Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor

DC has the most iconic superheroes, because nobody has greater symbolic resonance than Superman—not even Batman. Yet, DC’s super-villains are even more iconic than Marvel's. Two people won Oscars for portraying the Joker, Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix. Frankly, it should have been three—Jack Nicholson was robbed. Lex Luthor is up there too. Generally speaking, Gene Hackman was not a science fiction or comic book kind of guy, but all his obits prominently mentioned his portrayal of Luthor. Alas, all good super-villainy must come to an end, apparently even for Luthor. His death appears imminent unless his virtuous nemesis finds a way to save him in Mark Waid’s Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor, illustrated by Bryan Hitch, which is now on-sale.

This Superman story is probably better than the new movie and it is certainly more daring. Yet, it addresses some of the same themes. The bald baddie’s latest mecha-suited afront to decency was really just a ruse. His true purpose was to extort Superman’s assistance in seeking a cure for his terminal condition—naturally the result of his latest round of reckless Kryptonite experiments.

Superman believes if he refuses any request for help, even from pond-scum like Luthor, he will slowly lose Earth’s trust—not immediately, but over time. At this point, only Lois Lane gets that. Regardless, off Superman goes, whisking Luthor to the Fortress of Solitude, Atlantis, Paradise Island, and the Legion of Superheroes in the 31^st Century, in search of a cure for the rare disease eating away at his sworn enemy. Of course, he still suspects this is all just a trap, which it is—but its not Luthor’s.

The Fleischer Superman

He can “leap tall buildings in a single bound,” because the flying business was not yet fully established in the comic books when Fleischer Studios first animated Superman. Some of his greatest enemies are absent for the same reason. However, animation allowed them to depict the Man of Steel battling more powerful foes than the early 1950s TV series could ever hope to realize. Consequently, the Fleischer shorts (Produced by Max and directed by Dave) greatly shaped the development of the Superman franchise in ways that remain evident today. The Fleischer Superman shorts might even be the best Superman films screening this week in theaters when a selection of five shorts starts playing tomorrow at the Museum of the Moving Image and the entire restored Fleischer run screens Sunday at the Culver Theater.

In the Oscar-nominated Superman, we learn Clark Kent grew up in an orphanage rather than with Jonathan and Martha, so what alternate Earth does that make this? Regardless, the eponymously titled film quickly establishes the recurring theme of technology running amuck when a mad scientist tries to extort Metropolis with his electrothansia ray. Of course, Los Lane blunders into his lair first, so Superman must rescue her while saving the city. For the time, this was eye-popping stuff, rendered in exotic color. The art deco design continues to influence the look of the franchise, especially Superman: The Animated Series.

Mad scientists continue to conduct themselves in a dangerous and anti-social manner in The Mechanical Monsters. This time, an evil genius dispatches his platoon of robots on a crime spree throughout Metropolis. By contemporary standards, the 9 to 10 minutes Fleischer shorts tell relatively simple stories, but it is hard to get much more satisfying than watching Superman smash an army of robots.

It is fortunate Superman is “more powerful than a locomotive,” because he must corral a runaway train in Billion Dollar Limited. The train in question is a gold bullion shipment to the U.S. Mint. Although Superman’s adversaries are entirely human, he must perform feats of strength that would not be possible for George Reeves.

The Arctic Giant is an absolute Superman classic. It is also a kaiju movie that predates the original Japanese Godzilla by twelve years. Through negligence and Lois lane’s distraction, a dinosaur frozen in ice thaws out, allowing it to rampage through Metropolis. Frankly, the dino-kaiju is kind of cute, but that is part of the film’s charm, Regardless, even the Salkind films could not have credibly created this kind of spectacle.

