Mel Evans

Mel Evans

The "brilliant young college teacher" and, later, "renowned scientist" who first calculated, the "probable distance from Earth to Krypton" at 0.317 light years and who, according to Superman No. 136/2, was unwittingly responsible for allowing Superman's vulnerability to Kryptonite to become widespread public knowledge. Guilt-ridden and ashamed at having been responsible for accidentally betraying this damaging secret, Evans dropped out of sight and, under the alias of Stanley Halley, "helped humanity immeasurably" and "won the highest awards that science has to offer" while still keeping his true identity a secret, until finally, in April 1960, Superman comes upon him in Smallville and assures him that his honest mistake of years ago has long since been forgiven ("The Secret of Kryptonite!"). (TGSB)