Review by Win Wiacek

In the eight decades since Superman’s debut in June 1938, he has probably undertaken every kind of adventure imaginable. With this in mind it’s very rewarding to gather up whole swathes of his inventory and periodically re-present them in specific themed collections, such as this compelling confection of chronal escapades from a host of superb writers and artists who have contributed to his canon over the years.

The fun begins with the experiences of Superboy reiterating an iron-clad cosmic law of time travel: History Cannot Be Changed. Nevertheless, the Smallville Sensation tragically undertakes ‘The Impossible Mission!’ (by Jerry Siegel and George Papp) when he travels to 1865 to prevent the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Fate constantly conspires to make events unfold along a predestined course.

A different theory was in play in 1947 when the adult Action Ace breaks the time barrier for the first time to collect famous signatures for an ailing boy in ‘Autograph, Please!’ by Siegel and John Sikela, whilst in ‘Rip Van Superman’ by Bill Finger and Wayne Boring from 1956 an accident places the hero in a coma, trapping him in a future where he’s redundant.

The 1960s were the pinnacle of temporal travel tales with the Man of Tomorrow and his friends nipping forward and back the way you’d pop to the pub. In the brilliantly ingenious ‘Superman Under the Red Sun!’ from 1963 by Edmond Hamilton and Al Plastino, our hero is dispatched to the far, far future where the sun has cooled and must find a way home.

In ‘Jimmy’s D-Day Adventure!’, courageous cub reporter Jimmy Olsen ranged back to World War II in search of a bizarre mystery only to end up a trusted member of Hitler’s inner circle, from Leo Dorfman and Curt Swan in 1965. The same year sees his Daily Planet colleague almost ripping apart the fabric of reality by nearly becoming Superman’s mum in ‘Lois Lane’s Romance with Jor-El!’ by Hamilton and Kurt Schaffenberger.

One of the boldest experiments of the decade occurred when Hamilton and Swan introduced us to ‘The Superman of 2965!’ for the first of a series of adventures starring the Man of Steel’s distant descendant. A two-part sequel appeared in 1966 ‘Muto: Monarch of Menace!’ and ‘Muto Versus the Man of Tomorrow!’ and a postscript tale is titled ‘The Danger of the Deadly Duo!’ teaming that era’s Batman and Superman against Muto and the latest in a long line of Jokers by Jim Shooter and Swan.

Elliot S! Maggin and Swan’s 1976 ‘Costume, Costume – Who’s got the Costume?’ is a neat piece of cross-continuity clean-up featuring a few parallel worlds including those of Kamandi and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

From June of that same year is ‘Superman, 2001!’ By Maggin, Cary Bates and Swan posits what would have happened if baby Kal-El‘s rocket had landed in the Cold War era of 1976 – an intriguing premise then, now looking uncomfortably like the TV series Smallville.

This fascinating collection concludes with 1983’s ‘The Last Secret Identity’ by Maggin and Keith Pollard, which introduced the first incarnation of Superwoman, with a time-travelling historian landing in Metropolis only to become the subject of her own research.

These tales are clever, plot-driven romps far removed from today’s angst-heavy psycho-dramas and unrelentingly oppressive epics. If you’re after some clean-cut, wittily gentle adventure there’s no better place to go – or time!