DC League of Super-Pets, at Look Cinemas

It might be the “Summer of Superman,” but Krypto has been the biggest winner from the trailer release. If you think he is cute there, check out Krypto All In #1. Every panel fully capitalizes on his adorableness, while still telling a dramatic story. Hopefully, Ryan North and Mike Norton can sustain that high quality. At this point, most viewers probably still know Krypto best from this animated film. He is a bigger Krypto, but he probably had to be, since he is voiced by The Rock in Jared Stern & Sam J. Levine’s DC League of Super-Pets, which has a special family screening this Tuesday at Look Cinemas.

Originally in the comics, Krypto landed on Earth after Superman. In League of Super Pets, he jumped into the escape-craft with Kal-El (in far and away the cutest scene of the film). Of course, they grow up to be Superman and Krypto, inseparable superhero buddies, protecting Metropolis from villains like Lex Luthor. However, Krypto feels like Lois Lane is on the verge of breaking up the band, like an animated Yoko Ono.

Ironically, it is not Luthor who renders Superman and Krypto powerless. It will be his literal guinea pig, Lulu, whom Krypto rescued from Luthor’s lab. However, Lulu did not want to be rescued, because she absorbed Luthor’s villainous persona. Consequently, she works on her evil scheme to refine Orange Kryptonite from the animal shelter, where she is imprisoned with Ace the Boxer, Merton the turtle, PB the potbellied pig, and Chip, the squirrel, who really shouldn’t be in a domestic adoption shelter, but whatever. Together, they all gain superpowers as a result of Lulu’s Kryptonite super-charge.

Krypto got off on the wrong paw with Ace and his pals, because he is not good with other pets. However, they all start to grow on each other. Krypto also promises to hook them up with nice farm homes in Smallville. Unfortunately, Lulu acclimates to super-villainy much quicker than the Super Pets adjust to super-heroism.

League of Super-Pets is undeniably kid-friendly and amusing, but sometimes maybe in ways that are a little too silly for fans of the DC Animated Universe, which this film is not a part of. Arguably, the talking animal business drives the film rather than their roles within the DC Universe. Obviously, Krypto has an honored place in the Universe and Ace is also an established member of the Bat-Family. Chip and Merton have precedent but they are very loosely based on their namesakes, while PB and Lulu are entirely original.

The best moments capture the human-animal bond shared by Superman and Krypto, who are nicely voiced by John Krasinski and The Rock. Conversely, Kevin Hart is a lot as Ace—sometimes too much. Natasha Lyonne and Vanessa Bayer are almost as much as Merton and PB. However, there are some standout guest voices, notably including Keanu Reeves as Batman (that one makes a lot of sense, right?), Alfred Molina as Jor-El, and Keith David as Dog-El, Krypto’s father, whose hologram provides some of the best jokes for hardcore DC fans.

Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League, on HBO

In Batman Ninja, the time-traveling Dark Knight had to channel Toshiro Mifune in a Chanbara adventure. This time, he must find his inner Takeshi Kitano or Ken Takakura. Batman and the extended “Bat family” are back in their proper Bat-time, but history has changed. Japan is now a land of Yakuza clans, much like the planet of Chicago gangsters in Star Trek’s “A Piece of the Action” episode. Unfortunately, the alternate Justice League has also gone full Yakuza in Junpei Mizusaki & Shinji Takagi ‘s animated Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League, which premieres today on HBO or Max, or whatever.

Batman and Robin (his son, Damien) returned to the right world, but Japan no longer exists. Instead, an alternate Japan was created in a sort of liminal zone that only the Bat family (also including the former Robins, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Red Robin) can see, because they traveled through the previous time vortex, or something like that. This Japan is entirely governed by Yakuza, with the Hagane Clan on top, thanks to their super-powered enforcers.

Sarcastically dubbed the “Yakuza League” by Robin, they consist of Bari, Ahsa, Zeshika, and Karaku, the evil Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Superman, as you might surmise from their Katakana-rendered names. However, Daiana Amazone is still good and just, thanks to the power of this Japan’s analog to Paradise Island.

