Supermobile

Supermobile
The Supermobile as seen on Action Comics (first series) #481 (March 1978).
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Action Comics #481 (March 1978)
Created by	Cary Bates, Curt Swan
In story information
Type	Vehicle
Element of stories featuring	Superman

The Supermobile is the fictional vehicle for the DC Comics superhero Superman. It is capable of duplicating all of his abilities in situations where he finds himself powerless.^[1] It was introduced in a story entitled "It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Supermobile!", published in Action Comics # 481, cover dated March 1978.^[2]

Writer Cary Bates says that the Supermobile was created as a promotional tie-in for the Corgi Toys toy line: "In my opinion, whenever merchandising needs are dictating story content, the odds of any real creativity or inspiration are severely compromised".^[3]

Background

When waves of red solar radiation from a long-exploded star reach

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.^[10]

Besides invulnerability and flight, the Supermobile also channels Superman's other powers using the following devices:

• Large mechanical arms mounted on either side of the cockpit area, allowing Superman to both punch and grasp.
• A
  microscopic, x-ray, heat, and night vision
  .
• Air jets that pop out from various points around the vehicle, allowing Superman to use his super
  breath
  if he blows into a face mask attached to the control panel.
• A
  monitor
  and other communications and listening devices substitute for his super hearing.

• The Supermobile appeared in at least four episodes of
  The World's Greatest Super Friends), and "The Krypton
  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 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 made die-cast models of the Supermobile in two different sizes, the "Junior" model (3 inches in length, about the size of a Matchbox or Hot Wheels car) and a larger, 1/36 scale version.^[11]
• action figures. The design differed a bit from the original, however; the two mechanical arms were absent, replaced by a front-mounted "Krypton Action Ram".^[12]
• In 2022, McFarlane Toys 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.^[13]

References