Superman 241 (Aug. 71) is the first to expand to the larger size issues. But the back-up features, aside from the occasional Fabulous World of Krypton stories, are all reprints.
O’Neil, Swan and Anderson continue from where the previous issue left off. The bad guys from that story are still lying on the floor of the apartment, but of no interest to I Ching or Superman. I Ching evokes Superman’s astral form, which hunts out the Sand Superman, and draws back it’s energy from it.
Superman seems back to normal power-wise, but his actions and behaviour verge on the bizarre, and Diana Prince (Wonder Woman has no powers either in this era) gets worried about him.
She and I Ching head to Metropolis, and I Ching traces the whereabouts of the Sand Superman. He knows what the creature is, an ethereal being from Quarrm, who has taken Superman’s form. When Superman drew his energy back, he did not get all of his intelligence. Added to that, he suffered a severe blow to the head when the goons burst in and attacked him and I Ching. The Sand Superman is now dying, only one will be able to survive.
In a somewhat pointless sequence, the three of them break in to Morgan Edge’s apartment. This is primarily so that we can see the shadowy man trapped behind the one way mirror, a teaser for a storyline that will play out over the next few months, though primarily in the pages of Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane.
As the story comes to a close, another entity from Quarrm takes over the body of a Chinese war-demon on a parade float, and captures Superman. This one is able to drain his powers as well.
The story concludes in the next issue.
Tagged: Curt Swan, DC Comics, Denny O'Neil, Diana Prince, I Ching, Morgan Edge, Murphy Anderson, Sand Superman, Superman, Wonder Woman
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