Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Back Issue Review: Action Comics #340


Just this week on the Supergirl show, Agent Jensen was turned into the Parasite to vex our hero Kara and the DEO.

Now most people, myself included, jump to Rudy Jones as being the Parasite. So when someone named Jensen was introduced on the show way back in the premiere, I didn't think to much of it.



Then Supergirl fan extraordinaire @kara_querl that the original Parasite, from Action Comics #340 was named Raymond Jensen. Supergirl staff writer Eric Carrasco confirmed this had been planned since the first episode.

Feeling myself like a bad fan for not remembering this on my own, especially given that I actually own the issue in my collection, I decided that a back issue review was warranted. So get ready to read about the first appearance of the Parasite!


The Power of the Parasite hit the stands in 1966. Writer Jim Shooter and artist Al Plastino put together a tidy little story in 14 pages, introducing the villain, having him go on a rampage, and then eliminating him all in neat and tidy tale.

It is always good to see Plastino's work. After all he drew Action Comics #252, the first appearance of Supergirl. Amazingly, this was Shooter's second month as a pro. His first story ever was a Supergirl one back in Action Comics #339.

And the splash does just what it should, explaining who the Parasite is and what his powers are. Superman looks afraid and he should be!


The story starts with Superman in a government lab, performing an experiment on extraterrestrial radioactive material. When he concludes, Superman puts the remnants in a lead container.

Meanwhile, Jensen is a lazy worker in the lab, always angry that everyone bosses him around.

Jensen, sick in his dead end job, thinks that maybe the container filled with radioactive waste is, perhaps, filled with the lab's payroll! So why not take a peek and see if he can abscond some of that cold hard cash!

Ahhh, the old days when payroll was actually doled out with paper money!


Of course, the container is actually filled with the 'strange alien' radioactive waste, bathing Jensen in its rays.

I do love the art here by Plastino. Artists back then didn't seem to put in the detail of the more current books. But that first panel really conveys how Jensen is blasted by the energy. And the purple and maroons of the second panel give an eerie feeling to everything.


When a co-worker comes to help him, Jensen drains the man of his energy, replenishing his own. He names himself Parasite.

But he still feels pretty awful.

Of course, Jensen isn't the brightest bulb. Instead of seeking true help from the scientists or even physicians, he decides the right thing to do is head home and get some rest.

I do like how the look of the featureless face and purple frame is immediately established.


Wandering through the lab, he begins to suck the life from all the workers there. In fact, he realizes that he can energize beyond human limits. But more than that, he also absorbs some of their 'mentality', increasing his intellect.

With his newfound intelligence he realizes that he is something if an atomic furnace. He needs constant fuel or he'll collapse.

Interesting that the idea of the Parasite gaining not just physical vitality but also intelligence and skills is also established early. Although it seems like things like intelligence are only drained after prolonged exposure.


Starving for energy in his apartment, Jensen gets a super-boost when Superman happens to fly by the building.

It doesn't take a high IQ to know that Superman could be the ultimate battery for the Parasite. Moreover, Jensen surmises that if he drains Superman entirely of his Kryptonian energy that the changes will be permanent. He'll never need to feed again and could rule the world.

And, as luck would have it, the Parasite knows where Superman will be.The Man of Steel will be building a new hospital on the north side of town.


At the hospital site, the Parasite awaits the arrival of Superman.

Instead, he begins to feel energy flood into him. At the same time, Clark Kent begins to collapse. Jensen realizes that he could only drain a powerful source like Superman from such a distance. And since Kent is the one looking piqued, Kent must be Superman.

Now the Parasite has another way to get at Superman, through his secret identity.

Incredible. We are only on page 7 of this story and already we have a new villain, an exploration of his powers, and his discovering who Superman is! No decompression here.


Later, he gets into a relatively prolonged battle with Superman. No matter how much the two batter each other, neither can get a true upper hand.

In the middle of the fight, Jensen decides to reveal who Superman is but he has drained all the bystanders to the point of unconsciousness. No one can hear him.

As happened back in the day, Lois just happens to be there. Who better to let know that Clark is Superman! But Jensen has to approach delicately. He doesn't want to drain her ... but he will if he has to!

Of course, Superman flies in and takes her away before any information can be passed on.


The fight goes on.

But eventually Superman becomes too drained to continue. It looks like the Parasite has won. Jensen moves in to drain Superman of all his energy.

Ahh ... but too late he realizes his fatal flaw. While he can draw in as much energy as possible, his frail Earth body isn't invulnerable. It cannot contain all this energy. He ends up exploding, a victim of his own greed.