Even allied with Daiana, Batman might look outmatched, considering the League’s powers remain the same. However, he believes he holds certain advantages. For one thing, this League has never fought anyone with remotely equivalent powers, so they aren’t used to slugging it out in a real fight. Batman has also had long-standing contingencies to take down his fellow JLA teammates, “just in case” the need arose. That revelation does not completely shock his son. Not at all, really.

The first act plays out somewhat hectically and rushed, but Mizusaki, Takagi, and screenwriter Kazuki Nakashima really settle down and deliver a darned good Batman story thereafter. Arguably, they show the value of guile and “family,” which turn out to be superior to superior to brute force. For genre fans, there are also a lot of knowingly hip Yakuza details.

Superman’s Good Guy Gang (graphic novel for young readers)

Did Superman immediately display superpowers as a child or did he grow into them? It depends on which Earth, which multiverse, or which narrative continuity you might be reading. DC Comics can be downright Schrodinger-esque. Two contradictory events can be true at the same time. It just depends on where you look. In this graphic novel for young readers, Superman had powers at age eight, but don’t call him Superboy in Rob Justus’s Superman’s Good Guy Gang, which just released.

Superman has all his grown-up powers, but he doesn’t believe it is cool to hang out with six-year-olds like little Lex Luthor. Instead, he forms a “Good Guy Club” with Guy Gardener and Hawkgirl, even though she’s not a guy. In fact, negotiating their name is a highly fraught business. Some also might question Gardener’s “good guy” credibility. However, his atrocious bowl-cut makes more sense at that age.

Regardless, the trio must band together to fight the renegade milk-shake-making robot Luthor innocently created to get Superman’s attention. As it happens, Justus somewhat follows the trend of some of the recent Superman comics, by inviting sympathy for Luthor. Arguably, he might just be the most likable character.

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis

In the recent first issue of DC’s “All In” Aquaman, the Atlantean king is learning how to use his wife Mera’s telekinetic power over water, when they shifted to him after the conclusion of the Absolute Power miniseries. (Long story short, everyone lost their super-powers and then they mostly got them back, but sometimes slightly differently). It is a bit of déjà vu, because he had to learn his original powers from scratch back when he thought he was a mere mortal named Arthur Curry. Aquaman’s origin story had a snappy DC animated treatment in Ethan Spaulding’s Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, which makes fitting viewing today (Curry’s in-world birthday) and this Friday (1/31, Mera’s birthday).

As the film opens, the relatively new Justice League has a lot of fancy infrastructure, but only Cyborg really takes it seriously. Consequently, he answers the call when a US Navy submarine is attacked by mysterious forces. Viewers soon learn it was destroyed as part of Prince Orn’s false flag operations to foment a war between Atlantis and the surface world.

Deep down, Queen Atlanna recognizes the Prince’s ruthless nature, so she designates Curry, her secret half-human love child as her heir. Slightly disappointed, Orm responds by killing her and framing land-dwellers. Of course, Black Manta is the Svengali pulling his strings.

Cyborg will need the full Justice League to deal with this problem. Mera understands Atlantis also needs Curry, so she goes rogue, revealing his birthright. He can breathe underwater and communicate with fish, but learning how to best apply his super-powers will take time he does not have.

Heath Corson’s adapted screenplay roughly follows the 2013 Throne of Atlantis comic arc, but some of the best parts focus on other JLA members. It often seems like Cyborg gets unfairly overlooked by casual superhero fans (as a sometimes member of both JLA and the Teen Titans), but he has a new licensed flavored coffee that sounds delicious. Cyborg also gets some of the best scenes in Throne of Atlantis, wherein he considers the effects of his constant robotic upgrades on his underlying humanity, nicely expressed by Shemar Moore.

