Action Comics #382

Action Comics #382 (On Sale: September 30, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

"Clark Kent, Magician" is by Leo Dorfman, Curt Swan and George Roussos. Weisinger never saw a dumb idea he didn't like, like this one. Clark is writing the obituary for magician Mr. Presto and his office is full of Presto's tricks. Also in the room are a bunch of helium-filled balloons Lois is supposed to take to some kids at the hospital that have gotten away and are on the ceiling. Clark flies up and gets them down just as Lois returns. She says when she left, the balloons were on the ceiling and this proves that Clark is Superman. Wow, what an exciting plot idea...not.

Clark goes on having to prove to Lois that he is a magician, so far as to get an agent and, as Kento the Magician, headlines a show. The story tehn is a set of scenes with Kento on stage and having to prevent a crime or catch a criminal while doing his act. Jimmy gets fired from the Planet for writing too many stories on Kento (yeah, right), and becomes Clark's publicity agent. Jimmy becomes part of the act which garners the attention of some thugs, who want to use Kento's robot puppet to commit crimes, only to discover that it is really just Jimmy in a costume. They find Clark working with a Superman puppet an steal it to commit crimes. The robot is actually Superman in disguise and he foils the criminal's plot.

That is followed by the Legion of Super-Heroes in "Kill a Friend to Save a World" by Jim Shooter, Winslow Mortimer and Jack Abel. Ultra Boy is attacked by a robot called a Protector, created my Mr. Cosvarr, who wants to put the Legion out of business and set up a protection racket for any planet without his "Protectors." We find out that the super-powers of the Protectors are being taken from  Mon-El and Superboy, both of whom are trapped by Cosvarr. The Legion infiltrates Cosvarr's factory and save Mol-El and Superboy, while Cosvarr's partner, after being betrayed by Cosvarr, blows up the facility.

This story was reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 9 HC.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.