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This is actually a fascinating piece of @DCSuperman history... https://twitter.com/kurtbusiek/status/1247656033075380225">https://twitter.com/kurtbusie...
Action Comics No. 12. May, 1939. Clark Kent happens upon the aftermath of a car crash. A reckless driver has hit and killed someone Clark Kent knows. Kent, acting as an advocacy journalist, asks the mayor to address the problem. The mayor doesn’t seem to care.
As Superman, he breaks into a local radio station, hijacks the airwaves, and announces his (ahem) war on cars.
Superman then goes to a police lot where seized vehicles of traffic violators are stored... and destroys them all. More like a vigilante than the noble hero as depicted in the Christopher Reeve films.
He visits a used car salesman who sells lemons. “Accidents waiting to happen,” as Superman says. He then destroys every car on the lot.
Drunk drivers? Superman isn’t happy.
Superman is hit by a driver who takes off. A “hit-skip driver.” Superman chases after him... and gets kinda dark.
Superman even confronts an automobile manufacturer...
Remember the mayor who didn’t care about reckless driving? Turns out he is a reckless driver!
Superman bursts into the mayor’s car and shows him what reckless driving really looks like...
...in more ways than one.
The mayor is scared straight.
How quickly does the mayor’s new traffic safety effort go into effect? As Clark Kent finds out, right away. Was he parked in a bike lane? Who knows?
It just goes to show that attitudes about automobiles were not what they are today and can shift. The violence cars have brought into cities was once seen as so bad that only a superhero could stop it.
