Older Superman stories are chalked-full with bizarre moments that when examined under modern context, are extremely weird in retrospect. One moment, however, tops them all as Superman once told a giant version of his dad to “punish me daddy! I deserve it!”
There are plenty of bizarre moments from the Golden and Silver Age of comics that have aged poorly. Those include Superman fantasizing about hooking up with Supergirl, Superman filming a sex tape with Big Barda, and Superman possessing the ability to shoot miniature versions of himself out of his hands. One notorious panel from the early 1970s might be the worst offender, even if it was never intended to be interpreted as it might be now.
The panel comes from World’s Finest #201 by Denny O’Neil, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella, where Green Lantern and Superman have a heated argument after saving a plane from being hit by meteors. As the two exchange words, one of the Guardians of the Universe appears and suggests they have a contest to determine who should be the one who saves Earth from off-world perils. With Doctor Fate’s help, the Guadian of the Universe sets up a race – the first one to reach an enchanted purple dragon wins. But, it’s not a clear path to the dragon, as the two heroes’ biggest fears come to life: Green Lantern faces off against a giant yellow spider, while Superman is met with a giant version of Jor-El, his Kryptonian father.
Superman faces the disappointment of his dad, who wishes he became a scientist instead of a superhero. Jor-El decides to punish his son and disciplines him by spanking him. In the moment, Superman utters “punish me, daddy! I deserve it!” In the context of the time, Superman was simply accepting his punishment. However, now, the panel is hilarious. Thankfully, the punishment doesn’t last long (despite Superman’s pleas) and he manages to escape. When Kal-El and Green Lantern reach the dragon, it turns out to all be a trap orchestrated by a disguised Felix Faust. The story ends with Faust being captured and the two heroes realizing jealousy will get them nowhere.
The panel and the text “punish me, daddy! I deserve it!” will always be funny, even though it surely wasn’t intended to be when it was being written. Kudos to Superman for facing his biggest fear and coming out on top. While the contest with Green Lantern was cool, the comic will always be remembered – for better or worse – for the out of context panel.