The Supermobile is the fictional vehicle for the DC Comics superhero Superman . It is capable of duplicating all of his abilities in situations where he finds himself powerless. It was introduced in a story entitled "It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Supermobile!", published in Action Comics # 481, cover dated March 1978.
18-516: Writer Cary Bates says that the Supermobile was created as a promotional tie-in for the Corgi Toys toy line: "In my opinion, whenever merchandising needs are dictating story content, the odds of any real creativity or inspiration are severely compromised". When waves of red solar radiation from a long-exploded star reach Earth , the android Amazo reactivates and escapes his captivity on
36-816: A 20-year absence to Marvel and wrote True Believers , a limited series about a team trying to uncover secrets in the Marvel Universe. Bates made a return to writing Superman, this time as an Elseworlds story titled Superman: The Last Family of Krypton , published in August 2010. Bates worked on the DC Comics nostalgic event DC Retroactive writing stories for the one-shot specials DC Retroactive: Flash - The '70s (with art by Benito Gallego and Sal Buscema ), and DC Retroactive: JLA - The '70s (drawn by Gordon Purcell and Andy Smith), both released with September 2011 cover dates. In 2017, Bates returned to
54-464: A superhero wedding. In Superboy Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes #200 (Feb. 1974), the characters Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel were married and Justice League of America #121 (Aug. 1975) featured the marriage of Adam Strange and the character's longstanding love interest Alanna. Superman #300 (June 1976) featured an out-of- continuity story by Bates and Elliot S. Maggin which imagined
72-487: Is the longest-serving Superman writer, at twenty years. Bates began submitting ideas for comic book covers to DC Comics at the age of 13, and a number of them were bought and published, the first as the cover to Superman #167 (Feb. 1964). Bates began to sell stories to DC when he was 17. Bates is best known for his work for DC Comics on such titles as Action Comics , Captain Atom , The Flash , Superboy and
90-624: The DC Challenge limited series in 1986. In 1987 and 1988, he wrote some stories for Marvel Comics ' New Universe line and created the Video Jack series at Epic Comics with Keith Giffen . His post-Superman work for DC included a Captain Atom series with Pat Broderick and the Silverblade limited series with Gene Colan . His other work includes the comic strips The Lone Ranger (1980–1983), and Buck Rogers in
108-512: The Arctic , after teleporting himself and Ivo there and hiding Ivo, Superman unleashes his new secret weapon on the android: a small vehicle he has dubbed the Supermobile, which is capable of duplicating all of his powers, including invulnerability, as it is constructed of Supermanium , a metal so strong that "only Superman's heat vision can soften the substance, and only his super-strength is mighty enough to mold it!" He finally travels five days into
126-747: The Silver Age version of the Flash and the Justice League of America. Bates and artist Kurt Schaffenberger were the creative team for The New Adventures of Superboy , a series debuting in January 1980, which took the character out of the Legion of Super-Heroes and back into solo adventures. He and artist Carmine Infantino crafted a Batman backup story for Detective Comics #500 (March 1981). Infantino returned to The Flash title with issue #296 (April 1981) and he and Bates collaborated on
144-564: The satellite headquarters of the Justice League of America , seeking out his creator, Professor Ivo in the hopes of being returned to his deactivated state. With the rest of the Justice League imprisoned in another dimension by Amazo, though he makes sure they are able to watch him, which they do, only Superman stands ready to defend Ivo, though he is left powerless by the red solar radiation, as he derives his power from Earth's yellow sun . Luring Amazo to his Fortress of Solitude in
162-400: The 25th Century (1981–1983). Cary Bates was head scriptwriter on the 1988–1992 live action Superboy television series , and co-wrote (with Mario Puzo and John Briley ) the 1992 film Christopher Columbus: The Discovery , produced by Superman: The Movie producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind . He also wrote for Disney's Gargoyles during the 1990s. In 2008 he returned after
180-564: The Legion of Super-Heroes , and Superman . He began working for the publisher in 1963 and continued to do so until the early 1990s. Among his contributions to the Superman mythos, he and artist Curt Swan co-created the supervillains Terra-Man and the 1970s version of the Toyman as well as the superhero Vartox . In November 1972, Bates and artist Art Saaf launched the first Supergirl series. Bates wrote two stories which featured
198-424: The character Captain Atom and wrote The Fall and Rise of Captain Atom #1–6 together with co-writer Greg Weisman who had also worked with him on many issues of the 1980s Captain Atom series. In 2023, Bates was interviewed about his career by writer Mark Millar for his YouTube series about comic book creators. Comics work includes: Superboy (comic book) Too Many Requests If you report this error to
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#1732783456424216-643: The editor as well as the writer of The Flash title during this time and oversaw it until its cancellation in 1985. "The Trial of the Flash" was collected in a volume of the Showcase Presents series in 2011. His final Superman stories were "Trapped in IMP-TV" in Superman #421 and "Superman for a Day" in Action Comics #581 (both cover dated July 1986). Bates was one of the contributors to
234-560: The future, when the radiation has passed Earth, enabling him to regain his powers. Although it does reappear a few months later in a battle with the Atomic Skull and Titano , Superman rarely uses the Supermobile again. The vehicle has made a few unofficial cameo appearances in recent years, however. A few different versions of the Supermobile are seen protecting a futuristic Ivy Town in All-New Atom #8. The classic design of
252-436: The infant Superman landing on Earth in 1976 and becoming a superhero in 2001. The tale was an inspiration for Mark Millar 's Superman: Red Son limited series published in 2003. Bates would end the marriage of another character when he wrote The Flash #275 (July 1979) wherein the title character's wife, Iris West Allen was killed. Bates appeared in his own comics as himself several times, alongside superheroes such as
270-603: The series, including issue #300 (Aug. 1981) which was in the Dollar Comics format, until its cancellation with issue #350 (October 1985). A major shakeup occurred when The Flash would inadvertently kill his wife's murderer, the Reverse-Flash , in The Flash #324 (Aug. 1983). This led to an extended storyline titled "The Trial of the Flash" in which the hero must face the repercussions of his actions. Bates became
288-652: The vehicle can also be seen atop the sign of Funky Flashman 's used automobile dealership (which also contains a lot full of Batmobiles from various media ) in the fifth chapter of the Doctor Thirteen serial "Architecture and Morality" in Tales of the Unexpected #5. The Supermobile does not just duplicate Superman's powers, it acts as a conduit for the Man of Steel 's powers, allowing him to channel them through
306-483: The vehicle is powered completely by Superman himself. Besides invulnerability and flight, the Supermobile also channels Superman's other powers using the following devices: Cary Bates Cary Bates (born 1948) is an American comic book , animation , television and film writer . He is best known for his work on The Flash , Superman , Superboy , the Legion of Superheroes and Captain Atom . Bates
324-480: The vehicle itself. The Supermanium hull of the SMB shields Superman from red solar radiation that would rob him of his powers, making it so that he remains at the height of his abilities as long as he is within the vehicle. When Amazo remarks that no engine on Earth could react as quickly and easily as the Supermobile's, Superman responds, "You're right about that, Amazo! But who said anything about an engine?", revealing that
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