Polite Dissent

I’m going to start a new feature here at Polite Dissent. From now on, Friday is “Lois Lane Day,” and every Friday I’ll take a look at some of her great Silver Age antics. I’ll try to stick to stories involving hospitals and medicine, but I may stray a little from time to time. For the first installment, I’ll be looking at the first story in Superman #125, “Lois Lane’s Super-Dream.” This is a fun story that features not one, not two, but three transfusions: one real one and two imaginary.

Lois Lane’s Super-Dream (the first story in Superman #125)
Jerry Coleman, writer
Kurt Shaffenberger, artist

Determined to get a scoop, Lois is trying to sneak into the Metropolitan Science Fair when she falls off a narrow ledge and hits her head on the concrete sidewalk below. She is rushed to the hospital by Superman. The doctors diagnose her with shock and decide to transfuse her. Since Lois has a rare blood type*, Superman has to fly to Chicago to get blood for her.

Overhearing Superman talk about the blood transfusion, Lois believes she is going to be transfused with his super-blood. In her head-injury addled state, she starts dreaming that the transfusion gives her super powers. She dons a green and yellow costume, puts on a red wig, and becomes Power Girl!

As Power Girl, she works alongside Superman fighting crime and saving lives.

Superman: I must leave Metropolis for a few days, Power Girl. I’m sure I can rely n you to take my place here while I’m away!
Power Girl: Have no fears Superman! You can trust me completely!

A short time later, Clark Kent is injured in a power plant explosion. Lois (a.k.a. Power Girl) gives him a transfusion of her blood which ends up giving him super powers as well. Lois gives Clark his own green and yellow costume (and a moustache for a disguise) and names him Power-Man. Unfortunately, Clark is a timid and bungling super-hero. He runs away at the first sight of danger and behaves in a totally inept manner. For instance, he tries to stop a fly ball from breaking a window, and accidentally demolishes the entire house. Another time, he spots trouble and dashes into what he thinks is a closet to change into Power-Man. He ends up changing into costume in the front window of a department store in full view of everyone. As Lois flies in to rescue him she wakes up from her dream. Later, when Clark visits her in the hospital, Lois berates him for being so incompetent as a super-hero while he shares a knowing wink with the reader.

Medically, I’m very concerned about the care Lois received in the hospital. The doctors are focusing on a small aspect of her case and missing the big picture. Since she needs a transfusion, she must be bleeding from somewhere. Given that she struck her head, Lois most likely has cranial bleeding and she needs neurosurgical consultation much more than she needs a transfusion.

The medicine gets a failing grade, but the script is good because it never pretends to be anything other than a dream, and the reader is in on the joke the entire time.

* remember this fact. It’ll be important again in a few weeks…