(Superman I #169) - Teenage Ned Barnes grew up idolizing Superboy, and one day his house caught fire and Superboy rescued him, but his face was horribly burned. A brilliant plastic surgeon offered to repair his face and Ned asked him to make him look just like his hero Superboy. Ned Barnes was a weakling and suffered years of bullying because of his resemblance to Superboy without any of his strength. Ned grew to hate Superboy, and vowed revenge on him. As an adult Ned turned to crime, and mobsters Big Tony and Gunner hired him for a job because of his resemblance to superman. Dressed as Superman he entered a top-secret manufacturing plant and took pictures of a prototype spaceship, claiming he was on a mission from the NSA. His ruse was uncovered and he went into hiding. As fate would have it he ran into Sally Selwyn, who was once in a romantic relationship with Clark Kent, who she knew as Jim White. She thought Jim had drowned and was overjoyed that her long lost love had returned. She imagined that Jim survived his fall into the water and suffered from amnesia, but hoped she could resume their relationship. Ned played along, but hoped to get out of town once the heat died down, and Sally soon noticed that her paramour was a lot rougher around the edges than she’d remembered. The real Clark Kent learned about Ned Barnes crime over the news wire and asked Perry White if he could cover the story. Perry agreed, and told him to go to the Ace Ranch and buy a horse. Perry had just lost a bet with Jimmy Olsen after picking Daily Planet in a horse race, and wanted his own horse named after his newspaper that would be a winner. Clark found a stallion that fit the bill, but when Sally, whose father owned the ranch, spotted him she thought he was Jim and embraced and kissed him. Clark’s memory of his time with Sally suddenly came back, and he was overwhelmed that a woman loved him for himself, as Clark Kent and not Superman. Clark tumbled on to the fact that she thought he was Ned, and decided to sleep on the matter. In the morning Clark decided that he was in love and wanted to marry Sally, which he’d do right after bringing Ned to justice. Ned started to feel bad about fooling sally because he could see what a good heart she had, but his reverie was interrupted by big Tony and Gunner. They thought he’d skipped out on them and decided to marry and go straight. Gunner aimed his rifle at sally, who was in the distance, saying he’d kill her to get back at Ned. Ned fought them, and they all tumbled down a cliff. Tony and gunner died instantly, but Ned clung to life. Superman found him, and his dying wish was that superman not tell Sally that Ned was really a criminal because he didn’t want to break her heart. Superman was in shock, and came to the realization that if he married Sally crooks like Gunner and Tony would come after her all the time, so he couldn’t give in and marry her. Superman met Sally and told her her love sacrificed his life to save her. Sally broke down in tears in her father’s arms, saying that it seemed like a cruel joke that she’d been reunited with the man of her dreams only for him to die again. She said she’d always keep the love she had for Jim White in her heart. Superman was also heartbroken, and hoped that one day fate would bring him and Sally back together.

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