An atomic scientist names Dr. Ladislav is hiding out in a desert shack, as he's been exposed to so much radiation in his work that he's now deadly to be around. That doesn't stop the commies from trying to kidnap him for his expertise, holding his sisters back in his unnamed homeland hostage if he doesn't cooperate. Superman breaks up the first abduction attempt, but he realizes that there will be more. He tells Ladislav to whistle for him if he ever needs help.
Superman happened to be in the area because Clark, Lois and Jimmy are covering a test explosion of a powerful atomic bomb, which so far has been delayed again and again. When Clark tells them that Ladislav is in danger of being kidnapped, Lois and Jimmy decide to take a break from the endless waiting around and go see him themselves. They ignore the radioactivity warnings, thinking they're just a ruse to keep people away, and abscond with him into the desert, with two spies in hot pursuit.
Inconveniently, just at this moment the military has decided to give the all-clear for the test bomb. Superman, however, is able to contain the blasts by flying around in a whirlwind. When he rejoins Jimmy, Lois and Ladislav on the ground, he also concludes that he must be impervious to atomic energy because his molecules are at an opposite polarity to earthlings, so if he touches the others he'll cure their radiation poisoning. And to cap it off, he rescues Ladislav's sisters too.
This episode contains examples of:
- Artistic License – Physics: Did Superman basically say that he's made of antimatter?
- Cassandra Truth: Ladislav keeps telling Lois and Jimmy that he's really radioactive, but they keep thinking it's just a ruse to scare people off.
- Defector from Commie Land: Ladislav has become a naturalized American citizen, though his family is still back home.
- Deus ex Machina: Ladislav is in dire trouble with a dry mouth from fear so he can't whistle for Superman. However, just when things are hopeless, Ladislav finds an abandoned canteen full of water. He quickly takes a drink and whistles up Superman.
- Hammer and Sickle Removed for Your Protection: Despite the obviously Slavic nature of both Ladislav and his pursuers, nobody mentions any country or even Communism by name.
- I Have Your Wife: The spies threaten Ladislav's sisters, who are still back in his home country.
- Just Whistle: A variant: Superman doesn't actually give Ladislav a special whistle, but listens to Ladislav's whistle and somehow tunes his ears to its frequency. Unfortunately Ladislav forgets to tell him that his mouth gets dry when he's nervous...
- Poisonous Person: Ladislav has become radioactive due to his work.
- Samus Is a Girl: The agents trying to capture Ladislav work for a mysterious person codenamed X29, who turns out to be an attractive blonde. This surprises even her co-worker Zerinski.
