman follows Lois Lane into a mystery that leads him to the enigmatic Swami Riva, whose strange powers begin to unravel him. Tracing the source of the swami’s magic to a Kryptonian meteorite, Superman journeys back through space and time to witness the final days of his home world—seeing Jor-El’s desperate warnings, Lara’s sorrow, and the quiet kindness of Pa and Ma Kent who raised him. Returning to the present, he confronts the swami with the truth of his origins, turning the villain’s scheme against him.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 21 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue's key story, 'Superman Returns to Krypton!', was written by Batman co-creator Bill Finger and drawn by Al Plastino; the cover was penciled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye, the same art team that handled the third story, 'The Courtship of the Three Lois Lanes!' DC editor Dorothy Woolfolk, one of the first women to hold an editorial position at a major American comics publisher, is credited across multiple sources with pushing the kryptonite concept into print, motivated by a desire to give an otherwise all-powerful hero a meaningful weakness. The substance had already proven its storytelling value in the radio serial since 1943, and Jerry Siegel had sketched a rough precursor called 'K-Metal' in an unpublished 1940 script, but it took Woolfolk's editorial initiative for kryptonite to finally take root in the comics themselves.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of kryptonite in any comic book, in the lead story 'Superman Returns to Krypton!' written by Bill Finger with interior art by Al Plastino.
- The kryptonite gem is colored red in the original printing — not the now-familiar green; the green coloration would become standard beginning around 1951.
- The story simultaneously retells Superman's origin: traveling back in time to trace the meteorite's source, Superman witnesses Jor-El and Lara on Krypton and realizes for the first time in the comics that he is not an Earthman.
- Editor Dorothy Woolfolk is credited with championing the kryptonite concept; she later stated that Superman's invulnerability struck her as narratively 'boring,' and she wanted an Achilles' heel for the character.
- The cover was penciled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye; the issue's three stories also carry work by Bill Woolfolk (writer of the first two stories) alongside Finger's lead.
- The issue contains a one-page Tootsie Roll advertisement — 'Captain Tootsie Saves the Day' — drawn by C.C. Beck, the same artist who co-created Captain Marvel for Fawcett. Captain Tootsie's kid-gang cast includes Rollo and Marybelle (the characters indexed in this issue).
- The Captain Tootsie strip was created in 1943 by C.C. Beck and writer Rod Reed as an ongoing series of one-page candy advertisements; Rollo is Captain Tootsie's primary kid sidekick, and Marybelle is one of the rotating young cohorts known as the Secret Legion.
- The lead story has been reprinted in the DC collections The Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told and Superman in the Forties, giving it continued visibility across the decades.
Cast · 3 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Superman #61 (1950), Mundo de Aventuras #125 (1952), Mundo de Aventuras #126 (1952), Mundo de Aventuras #127 (1952), Mundo de Aventuras #128 (1952), Mundo de Aventuras #129 (1952), Mundo de Aventuras #130 (1952), Action Comics #208 (1955), Sugar & Spike #3 (1956), Adventure Comics #279 (1960), The Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told #[nn] (1990), Superman in the Forties #[nn] (2005), Superman - Kryptonite #[nn] (2013), DC Comics Graphic Novel Collection #81 (2016), Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus #7 (2023)
Key issues in Superman
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.