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).
“They smartly avoided having yet another being from Krypton by giving Streaky a unique origin re: his super-powers,” observed comics historian Bruce Kanin. “Similar re: Comet, the Super-Horse. That said, I was always confused about when Streaky’s powers would be ‘on’ vs. ‘off.’ Still, I didn’t care.”
“I have to say that I wasn’t always a fan of Jim Mooney’s art,” Kanin added. “It seemed a bit too tame for me. He was great with Streaky and such. I think that, back in the ’60s, I enjoyed his art but now, looking back, it pales in comparison to Swan, Boring, and of course Infantino, Kane, etc.”
I’d say Mooney’s art suffers only by comparison with the others Bruce mentions. It was a great era for comic book art.
“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 the ‘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.”
Comics historian Mark Engblom remarked on “…the deep (yet endearing) weirdness of the (editor Mort) Weisinger era of the Superman mythos. Super-powered animals with fully human thoughts and emotions and a super ‘mistress’ demanding a robot duplicate of herself to immediately strip down in the woods. A psychologist could have a field day with this stuff.”
“They were indeed fortunate that super-intelligence came bundled with the superpowers,” observed Harmony Gates. “Although I guess it is possible that Krypto, being an alien dog, was already more intelligent than an Earth version.”
“I thought this was a ridiculous concept,” Bob Bailey wrote. “But I loved it, and Streaky too.”
Of course, superhero stories are always absurd. The only question is whether or not they choose to wear that on their sleeves.
“When you suspend belief to accept superheroes, you’ll eventually love everything, and my excuse was I was just 8,” wrote Cliff Heeley. “And yes, I believe ‘A Man Can Fly’…”
But somewhere along the line, it occurred to me that if cats could actually fly, we’d all be in a lot of trouble.
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