The Blakely Mine Disaster (also known as "Superman Battles Death Underground") was a Superman story published in Action Comics #3 by DC Comics (then known as National) on July 5th, 1938 with a cover date of August. It was written and drawn by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Clark Kent takes on the assignment of reporting a cave-in at a coal mine. After rescuing the mine workers as Superman (and disguised as a miner himself), Clark discovers the terribly unsafe working conditions the miners deal with and learns from Stanislaw Kober, an employee paralyzed in the cave-in, how uncaring the owner is toward them. When Clark reports this to said owner, Thornton Blakely, the latter dismisses the claims and declares "there are no safety hazards in [his] mine." Clark, knowing Blakely is full of it, changes into Superman and decides to crash into the Blakely Estate, where a party is occuring, again disguised as a miner. When Supes is captured by guards and lured into his house, Blakely makes an impromptu proposition; he decides to bring all his guests into the mines to finish out the party and lets Superman guide them there. Once everyone enters the faulty mine, Superman creates a cave-in, trapping the wealthy individuals inside. As a result, Superman makes them experience first-hand the rough and hazardous conditions Blakely's miners go through each day.
This story was reprinted in Superman (1939) #1 a year later.
Tropes pertaining to The Blakely Mine Disaster
- A Taste of Their Own Medicine: What Superman does to Blakely and his party guests when he traps them in the faulty mine; giving them just but a taste of what Blakely's miners go through each and every day.
- Bad Boss: Thornton Blakely regularly dismisses his worker's concerns over the hazardous conditions of the mines, with hanging the threat of firing them if they press on further. Even when one of his workers is crippled by a cave-in, he expresses no sympathy and blames his supposed carelessness for his accident. Of course, once Superman makes him experience the terrible work environment first-hand, he changes his tune and vows to fix the safety precautions in his mine.
- My God, What Have I Done?: As Blakely and his guests are trapped in the mine for hours, trying and failing to escape, he reflects on his inaction toward improving conditions for his workers...Thornton Blakely: Oh, if I only had this all to do over again! I never knew- really knew- what the men down here have to face!
- Working-Class Hero: Superman shows once again that he's a hero to the downtrodden, by forcing Blakely and his rich friends to suffer through the same kind of conditions miners experience each day by causing a cave-in at one of Blakely's mines.