In addition, there is a cool subplot following the burgeoning romance between Clark Kent and Diana Prince (a.k.a. Wonder Woman). Yes, they were an item for a while in some of the comic storylines, because fans demanded it and it made logical sense. After all, Wonder Woman might be the only love interest who can withstand the force of Superman’s passion, so to speak. Obviously, the film does not go there, but its depiction of their courtship is quite appealing. Both super-characters are well-served by the winning voice-over work of Jerry O’Connell and Rosario Dawson.

Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam

Shazam and Captain Marvel are weirdly like Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. People often casually refer to the latter by their creator’s names. Technically, Shazam was the name of the wizard who conferred the powers of Captain Marvel on young Billy Batson. That is the DC Captain Marvel, who is not to be confused with Marvel Comics’ Carol Danvers Captain Marvel. Frankly, for a lot of fans, the real Marvel Captain Marvel was the legendary Mar-Vell, known on Earth as Walter Lawson, whom Marvel killed off in 1982. Confused? Then you can watch the better animated version of the DC Captain Marvel’s origin story, in Joaquim Dos Santos’s Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, in honor of Billy Batson’s in-world birthday (12/23).

Clark Kent is trying to do good with his pen for change, by interviewing a scrappy young orphan named Billy Batson, who lives by his wits on the streets of Metropolis. However, the evil Black Adam crashes their breakfast, hoping to kill Batson, “The Chosen One,” before the wizard Shazam powers him up. That would be the same Black Adam the Rock tried to portray as a conflicted anti-hero in the live-action movie. However, Arnold Vosloo (of The Mummy franchise) gives a definitive Black Adam voice-over performance that is unambiguously sinister.

Fortunately, Shazam whisks Batson to his secret chamber outside of time and space, where he bestows the powers of Captain Marvel on the confused teen. By invoking the Wizard’s name, “Shazam,” he transforms into a full-grown superhero, with powers much like those of Superman. Inconveniently, one of Superman’s few weaknesses is a vulnerability to magic, which is the source of Black Adam’s power. Fortunately, Captain Marvel is only one Shazam away from joining the fray.

Indeed, all three caped super-characters get nearly equal time slugging in out in this awkwardly titled installment of DC Showcase. It delivers a bounty of aerial fighting action in a mere twenty-five minutes, which still makes it one of the longest short films in the under-appreciated series.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, on Max

As a teen comics reader, my loyalties were with Marvel, perhaps because I identified with the real-world challenges characters like Peter Parker faced (in addition to saving the world several times over). As an adult reconnecting with comics as reviewer of graphic novels, I am more drawn to DC, perhaps because I appreciate the truly iconic resonance of characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. I do not want to be Superman’s best friend, but I value his history standing for “truth, justice, and the American way”—and yes, it really annoys me that they changed his motto.

Of course, there is no character more iconic than Superman—and actor Christopher Reeve did the almost impossible, by further enhancing his mythic status. Nobody casts a greater shadow over his on-screen successors than Reeve does for subsequent Superman thesps. That made his tragic accident and campaign for greater paralysis treatments even more poignant. Ian Bonhote & Peter Ettedgui chronicle Reeve’s life and work, but they give special attention to his dramatic third act in Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, which premieres this coming Saturday on Max.

There is just no getting around the fact this will be a sad film. However, there are also positives to take from it, if viewers care to look for them. The film starts with audio recordings of Reeve looking back on the day of his accident, which are truly haunting to hear. It becomes clear Reeve nearly died. His mother wanted to pull the plug, but his late wife Dana Reeve encouraged him to keep living.

Then Bonhote and Ettedgui flashback to Reeve’s early career, which practically started with the original 1978 Superman. Casting the title Super-role was more difficult than the search for Scarlett O’Hara, so the producers decided to pick an unknown. In retrospect, that was a brilliant strategy. Nobody since has looked more like the comic book Superman than Reeve (although Superman & Lois’s Tyler Hoechlin is the most respectable second place we’ve yet seen).

