Comic Title: Action Comics #242
Publisher: DC (National Comics Publications, Inc.)
Address: 480 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY
Cover Date: July 1958
On Sale Date: May 29, 1958 Copyright Date May 29, 1958
Source: Library of Congress, Periodicals 1958

Frequency: Monthly
Cover Price: $0.10
Page Count: 32
Editor: Mort Weisinger

Title: "The Super-Duel in Space"
Pages: 13

Feature(s):
Superman (of Earth-1)

Writer: Otto Binder
Artist: Al Plastino

Reprinted In:
Superman Annual #2 (1961)
Superman #217 (1969)
Superman from the 30s to the 80s HC (1983)
Superman in the Fifties TPB (2002)
Superman:The Man of Tomorrow Archives Vol. 1 HC (2004)
Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 1 TPB (2005)
Superman:The Bottle City of Kandor TPB (2007)
Superman Vs. Brainiac TPB (2009)
Superman:A Celebration of 75 Years HC (2014)
Action Comics 80 Years of Superman:The Deluxe Edition HC (2018)
Superman in the Fifties TPB (2021)

Feature Character(s)

• Superman (last appearance in World's Finest Comics #95; next appearance in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #30)

Supporting Character(s)

• Lois Lane (last appearance in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #3; next appearance in Superman #123)

Villain(s)

• Brainiac (first appearance; last appearance in Superboy #106; next appearance in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #17)
• Koko (Brainiac’s pet monkey; first appearance; last appearance in Superboy #106; no further appearances)

Other Character(s)

• Professor Kimda (Jor-El’s college roommate and Kandorian scientist; no further appearances)

Comments:
This is the orgin and first appearance of the bottled city of Kandor. Superman rescues Kandor from Brainiac and places it in his Fortress of Solitude.

Synopsis:
Clark Kent and Lois Lane are aboard an experimental rocket ship to cover the story for the media. The ship is attacked by a flying saucer. Clark exits the ship and arrives as Superman. Inside the saucer, an alien called Brainiac uses a shrink ray to steal Earth cities and place them in bottles. Superman is prevented from reaching Brainiac by a force field that surrounded the ship.

Superman returns to Metropolis where the rocket has landed. As expected, Brainiac shrinks Metropolis next and takes the tiny city aboard his ship. A tiny Superman escapes the bottle and trys to restore the captured cities to normal. He is forced to hide momentarily as Brainiac’s monkey attacks him.

Superman hides inside another bottle. The bottle contains a Kryptonian city called Kandor, taken from before Krypton’s destruction. Superman is powerless inside Kandor, so he seeks out a scientist, Kimda. Kimba has studied Brainiac’s machines and knows how to free everyone. Superman uses a rocket to escape the bottle.

Outside the bottle, Superman’s powers return. He reverses the controls to restore the Earth cities. There is only enough energy for one more use of the machine. He decides to restore Kandor rather than himself, but Kimda flys a rocket out of Kandor and presses the control which restores Superman. Kandor is stuck in it’s tiny form. Superman takes the city back to his Fortress of Solitude for safekeeping. Brainiac, who is now in suspended animation is sent into space.