Action Comics, Vol. 1

Superman is being drained of his power by the sorceress Arathaza aboard her flying fortress. Weakened, Superman still manages to crawl within striking distance as Arathaza gloats over her impending victory. Seizing the opportunity, Superman grabs her mystical staff, shattering it. Her staff destroyed, Arathaza reverts to her mortal form as Barb Kowaleski and is easily captured by Superman.

Later, Superman is approached by the Phantom Stranger, who teleports both of them to the scene of a whirling mass of earth and stone near a graveyard. As Superman attempts to contain the monster, the Stranger enters it and is transported to the kingdom of the dead where the undead responsible for summoning the beast reside.

The Stranger discovers that the undead are the souls of the wicked - murderers, rapists and robbers - who used the power of the Sherabite Stone that landed nearby when Superman defeated Arathaza. They used the stone's power to conjure the whirling earth monster and send it rampaging towards Metropolis in order to seek vengeance on the living.

The Stranger realizes the stone is the source of power and manages to secure it, while, back on Earth ,Superman has collected the "tainted" earth and carries it out to space. He hurls it towards the sun, ending the threat.