Vance Corlin

A contemporary of Superman’s, clad in a brightly colored maroon and orange costume, who is endowed with superhuman powers identical to Superman’s as the result of having been raised, since infancy, on a “secluded little island off the Metropolis coast,” where his scientist father, Dr. Charles Corlin, had established a scientifically controlled artificial environment designed to duplicate conditions on the planet Krypton. In March-April 1952, following the death of his father, Corlin flies to Metropolis and uses his superpowers to commit a series of destructive acts in a misguided effort to wreak vengeance on society for what he has been taught to believe, since early childhood, was his father’s unjust conviction on an embezzlement charge many years ago. Ultimately, however, Superman persuades young Corlin that his father’s conviction was a fair one, and Corlin, remorseful at the destruction he has caused, helps Superman repair the damage just as his artificial super-powers, waning rapidly due to his prolonged absence from the special island, vanish forever (WF No. 57: “The Artificial Superman!”).