Now I could begin a discussion of how invulnerability and strength have to be linked. (Ultra Boy shouldn't be able to lift a ton with his super-strength without it crushing his noninvulnerable body.) Or I could talk about the ending of Akira where Tetsuo tries to build himself a body big enough for his burgeoning mental powers. But instead I'll say this was a nifty ending to the story. My guess is no one thought Parasite would be coming back. And when he did, I wonder how they explained away his knowledge of Superman's identity.

So how did the show's Parasite fare in comparison to the comic's? My review of the show episode is up tomorrow!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Supergirl staff writer Eric Carrasco confirmed this had been planned since the first episode."

So the showrunners adapt the original Parasite but can't be bothered to delve into Supergirl's own lore? Okay.

"Meanwhile, Jensen is a lazy worker in the lab, always angry that everyone bosses him around."

Rogues Galleries would be poorer and emptier without the "disgruntled, lazy, unscrupulous worker" trope.

"Now I could begin a discussion of how invulnerability and strength have to be linked."

Super-powers always need secondary powers in order to work. Hence, Cosmic Adventures Supergirl and her "I need to work on powers of stopping" line. Or Flash needing super reflexes. Or in the realm of fanfic, "Superman of 2499" has a character who can't use his super-strength because he lacks invulnerability.

Anyway, a very entertaining issue. I miss this kind of comics. Amazing how a fourteen-year-old boy was capable of delivering a very competently-crafted storyline.

If I can go off-topic for a second:

- The latest Supergirl issue sold over 40,000 units. The more I hear about sales data, the less I understand the market, although I guess Artgem's cover has something to do with that uptick.

- I've been reading Superman Family issues and I wish Elliot S! Maggin wrote Supergirl more often. I know not every fan likes his Kara's interpretation, but: he was a step up from Cary "Bad Romance" Bates; And Maggin has made known he likes Kara, which is more than I can tell about Wolfman or Giordano.

- Back then, Supergirl's backstory was utterly consistent, and all writers remembered the main details: younger than Superman, Midvale Orphanage, adopted by the Danvers, revealed to the world by Superman, parents found in the Survival Zone...

- All Linda's schoolmates during the Stanhope College era are generic-looking, generically-named girls. Nobody bothered with adding to her supporting cast. A sad sign of things to come.

- I'm not telling his run is bad, but after reading the preview for SG #24 I've the feeling Andreyko hasn't read one single issue of Supergirl's New 52 and Rebirth books.

- Rest In Peace, Stan Lee, and thank you for everything.

Anonymous said...

Great review as always anj! You and kara_querl are the comic historians we need but don't deserve.

I loved the deep cut and eric also mentioned that he has always wanted Manchester black on the show too. Maybe you, Kara_querl and Eric need to do a podcast and talk about all things supergirl. I would also want Mr. Gates to be part of the team too, but I don't think with him writing flash, it will be possible.
But I do wish that the shoe made more of an effort to get Supergirl's big bads. Come on, they pulled that daxamites plot out of thin air, they can construct a good narrative with characters like flamebird, blackstarr, vortex, The gang and such.

Eventhough I am loving the season, I wish they had pulled another arc from the comic again. I would love to see some version of h'el (who was like Supergirl's zod to an extent) and ofcourse the baddest of them all- anti monitor. But the show is young and I can wait.

The sales are up, by a lot and it make SME happy. Anything to keep the solo series alive, I am ready to accept. Even if it is accepting that artgerm's covers are what's making it so. I am gonna be honest, I don't like andreyko writing Supergirl, the writing is hollow and there is no heart, love or soul to it. It's just a gig to him and macguire. Unlike when Daniel henriques and Orlando were on, they posted panels quite frequently and I won't forget Steve's Twitter goodbye to the series. But whatever, this too shall pass I hope. God I hope so so badly.

Anonymous said...

The Parasite is definitely a "Marvel Style" villain as well as a conscious effort to "power up" some of Superman's rogues. I can easily see him duking it out with Spider-Man, hell his Marvel doppelgänger, "The Absorbing Man" was a chronic foe for Thor. Isn't it funny, Jim Shooter wrote a great Supergirl one-off "Brainiac's Blitz" despite his evident dislike for Kara,

thus being the exception to my rule about "Fan Pros cannot write characters they don't like".

:)

JF

H said...

Parasite actually did retain knowledge of Superman's secret identity and used it in plans against him quite a few times. I don't remember if they ever explained why he didn't just blab it to everyone though.

William Ashley Vaughan said...

