Superman Family was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1974 to 1982 featuring supporting characters in the Superman comics. The term "Superman Family" is often used to refer to the extended cast of characters of comics books associated with the character. A similarly titled series, Superman Family Adventures, was published in 2012–2013.
DC published other Family series concurrent with Superman Family, such as Batman Family (1975-78), Super Team Family (1975-1978) and Tarzan Family (1975-76). As a rule, DC's Family titles contained mostly reprints, and featured a higher page count (and higher price) than DC's normal books. (Years later, Marvel Comics paid homage to DC's Family titles with their mid-noughties anthology title Spider Man Family.)
Superman Family story arcs with their own pages include:
- Superman Family #183-189, #191-195 and #206: Strangers at the Heart's Core
- Superman Family #211-214: The Strange Revenge of Lena Luthor
This comic book series contains examples of:
- Apologetic Attacker: In issue 173, Jimmy Olsen realizes that Superman is infected with the virus that is wreaking havoc through Kandor. He mentally says "Sorry for what I'm about to do, pal" before knocking him out.
- Big Applesauce: One of her runs had Supergirl moving to New York City to work as a soap opera actress for a while.
- Costume Copycat: In issue #203, a girl called Ellie Leeds, who has become deluded into believing she is Supergirl, makes a Supergirl costume out of several curtains. However, her suit looks like Kara's original costume because she does not know the real hero has often changed costumes.
- Death by Secret Identity: In #209, George Taylor, ex-boss of Earth-Two Clark Kent, figures out Superman's secret identity, and he even obtains proof. Although George has no intention whatsoever of exposing Clark, he is gunned down by crooks wanting to get their hands on his piece of evidence.
- The Faceless: In issue #200, set in an alternate future, the face of Supergirl's lover is never shown, and his identity remains unrevealed.
- Fireballs: In #168, Supergirl fights "Lemon-Lips" Romero, a wannabe sorcerer who, among other things, can summon and hurl around man-sized fireballs.
- Floating Continent: In #215, "Crisis at the Crossroads in Time"'' features two floating cities, built on top of enormous masses of rock, and anchored to the surface by massive chains. In the 5,020th century this is all that remains of the ancient New York City.
- Gender Bender: In issue #165: "Krypto's Three Amazing Transformations", a time-traveling Krypto gets turned into a cow (and definitely a female, because she gets milked!) And not just any cow, but the cow that started the great Chicago fire of 1871. (As it happens, the wrongly accused Mrs. O'Leary's cow was innocently grazing in a pasture at the time.)
- Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: In #168, Supergirl
◊ also does this when she talks to a girl about the struggle of being different. - Heroic Sacrifice: Jimmy Olsen attempted one in issue #173. In order to counteract a virus affecting all of Kandor, he planned to blow up the bottle—and himself with it—thus giving the Kandorians the powers necessary to be cured. He was only saved by the super-tough Kandorian fabric he was wearing.
- Historical Rap Sheet: In #165, we learn that Superman's dog Krypto accidentally caused the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
- Identity Impersonator: In #215-216, a Supergirl form the future had to impersonate Kara's alter ego Linda Danvers.
- Judge, Jury, and Executioner: In #183, Supergirl sends Shyla Kor-Onn, a Phantom Zoner escapee into the Zone. It was self-defence, but her act gets Kara in hot water with the Kryptonian law in Strangers at the Heart's Core because she doesn't have the legal authority to punish someone who had served her prison sentence in full.
- Killing Your Alternate Self: Inverted in Superman Family #187. The Earth-2 Superman travels to Earth-1 in desperation after his Jimmy Olsen becomes deathly ill. Because he has no living relatives, Earth-2 Superman asks the Jimmy Olsen of Earth-1 to help with an experimental organ duplication process to save his alternate's life. Jimmy agrees, though matters get complicated when the inter-space travel releases a Sealed Evil in a Can.
- Not in Front of the Parrot!: Clark Kent is given a mynah bird as a gift. When the mynah starts spouting "Clark Kent is Superman", Clark thinks he must have been talking in his sleep and the bird has picked up the phrase. He goes to elaborate lengths to scare the bird out of repeating this phrase only to learn that May Marigold (the person who had given him the bird) had taught it to say "Clark Kent is Superman" as a joke. The story ends with him attempting to cajole the bird into saying it again.
- Old, Dark House: In #168, the Villain of the Month - a wannabe sorcerer - lives in a shady, spooky, centuries-old abandoned mansion located on the top of a hill.
- One-Hour Work Week: In the 70's Superman Family comics, Linda Danvers -Supergirl's secret identity- worked as a student advisor in Florida. She was often late, took sudden and unexplained leaves of absence, and disappeared for hours a day— sometimes as she was mentoring a student. When the campus administrator called her out for keeping odd hours and being consistently late, she replied her contract states she makes her own hours.
- Out-of-Character Alert: In Superman Family #173, Superman and Jimmy Olsen are in Kandor acting as Nightwing and Flamebird when a virus breaks out across the entire area. When Nightwing/Superman says they're leaving because the place is "doomed", it shoots up a massive red flag for Jimmy. He instantly deduces that Superman is infected because the normal Supes runs on hope and never abandons people who need his help.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: In #174, an alien race of serpent men attempts to subjugate mankind by mind-controlling Supergirl into working for them.
- Sequel Series: The adventures of Supergirl were folded into the Superman Family magazine in the interim between both series.
- Sheathe Your Sword: In issue #194, Supergirl fights a villain equipped with a device that absorbs hate and transforms it into strength. In order to beat him, Supergirl uses self-hypnosis to remain relaxed and motionless. Without hate to power his engine up, the villain loses his strength and is defeated.
- Stanford Prison Experiment: Issue #194 was a commentary on the Experiment: Supergirl happens upon the students of New Athens Experimental School dressed as prison guards and inmates and fighting each other. When she asks what is going on, a student explains they are taking part in a Sociology experiment on human relationships run by Professor Martin: the campus has been turned into a mock prison, and the students have been labeled either "prisoner" or "guard". Though, they lost their minds and suddenly started attacking each other. Later, it's revealed Professor Martin is a super-villain who devised that "experiment" to manipulate the students into hating each other as part of a bid for power.
- Take This Job and Shove It:
- Pre-Crisis Supergirl had a habit of angrily quitting jobs. In issue #208, Linda quits her work as a student councilor after a heated argument with her supervisor:Linda Danvers: "This is it! I'm finished! You can take my contract and stuff it up your nose, Pierce!"
- In issue #222, she cannot put up anymore with the increasing pressures of being a tv-star. After one night of soul-searching, Kara realizes she will not be happy again until she quits a job she hates.
- Pre-Crisis Supergirl had a habit of angrily quitting jobs. In issue #208, Linda quits her work as a student councilor after a heated argument with her supervisor:
- To the Future, and Beyond: In #200, Supergirl gets ambushed by a Time Beast as traveling across time. Her only way to escape is to fly towards the end of time where the Time Beast can't survive.
