The Comic That Really Freaked Me Out As A Child

You wanna know what gave me nightmares as a kid? This:

I read this tale as a youngling--probably no more than 7 or 8--and for some reason, the Metalloids really did a number on my tiny brain.

Superman and Jimmy Olsen and Batman and Robin are hanging around in Kandor, because, you know, they can, when a crime menace from Krypton's anceint past rears its ugly head:

And these Metalloids kick the living crap out of powerless Kal-El!

The Dynamic Duo consult some Kyptonian history tapes to better understand the Metalloid menace:

That's all Batman needs!! They track the Metalloids to their lair, and realize that the only way to win is to display Bruce's manly yet hairless torso:

One down!! But...

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Which Robin does, off-panel (boo!), and it's game over.

I'm not sure what it is about Curt Swan and Sheldon Moldoff's work here, but those Metalloids scared the crap out of Lil' snell. Especially when Batman, and especially especially Robin, transformed themselves. Brrrrr.....

Of course, those bracelets no doubt still exist, somewhere...

From World's Finest #143 (1964), as reprinted in World's Finest #197 (1970)