1. The Cross-Country Chess Crimes (Superman)
2. Little Moe
3. The Knife Thrower (Congo Bill)
4. Photo of a Phoney (Zatara)
5. Casey the Cop
6. Element of Suprise (text story by Stan Carter)
7. The Practical Jokers (Hayfoot Henry)
8. The Vigilante's Double (Vigilante)

Superman: Mr. Mxzytplk is back, and his arrival is heralded by bizarre events in Metropolis. When Superman finds him, he tries to convince him that he should do something more intellectual, such as play chess.

Mxyztplk takes Superman at his word and kidnaps the two players contesting the world chess championship, depositing them on a cloud overlooking the USA. Then he steals objects such as a real castle in England, a statue of a queen in Paris and so on, and moves them to places in the USA so that the two players can use the entire nation as their chessboard.

Mxyztplk's chess pieces are causing havoc by being placed in the middle of cities and on roads, so Superman proposes that instead of disrupting the country, Mxyztplk should play chess with him in a remote location where they won't disturb anyone. Mxyztplk agrees and returns the chess players to the ground while Superman flies around the world returning the giant chess pieces to their correct locations.

Superman then carves some new chess pieces and sets up a board in the Sahara desert, but he also includes a new chess piece not found in the original game. When Mxyztplk asks Superman what the piece is for, Superman tells him it's for a "surprise move" called the klptzyxm, which Mxyztplk repeats to himself, thus saying his name backward and returning to the sixth dimension.