When
Superboy once again ditches his faithful dog
Krypto to join the Legion of Superheroes in the 30
th century, the dejected hound of steel is delighted to find a similar group of super
canines of his own to join! Yes, once again we find that there is no depth to the insanity of the Silver age, as
Again With the Comics scrapes the bottom of the 1966's
Superboy barrel to dig out yet another nutty
Krypto story when the Dog of Steel becomes..."The Dog from S.C.P.A."
The story begins with Krypto in space, where he spots what he thinks is a giant balloon, but what is actually Mammoth Mutt, the dog equivalent of Bouncing Boy. If you think its wacky that Superman has a dog, consider that there is actually a dog version of Bouncing Boy in DC Comics history. But hang on, it gets worse. It gets much, much worse.
Mammoth Mutt explains that he is a member of the Space Canine Patrol Agency, a group of space-dog crime fighters, each of whom has one unique superpower. He then explains that the a group of interstellar criminals named the Canine Caper Gang were the ones who killed him, as well as holding his team-mates captive on the planet below. Then, he dies.
Krypto actually buries him in a little grave, which is absurdly touching in that way that only Silver Age Superman stories can sometimes be. He then flies to the planet Mammoth Mutt described:
Having noted that the Dog-people are walking upright and wearing clothes,
Krypto then Dons the fallen
SCPA agent's collar and a pair of Clark Kent's spare glasses that he was carrying for no apparent reason, and disguises himself in order to tackle the Canine Caper gang:
Yes, having noted that the Dog-people are walking upright and wearing clothes,
Krypto then Dons the fallen
SCPA agent's collar and a pair of Clark Kent's spare glasses
and no clothing whatsoever and disguises himself in order to tackle the Canine Caper gang, his naked shame hidden behind a convenient pale yellow cloud.
His nudity
uncommented on, he attacks the canine crooks as secret agent Air Daile, the flying dog. Flummoxed by his speed, the poaching pups sic their "
doggysaur" on
Krypto/Air Daile:
Krypto dzzies the freakish mutation by flying circles around it, but then lets himself be beaten and jailed to keep up the ruse that he's an
SCPA agent with only one power:
You know, there just
aren't that many scenes of dogs sharing chewing gum in comics, are there? Well, no avoiding it any further; time to meet the Space Canine Patrol Agency!
Tail Terrier!
Tusky Husky! Chameleon Collie! Hot Dog! Bull Dog! Paw Pooch! The Space Canine Patrol Agency! This barrel
has no bottom, folks!
Unfortunately, the hound of steel finds he has suddenly, inexplicably lost his super-powers! His plan to use his mighty powers to break them all free foiled, the super-powered canines pool their wits to dig their way out of greyhound gulag:
And yes, by the internal logic of this fictional
Dogworld, established only two pages earlier in this very story, the
SCPA are
also apparently nudists.Soon enough, even though powerless,
Krypto has rallied the
SCPA to rout the Caper Gang:
Yes, that's right, the gum that Chameleon Collie offered
Krypto in that seemingly pointless gum-sharing scene was
tainted with Kryptonite, causing
Krypto's mysterious weakness.
It's a textbook case of
Checkhov's gun, only with super-powered dogs and chewing gum.
The Canine Caper Gang somehow gains the upper hand again, demanding to be taken to a place with no canine agents, a request
Krypto is only too happy to fulfill:
The Space Canine Patrol Agency official slogan:
BIG DOG! BIG DOG!
BOW WOW WOW!
WE'LL CRUSH EVIL...
NOW, NOW, NOW!
With special thanks to the Michael Coco library for it's loan of Superboy # 131!
Now git offa my land, afore ah sets the dawgs to yo'!
When Superboy once again ditches his faithful dog Krypto to join the Legion of Superheroes in the 30th century, the dejected hound of steel is delighted to find a similar group of super canines of his own to join! Yes, once again we find that there is no depth to the insanity of the Silver age, as Again With the Comics scrapes the bottom of the 1966's Superboy barrel to dig out yet another nutty Krypto story when the Dog of Steel becomes..."The Dog from S.C.P.A."
Mammoth Mutt explains that he is a member of the Space Canine Patrol Agency, a group of space-dog crime fighters, each of whom has one unique superpower. He then explains that the a group of interstellar criminals named the Canine Caper Gang were the ones who killed him, as well as holding his team-mates captive on the planet below. Then, he dies. Krypto actually buries him in a little grave, which is absurdly touching in that way that only Silver Age Superman stories can sometimes be. He then flies to the planet Mammoth Mutt described:
Having noted that the Dog-people are walking upright and wearing clothes, Krypto then Dons the fallen SCPA agent's collar and a pair of Clark Kent's spare glasses that he was carrying for no apparent reason, and disguises himself in order to tackle the Canine Caper gang:
Yes, having noted that the Dog-people are walking upright and wearing clothes, Krypto then Dons the fallen SCPA agent's collar and a pair of Clark Kent's spare glasses and no clothing whatsoever and disguises himself in order to tackle the Canine Caper gang, his naked shame hidden behind a convenient pale yellow cloud.
Krypto dzzies the freakish mutation by flying circles around it, but then lets himself be beaten and jailed to keep up the ruse that he's an SCPA agent with only one power:
You know, there just aren't that many scenes of dogs sharing chewing gum in comics, are there? Well, no avoiding it any further; time to meet the Space Canine Patrol Agency!
Tail Terrier! Tusky Husky! Chameleon Collie! Hot Dog! Bull Dog! Paw Pooch! The Space Canine Patrol Agency! This barrel has no bottom, folks!
Unfortunately, the hound of steel finds he has suddenly, inexplicably lost his super-powers! His plan to use his mighty powers to break them all free foiled, the super-powered canines pool their wits to dig their way out of greyhound gulag:
Yes, that's right, the gum that Chameleon Collie offered Krypto in that seemingly pointless gum-sharing scene was tainted with Kryptonite, causing Krypto's mysterious weakness. It's a textbook case of Checkhov's gun, only with super-powered dogs and chewing gum.
Once Gladiator shows up and punches the Enterprise, he becomes top priority, and Spock leaves the bridge to follow a "hunch". A hunch that turns out to be Wolverine and the X-men, hiding aboard the Enterprise, deposited aboard by the rift. At one point before Spock showed up, some of the X-men decide to take a gravely wounded Gambit to seek some medical attention , leading to the best scene in the issue:
Okay, so OF COURSE Marvel pussed out and called the battle a draw. Haven’t read many crossover comics, have you, chum? In true team-up tradition, both sides get their licks in before declaring a truce and agreeing to work together. The main assault in this scene is on our senses, as this ...most illogical combination of characters is forced to ever so briefly share a space in a work of fiction! This ain’t all I have to say about Star Trek/X-Men either, pals. Fan fiction has nothing on some of the stuff Marvel has actually published!