Most of the discussion of Reeve’s career focuses on the Superman films, which makes sense. After all, it was co-produced by DC Entertainment and those are the films he will be most remembered for. However, it glosses over Somewhere in Time, which was not a hit at the time, but might be even more beloved today by a certain subset of viewers. It is also worth noting he appeared in the truly excellent Remains of the Day, which could have won best picture if had been released in a different year than Schindler’s List. Plus, Reeve performed one of the earliest same-sex kisses in Death Trap, which more importantly, happened to be a ripping good thriller.

Regardless, Bonhote and Ettedgui thoroughly cover the ups and downs of Reeve’s life post-paralysis, as well as his wife’s ultimately fatal cancer diagnosis less than a year after his death—but they handle the resulting family pain and anguish with great sensitivity. In fact, all three of Reeve’s adult children serve as the film’s primary voices. (It is worth noting his youngest son Will bears such a striking resemblance to his father, if he ever showed up at an event wearing a Superman costume, fans might lose their minds.)

JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, Coming Soon to Tubi

Val Armorr was the original “Karate Kid,” predating the 1984 movie by almost twenty years, from the 31^st Century. The member of the futuristic Legion of Superheroes was never a marque DC character. Presumably, that is why they never litigated the title (for which they were thanked in the credits). Unfortunately, Armorr makes a real dog’s breakfast of things in the future, causing trouble for the Justice League in the past at the outset of Giancarlo Volpe’s JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, another animated DC film coming to Tubi this Saturday.

In the present, for now, the Justice League foils an attempt by the Legion of Doom to counter-intuitively build up the polar ice cap, to profit from the resulting environmental disruption. Unfortunately, Lex Luthor is buried within the ice, where he remains lost until the 31^st Century.

In the future, Karate Kid and Dawnstar, a more responsible prospective member of the Legion of Superheroes gawk at his display in the superhero museum. Unable to control his rash impulses, Armorr accidentally releases Luthor from the ice. The dangers compound when the mastermind steals a cosmic hourglass bound to the mysterious Time Trapper.

Using the Time Trapper’s powers, Luthor first returns to the present, with Karate Kid and Dawnstar secretly following him. He then sends Bizarro, Solomon Grundy, Cheetah, and Toy Master back to the past, so they can send Kal-El back into space. The Flash, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman manage to follow them—but maybe Aquaman isn’t perfectly suited for the Kansas terrain.

Unlike the R-rated Justice League Dark, Trapped in Time tries to deliberately evoke the tone of the 1970’s Justice League/Super Friends Saturday morning cartoons. However, screenwriter Michael Ryan offers some clever time travel twists. In fact, it is much smarter in the way it handles potential time paradoxes than the 2001 Justice League series.

Superman & Lois: A Regular Guy

In small towns like Smallville, everybody knows everyone else’s business. Maybe they are not the best places for someone with a secret identity to live. Yet, Clark Kent (a.k.a. Superman) has always felt safe there. However, he has had a lot of trouble keeping the cat at least halfway still in the bag at the start of “A Regular Guy,” the latest episode of Superman & Lois, which premieres tonight on CW.

Pretty much everyone in Smallville saw Doomsday dump Superman’s temporarily dead body on the town’s Main Street. Quite a few people also saw Lois and his sons react with the pain and grief of family members. Nevertheless, those glasses sure keep people off the scent.

For a good part of the episode, Kent goes on a geeky wimp tour, trying to make himself look anything but super in front of the most suspicious neighbors. Of course, past super sightings of his sons further complicate his efforts. Things reach a turning point, when the Kents realize Lex Luthor is trying to stir the pot.

This season of Superman & Lois takes the iconic DC character and gives him the vintage Marvel treatment. It is all about Superman’s family relationships and his efforts to find the right superhero life-work balance—after coming back to life. Ultimately, the Kents decide what to do as a family, hashing it out over the kitchen table. Honestly, these kind of scenes are why it is the best family drama currently running on TV or streaming.

