Susie Tompkins

Revision as of 14:28, 19 November 2006

Lois Lane's eight-year-old niece (Act No. 59, Apr 1943: "Cinderella -- a la Superman"; Act No. 68, Jan 1944: "Superman Meets Susie!"), a freckle-faced youngster with an overactive imagination who is forever making mischief by concocting tall tales (other appearances include S No. 40, May/Jun 1946: "The Mxyztplk - Susie Alliance"; S No. 95, Feb. 1955: "Susie's Enchanted Isle"). Her hair, which is sometimes red (Act No. 59, Apr 1943: “Cinderella--a la Superman!”; and others) and sometimes brown (Act No. 68, Jan 1944: “Superman Meets Susie!”; S No. 40/1, May/Jun 1946: “The Mxyztplk-Susie Alliance!”), is usually worn in pig- tails (Act No. 68, Jan 1944: “Superman Meets Susie!”; and others), although not always (Act No. 59, Apr 1943: “Cinderella -- a la Superman!”).

Susie, whom Lois Lane once describes as “my sister’s little girl,” lives somewhere out in “the country” and occasionally comes to Metropolis to visit her Aunt Lois (Act No. 68, Jan 1944: “Superman Meets Susie!”; and others). The name of Susie’s mother is never stated in the chronicles, but she is evidently married (Act No. 59, Apr 1943: “Cinderella- -a la Superman!”) to a man named Tompkins (Act No. 98, Jul 1946: “Starring Susie!”) and is therefore not to be identified with Lois Lane’s unmarried sister, Lucy Lane (S No. 147/1, Aug 1961: “The Great Mento!”; and others).

The texts describe Susie as “Lois Lane’s problem- niece” (Act No. 98, Jul 1946: “Starring Susie!”), “Lois Lane’s ultra-imaginative niece” (S No. 47/2, Jul/Aug 1947: “Susie Reforms!”), “Lois Lane’s ever-fibbing niece” (S No.95/1, Feb 1955: “Susie’s Enchanted Isle”), and as “the girl who loves to tell whoppers” (S No. 40/1, May/Jun 1946: “The Mxyztplk-Susie Alliance!”). Susie has an incurable penchant for “causing trouble by telling wild stories” (S No. 47/2, Jul/Aug 1947: “Susie Reforms!”), concocted with the aid of what Mr. Mxyztplk has admiringly referred to as her “marvelous imagination.”

“Some people can take a dash of imagination or leave it alone,” notes Superman No.40/1, “, but with Susie, one little touch goes right to her head, and grows and grows and grows!” (May /Jun 1946: “The Mxyztplk-Susie Alliance!”).

In April 1943, after reluctantly agreeing to baby-sit with Susie as a favor to Lois Lane, Clark Kent dozes off on a couch while reading the youngster the story of Cinderella. “As Clark Kent drifts into dreamland,” notes the text, “his mind is assaulted by a weird phantasmagoria. . . . And so begins one of the strangest dreams in all history!”

The dream is a retelling of “Cinderella,” with Superman playing the role of the fairy godmother, using his super-powers instead of magic to perform the traditional magic feats.

“I had the funniest dream,” remarks Kent to Lois Lane after he has finally beenjolted awake. “I dreamt I was back in the days of Cinderella... that I was Superman... and that I aided her instead of the fairy godmother coming to her help.

“The only thing funny about your dream,” replies Lois sarcastically, “was the possibility of your being Superman!” (Act No. 59: “Cinderella--a la Superman!”).

In January 1944, Susie reappears in the chronicles, causing mayhem and making mischief with her penchant for tall tales. Dialogue in this text creates the impression that Clark Kent and Susie have never met prior to this date, but there is no doubt whatever that the Susie of this text (Act No. 68: “Superman Meets Susie!”) is identical to the Susie who appeared nine months earlier in Action Comics No.59 (Apr 1943:“Cinderella--a la Superman!”).(TGSB)

In May-June 1946, Susie forms an outrageous alliance with the mischievous Mr. Mxyztplk (S No. 40: “The Mxyztplk-Susie Alliance!”).

