Issue Description

Cover by Nick Cardy."Target of the Toymen!" (Superman) written by Cary Bates, penciled by Curt Swan and inked by Murphy Anderson."The Million Dollar Methuselah Contract" (Human Target) written by Len Wein, penciled and inked by Dick Giordano.

"Target of the Toymen"

Clark Kent is shooting a commercial at the airport when someone shrinks and steals a 707. The methods used are similar to the Toyman but Superman notes that it can not be the original villain. The new Toyman manages to escape by using exploding bubble gum animals, which forces Superman to protect the town below them.

Within a few days, the Toyman has also shrunk and stolen a nuclear submarine and a solar train with the intent to ransom the three items for $100 million. The news reports catch the attention of Winslow Schott, the original Toyman, who decides to return in order to defend his reputation.

The new Toyman’s next target is the world’s fastest car but Schott appears on the scene and foils his plan. Schott offers to join forces with his younger counterpart, which he accepts over the threat of death.

They steal a satellite rocket and return to the forest where the new Toyman has been hiding his stolen possessions, however, he turns on Schott, attempting to suffocate him with poisonous cotton candy.

Unbeknown to them, Superman was hiding aboard the rocket and shrunk right along with it. After returning to normal size, Superman quickly dispatches the new Toyman by dribbling him into unconsciousness and uses his heat vision to free Schott from the cotton candy. Superman reveals that Schott was in on the plan to take down the new Toyman from the beginning.

"The Million Dollar Methuselah Contract"

Millionaire oilman Henderson Repp is riding his motorcycle through his oil fields when someone tries to take him out with a bazooka. Of course, Repp had hired the Human Target to take his place and he plays dead in order to trick the unknown assassin into believing that he had succeeded. Lying in the sand, Christopher Chance recalls how he had gotten to this point.

While skydiving, an attractive messenger catches up to him and passes along that Repp wants a meeting. Once on the ground, Repp hires Chance and says he suspects his nephew is trying to kill him.

Back in the present, the attractive messenger, Repp’s secretary Deedee, arrives on the scene to get Chance to safety and visit an oil well to congratulate the workers as Repp would.

That night, Chance finds Deedee has been kidnapped with the intent to lure out Repp as a tape recorder captures the whole incident. Deedee is being held captive at the same well seen earlier as Chance heads to the scene still disguised as Repp.

The hired gun appears to shoot him, only to see that it was dummy riding the motorcycle. Chance dodges a few bullets and shoots the rifle out of the gunmen’s hand. As Chance begins to climb the tower, the shooter threatens to explode a grenade and kill all of them unless Chance surrenders his weapon. Chance lowers his gun and fires a shot that dislodges the cap off the well.

With the cap loosened, the oil spews out from the ground and knocks the gunmen off the tower as the grenade explodes with Chance shielding Deedee from the blast. The next day, Chance tells Repp he should be safe now as the hired gun had given the police enough information to go after Repp’s nephew.

Action Comics (1938)

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

In the early days of comics books, it was not the convention to name comics after specific characters. Rather comics bore generic names such as this one. Although this series featured Superman throughout, it thus bore this name, one which it has become famous for (and the name was kept after the launch of The New 52.) It was the fourth DC Comics title, and the first new one produced after Detective Comics spread beyond the one title (this was after it purchased More Fun Comics and New Adventure Comics.)

Starring: Lex Luthor (starting #890) until #900.

Second Feature: Captain Atom (#879-#889), Superboy (#892), Jimmy Olsen (#893-#896)

(Issues #601-642 are filed under Action Comics Weekly)

Collected EditionsSuperman: The Golden Age Omnibus vol. 1 (#1-31)Adventures of Superman: Gil Kane vol. 1 (#539-541, 545, 546 & #551-554)Superman vs. Darkseid (#586)They Saved Luthor's Brain (#600, #668, #670-673, #676-678 )Panic in the Sky (#674-675)Death of Superman (#683-684)World Without Superman (#685-686)Superman: Funeral For A Friend (#685-686)Superman: Reign of the Supermen (#687-688)The Trial of Superman (#716-717)Transformed! (#729 & 732)DC Comics Presents: Superman #4 (#768, #771-773)Superman: Emperor Joker (#769-770)President Lex (#773)Superman: Our Worlds At War, Book One (#780-781)Superman: Our Worlds At War, Book Two (#782)Superman: Ending Battle (#795-796)DC Comics Presents: Superman #2 (#798)Godfall (Action Comics #812- 813, Adventures of Superman #625- 626 and Superman #202- 203)Superman: The Wrath of Gog (#814-819; backups #812-813)Superman: Sacrifice (Action Comics #829, Superman #218-220, Adventures of Superman #642-643 and Wonder Woman #219-220)Superman: Up, Up and Away! (#837-840)Superman: Back In Action (#841-843, plus stories from DC Comics Presents #4, #17 and #24)Superman: Last Son (#844-846, #851 and Action Comics Annual #11)The Third Kryptonian (Superman #668-670, Action Comics #847, Superman Annual #13)Redemption (Superman #659&666, Action Comics #848-849)3-2-1 Action (Superman #665, Action Comics #852-854, Legends of the DC Universe #14)Superman: Escape From Bizarro World (#855-857)Superman And The Legion of Super-Heroes (#858-863)Superman: Brainiac (#866-870)Superman: New Krypton Vol. 1 (#871)Superman: New Krypton Vol. 2 (#872-873)Superman: Nightwing And Flamebird Vol. 1 (#875-879 and Action Comics Annual #12)Superman: Codename Patriot (#880)Superman: Nightwing And Flamebird Vol. 2 (#883-889, Superman #696 and Adventure Comics #8-10)Superman: The Black Ring Vol. 1 (#890-895)Superman: The Black Ring Vol. 2 (#896-900; Action Comics Annual #13; Secret Six #29)Secret Six: Caution To the Wind (#897)Superman: Reign of Doomsday (#900-904)For Post-Flashpoint refer to Action Comics (Vol. 2)

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