June 1961: Super Pets Peeved

Loving both cats (although I was allergic to them) and the color orange, I naturally appreciated Supergirl’s pet, Streaky the super cat.

Streaky, being an Earth cat, was even immune to kryptonite. He got his temporary powers from “X-kryptonite,” an experimental substance Supergirl had discarded (Action Comics 261, Feb. 1960).

But somewhere along the line it occurred to me that if cats could actually fly, we’d all be in a lot of trouble.

“Probably the best early Streaky story, The Battle of the Super-Pets, appears in Action Comics 277,” observed comics historian Matthew Grossman.  “Convinced that ‘Krypto is stealing Supergirl’s love away from me...’ Streaky begins a cat-and-dog super-rivalry, one that Superman suggests they take to outer space to avoid collateral human damage.

“Supergirl adjudicates a contest between the two set on an alien planetoid. And while both pets cheat like mad, they remain well-matched even as the laws of physics in their extraterrestrial contest grounds grow increasingly malleable and cartoon-like.

Supergirl discovers that the planetoid is ‘Headquarters of the Interplanetary Multi-Dimensional Practical Jokers Club’ and that Mr. Mxyzptlk and his 5th dimensional friends planted ‘magical joke gadgets’ on its surface.

“Ending the duel with the simple declaration that ‘I like both of you, so stop this silly rivalry!’ Supergirl’s feminine sweetness proves more effective at handling matters than Superman’s challenge.

“The story concludes with Beppo the super-monkey popping by for an unexpected visit and the former combatants both agreeing that they can’t stand their new pest of a rival. It’s a fun tale of tails which fur-shadows the later Legion of Super-Pets.”