Than Ol

A “fanatic scientist” of Kandor—”the only surviving city of lost Krypton”—who constructs a gigantic “enlarging-ray projector” to accomplish the long-hoped-for enlargement of the city, unaware that his enlarging apparatus contains a “fatal drawback” that will “bring doomsday” to the entire city and its populace by weakening the bonds between the city’s atoms and causing it to disintegrate completely after only three hours’ time.

Aware of the fatal danger inherent in Than Ol’s enlarging process but helpless to prevent the head strong Kandorians—who have become convinced that Superman’s opposition to their plan stems only from petty personal jealousy—from using the flawed ray projector to enlarge their tiny city, Superman barely succeeds—with the aid of Jimmy Olsen, Nor-Kan, Van-Zee, and the Superman Emergency Squad, in reducing the city back to its former lilliputian size with the aid of a “shrinking ray” confiscated from Brainiac just as the three-hour time limit elapses and the city’s buildings begin to disintegrate and collapse, just as Superman had warned.

“... I vow that I’ll never cease trying to find a safe way to make you normal!” announces Superman to the now-remorseful Than Ol and his fellow Kandorians I promise that some day Kandor will become big again, and will stay so forever!” (S No. 158, Jan 1963: “Superman in Kandor” pts I-III— “Invasion of the Mystery Super-Men!”; "The Dynamic Duo of Kandor!”; “The City of Super-People!”). Superman and Jimmy Olsen adopt their alternate Kandorian identities of Nightwing and Flamebird for the very first time during the course of this adventure.

On-line Comics

• Read SUPERMAN in KANDOR!