First Anonymous, I agree that Elliot Maggin had the potential to be one of the great Supergirl writers. He wrote one of the all time best Supergirl stories, "The Girl With the See Through Mind," for Superman Family #168. Few Supergirl stories have so brilliantly showcased both her compassion and her determination. Unfortunately, Maggin's run on Supergirl was hampered by her only being allowed one new story every three issues of Superman Family and a turn for the silly after the 100 page issues ended.

Nobile said...

Damn, I'm old... When I read it, I asked myself "...And who the heck is Rudy Jones?" and had to google him! That's probably because I never dug the post-Crisis villain. To me Jensen IS the Parasite x-D

Professor Feetlebaum said...

Jensen's thought balloon ("I'd throw those words back in his teeth if I didn't need the salary!") got me thinking...I wonder how many writers and artists had similar thoughts about Mort Weisinger over the years. From what I've read about him and how he treated the people who worked for him, it wouldn't surprise me at all if some did!

I think I prefer Al Plastino's Parasite to any subsequent versions. And I wonder if Jim Shooter gets pillow money whenever The Parasite appears on TV.

"The latest Supergirl issue sold over 40,000 units." I haven't checked, but I don't think that any individual issues of ArtGerm's previous run sold that much. Maybe the foil cover was a factor too.

"Back then, Supergirl's back story was utterly consistent, and all writers remembered the main details: younger than Superman, Midvale Orphanage, adopted by the Danvers', revealed to the world by Superman, parents found in the Survival Zone."

Unlike Superman, whose status quo was established early on, the potential for change was there in Supergirl from the beginning. But I can't help but think that Weisinger and his writers made a mistake not establishing a supporting cast for Kara right from the start. DC has been trying to find it's way with Supergirl ever since Mort retired.

Andreyko's current run and Kara's space mission might be more acceptable if he had Kara thinking about her family and friends once in a while, or if he would throw in a "meanwhile, back on Earth" scene every now and then. Something to remind us that Kara has a life to return to

KET said...

"So the showrunners adapt the original Parasite but can't be bothered to delve into Supergirl's own lore?"

Other than with geeks like us, few members of the general public will actually care about old SG comics rogues from before the Crisis. Considering the erratic quality of stories from back then, it's probably best that the TV series cherry-pick which characters will work best for their overall season story arc themes. Given that this season is more grounded in earthly concerns, cosmic villainy has to wait until December for the crossover... :)

KET

Anj said...

Thanks for great comments!

Not many of the wonky Supergirl villains from Adventure feel like they stuck (outside of maybe Zond).

Id rather a revisit of Reactron if possible, or some of the more well known SG villains. Heck, give me Psi again!

Anonymous said...

"Other than with geeks like us, few members of the general public will actually care about old SG comics rogues from before the Crisis."

As usual you're intentionally missing the point in order to dismiss every criticism. Has anybody said anything about Pre-Crisis Supergirl's rogues or cosmic villains? No.

The point is the showmakers will include obscure details of Superman lore but they can't be bothered with delving into Supergirl's lore, and such a behaviour talks VOLUMES about how little they care about the character and her history.

Oh, and the general public doesn't care for Supergirl's history... essentially because the show keeps ignoring it and borrowing her cousin's stuff, causing the general audience to think she's nothing but a female Superman.

The showrunners don't care for Supergirl, her lore and her history, and their incompetence is damaging her image, but you're ALWAYS making excuses for them.

"Considering the erratic quality of stories from back then, it's probably best that the TV series cherry-pick which characters will work best for their overall season story arc themes."

Considering the erratic quality of the show I would not go around dissing Silver Age comics if I was you. Particularly since you have proved time and again you have zero knowledge of comics published during that era.

... which was great, by the way.

Oh, and the show is NOT cherry-picking which characters will work best. They are picking Superman's characters' random names and attaching them to completely unrelated and different characters.

"Given that this season is more grounded in earthly concerns, cosmic villainy has to wait until December for the crossover... :)"

This show is NOT grounded in earthly concerns; and once again, cosmic villainy has nothing to do with the argument.

Steve said...

My reading Superman comics started around the Sand Superman arc so I never realized the Parasite came out of the box absorbing intelligence. One of the creepiest pages I've ever read in a comic was Curt Swan draining everything from a scientist's brain and depicting the victim as a drooling empty shell and how I learned he could do that. I always thought it a new ability.

And even if OG Parasite's face never made sense to me, I'll always prefer that depiction to the lazy monster look of modern times. Maybe Romita taking it to an extreme and making it look so bad and lazy will end this?