“A Regular Guy” is also a great showcase for Tyler Hoechlin, who was largely sidelined during the earlier “death of Superman” episodes (because he was dead). Without question, he is the best Superman since Christopher Reeve as well as those who came before 1978.

Superman & Lois: A Perfectly Good Wedding

Since "The American Way” is now off the table, if there is one thing Superman still represents, it would be hope. There is a lot of hope in this episode, including a wedding—maybe. The thing is nothing has gone to plan in Smallville lately. Yet, things are looking up at the start of “A Perfectly Good Wedding,” this week’s episode of Superman & Lois, which premieres tonight on CW.

As viewers know from the final minutes of “Always My Hero,” the Kents have some very good news in store for them. Wisely, director Gregory Smith and writers Greg Kitson & Max Kronick eschew dialogue for the happy celebration that opens this week’s installment. However, they are keenly aware they are not yet out of the woods. In fact, Luthor still has the upper hand, unless Lane convinces his longtime accomplice Gretchen Kelly to flip on her boss.

While they bide their time, Lane volunteers to host her colleague Chrissy Beppo’s wedding to the reformed Kyle Cushing, believing it is time Smallville had something to celebrate. That does not mean the Kent household is drama free. In fact, for the time being, only Jonathan, the newest “Super” Kent, will be super-hero-ing, and only sparingly so, like a Metropolis mall fire—that predictably turns into something more.

Considering the heavy emotional toll of the first three episodes of the season, “A Perfectly Good Wedding” offers viewers a chance to catch their breath and regroup, while still advancing the storyline. That said, the first five minutes might choke-up die-hard fans.

Superman ’78: The Metal Curtain

In 1978, Superman still proudly proclaimed himself a defender of “truth, justice, and the American way.” Naturally, the Soviet Union would not be too thrilled about that. Finally, they have an evil plan to defeat the Man of Steel and expand the oppressive Iron Curtain in Robert Venditi’s six-issue bind-up of Superman ’78: The Metal Curtain, illustrated by Gavin Guidry, which is now on-sale.

Obviously, Christopher Reeve is everyone’s favorite Superman, especially based on the reception for the recent Super/Man documentary. That is why Venditi’s Superman limited series set in the continuity of the Ilya & Alexander Salkind-produced Reeve films is such a cool idea. In fact, it is a blast of nostalgic pleasure to see Reeve’s Superman saving the world, even in comic form.

Cleverly, Venditi expands the Salkindverse to include other DC characters, like Brainiac (unseen, but referred to), who trapped the Kryptonian city of Kandor (along with Superman’s parents) in a  bell-jar. Fortunately, Superman rescued them in a previous adventure, but he has not yet figured out how to restore them. However, he can still take Lois Lane to the Fortress of Solitude, to meet the parents—and yes, his dad looks like Brando.

Unfortunately, Superman must leave in a hurry, as he often does, because he hears an SOS from an American military pilot under attack from a Kryptonite-powered mecha-suit. In the Salkindverse, longstanding DC super-villain Metallo is now the Soviets’ latest and most powerful super-weapon. Of course, the socialist system persistently lagged behind the innovations of the capitalistic West, so they stole the tech from Lex Luthor, which rather pushes his nose out of joint.

By far, the best part of Metal Curtain is the flamboyantly roguish Gene Hackman-looking Lex Luthor. He might have his flaws, but at least he is a capitalist rather than a Communist. So, maybe Luthor is not completely evil, unlike Communist propaganda, which has unhinged Melallo, a.k.a. Captain Nikolaev. Naturally, to maximize the propaganda value, his masters want the world to witness his victory over Superman.

Superman & Lois, Season Four, on CW

This will be the final season of CW’s last DC superhero series currently on its schedule, but they are going out with a bang. The first three episodes of season four adapt the most famous Superman comic book story arc of all time. Saying what it is outright would violate embargoes. However, any serious fan knew the prospect of battling Doomsday during season three’s cliffhanger ending boded ominously. Dark days are ahead, but the Kent family must band together in the first three episodes of Superman & Lois’s fourth and final season, which premieres tomorrow on the CW (moved up from its previously announced date).

