The Ultra-Humanite is one of Superman’s deadliest foes. He’s also the reason another, unrelated Super-foe looks the way that he does. Intrigued yet? Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Action Comics #13 awaits!
ACTION COMICS #13
Writer: Jerry Siegel
Penciler: Paul Cassidy (credited as Joe Shuster)
Inker: Paul Cassidy (credited as Joe Shuster)
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: Uncredited
Editor: Vin Sullivan
Publisher: Detective Comics, Inc. (DC Comics)
Cover Price: 10 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $240,000.00
Release Date: April 24, 1939
Previously in Action Comics: The 1938 debut of Superman was a remarkable case of pop culture in motion, as the character was immediately embraced by not just children, but adults as well. Just a little bit more than a year later, the Man of Steel was a balloon in the legendary Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, while DC Comics had already made millions on the character by that time. (Not so much his creators, but that’s another flashback.) And, of course, we all know about the bald, amoral scientific genius whose desire to take over the world ends up pitting him against the powerful alien time after time.
Not, not Luthor. The FIRST bald, amoral scientific genius with a desire to take over the world! It all begins with a fateful cab ride.
The Superman of 1939 has often been noted as being highly progressive, anti-corruption, and willing to throw a landlord out a window to keep him from taking advantage of the little guy. The same is true of this Cab Protective League and their attempts to squeeze out independent drivers in Metropolis. Taking to the night skies, the Man of Tomorrow is able to track the CPL’s thugs as they wreck a small cab garage, smashing their vehicles and beating their drivers, arriving just in time to prevent the murder of the owner.
Aside from the big villain debut, Action Comics #13 also heralds the first appearance of Superman’s second S-shield logo, the one that appears on his cape. That’s thanks to artist Paul Cassidy, who ghosts for Joe Shuster in this issue. That’s due to the character’s immediate success, which meant that Siegel & Shuster were working on two monthly titles, a daily comic strip, and any ancillary material in the form of house ads and the like. If accounts are to be believed, Cassidy joined Shuster in 1938, working on Superman through 1940. Though Cassidy isn’t consistent, even from panel to panel, in this issue, the cape-logo would become an iconic part of Superman’s costume, helping the first superhero to stand out even more. Cassidy is also the artist who altered Superman’s chest emblem from a literal shield to the more familiar five-sided diamond shape.
Dragging the racketeer out and leaping into the skies, Superman is surprised when the criminal tries to stab him, which leads to a painful death against the concrete. Of course, he’s not the only one responsible, so it’s up to Superman to track the Cab Protection League to their lair, where he provides an appropriate punishment to the would-be crimelords.
I really enjoy Cassidy’s work in this issue, as unsophisticated as it is, for the sheer power of the panels, making the idea of a man smashing cars with his bare hands completely believable. One of the thugs manages to escape police custody using a complex gas dispenser, which makes Mister Kent very suspicious. How would a minor mafioso get such a device, let alone create it?
The simple answer is, he didn’t. The Ultra-Humanite did!
Though disabled, Ultra’s incredible brain gives him an edge against even the super-strong Kryptonian, and Superman is tied to a board and set to be executed in Ultra’s sawmill… which fails, because, DUH? The shattered buzzsaw blade even kills some of Ultra’s own men, leading him to flee as Superman comes to, leading to a battle of man versus flying-car-tank-gyroplane!
Even the most casual fan knows that rumors of the Ultra-Humanite’s demise in 1939 were highly exaggerated, as the villain returned many times over the years. BUT!
If you look at the panel numbered 72 above, you will see an image that strongly resembles later Golden Age portrayals of one Lex Luthor, who wouldn’t appear for another ten issues of Action Comics. When he did, he had a thick mop of red hair but had a bald henchman who looked VERY similar to this issue’s depiction of Ultra, both of whom were drawn by Paul Cassidy. When the character reappeared, drawn by later Shuster-ghost Leo Nowak, Luthor was suddenly bald, resembling Ultra-Humanite, a look which he maintains to this day. John Byrne’s Superman/Batman: Generations makes it canon that, on Earth-1939, Lex Luthor WAS The Ultra-Humanite, thanks to the latter’s brain-swapping skills.
As for Action Comics #13, the appearance of the first real super-villain coincides with Cassidy accidentally innovating one of the best parts of Superman’s suit, a combination that makes for an exciting reading experience and 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. You can easily see how and why this character took the world by storm.
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ACTION COMICS #13
As a big nerd, it's all about the cape-shield for me, but seeing The Ultra-Humanite for the first time is interesting stuff, especially knowing that he'll be a giant albino gorilla soon enough. It's good stuff, even if the credited Joe Shuster art is actually Paul Cassidy.
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Writing8
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Art10
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Coloring8
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.