"How would you spank an invulnerable child?" is the question DC kept asking, over and over again. From Superman #192 (Jan. 1967), cover art by Curt Swan and George Klein. Something about the way Lois is inked reminds us very much of Murphy Anderson, but Superman's figure is clearly not Anderson's work. The effect is probably due to the sheer completeness of Swan's pencils. © DC Comics, Inc.

Evidently it was, and it seems Clark Kent didn't learn anything from these experiences either, judging by this scene in which he makes the exact same bonehead mistake his father did years earlier. Well, they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! In this typical example of the Mort Weisinger silliness that generally reigned during the 60's in the "Superman Family" books, Clark has married Lois Lane, lost his super-powers, and fathered a super-powered brat. (Weisinger was the editor in charge of the Superman books during these years, and strangely enough was considered indispensible by the publisher). We should mention that this was an example of an "imaginary tale", which means the writer and editor couldn't think of anything more to do with the characters that month, so they resorted to the trick of presenting a story outside the regular continuity. This dodge allowed them to do stories that otherwise couldn't have been done, and in fact shouldn't have been done - like this one. Then next month, everything would be back to normal, although with DC, "normal" was a relative term at best.

From the Web-Ed's collection, posted 07/15/2011. Art by Curt Swan and George Klein.

07/15/2011 Update: Some time ago, wanting to know if the story were as goofy as we remembered (we read it in a barbershop in 1967 while waiting for a haircut!), we obtained our own copy of the book, and now as part of Super-Spanking Summer, we'll add the only panel of interest from the book's interior. The story by Otto Binder is one of the more ridiculous "imaginary tales" DC ever printed - Superman loses his powers, which was always happening, but he loses all memory of his Superman identity as well so that only Clark Kent's persona is left. Bizarrely, the few people who know his dual identity don't bother to tell him! How likely is that? Not Batman, or Robin, or Pete Ross, or even his own cousin Supergirl (another good reason to spank her).

Of course, when his son shows evidence of inheriting Superman's powers, it should have tipped him off, although we're not sure it did. Anyway, Clark goes ahead with the attempted spanking much as depicted on the cover, except without the hairbrush. Of some interest is what Lois says: "The first time I spanked Junior ..." (emphasis added). Got that? The first time she spanked Junior - how many times did it take before she realized it wasn't a good idea? We've said it before, but this crowd really learned slowly.