Context is Superman (1939) #300, page 7
Transcript:
Scientist #1: Great Scott! The hatch is opening–
Scientist #1: --and a baby is coming out!
Scientist #2: Look! He’s as invulnerable to the laser as is his rocket!
Kal-El: I am hungry!
This must be what all those conservative weirdos think abortion is
It is a Jewish space laser.
This is so weird, but the amount of information in this one panel would be sufficient for 1 episode / entire series today:
- Found a rocket
- Experimented with rocket
- Rocket showed signs of unlocking
- Setting up lab around the hatch
- Hatch opens
- Vocal in English Child emerges (did the rocket listen and teach?)
- Child is immune as rocket to experimentation.
Bonus: Questionable Ethics of the Luther Corp for experiments on children. Did this happen to others?
Foreshadowing on Episode 2: Unstoppable Child discovers its abilities, Series turns into a prison break from high security laboratory with Superman and Batman villains at various ages. (Basically “The new Mutants”)
The part where the hatch opens needs a frame where one of the guards freaks out and fires a laser before others stop him. Then it would be clear how the fuck did they discover the laser-resistance.
It’s even simpler than that… they were firing the laser at the hatch when it opened, and the laser beam hit the “baby” before they’d had a chance to turn it off.
You’d want to save the 7th part for later. Just show the child emerging at the very end of episode 1 so you can have a cliffhanger.
Episode 2 is where the laser happens as part of the unethical experiments and the child discovering / being forced to develop their powers. You’d want a B plot and maybe even a C plot running during this episode so it’s not just 30 minutes of child lasering though.
The Laser scene could be used as Segway to the experiments, introducing some of the other kids (not evil yet) as subplot B and even maybe the mother of Lois lane (Journalist too) as C Plot (including rescue of her and her daughter in the finale by the shadow of a small boy).
I’m also worried about the fact that these people don’t seem to know the difference between an articulate child who appears to be around four years old and a baby.
Maybe that’s why they shot him with a laser in the first place. They think that’s how you feed a baby.
-What did you do at work today, honey?
-I shot a baby in the face with a laser.
-I think I want a divorce…
I’m curious about the use of the word “laser” here. The description says the comic is from 1939 but the laser wouldn’t be invented until the 1960s. And the word “laser” is a really specific acronym (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) that doesn’t seem be appear in sci fi before then (There were heat rays and blasters but no lasers from what I can tell).
This comic was released in June '79
The date after the series title indicates when the series started, not the publication date of the actual panel. It’s there to clarify that it’s in the 300th issue of the original run, not the current one, or any of the ones that came between.
Exactly, thanks for explaining. The year mentioned is the publishing date of the first issue for the series
I think the date must be wrong
Every recovered baby is subject to the laser test.
Look! It’s Homelander! I’m sure he won’t grow up and torture the scientists in horrible ways…
“Incredible! Let’s get the dynamite!”
I read invulnerable as vulnerable, and figured the laser made blood shoot out of his face.
