August 1951: Anticipating the Apes


Although Captain Comet would be publicly known on Earth, many of his adventures would occur in space, in secret.
In that, he would anticipate the two Stranges — Stephen and Adam — who frequently battle menaces humanity knows nothing about. The Stranges and the Strange Adventures hero were all super-heroes protecting humanity from dangers on some bizarre frontier.
Nevertheless, the hero’s second adventure, in Strange Adventures 11 (Aug. 1951), would be earthbound. Titled The Day the Past Came Back, this story by Broome and artist Infantino starts by pitting Comet against one of my favorite foes, a Tyrannosaurus rex (this one revived from a skeleton in the Midwest City Museum Hall of Fossils).
Wading into the action while museum patrons panic, the Man of Destiny uses superhuman strength to handily hurl aside the dinosaur. Then he learns that Capitol City (apparently Washington, D.C.) is overrun by brontosauruses, pterodactyls, devolved humans, and other prehistoric menaces, thanks to an evolution-reverser ray invented by Dr. Alex Philador, who has decided humanity is evil and requires a reboot.
The tale anticipates DC’s Silver Age gorilla fetish as Comet himself is devolved into an ape. But the simian superhero, retaining his advanced intelligence, surprises Philador and saves the day. The exploit ends with the humble librarian asking his coworker Lily Torrence to tell him just how wonderful Captain Comet is.
And in Strange Adventures 12 (Sept. 1951), we learn exactly how wonderful she thinks Blake is.

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