Synopsis
| - On impulse, Celia Windward leaves the Green Lantern
Corps Citadel to investigate a limousine parked nearby. Its
occupant, Lex Luthor, invites her into town for a meal and conversation, and Celia, her curiosity aroused, accepts.
Over dinner, Luthor unwinds his tale of a hypothetical battle between Superman and a costumed villain called Combattor, using his story to illustrate what he sees as the danger inherent in the existence of powerful so-called "heroes" like the Man of Steel. He concludes by asserting that the entire Millennium Project, dependent on the supposed inherent inner nobility of mankind, is a sham.
At the same time, as Lois Lane meets social worker Jose Delgado for a movie date, the theatre is attacked by the real Combattor. Endangering lives and destroying property, Combattor seizes Lois as a hostage to lure Superman into battle. It is not Superman who answers his challenge, however, but Delgado, in his costumed identity as Gangbuster. Despite his lack of super-powers, Gangbuster makes a surprisingly strong stand against his super-strong, armored opponent, causing him to free Lois and preventing him for injuring the surrounding crowd. Finally, using a small device from within his costume, Gangbuster shocks Combattor, and the super-villain sways, then collapses, dead of heart failure. Unfortunately, Gangbuster is terribly injured in the battle, losing the use of his legs. Later, Superman accosts Luthor in his Metropolis office and throws Gangbuster's helmet at his feet. He tells the villain he knows that Luthor is responsible for Combattor's creation, and he suggests that Gangbuster's selfless action is a far stronger argument in favor of heroism than Luthor's talk with Celia was against it.
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