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Superman Emergency Squad

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Superman Emergency Squad
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceSuperman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #48 (October 1960)
Created byOtto Binder (script)
Curt Swan (art)
In-story information
Base(s)Kandor
Member(s)Don-El
Van-Zee
Vitar
Other unnamed members

The Superman Emergency Squad (sometimes called the Supermen Emergency Squad) is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly associated with Superman. They first appeared in "The Mystery of the Tiny Supermen!" in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #48 (October 1960). They were created by writer Otto Binder and artist Curt Swan.[1]

The squad is a group of volunteers from the bottled city of Kandor, a city from Superman's home planet of Krypton that was shrunk by Brainiac and is kept in a glass jar in Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Outside the bottle, the tiny Kandorians have similar powers to Superman, and when they determine that Superman is in trouble, they can leave the bottle and fly to his assistance.[2] The swarm of Superman-lookalikes uses a special scientific process to enlarge themselves to the size of dolls before heading into the field.[3]

Fictional background

Pre-Crisis

Prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot, the Superman Emergency Squad is a group of miniaturized Kryptonians from the bottle city of Kandor, which is housed in Superman's Fortress of Solitude. The Squad provides assistance to Superman when he is incapacitated or otherwise occupied. Members of the squad include Superman's look alike cousin Van-Zee[4] (who also uses the secret identity Nightwing), and Don-El, the captain of the Squad.[5] In the early appearances of the Squad, the members were specially selected due to their close resemblance to Superman;[6] later stories dropped this concept.[7] Their costumes were originally modeled on that of Superman but with the 'S' in an elongated triangle.

The Squad goes into action whenever they receive a signal from Superman, or see that he is in trouble while monitoring him. To leave the shrunken city of Kandor, the Squad uses a small rocket ship to fly up to the cork that seals the mouth of the bottle. They then expose themselves to a enlarging gas that causes them to grow from their regular microscopic size to several inches in height. This gives them the ability to force the cork out of the mouth, allowing them access to the outside world[8] (in later stories, the Squad installs a door in the cork, to facilitate exits and entrances).[9] Once outside the bottle city the Squad members, like all natives of Krypton, gain the same powers and abilities as Superman.

Post-Crisis

A new version of the Squad appeared the Crisis reboot, now renamed Kandorian Emergency Squad. Instead of providing emergency assistance to Superman, it now acts as a policing unit in Kandor. The Squad is led by Cerizah, sister of Superman's ally Ceritak. In Superman: The Man of Steel #100 (May 2000), the Emergency Squad leaves Kandor to help Superman defeat Hank Henshaw. As time passes at a faster rate in Kandor, the current status of the squad is uncertain.

Notes

  1. ^ Schelly, Bill (2016). Otto Binder: The Life and Work of a Comic Book and Science Fiction Visionary. North Atlantic Books. p. 150. ISBN 9781623170387.
  2. ^ Fleisher, Michael L. (2007). The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume Three: Superman. DC Comics. pp. 459–461. ISBN 1-4012-1389-8.
  3. ^ Westfahl, Gary (2019). The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s. McFarland & Co. p. 169. ISBN 9781476638515.
  4. ^ Superman #148 (October 1961)
  5. ^ Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #60 (April 1962)
  6. ^ Action Comics #276 (May 1961)
  7. ^ Superman #167 (February 1964)
  8. ^ Action Comics # 276 (May 1961)
  9. ^ Superman #179 (August 1965)
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