Issue Description

The Emperor of America (Superman) -- 2. Sky Fighter (Supermen of the U.S. Army) -- 3. Sing a Song of Six Guns (Vigilante) -- 4. Private Pete -- 5. The Battle of a Thousand Years (Three Aces) -- 6. The Case of the Stolen Spectacles (Americommandos - Mr. America) -- 7. Wolf Hunt -- 8. Little Gertie -- 9. The One Man Army (Congo Bill) -- 10. Private Pete -- 11. Laffs -- 12. Crime on Ice (Zatara) Superman: Inspired by the depths of World War 2 (the story was published after the USA had been involved in the war for a few months) this is a tale of an alternative future. Walking through Metropolis one day, Clark notices that everyone has become complacent and unwilling to resist anything that happens to them. 
The scene shifts to Washington, DC where a gang wearing strange metal helmets simply walks into the White House and orders the President to surrender power to the gang's leader, who calls himself the Emperor of America. The President complies without a struggle, and the Emperor assumes control of the country.
Meanwhile, Clark and Lois are on a plane to Washington to cover the story when the plane runs into bad weather. Clark escapes from the plane and performs several super-feats to save the plane from crashing into the mountains. Upon arrival in Washington, Clark and Lois go to the White House to request an interview with the Emperor, but he refuses. Lois is willing to just give up and leave, but Clark, unaffected by whatever is causing the complacency in everyone else, phones in a story to the Daily Planet in which he labels the Emperor as a tyrant. The Emperor has Clark and Lois arrested for treason, and replaces the supreme court with his own cronies, who convict them and sentence them to death.
As he is being led away, Clark grabs a metal helmet from one of the guards and discovers that it acts as a shield against whatever is causing everyone to obey any order. As Superman, he finds that the Emperor has built a gigantic ray machine which is causing the complacency, and he plans to rob America of its wealth and then destroy the ray machine, escaping to some foreign land. As Superman rushes in to stop him, the Emperor focuses the ray on him to try to control him, but Superman is able to resist the ray's effects and destroy the machine.

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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