Synopsis
Jimmy Olsen finds Superman’s weakened and injured body in a junk yard, where a paper-created monster inhabited by a spirit from the Quarrm dimension dragged him. Jimmy has the doctors operate on Superman’s head injury while two criminals try to take advantage of the monster’s abilities before they become its victims. The monster is drawing itself toward where Superman is in order to finish him, but finds himself contending with the sand-created Superman figure, whose power is partially restored, wondering why he even cares to act on behalf of anyone.
Superman and the sand-created duplicate work together to bring the spirit inhabiting the monster back to the Quarrm dimension, but now the duplicate wants to take over Superman’s role as protector of the planet. Superman fears that he would have to battle this duplicate whose very touch can trigger off a powerful explosion, when I-Ching mysteriously causes such effects to be cancelled, which results in a knock-down drag-out fight between the two Superman which results in the world’s destruction. However, this fight turns out to be nothing more than a dream that I-Ching cast both Superman and his duplicate into, to make them realize the futility of such a fight. The duplicate decides to return to the Quarrm dimension, and Superman is left with a third less of his powers than before.