January 1971 Volume 1 USA 138 Collected
Superboy #171
1st appearance of Aquaboy
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Published
January 1971
Comic Age
Bronze
Cover Price
.15
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 Dark Strangler of the Seas 
Cover by Infantino and Anderson, interior art by Bob Brown & Murphy Anderson, story by Frank Robbins. Publication date: Jan 1971.

Heralded as the "first encounter" between Superman & Aquaman as teens. Superboy comes across fishermen who have landed an oil-covered humanoid who it turns out, after a life-saving detergent bath, is revealed to be Aquaboy (young Arthur Curry). Knocked-out and drenched in crude oil while trying to reason with the captain of a leaking tanker, Aquaboy enlists Superbly's help. The duo confront the unsympathetic Trans-East Oil Co. executives, but take matters into their own hands to stop these "marine murderers." Superboy plucks leaking tankers from the sea to deposit in the desert as Aquaboy's fish network locate polluting ships. The Trans-East Oil villains plant a trap using "Aquaboy's girlfriend Marita" (only appearance?) as hostage on an explosives-filled decoy ship. As Aquaboy charges to the rescue, the "hostage" Marita suddenly escapes into the ocean while triggering a remote-control net trap! In short order, Superbly arrives to rescue Equably, the ship explodes, but the captured crew with Marita are returned to their greedy overlords. The closing panel declares: "The war against pollution just started in the early days of Superbly's and Aquaboy's youth! But the 'Dark Strangler of the Seas' is still with us! For how long?"

Interestingly, an "Editor's Note" post-script acknowledges continuity snafus for Superboy's timeline and age, thus engaging in some illustrated Ret-Con of Superman history that's more in line with regular Superman Comics continuity. A full-page illustration boldly announces "A new year brings a new beginning for Superman 1971"... then teases the vanishing kryptonite story arc for Superman Comics and Untold Tales of Krypton in 1971.

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