Thanks to a suit and some training from the DOD, Jordan Kent is Superboy, but he remains the same dumb kid. His brother Jon continues to be the more mature one (comparatively speaking). The Kent family needs his stabilizing influence when Lex Luthor declares war on them. Beyond the obvious supervillain reasons, he created Doomsday to take on Superman, to get to Lois Lane, Luthor’s real nemesis. The disgraced mogul still blames the former Daily Planet reporter for his incarceration and his estrangement from his daughter Elizabeth.

Luthor is not too happy with Lois’s father, General Sam Lane, either. In addition to serving as Superman’s handler, he also helped secure protective relocation for Luxor’s daughter. Striking while the iron is hot, Luthor has his thugs kidnap the General. Although the Kents remain in crisis mode, Superboy can focus his super-hearing on finding his grandfather’s location.

At least it gives him something structured to do. When Superboy flies off on his own initiative in the following episode, “A World Without,” it leads to trouble. Frankly, they already have plenty of that. In addition to the embargoed stuff, Smallville Mayor (and Clark Kent’s old sweetheart) Lana Lang Cushing undercovers evidence of Luthorcorp’s plans to buy up considerable parts of the town, presumably for nefarious purposes.

Things look pretty bad in the next episode, “Always My Hero,” so the DOD must call in reinforcements. There is no Justice League in this world (and not much time left to create it), but there are John Henry Irons, a.k.a. Steel (Shaquille O’Neal played a very different version of him in a movie best forgotten) and his daughter (no longer his niece) Nathalie, a.k.a. Starlight, who happens to be Gen. Lane’s granddaughter, in a weird multiversal kind of way. They will see their share of action in an episode rife with tragedy, but driven by hope.

Indeed, these three episodes show why Superman & Lois is better suited to take on this storyline than the live action films. Despite the spandex and superpowers, this show always put family drama front and center. It is about the Kents rather than cosmic spectacle. (That said, the big extended super-slugfest is rendered surprisingly well.) Despite some changes to fit the show’s pre-existing mythology, it really gets to the essence of the classic storyline.

It is also just as much about Smallville as was Smallville. Indeed, Emmanuelle Chriqui supplies some of the most memorable quiet moments as Mayor Cushing, who comes to support her friends, the Kents. However, Michael Kudlitz is definitely the star of these three episodes, as Luthor, who is undeniably on the march. He certainly has the swagger and the snarl for the super-villain.

Dylan Walsh also delivers some standout scenes as Gen. Lane. While his character is imperfectly human (as we see during flashbacks), he is a refreshingly sympathetic military figure. Indeed, the way the series developed his relationships with the Ironses, nicely played by Wole Parks and Taylor Buck, has been quite an intriguing wrinkle. Parks and Buck also deserve credit for rehabilitating the Steel character after the Shaq debacle.

Superman and the Mole Men/The Unknown People

It was the very first full-length [just barely] Superman theatrical film and it also served as a back-door pilot for The Adventures of Superman TV series. Obviously, there was sufficient interest to proceed. Eventually, Lee “Roll ‘Em” Sholem’s Superman and the Mole Men was edited into the only 2-part episodes of The Adventures of Superman, retitled “Superman and the Unknown People.” In its two formats, it paved the way for the classic Christopher Reeve movies and the popular TV shows, like the recently premiered Superman & Lois. Fans can go back where it all started when the “Unknown People” episodes (which omit mention of the “Mole Men”) air on Heroes & Icons this Sunday morning (whereas this review is based on the Mole Men cut).

It is right there at the beginning and it sounds so refreshing: “truth, justice, and the American way.” From there, we pick-up with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, on assignment in the sticks, to do a piece on the deepest oil well every drilled. However, they awkwardly learn it has been shut down as soon as they arrive. Lane just wants to complain back at the hotel, but Kent suspects there is a bigger story to sleuth out. Honestly, he displays much sharper reporter’s instincts throughout Mole Men.

