A mysterious burglar in a lead mask steals a 'wanted' poster of gangster Marty Mitchell. Lois theorizes that the mask is a way to hide the burglar's identity from Superman, but doesn't know why he would steal a poster. As it turns out, the criminal wants to compare the fingerprints on the poster to those of Mitchell himself, who claims he's changed them (along with his face) and is willing to sell this magical technology to other wanted criminals for $50,000 apiece.
Clark happens to spot the man in a diner and recognizes the voice and mannerisms as Mitchell's, and obtains his fingerprints from a drinking glass. After an overeager Jimmy Olsen tries to apprehend him, the gangster says he'll drop charges if Clark will write up a story about the incident. Clark suspects there's more going on than meets the eye, and turns out to be righter than even the audience has been led to believe.
This episode contains examples of:
- Dressing as the Enemy /Impersonation Gambit: Superman gets into the thieves' den by disguising himself as the last thug sent on an errand, complete with lead mask.
- Kill It with Fire: One of the criminals tries this when Superman appears in their midst. It doesn't work.
- Magic Plastic Surgery: Both played straight and subverted. Apparently, Superman is perfectly willing to believe that plastic surgery is so perfect that even he can't detect it (and the episode makes explicit mention of his microscopic vision). But it turns out that "Mitchell" never changed his face or his fingerprints at all — he's another man impersonating Mitchell's voice and manner to sell the phony fingerprint-fixing technology.
- One Size Fits All: When Superman shows up wearing the hoodlum's clothes and mask, it's difficult not to notice that the shoulders have suddenly become ENORMOUS. Of course, none of the other hoodlums think anything of it.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Jimmy Olsen valiantly jumps to make a citizen's arrest of Mitchell, saying he doesn't need proof when he has Clark's word ... only to find himself in the police station for false arrest.
