Achilles

Achilles

The Modern Achilles

The alias employed by a modern-day criminal, one foot encased in a heavy lead box for the ostensible protection of his Achille's heel, who establishes himself as the leader of a gang of Metropolis bank robbers by claiming to possess the near-invincibility of his ancient namesake--the result, he claims, of having been dipped, at infancy, in a fountain of "magic water" from the River Styx--and by demonstrating his apparent invulnerability to their tommy guns, knives, axes, and crowbars. In reality, however, Achilles is merely an ordinary criminal, and the lead box covering his foot merely the housing for "a powerful anti-magnet device" capable of repelling "all metal objects," thereby rendering Achilles invulnerable to all metal weapons. Aided by members of the Metropolis Police Department, Superman apprehends Achilles and his cohorts in October 1961 (S No. 148/1: "The 20th Century Achilles!"). The story is in many respects similar to Superman No. 63/1 (Mar/Apr 1950: "Achilles 'versus' Superman!"). (See John Achilles.)

The Greek Hero Achilles

The son of a mortal and a sea nymph, Achilles has shared his super-powers with such people as Zha-Vam, Superman, and Captain Marvel of Earth-S. As expressed in Zha-Vam, his invulnerabilty is formidable, however, the weakness of his heel is exploited when a protective green kryptonite sock is lost in a tussle after Superman summons the titan Atlas (Act No. 351, Jun 1967: "Zha-Vam the Invincible!"; Act No. 352, Jul 1967: "The Victory of Zha-Vam!"; Act No. 353, Aug 1967: "The Battle of the Gods!").