Composite Superman!

I was in my FLCS this morning and I saw the Composite Superman action figure from DC Direct. This thing is nice.

I would go on about the history of Composite Superman but others have already done a far more thorough job than I could. This post from The Absorbascon contains many, many links including this article from Nightwing's Superman page which has scans of Composite Superman's two appearances.

WARNING: These issues are sterling examples of Silver Age storytelling. They are from the era when Jimmy Olsen had his own title in which he was turned into some kind of freakmonster who menaced Superman every month. Proceed with caution.

There are those who believe that Composite Superman was the most awesome villain that Superman or Batman ever fought. He was certainly the most powerful; he had all of the powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Unfortunately, he was petty and reckless. I prefer villains who have some cleverness and an ability to see the big picture going for them. The better written versions of Lex Luthor and Ra's Al Ghul, for example.

However, Compy's lack of cleverness does not take away from the fact that he beat Superman and Batman working together. That ain't easy, folks. Ultimately, the stories are about the use of power for the greater good and what happens to schmucks who abuse their abilities.

Oh, and he's green because he's got Brainiac 5's intelligence.