Superman Taschenbuch #52
Superman Taschenbuch #52 delivered to German-language readers the complete contents of Action Comics #544 — the landmark 45th-anniversary double-sized issue that simultaneously redesigned two of Superman's greatest adversaries. Marv Wolfman and Gil Kane's 'Rebirth!' gave Brainiac an entirely new identity as a quasi-omniscient robotic consciousness encased in a skull-shaped ship, a form that defined the character for decades; Cary Bates, Curt Swan, and Murphy Anderson's 'Luthor Unleashed!' introduced Lex Luthor's high-tech warsuit, reimagining him as a physically formidable threat. Both villain overhauls persisted as the definitive pre-Crisis incarnations and continued to inform how those characters were written and depicted well after DC's line-wide reboot.
In "Wiedergeburt," Superman faces a bizarre challenge when the Prankster taunts him with a message: crimes will unfold right before his eyes, yet he’ll be powerless to stop them. Using long-forgotten laws—like the absurd ban on putting pennies in one’s ears in Hawaii—the criminal exploits loopholes that leave even the Man of Steel stumped. Written by Martin Pasko and illustrated by Kurt Schaffenberger, with inks by Bob Smith and colors by Jerry Serpe, this 1983 issue features a cover by Gil Kane, capturing the surreal tone of a case where justice is trapped in outdated rules.
In "Wiedergeburt," Brainiac, transformed into pure energy after a failed escape from his ship's core, drifts through fractured dimensions in a desperate quest for rebirth. As Superman and Lois Lane confront the aftermath of cosmic upheaval, a mysterious new form of life emerges—hinting at a reborn enemy with ambitions beyond the stars.
In "...mit einem einzigen Schritt," Superman faces off against Brainiac, now wielding a new form and threatening to unleash an alien army. As Earth's defenses strain, the Forgotten Heroes begin to assemble—each drawn by a shared mystery that could change everything.
When Lex Luthor exposes Superman to a strange radiation that causes his body to grow uncontrollably while leaving his mind intact, the Man of Steel finds himself struggling to think clearly. Desperate, he turns to Atom for help, and together the two must outwit Luthor before the growing strain becomes impossible to overcome.
When the Prankster challenges Superman to stop him from breaking laws that are technically still in effect—like the Hawaiian ban on putting pennies in one’s ears—the Man of Steel faces a bizarre puzzle: how do you stop a crime that’s legally, if absurdly, permitted? With the help of a surprisingly literal-minded Bastler, Superman must navigate a web of forgotten statutes before the Prankster’s next "missetaten" turn the city into a legal farce.
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Action Comics #544 was edited by Julius Schwartz and published by DC Comics with an on-sale date of March 1, 1983, making it one of the first major Superman milestone issues of the Bronze Age's final phase. Schwartz's editorial records, later provided to researchers by DC, confirm all job numbers and creator credits for the issue. Egmont Ehapa, DC's longtime German licensee, reprinted the material in the Superman Taschenbuch pocket-book series, which had been running since 1976 and regularly brought contemporary DC storylines to West German readers in German translation. The relationship between DC and Ehapa was substantial enough that, around this same period, DC's editorial office under Schwartz was actually producing original, longer-form Superman stories written specifically for the German market.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Superman Taschenbuch #52 is part of the Egmont Ehapa pocket-book reprint series (1976–1987), which ran for 80 issues and carried Superman stories in German translation for West German readers.
- The issue reprints Action Comics #544 (DC, cover date June 1983, on-sale March 1983), DC's 45th Anniversary special for the Superman line, edited by Julius Schwartz with E. Nelson Bridwell as consulting editor.
- Action Comics #544 contains 'Luthor Unleashed!' — written by Cary Bates with art by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson — in which Lex Luthor dons his first high-tech warsuit; this is the first appearance of Luthor's armored incarnation.
- The issue also contains 'Rebirth!' — written by Marv Wolfman with art by Gil Kane — which transforms Brainiac from a humanoid android into a disembodied computational intelligence that is reborn in a new, coldly mechanical body and commands a skull-shaped spacecraft; this is the first appearance of the robotic Brainiac.
- The new Brainiac design was created by Ed Hannigan (who also penciled the accompanying design pin-up, inked by Dick Giordano); the new Luthor armor was designed by George Pérez, who contributed the corresponding Luthor pin-up.
- Both villain redesigns introduced in this source material remained the canonical pre-Crisis incarnations until the collapse of the DC Multiverse in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
- The GCD character listing for Taschenbuch #52 also includes Superman fighting Brainiac alongside a broad assembly of Justice League and New Teen Titans members (including Flash, Hawkman, Black Canary, Firestorm, Zatanna, Cyborg, Starfire, Robin, and others), indicating the issue packages the villain's debut across multiple connected stories.
- The Ehapa Taschenbuch series was a legitimate licensed reprint vehicle; DC under Julius Schwartz simultaneously produced original, longer-form Superman stories written exclusively for Ehapa during the same early-1980s period, reflecting the strong commercial importance of the German Superman market at the time.
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Superman #302 (1976), The Superman Family #184 (1977), Superman Superband #22 (1983), Action Comics #544 (1983), Action Comics #545 (1983), Action Comics #546 (1983)
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