Early Conflict in Superman

I was initially surprised to see the lack of conflict in these early Superman comics yet the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. These stories are fantasy, and I mean that in the most literal sense of the word: they are meant as an escape for the reader. Superman is everything the reader wants to be, able to accomplish their task with little to no resistance with all of the other characters in the story in awe of his amazing ability. While this plot may run thin in modern story telling, a fantastical adventure in which the reader can identify with the character was relatively new to the 1930s and so we see similar adventures in which Superman can save the day without much opposition. 

Yet as these stories went on, we see the progression of Superman towards more conflict. In Action Comics No. 13, we finally see some form of a super villain in the Ultra-Humanite. While this character ultimately fails in destroying Superman, he does come close, even knocking Superman unconscious. This is the closest to death that Superman comes in these early comics, signaling a shift towards more conflict oriented stories. Action Comics No. 13 signifies the beginning of a change in the theme of conflict from Superman protecting people from everyday corruption to protecting the world from major threats, a major distinction from these original Superman comics to the present version of the character.