Van-Zee
Van-Zee
Superman's exact double from the Bottle City of Kandor. In Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane No. 15, it is revealed that Superman and Van-Zee are related, thus explaining their close resemblance (Feb 1960: "The Super-Family of Steel!" pts. I-III—"Super-Husband and Wife!"; "The Bride Gets Super-Powers!"; "Secret of the Super-Family!"). When Van-Zee falls in love with Lois Lane, Superman's girlfriend, he begins a quest to find her exact duplicate to woo and wed. He meets and marries Lois' double, Sylvia, while enlarged to normal size on Earth. They have two children and reside in Kandor. Van-Zee is also a member of the Supermen Emergency Squad, a group of Kandorians who while still tiny often assist the Man of Steel.
Not to be confused with Vol-Don who is Clark Kent's exact double and is a member of the Kandorian Look-Alike Squad, who sometimes double for Superman's friends...including Clark Kent.
A Kandorian scientist who is both a "distant kinsman" and an "exact double" of Superman (S No. 158, Jan 1963: "Superman in Kandor" pts. I-III—"Invasion of the Mystery Supermen!"; "The Dynamic Duo of Kandor!"; "The City of Super-People!"). Residing in the bottle city of Kandor with his wife Sylvia and their young twins—a son, Lyle, and a daughter, Lili (SGLL No. 15, Feb 1960: "The Super-Family of Steel!" pts. I-III—"Super-Husband and Wife!"; "The Bride Gets Super-Powers!"; "Secret of the Super-Family!")—Van-Zee is also a member of the Supermen Emergency Squad (S No. 148/2, Oct 1961: "Mr. Mxyzptlk’s Super-Mischief!"). Van-Zee’s father, Nim-Zee, is "a distinguished member of the Kandorian Council," Kandor’s governing body (S No. 151/3, Feb 1962: "Superman’s Greatest Secret!")(TGSB).
Van-Zee first meets Sylvia, his wife-to-be, during a period when he is living in the world outside Kandor after having been accidentally enlarged to full human size by Superman by means of the ingenious enlarging ray developed by the renegade Kandorian scientist Zak-Kul. After the couple have courted, married, and settled for a time on the planet Venus, and Sylvia has given birth to their two children, Superman reduces the entire family to microscopic size with Brainiac’s shrinking ray so that they can all live happily together in Van-Zee’s native Kandor (SGLL No. 15, Feb 1960: "The Super-Family of Steel!" pts. I-III—"Super-Husband and Wife!"; "The Bride Gets Super-Powers!"; "Secret of the Super-Family!").
In October 1961, when Superman carries out an elaborate ruse with the aid of a lifelike dummy of Mr. Mxyzptlk animated by members of the Supermen Emergency Squad, it is Van-Zee who provides the dummy’s voice (S No. 148/2: "Mr. Mxyzptlk’s Super- Mischief!").
In January 1963, Van-Zee allies himself with Superman in his struggle to prevent the "fanatic scientist" Than Ol from bringing doom to the city of Kandor (S No. 158: "Superman in Kandor" pts. I-III—"Invasion of the Mystery Super-Men!"; "The Dynamic Duo of Kandor!"; "The City of Super-People!") (TGSB).
Much later, Van-Zee adopts the costumed identity of Nightwing, partnering with Flamebird (a.k.a. Ak-Var) to fight Kandorian crime in much the same fashion as Batman and Robin fight crime in Gotham City (SF No. 183/5, May/Jun 1977: "Death Is a Computer"; and others).
