Superman: Miracle Monday is an out-of-print book by Elliot S! Maggin that was released by DC Comics to coincide with Superman II. The book is set in the DC Universe of the 1970s: Clark is a TV Reporter and Lex Luthor is a mad scientist. In Miracle Monday, Superman is forced to deal with Lex Luthor, a demon from Hell and a time traveling history student. And this time, he might have more than even Superman can handle

Lex Luthor has discovered God. Not that he would let that stop him from escaping from jail to continue his evil ways. Luthor’s genius determines the existence of what he calls gas-waves, the proof of it confirms the existence of God to Luthor, a new form of matter that can be harnessed for electricity. After being rejected when trying to legally make a profit off his discovery, Luthor decides to call a press conference, announce that he will use his discovery to escape and then escape. Unknown to Luthor, his escape opens up a portal for C.W. Saturn, an agent of Satan, to escape. Saturn decides that his time on Earth will be best spent corrupting Superman.

Meanwhile Kristen Wells is Lois Lane’s new assistant for the book Lois is writing. Kristen is also helping out one of Lois’ friends and is a history major from the future who time-traveled back to find the origins of the holiday Miracle Monday. Luthor and Saturn make a deal where Saturn will give Luthor knowledge in exchange for a lock of Superman’s hair. So, Luthor uses one of his many secret identities to convince Superman to donate a lock of hair for medical research.

C.W. Saturn is able to take over Kristen’s body and start wreaking havoc on Superman’s life. He causes all kinds of disasters, forcing Superman to work extra hard to help people. And then C.W. Saturn takes Clark Kent away. While on the newscast, Saturn shows everyone that Superman is Clark Kent. Superman is now forced to deal with Luthor, neutralize C.W. Saturn and rescue Kristen Wells without the benefit of his Clark Kent identity.

Maggin was the premier Superman writer of the 1970s and this book shows why (along with his other Superman novel appearing later in the countdown). The book does a wonderful job with the main plot. Maggin uses the main villains to challenge Superman’s moral and beliefs. But where Maggin really shines is in the digressions. Maggin shows us Superman interacting with his father (Jonathan Kent) and Lex Luthor in the past. The anecdotes do a great job showing us how Superman matured and learned his morals and beliefs. In a story where Superman’s morals are being challenged, it helps the reader see how those morals were shaped. And when Superman is fighting a demonic being, the little interludes bring the story back to a more realistic grounding.

This book is out of print, but well worth whatever effort is needed to track it down.