Walt Disney Super Goof #50

cover date: December 1978

     The first story is the one promoted on the cover and the longest in the issue, the ten pages long “The Lightning Robberies.” Super Goof is flying home, happy that it is raining because it sends the crooks home, too. He plops down in his easy chair just in time for Mighty Wren, his favorite TV show. His nephew, Gilbert (a nerdy type), asks him to keep the volume down.

     “Meanwhile, downtown…” two shady types are standing out in the rain. They’re waiting for…a cloud? This cloud flies to a specific spot. Lightning then arcs from the cloud to a power pole. With the nearby bank without electricity (and Super Goof goofing off), the two rob the place. 

     Seeing a TV bulletin about the robbery, Super Goof heads back downtown to offer his assistance. He displays another super power, his “Data-Dome,” by absorbing the facts of the case as related by the bank manager. Using the descriptions of the thieves, he flies through the city using his “Data-Scanner Vision” to search for the crooks. He can’t find them, though, because they were disguised when they robbed the bank. The thieves praise the foresight of their boss, Emil Eagle.

     Super Goof continues searching the city into the night, half-asleep as he flies. Emil Eagle has given his minions instructions to be prepared with a second set of masks. As the crooks prepare to burgle a loan company at ground level, Super Goof sees a cloud fly in and strike a power pole with a lightning bolt. A second bolt incapacitates our hero. He absorbs the electricity from the lightning and the crooks escape while he shakes the effects.

     He flies sadly home, depressed over his inability to stop the robbery. Still shaken from the attack, he crashes through the wall of his house and into an experiment that Gilbert was running. Gilbert tells his uncle that the pink goop covering him is a new synthetic rubber. It is superior to natural rubber because it is much more stretchy. The big bonus is that the goo covering Super Goof will prevent electrical attacks from affecting him.

     Super Goof returns to patrol. The same little cloud strikes him with lightning again but it has no affect on his rubberized form. The cloud quickly changes direction. Super Goof takes off in pursuit but his costume catches on a pole sticking up from a building. While he fights the pull, the cloud swings around behind him. Just then, the super-stretch synthetic rubber snaps him backwards into the cloud—which breaks! The evil mastermind, Emil Eagle, falls from the damaged airship. Super Goof snatches him in mid-air and swoops down to catch Eagle’s accomplises. It is off to jail for them!

     Goofy ends the adventure with an invention of his own. He uses his own now-stretchy costume to form a hammock. 

     The second story is the shortest at six pages. “Rocket Invasion” begins with Super Goof using his super telescopic vision to do some star-gazing. He sees a Martian astronomer looking back at him--and an incoming invasion fleet! He zooms into space to meet the fleet. He tries to contact them but the only reply he receives is a sequence of beeps. Inside the foremost ship, he can find no crew. One compartment is full of green leaves. It’s the same story on every ship in the fleet. Goofy comes to the conclusion that the people who launched the ships ran out of room for the leaves on their planet and this was their way of disposing of them. What a goof! And, sure enough, the robot ships dump their individual cargos of leaves onto Earth.

     When Goofy awakes in the morning, he sees strange behavior in the citizens of Duckburg. Scrooge McDuck gives a coin to a hobo. One of the Beagle Boys calls the Beagle Brats in for a bath—and the kids obey! One neighbor who is raking his yard comments that the leaves look like plastic and have an odd smell. Super Goof looks into space and discovers that another invasion fleet is on its way. This one is crewed and they are sure of their victory because their “surrender-leaves” will have made Earth’s inhabitants submissive.

     Super Goof takes a super deep breath, flies into space, and (I can’t believe I’m typing this) blows all the surrender-leaves back into space. When the small and pale-yellow aliens do land, they find that Earth’s residents are anything but submissive. They call off the invasion and flee. Super Goof is left with the job of returning all the hats and such that blew into space along with the surrender-leaves back to their owners on Earth.

     The final story, “Ye Olde Blot Knight,” is eight pages and would fit right in with Commander Benson’s current series of columns since it deals with time travel. Super Goof panics when he comes home and find uber-nerd Gilbert missing. Suddenly, the “gran’daddy” clock starts chiming in the other room. Out from the clock comes Gilbert. He’s converted it into a time machine and has just returned from the Dark Ages. While there, he ran afoul of a knight called the Blue Blot, a historical ancestor of modern-day villain the Phantom Blot. Super Goof asks Gilbert to send him back to the same time so he can teach the Blue Blot a lesson. Gilbert gives him a key. By rubbing the key, Goofy can return to the present. Without it, he is stuck in the past.

     Back in the Dark Ages, Super Goof zeroes in on the Blue Blot’s castle bedroom. As soon as he enters, though, he reverts to plain old Goofy. Apparently, he gains his powers from consuming super goobers (a slang term for peanuts). When they wear off, he looses all his powers and his costume becomes street clothes. The noise of him falling to the floor awakens Blue Blot. The Blue Blot grabs his sword and takes a swing at the ducking and dodging Goofy. Goofy flees the room while searching his pockets for the return key. He falls off of a stone staircase and onto the Blue Blot’s horse. Scared, it promptly runs away with Goofy  on its back.

     The horse soon throws the hapless rider into bushes. On a spare steed, an armored Blue Blot is in pursuit of the inadvertent horse thief. The bush that Goofy fell into, luckily enough, has wild goobers. Goofy swallows several. Instead of giving him his traditional costume, he finds himself super-powered in knightly armor. The charging Blue Blot’s lance buckles against Super Goof’s chest. The villainous knight returns to his castle but Super Goof bursts right through the door. Super Goof converts the Blue Blot’s bed into stocks and traps him in it. The Blue Blot will now face the justice of the villagers that he terrorized.

     Super Goof finds his missing time key and returns to the present (1978, remember?). He find a note from Gilbert: “I got bored and took a trip into the year 2000! Care to join me? Gilbert.” Still in his knight-like costume, Super Goof decides to wait until the next day to join his nephew. After all, he’ll be one day closer to 2000 then.

     These stories are harmless nonsense. There's a lot of willing suspension of disbelief that I think most people have when experiencing stories of Goofy, Mickey, and their Disney friends. Jack Manning's art is consistent with the Disney house style which is probably why he was hired in the first place.

     If you're looking for reprints, good luck. "The Lightning Robberies" and "Rocket Invasion" were reprinted but in an Italian publication, Almanacco Topolino, and not even in the same issue. At the time of this update (May 2025), it's not available digitally.

     I'd gladly buy more Super Goof issues should I run across inexpensive copies. I have fond memories of this issue and would gladly read more.

     Super Goof and Phantom Blot have both appeared as playable characters in Ravensburger's Disney Lorcana trading card game. Thanks to this particular comic, until recently I thought that Phantom Blot was specifically a Super Goof villain, not knowing that he's primarily been a foil for Mickey Mouse.