DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
superheroSuperman. It is capable of duplicating all of his abilities in situations where he finds himself powerless. It was introduced in a story entitled "It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Supermobile!", published in ''
Action Comics
''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications ...
'' # 481, cover dated March 1978.
Writer Cary Bates says that the Supermobile was created as a promotional tie-in for the
Corgi Toys
Corgi Toys (trademark) is the brand name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles created by Mettoy and currently owned by Hornby Railways, Hornby.
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, the android
Amazo
Amazo () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky and first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #30 (June 1960) as an adversary of the Justice ...
reactivates and escapes his captivity on the
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
headquarters of the
Justice League of America
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceive ...
, seeking out his creator,
Professor Ivo
Professor Anthony Ivo (pronunciation: Eye-voh) is a supervillain and mad scientist in DC Comics. He is the creator of the android villain Amazo and, along with villainous scientist T.O. Morrow, the co-creator of the android Tomorrow Woman. As a r ...
in the hopes of being returned to his deactivated state. With the rest of the Justice League imprisoned in another dimension by Amazo, though he makes sure they are able to watch him, which they do, only Superman stands ready to defend Ivo, though he is left powerless by the red solar radiation, as he derives his power from Earth's yellow
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
.
Luring Amazo to his
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is a fictional fortress appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. It is the place where Superman first learned about his true identity, heritage, and purpose on Ear ...
in the
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...
, after teleporting himself and Ivo there and hiding Ivo, Superman unleashes his new secret weapon on the android: a small vehicle he has dubbed the Supermobile, which is capable of duplicating all of his powers, including invulnerability, as it is constructed of Supermanium, a metal so strong that "only Superman's heat vision can soften the substance, and only his super-strength is mighty enough to mold it!" He finally travels five days into the future, when the radiation has passed Earth, enabling him to regain his powers.
Although it does reappear a few months later in a battle with the Atomic Skull and Titano, Superman rarely uses the Supermobile again. The vehicle has made a few unofficial cameo appearances in recent years, however. A few different versions of the Supermobile are seen protecting a futuristic Ivy Town in ''All-New
Atom
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas, ...
'' #8. The classic design of the vehicle can also be seen atop the sign of Funky Flashman's used
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarde ...
dealership (which also contains a lot full of
Batmobile
The Batmobile is the fictional car driven by the superhero Batman. Housed in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit and ...
s from various
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
) in the fifth chapter of the
Doctor Thirteen
Dr. Terrance Thirteen (sometimes Terrence), known simply as Doctor Thirteen, Dr. 13 and The Ghost-Breaker, is a fictional character in comic books set in the DC Universe. The character's first published appearance is in ''Star Spangled Comics'' # ...
The Supermobile does not just duplicate Superman's powers, it acts as a conduit for the Man of Steel's powers, allowing him to channel them through the vehicle itself. The Supermanium hull of the SMB shields Superman from red solar radiation that would rob him of his powers, making it so that he remains at the height of his abilities as long as he is within the vehicle. When Amazo remarks that no engine on Earth could react as quickly and easily as the Supermobile's, Superman responds, "You're right about that, Amazo! But who said anything about an engine?", revealing that the vehicle is powered completely by Superman himself.
Besides invulnerability and flight, the Supermobile also channels Superman's other powers using the following devices:
* Large mechanical
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
mounted on either side of the cockpit area, allowing Superman to both punch and grasp.
* A
scope
Scope or scopes may refer to:
People with the surname
* Jamie Scope (born 1986), English footballer
* John T. Scopes (1900–1970), central figure in the Scopes Trial regarding the teaching of evolution
Arts, media, and entertainment
* Cinem ...
on the control panel which can be adjusted to work with each of Superman's vision-related powers: normal, telescopic,
microscopic
The microscopic scale () is the scale of objects and events smaller than those that can easily be seen by the naked eye, requiring a lens or microscope to see them clearly. In physics, the microscopic scale is sometimes regarded as the scale be ...
,
x-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
,
heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
, and night vision.
* Air jets that pop out from various points around the vehicle, allowing Superman to use his super
breath
Breathing (or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen.
All aerobic creatures need oxygen for cell ...
if he blows into a face mask attached to the control panel.
* A
monitor
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, West ...
and other communications and listening devices substitute for his super hearing.
In other media
Cartoons
* The Supermobile appeared in at least four episodes of ''
Super Friends
''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of ...
'': "Terror from the
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created ...
" and "Journey Through Inner Space" (both from the 1978
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
), "Lex Luthor Strikes Back" (from the 1979-1980 season, ''
The World's Greatest Super Friends
''The World's Greatest SuperFriends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 22, 1979, to September 27, 1980, on ABC. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justic ...
''), and "The
Krypton
Krypton (from grc, κρυπτός, translit=kryptos 'the hidden one') is a chemical element with the symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas that occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere and is often ...
Syndrome" (from the so-called "lost episodes" of 1983).
* In the episode "Battle of the Super-Heroes!" of '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'',
Lex Luthor
Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...
uses what looks like a version of the Supermobile, albeit in his standard colors of purple and green, to challenge Superman, but was quickly destroyed.
Toys
*
Corgi Toys
Corgi Toys (trademark) is the brand name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles created by Mettoy and currently owned by Hornby Railways, Hornby.Matchbox
Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc.
Matchbox
A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designe ...
or Hot Wheels car) and a larger, 1/36 scale version.
*
Kenner
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...
produced a Supermobile to go with their Super Powers Collection, one that was big enough to fit the line's
action figures
An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mar ...
. The design differed a bit from the original, however; the two mechanical arms were absent, replaced by a front-mounted "Krypton Action Ram".
* In 2022,
McFarlane Toys
McFarlane Toys is an American company founded by comic book creator Todd McFarlane which makes highly detailed model action figures of characters from films, comics, popular music, video games and various sporting genres. The company, a subsidia ...
produced a Supermobile scaled for 5-inch action figures as part of the first wave of its revival of the Super Powers Collection toyline. This version resembles the original Corgi / comic book design, with fists controlled by a dial on the bottom of the toy, a canopy opened by pressing the Superman "S" shield on the front, and two "jail cell compartments" in the wings.