Diner owner Tony tries to fend off a protection racket by claiming that he's Superman's friend, telling tall tales about how he was involved in Superman's past adventures. The protection racket has extended to many other shopkeepers, 50 of whom have signed affadavits to put a stop to it. The three thugs running the racket doubt Tony's story, but they're concerned enough to come up with a plot: they deliberately let Tony overhear a plot to kidnap Lois Lane, who's chasing a lead in parts unknown, so that Superman will be distracted while they go steal the affadavits. Tony is worried because in reality he doesn't know how to contact Superman, but he does express his concerns to Clark Kent...
This episode contains examples of:
- Bluff the Eavesdropper: The bad guys mislead Tony by assuming he's listening in on their conversation about kidnapping Lois.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Jimmy Olsen comes to the verge of asking Tony's daughter/waitress Elaine out for a date, but chickens out at the last second.
- Caught on Tape: Played with: Tony tries to secretly record the thugs' conversation but thinks that some noisy customers have drowned out the sound. Fortunately, Superman's super hearing can make out their conversation anyway.
- Diner Brawl/Food Fight: Superman fights the racketeers in Tony's diner at the end, and the others chip in by throwing food and utensils at them.
- Greasy Spoon: Tony's diner is a classic, complete with its ethnic owner (Tony is implied to be Italian), all-American food, and jukebox.
- The Münchausen: Tony, to a great extent. He has more of a practical motivation than your usual fabulist, but he sure enjoys telling those tall tales.
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- Lois returns near the end, but we never do find out where she's been.
- The plot thread of Jimmy's attraction to Elaine also never goes anywhere.
