Superboy #174

Superboy #174 (On Sale: March 9, 1971), has a Super-Animals cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

We begin with "The Colossal Superdog" by Otto Binder and George Papp and reprinted from Adventure Comics #262 (1959). While romping through space, Krypto encounters a Kryptonite meteor fused with another meteor. The radiations of the new meteor cause Krypto to grow to gigantic size and develop super-rabies upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.

As Krypto causes mass destruction, Superboy tries to stop his pet. The rabies eventually paralyzes Krypto. Superboy sets Krypto up as a living statue. He then discovers the meteor and exposes himself to it.

Superboy grows to gigantic size as well. The increased power of Superboy’s X-ray vision cures Krypto. Then he uses lead mirrors to turn the X-rays on himself, which restores the Boy of Steel to normal.

Next up is "The Gorilla with Super-Eyes" by Otto Binder, Curt Swan, and John Fischetti and reprinted from Adventure Comics #219 (1955). Superboy assists Professor Lang in the capture of a giant gorilla named Chandu. They return to Smallville with the gorilla who is put on display. Ex-con Doc Baird sees the gorilla on display and discovers that Chandu possesses X-ray vision.

Baird and his men steal Chandu and use his power for crime. The X-rays are triggered by lightning, so when lightning strikes the crooks are able to melt bank walls and start fires.

Professor Lang believes that Chandu got his powers from a pond in Africa containing Kryptonite. The gorilla's X-ray vision is also Kryptonite based which weakens Superboy. Despite the gorilla's advantage, Superboy overcomes him and the crooks. The effect of the contaminated water soon wears off, restoring Chandu to normal.

That is followed by "The Super-Zoo from Krypton" by Otto Binder and John Sikela and reprinted from Superboy #53 (1956). Professor Lang discovers a rocket containing several alien eggs. Superboy reads the text contained within the rocket and discovers that the eggs are from Krypton. The eggs begin hatching, releasing several unusual Kryptonian animals. 

A crook named Blacky Stone hides Kryptonite in a fake egg. Superboy is exposed to the Kryptonite, but he manages to escape with the aid of one of the Kryptonian creatures. After apprehending Blacky, Superboy takes the animals to an uninhabited world where they can live without endangering anyone.

Next is "The Bird with Super-Powers" by Alvin Schwartz, Curt Swan, and John Fischetti and reprinted from Adventure Comics #225 (1956). Professor Lang brings a talking mynah bird back from Africa. The bird displays amazing intelligence and super powers. The mynah bird escapes and begins aiding an escaped convict in crime. Superboy and Professor Lang determine that the bird's powers originate from a water source in Africa contaminated by Kryptonite. This same water source was responsible for creating a gorilla with X-ray vision.

Superboy and the mynah bird match each other in battle. The bird learns Superboy's secret identity and threatens to expose him. This forces Superboy to use Kryptonite against the bird. The overdose of Kryptonite radiation restores the bird to normal, and his convict partner is apprehended.

We end with "The Superdog That Was Greater Than Krypto" by Jerry Siegel and Al Plastino and reprinted from Superboy #105 (1963). Superboy rescues a dog, Swifty, from his mean master. Swifty follows the Boy of Steel back to Smallville and meets him again. Impressed by Swifty’s intelligence, Superboy uses a serum invented by Roz-Em to give Swifty super-powers. 

Krypto becomes jealous of the new super-dog, but when Swifty’s powers disappear suddenly Krypto comes to the rescue. Superboy tells Krypto that he intended Swifty to be a playmate for Krypto, making the super-dog ashamed of his jealousy.

edited by E. Nelson Bridwell.