The story of Superman's creation by two young men is well documented, as is the history of the character in comic books and graphic novels over the last seventy years. The character as contained in the static pages of comic books is only part of the story. The Last Son of Krypton has conquered virtually every other media form on the planet as well.
Echoes of the Past
Once again, the Superman radio series from the 1940's cast its shadow over Superman in another media. Bud Collyer, the voice of Superman and Clark Kent in every radio broadcast of the character and in the 1940's animated shorts by Fleischer and Famous Studios once again provided the character's voice in The New Adventures of Superman. The Filmation production ran on CBS for 68 episodes from 1966 to 1970 and was sometimes packaged with The Adventures of Superboy or other DC Comics characters.
Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice
From 1973 to 1986, Superman was on of five core members who anchored the Super Friends series (Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman made up the rest of that core) while dozens of DC heroes came and went from the roster of the Justice League.
Happy Anniversary
In 1988, a single season of Superman was produced by Ruby Spears Productions to coincide with the character's 50th Anniversary. The show included theme music that was a reinvented version of the John Williams theme from the 1978 live action film and an opening sequence that reused the script of the opening of the 1950 television show. Part of each episode was devoted to the "Superman Family Album" which showed Clark Kent in his pre-Superman days in Smallville at the end of each episode.
Full Circle
Following the success of Batman - The Animated Series, Bruce Timm and his creative team launched Superman - The Animated Series in 1996. The animation of the Batman series had been inspired by the Max Fleischer shorts of the 1940's, so it was a journey come full circle when the same inspired style was applied to the Superman character for the show's four year run.
Truth, Justice and the American Way
Following the cancellation of Superman - The Animated Series, Superman returned to animated television in 2001 in a similarly styled Justice League series. The show ran for two years with Superman and six other heroes (Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkgirl and The Martian Manhunter) combining their strength to save the world for two seasons. Justice League Unlimited replaced Justice League and ran for three further seasons, allowing Superman to work with dozens of other DC Comics heroes.
By Invitation Only
The Man of Steel guest starred in episodes of Batman - The Animated Series, Batman Beyond and made several appearances on the animated series, The Batman. He was an important character in the fourth and fifth seasons of the show, as Batman becomes part of the Justice League.
The Thirtieth Century needed a Superman as much as the Twentieth did. In Superman and the Legion of Superheroes, a young Clark Kent is invited to the Thirtieth Century by a group of futuristic teen heroes, known as the Legion of Superheroes. In the second season of the show, Superman and the Legion are joined by an adult clone of Superman from even further in the future.
Direct to DVD
Superman - Doomsday was released in 2007 and featured a retelling of The Death of Superman which was a multi-book crossover that DC Comics published in the 1990's.
Superman also appears in 2008's Justice League: The New Frontier.
Next: Live Action Appearances in the Modern Age
James Richardson - James Richardson is a freelance writer of fiction and non-fiction. He is the resident critic and recap writer of the television show LOST ...
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