DC Released October 1971

Superman #243 (1971)

Superman #243 is an issue of the Superman series from DC, released October 12, 1971. Written by Cary Bates with artwork by Neal Adams. Notable appearances include Rija. This page represents the regular first-print edition.

Low
$1
Mid
$5
High
$15
Published October 1971

THE STARRY-EYED SIREN OF SPACE! A female alien intelligence creates a body for herself, and is endangered by menaces of her own subconscious creation. Her mate asks Superman to help save her, and then, when she falls for Superman, builds a duplicate Superman body for himself, and attacks him. Eventually, the misunderstanding is cleared and Superman is able to return to Earth via the Timestream. THE DEATH-TRAIL OF KRYPTON! 2000 years ago, a Kryptonian chemo-engineer named Dol-Nd discovered that he could create flying wings for himself by using a crystalline element he named Trolium, after Trolius, the mythological lord of Krypton's red skies. However, the Trolium created permanent green death-trails in the sky after his flight, which disintegrated any object that flew into them. After defeating a criminal who tried to steal the wings, Dol-Nd destroyed his invention, but the death-trails remained in the sky until Krypton's destruction. THE BATTLE OF THE ATOMS! This story is reprinted from Superman #38.

Key Facts

  • 1st appearance of Rija, an alien, depicted on cover
  • Iconic cover art by Neal Adams