Presenting the transcription feature, Superman! It's a plane! It's Superman! Yes, it's Superman, strange visitor from the planet Krypton, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can leap tall buildings at a single bound, race a speeding bullet to its target, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fight the never-ending battle for truth and justice! And now to our story. Seeking an antidote for the stupefying potion given the members of the Metropolis football team, Clark Kent has come to the plantation settlement of Pernambuco, deep in the Central American jungles. The antidote of brown crystalline substance is in the possession of the chief of a tribe of savage, head-hunting Narwan Indians. Kent, after talking with John Carter, manager of the plantation, made arrangements for a local white derelict known as Pango Pete to lead him to the Narwan tribe. But Pete, willing to turn a dishonest deal, has learned that the brown crystals are worth millions of dollars to Kent and plans not to let him gain possession of them without exacting heavy tribute. Carter and Kent have just left Pango Pete's shack and are seated on the screened porch of the manager's bungalow. The orange glow of Carter's cigarettes, the only break in the impenetrable darkness. From off in the distance can be heard the rhythmic beat of tom-toms. Listen. Do those tom-toms continue all through the night, Mr. Carter? Yes. Night and day. That's been going on for almost a week. Pango Pete said they were Narwan drums. Some sort of ceremony. Oh, he was probably lying. He told us this afternoon that the Narwan tribe had moved on. Those drums aren't more than ten miles away. You know, Kent, I can't get over your offering to pay him $500 to take you to the trial. Well, it really isn't important. Well, that's where we disagree. There's something you don't quite understand, Kent, something that goes beyond money. What do you mean? Simply this. Pango Pete is a human derelict. One of those men who's committed a crime against society. No longer has a place among civilized people. That's why he's down here in Pernambuco, because in these jungles, even the lowest of white men have standing. Aren't you being a little unfair? Seems quite harmless. He is to everyone but himself. His petty thieveries are unimportant. His willingness to permit himself to sink lower and lower is certainly none of our business. Yet in the short year that I've known him, I've somehow felt that there was good in the man if someone could only bring it out. And yet you blame me for trying to help him by giving him some money. Well, you haven't helped him. I may be wrong, but I'd be willing to wager that one dollar would buy Pango Pete's honest assistance sooner than five hundred. You offered him a large sum of money for a job he knows isn't worth anywhere near that amount. The result, he's suspicious. You so willingly pay five hundred, he reasoned he should get a thousand or more. Yes, I see your point, but my greatest interest is getting my hands on that antidote at any cost. As I said once before, if five hundred dollars will safeguard three million, I'm all for spending it. All I can say is I hope you haven't made a mistake. I hope he isn't misleading you. I'm quite certain those drums we've been hearing are not now on drums. They're too close. Those headhunters rarely come within twenty miles of a settlement. They know the government has set a price on them. I think Pango Pete's lying. Well, he better not be. I haven't much time, as you know. That antidote must be back in Metropolis before Saturday. What's that? Oh, it sounds like a cheetah. The jungle is full of them. They're vicious little beasts. Are they dangerous? No, not man killers, if that's what you mean. Oh, I suppose they'd claw a man if one of them was cornered, but I've never heard of a cheetah attacking. I can't say... That didn't sound like an animal. It isn't. It's one of my native boys. Come on, let's see what's happening. Here, I'll open the screen door. It came from over there at the edge of the jungle. Wait. I don't hear anything now except the drums. Where are you going, Kent? Just to look around in the brush. Kent, come back. Don't be a fool. It's alive with tape. Don't worry. Whoever was screaming was in serious trouble. Good thing it's pitch dark in case I have to handle whatever this is. A superman. I can't see a thing yet. Wait. Something's moving up ahead of me. Sounds like it might be... What was that? Something struck me and dropped to the ground. Great Scott, it's a stone-tipped dart. There's another. It looks serious. I'd better get back and warn Carter. Kent, is that you? Yes, I'm all right. Kent, you never should have gone in there. That's one of the primary rules in the traffic. Stay out of the jungle at night. I don't suppose you found anything. Yes, I did. These. Boy, you darn. Where did you get them? They were shot at me. But they missed. Kent, that means only one thing. There are headhunters in that patch of jungle. We're in trouble. And one of those drums was so close. Come on, I've got to round up the men. You'd better go down to Pango Pete's shack and get him up. We may need him. Meet me at my cottage, but hurry. Okay. I'm running into headhunters and something I hadn't expected. I hope this doesn't kill my chances of getting that antidote. Pete's shack, I think. Yeah. Pete! Who