Superman and the Mole Men

SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN

Many years ago, when the planet Krypton,

home to a race of supermen, exploded in space,

the only survivor was a newborn baby

arrived on Earth with powers and abilities far superior to those of mortal men.

Today that boy, now an adult, is known as Superman.

To better act in his never-ending struggle

against the forces of evil, he hides under the guise of Clark Kent,

a mild-mannered reporter for a major newspaper in Metropolis.

Nobody knows that Kent is Superman,

a valiant defender of truth, justice, and America.

WELCOME TO SILSBY

HOME TO THE WORLD 'S DEEPEST OIL WELL

1430 INHABITANTS

NATIONAL OIL COMPANY EXPERIMENTAL INSTALLATION N.1

Two of the best wrenches ever made.

Throw them there.

And here goes a newly installed flow valve.

Put all the tools in that hole and bury them.

Well, what's the point, Corrigan? This stuff costs money.

The point is, I'm telling you. I'm responsible, not you.

Hey, Craig's coming down the hill.

You go on, Eddie, I'll be back in a minute.

What do you want?

Me, Mr. Corrigan? Nothing at all.

Well, then stop spying, I don't like it.

Only those with a guilty conscience worry about being spied on.

Pop, you talk too much, keep your mouth shut.

Oh, well, no.

Sorry, Pop, I'm a little nervous today.

Oh, it's all right.

Hi Pop, take it.

My oranges, thanks for remembering, Mr. Craig.

Well gentlemen, here it is, Experimental Installation No. 1, what do you think?

Just like any other oil well.

On the surface, sure, but believe me

It's the deepest well ever seen.

Oh, wait, you don't have to take my word for it.

Hey, Pop, this is Miss Lane and Mr. Kent.

- Nice to meet you. - Pop Shannon,

the best guardian of an oil field.

Pop, these people are going to do a story on the well.

- Oh, journalists, huh? - Exactly.

I'm afraid you're a little late.

It's about to close.

- What? - They're closing it down.

But what's the point?

I would not know.

Mr. Corrigan ordered it.

They just pulled out the last drill, and now they're dismantling the base.

Oh, what a beautiful story, and nobody tells me.

How can I manage public relations if I don't know what's going on?

Excuse me.

This is simply absurd.

If they close it, there must be a reason.

Was the well empty?

This well? No, sir.

We found gas at 13,200 feet, and when you find gas, there's oil.

I imagine so.

Well, it was still a nice plane ride.

But wait until the boss finds out.

He'll blow his brains out!

There might be a story,

the deepest well ever abandoned.

And what will I do about the photos?

Take out your Brownie and photograph the tower.

All right.

But why is nothing ever easy?

They can't do this to me, Bill. It's intolerable.

Look at the situation I'm in.

I convince these people to take a 2,500 mile trip from Metropolis,

and now?

All I know is that I made my report to management last Monday.

The next day the order came to close it.

Well, in my opinion, something doesn't add up.

Mr. Corrigan, what was in that report?

I mean the one he sent to management.

She is the journalist.

That's right, I'm Clark Kent from the Metropolis Daily Planet,

and this is Miss Lane.

It's a shame you came all this way for nothing.

Sometimes it happens.

But about that relationship.

It's company business, Mr. Kent.

- It's confidential. - I understand.

Bill, we promised these people full cooperation.

Well, then you collaborate. I don't have time.

Okay, Eddie, let's take those chains off.

Mr. Corrigan, would you mind answering just one question?

What is it about?

How deep did you dive?

32,740 feet.

32.000?

Well, it's more than six miles.

Good heavens, practically at the center of the earth.

Well, not really.

But it is a depth that man has never reached before.

- Do you mind if I take some pictures? - Go ahead.

I'm so sorry about this, Mr. Kent, but you know how it is...

The right hand never knows what the left hand is doing.

We will host you at the hotel in Silsby for this evening.

At the company's expense, of course.

I'm really sorry you've come all this way without a story.

I'm not so sure we won't have a story.

Hi, have you packed your bags?

Uh-uh, is that you?

I was thinking of waiting until tomorrow morning.

Well, it certainly is a cheerful and fun little place, isn't it?

Silsby, population 1,430.

Home to the deepest oil well in the world, that's a big deal!

Too bad Craig doesn't like driving at night.

Otherwise we would have already left for Dallas by now .

Where's Craig?

Going to sleep, the afternoon had exhausted him.

He left us the car keys,

- in case you want to go somewhere. - Oh, good.

Well, at least I can say I saw Silsby.

I couldn't have done without it.

What were you reading?

Anything interesting?

Actually, Lois, I wasn't reading.

I was sitting here thinking.

- About what? - About Corrigan.

His attitude this afternoon.

Oh, he's just stupid.

I do not know.

- I think I'll go to the well. - To do what?

Oh, nothing, just take a look. Maybe talk to the guard.

Good idea, I'll come with you.

But Lois, what do you expect to find out there at this time of night?

And what do you expect to find, Mr. Kent?

All right, come on.

Well, where do we start?

Good heavens!

Is dead?

- Heart attack? - I don't know.

Come on, Clark, don't make a case out of it.

He was old, he had a heart attack.

It's a simple misfortune.

I wonder...

Those oranges on the floor, how did they get there?

Well, he was probably sitting in this chair when the attack happened.

He tried to get up, the bag of oranges was on the table,

He hit it with his arm and the oranges spilled onto the floor.

Well, that's fine, except for one thing.

How did the bag get here?

Good question.

Well, I'd better let someone know.

- The sheriff or a deputy or... - Call Craig.

Let's let him handle it. I'll go out and take a look around.

Hello, switchboard? The Silsby Hotel, please.

Hello, I would like to speak to Mr. Craig.

Craig, yes.

Lois, are you okay?

What happened? Answer me.

Pronto?

Hello, hello?

Hello, who's speaking?

Craig, it's Clark Kent.

Listen, I want you to call the sheriff and Corrigan and get here right away.

I'm at the well. No, I can't explain.

Come here as soon as possible.

But I tell you, you have to believe me.

I saw them with my own eyes.

They were staring at me from that window.

- Were they animals or what? - I told you, I don't know.

They had the body of a mole and a large human head.

They were just awful.

Miss Lane, these creatures,

I mean, assuming I actually saw them,

What were they doing? What did they want?

Well, the same thing they did to the guard.

Good heavens, he doesn't think they were...

There's no point in speculating until the coroner is finished.

I'll tell you what happened.

Those creatures killed that poor old man and wanted to kill me.

There's nothing out there.

What's the verdict, doctor?

Well, it feels like a heart attack.

An autopsy will be needed to make this official.

There is no sign of violence.

- How old was he? - Almost 70.

That's probably the case then.

I'll send Reagan to get the body.

Doctor, could Shannon have been scared to death?

- Scared? - Yes, I mean by something he saw.

Oh, maybe.

A sudden shock could have provoked an attack,

as long as he had a heart problem.

Oh, Miss Lane,

remember to take one of those tablets before going to bed.

Good night everyone.

- Good night, doctor. - Good night.

Well, I don't think there's much else we can do here.

Well, won't you do anything about those creatures?

No, Miss Lane, Corrigan and I looked everywhere and we could...

You don't believe me.

Do you think I made it all up?

The investigation will likely take place on Wednesday.

Let's go for now.