Adventures of Superman (1952 - 1958)

The 1950s TV incarnation of the Man of Steel was based not on the comics, but a long-running radio show - carrying over the urgent narration ('faster than a speeding bullet', etc) and playing up the newspaper and crime angles rather than science fiction (no Luthor, no kryptonite, no Brainiac).

The opening episode ('Superman on Earth') is a precis of the origin, from Krypton to Kansas to Metropolis, and there's a token 'Runaway Robot' - plus a cinema release pilot featuring midgets from the centre of the Earth (Superman Meets the Mole-Men). Most shows, however, feature Metropolis's hat-wearing, snarling gangster population being persecuted by representatives of the Daily Planet. Indeed, you could easily mistake them for episodes of shows called Lois Lane, Nosy Witch, Clark Kent, Mild-Mannered Reporter or Jimmy Olsen, Bow-Tied Schnook - until the avuncular, good-humoured George Reeves takes off the glasses and gets into a padded leotard to smash through a wall or have bullets bounce off his s-logoed chest.

These black and white episodes are more violent, less comical than later seasons. They zip past faster than the proverbial bullet, have a few demented noir villains and are a lot of fun.
KIM NEWMAN

First Published In: Empire (issue unknown)

Visit Kim's Official Website at www.johnnyalucard.com