is it? Mr. Kent, open up. It ain't gone yet. No, but open the door. There's trouble. Hold on. Now, what's all the excitement? Mr. Carter says there are headhunters in the jungle near the plantation. How would he know? Someone shot these at me. Look. Blimey. Poison stick. Don't point them at me. Go and scratch with them when you're a goner for sure. Dig them into the ground. That'll kill the poison. All right, I will. Mr. Carter's rounding up the men. He wants us to meet him at his cottage. All right. Wait till I get into some clothes. Okay. How'd you know them flighters was in the jungle? We heard a man screaming and when we got to the edge of the brush, these darts came winging out. Who was it screaming? We don't know. Mr. Carter thinks it was one of his native boys. You know what that means, don't you? They got the poor blight of them even dead. Well, I'm ready. All right, let's go. Them tom-toms sound like they moved up close. Yes, they have. Who's sure they're now-one drums? Couldn't be nothing else. Tell but a ring of them. That means now-one shot the darts. Yeah, looks like it. Mr. Carter certainly rounded the men up past. They're all behind his cottage. Oh, there he is on the porch. Ken, come inside quickly. Pete with you? Yes, he is. Where is he? Right here, Mr. Carter. How can we stop this, Pete? Kent told you what happened. Yeah? They got one boy, Antonio. I suppose we can get him up for long. Yeah, it looks like it. Those tom-toms are awfully close now. That's not all. Listen. Yeah, war chant, that is. It means business in black devils. We've got to stop them. Can you handle a rifle, Kent? Yes, but I... Here, take this one and shoot to kill. There's no telling how many of them are hidden in that jungle. What do you say, Pete? Well, I don't know rightly. Them now ones are a big tribe, a mighty big. Probably a hundred of them, all with blowguns and poison darts. Listen to them chant. Blood curving. If I could get the old Chief Songer, I might get him to call them all for a handful of trinkets. Oh, that's impossible now. It's certain death to anyone who goes near that jungle. There's one of them. See the eathens sneaking along the edge? Yes, I see him. Almost like a black pygmy. Yeah, they're little fellas, but mean. Keep an eye on him. Watch what he does. I'm going to keep more than an eye on him. Hold that speed door open, Kent. Okay. You got the black devil. Oh, listen to them now. They're going crazy. Yeah, that shot did it. Great fine native boys are going to get panicky. They're all hurted in the back, frightened to death. Take a look at them, Pete. Calm them down. I'll do one of them, Kent. See anything, Kent? No, not a thing. They must be close. That chanting and the drums. Entirely too close for comfort, Kent. You realize what can happen? These savage tribes have wiped out entire settlements. They're amazing marksmen with their deadly little blowguns and poison darts. Look! Something's moving at the edge of the clearing. Over to the left. Yes, I see. Open the screen door. Okay. Look out! It saved my life that time, Kent. That dart would have struck me in the shoulder if you hadn't pushed me. How in heaven's name did you ever see it coming? I don't know. Maybe we'd better not open that door again. Probably not. What's happened to Pango Pete? He shouldn't be taking this long. Here I am, Mr. Corbett. You said to calm the men down, didn't you? How are they? Herded together like a bunch of sheep, that's how. If them now ones get close enough to spot them, they'll be slaughtered and you can lie to that. We can't let them get close enough. As soon as said, then done. Likes not the clearance alive with them, only we can't see them. Likes not the calling up on their bellies, fixing the rushes. If only they'd stop that infernal drumming and that chant, it's driving me mad. Let me see whether I can make power with them. You mean go out there? Blimey, no, I ain't that crazy. Step aside from the door and give it a try. Now keep a sharp watch. We will. Well, here goes. Hi-oh! Close the drum. Hi-oh! Hi-oh! What did he say? They asked him who they was and he says the Nahuans will speak. Find out what they want. Nahuans! Talofa Maga Ali! Yes? You ain't gonna like this, Mr. Carter. None at all. What is it? What do they want? He said Kayabana. That means five heads. Five heads? That's it. If you ask me, I'd say we were getting off mighty cheap. Nobody's asking you. This isn't the Middle Ages. I wouldn't make a human sacrifice if my life depended on it. Tell the bloodthirsty beggars no. As you wish. Naga! Naga! Naga! What does that mean? It means we'd all better start saying our prayers now. Because here they come and there ain't nothing gonna stop them. As the weird tum-tums beat with new frenzy and as the savage voices of the Nahuwan headhunters rise in the night, Clark Kent, as Superman, prepares to do battle with the strangest enemy he has yet faced. How will he fare against a hundred black pygmies who are shadows in the darkness? Can he keep them off and at the same time get possession of the precious antidote? Listen in for the next episode for a smashing climax to this jungle drama. Follow the thrilling story with Superman. Don't forget, tune in again for the next thrilling episode with Superman. It's a plane! It's Superman! Superman is a copyrighted feature appearing in Action Comics magazine. The film is a