In July 1946, after having been ordered to bed without dinner as punishment for telling tall tales, Susie climbs out her bedroom window and runs away from home, determined to get back at her parents by running away to Hollywood to become a movie star. After a tired night of walking alone down a dark, lonely road, however, Susie falls asleep in the back seat of a parked car belonging to two criminals, who, upon hearing her story, decide to make her their dupe in a scheme to steal a priceless ruby from a millionaire living nearby.

By claiming to be Hollywood talent scouts and promising to make Susie a star, the thieves trick the youngster into agreeing to an “acting test” in which she is to gain entree to the millionaire’s home by posing as an orphan and then rejoin them at the back door once the household is fast asleep. Susie plays her role to perfection, but no sooner has she opened the back door of the mansion to rejoin her “friends” than the two crooks take her captive, sneak into the mansion through the now-open back door, and pilfer the ruby from the millionaire’s wall safe.

Now realizing, albeit belatedly, that her new-found companions are criminals, Susie snatches away the stolen ruby, kicks the crooks in the shins, and races away into the darkness. When, at dawn the next morning, Susie is befriended by the engineer of a passing train and given refuge aboard his locomotive, the criminals attempt to wreck the train in hopes of recovering the ruby, but Superman arrives on the scene in time to avert the train wreck and apprehend the evildoers. Susie, for her part, is soon safely back home again, where she is feted as a heroine for her courageous role in recovering the stolen ruby and helping to bring the two thieves to justice (Act No.98: “Starring Susie!”).

In July 1947, Lois Lane and Clark Kent take Susie to the Children’s Theater at Thimble’s Department Store for a scheduled theatrical rendition of the Mother Goose rhymes, only to have the colorfully costumed actors in the production turn out to be criminals bent on robbing the audience of their money and valuables. With some helpful assistance from Susie, however, Superman apprehends the troupe of stickup men and ties them up in a neat package for delivery to the police (Act No. 110: “Mother Goose Crimes!”).

In July-August 1947, Susie finds herself in Dutch with Lois Lane when, after having promised faithfully not to tell any more fibs, she claims to have seen a pair of elephants flying through the air. Susie is vindicated soon afterward, however, when it is discovered that Crawley and his cohorts recently stole the elephants by using winches and steel cable to haul them upward into a giant dirigible hidden out of sight among the clouds. Sometime later, while attending a lavish fashion show with Lois Lane, Susie is on the verge of being crushed to death by the charging elephants when Superman appears on the scene and rescues her from harm (S No. 47/2: “Susie Reforms!”).

In February 1955, after idly pressing a button on a newly invented time machine, Susie suddenly finds herself whisked across the time barrier into the ancient past, to a sultan’s palace in the fabled era of the Arabian Nights, where, in inimitable Susie fashion, she regales the sultan with extravagant fibs about a golden dragon that breathes golden flames, an enchanted river that comes whenever you call it, an exotic plant whose fibers can be woven into a magic carpet, and a fabulous genie that is hers to command.

So impressed is the sultan by these fantastic tales that he confiscates Susie’s time machine in order to force her to use her “magic powers” to make them come true, thus forcing Superman, who has hurtled across the time barrier to rescue Susie at the request of a frantic Lois Lane, to assume the role of Susie’s magic genie, and to exercise every last ounce of his super-ingenuity, in order to transform Susie’s extravagant fantasies into realities so that the sultan will agree to relinquish the time machine and allow Susie to peacefully depart his kingdom (S No. 95/1: “Susie’s Enchanted Isle”).(TGSB)

(See Also Susie Tompkins of Earth-2)

Susie Tompkins has appeared in the following Chronicles

• Act No.59, Apr 1943: "Cinderella -- a la Superman"
• Act No.68, Jan 1944: "Superman Meets Susie"
• S No.40, May-Jun 1946: "The Mxyztplk-Susie Alliance"
• Act No.98, Jul 1946: "Starring Susie"
• S No.47, Jul-Aug 1947: "Susie Reforms"
• S No.95, Feb 1955: "Susie's Enchanted Isle"