Underground Rivers - University of New Mexico

Superman #154, March 2000
Chapter 24 -- Underground Rivers in the Comics
A computer virus allows Brainiac 13 to travel
from the 64th century to the present and
transform Metropolis into a futuristic ultra-city
of his dewsgn. Collapsing infrastructure is
repaired under the citizens' feet. Sewers
become pristine waterways patrolled by
genetically engineered creatures who
consume waste. A homeless man finds a
rubber dinghy and reinvents himself as a new
Charon.
But what is Brainiac's intent? Surely not to
steal all the world's electricity!
In Superman and the Mole Men (1951), an oil well breaks through to the center of the earth and
the Mole Men ascend, causing a wave of hysteria that only Superman can quell.
The Superman animated series, "The Beast Beneath These Streets," November 19, 1988, is set
in a part of Metropolis buried a hundred years ago wher Morpheus makes a machine that allows
him to steal the powers of animals. The evil physician lures Superman to his lair and throws the
super hero into an underground river, but Superman reverses the polarity and gains his powers
back.
Hakeem Bennett, a Brooklyn special education student who won an essay contest, was made the
title character of Paul Kupperberg's The Kid who Saved Superman (2009). A bit of the action,
Splash! Hokeem sputtered and coughed. The cold, rushing water of an underground river
swept hem deeper into the cave. His arms flailed wildly, reaching for something to grab.
"Help!" he called out.
When the cave floor split open, Hakeem had fallen into the frigid water. The river rushed along
and spilled through a hole in the cave wall. It poured out into a large underground pool,
carrying Hakeem like a leaf caught in a storm.
In Skartaris, a comic book series debuted in 1975, US Air Force pilot Travis Morgan discovers
through a North Pole entrance the inner-surface land of Skartaris where a miniature sun is
suspended within our hollow globe. A moon orbits this sun, shadowing areas of Skartaris from
time to time.
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