Kent soon wins over a source, who tells him the well started pumping up glowing phosphorescent material the company fears might be radioactive. That is not all that came up. A pair of slightly shorter-than-average men with big foreheads follow the long narrow shaft that came boring into their subterranean world up to the surface, where they find a rude reception. That’s right, Superman is all in for the hollow Earth theory.

The Mole Men mean no harm, but the townspeople of Silsby freak out anyway, leaving them receptive to the lynch mob demagoguery of thuggish Luke Benson. You would think they would listen to someone invulnerable to bullets, but no, they are too caught up in the group frenzy.

Frankly, Mole Men is surprisingly moody for a 1950s Superman story. Thematically, it is somewhat like the “Monsters are Due on Main Street” episode of the Twilight Zone. However, there is nothing revisionist about George Reeves’ Superman. Weirdly, the old eye glasses disguise works better for him than any of his successors, maybe because his Kent also wears a hat. Weirdly, he also looks more dashing as Kent than he does in the Super jammies, maybe because of shoulder pads.

Superman & Lois (Pilot), on the CW

After years of being super, in just about every way, the DC stalwart is suddenly getting the classic Marvel treatment. In addition to saving the world, Superman (and/or Clark Kent) now must contend with family issues as well as trouble in the office and on the Kent family farm. It might be reassuring to some that not even Superman has super parenting-powers in the special extended pilot of co-creators Greg Berlanti & Todd Helbing’s Superman & Lois, which premieres tomorrow on the CW.

Evidently, the pilot takes place after the big crossover event on CW’s other DC shows, but you can walk into S&L without watching any prior episodes. You know the basics—Superman’s escape capsule landed in Smallville, where he was adopted by the Kents. Eventually, he moved to Metropolis to work for the Daily Planet, where he met and fell in love with Lois Lane.

Unlike the Christopher Reeve movies and George Reeves TV series casual fans might be more familiar with, in this DC universe, Kent revealed his powers and true identity to Lane, who subsequently married him. However, they have kept the Superman business secret from their teenage sons, Jonathan, who happens to be a suspiciously talented athlete and his younger brother Jordan, who has always been a little “troubled.” Lane still has mixed feelings about this decision, but Kent believes it is the best way to protect them.

Lately, he has had a right to feel uneasy. An armored supervillain known only as “The Stranger” has been targeting nuclear reactors, leaving behind messages in the Kryptonite language. Superman has only narrowly avoided disasters several times already. Naturally, The Stranger will strike again right when the Kent family is in crisis.

It is surprisingly compelling to see Clark Kent finally have to live like Peter Parker. We can sympathize we him a lot, as he tries to relate to his two polar-opposite sons. Obviously, Lane does her best to cover, but he is constantly pulled in multiple directions simultaneously. His father-in-law, Gen. Sam Lane does a lot of the pulling, serving as a sort of Commissioner Gordon figure, who often summons Superman whenever national emergencies arise.

Still, there is one thing missing for old school fans. It is probably too much to ask for when there are Chinese rights sales to be made, but wouldn’t you love to hear “truth, justice, and the American way” again?

Superman: Red Son

Lord Acton’s famous dictum has been confirmed over and over throughout history: “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Yet, it has never been applied to Superman—until now. Fortunately, the baby Kal-El landed in Middle America, a devout land governed by Constitutional principles. Suppose he landed in Soviet Russia instead. That is the what-if alternate timeline scenario explored in Sam Liu’s animated feature Superman: Red Son, which releases today on DVD/BluRay.

Svetlana is amazed by young Mishka’s powers, so she convinces the naïve boy to put himself at the service of the Soviet state. Alas, no good deed goes unpunished in Stalin’s regime, because the innocent woman will be condemned to a gulag for knowing Superman before he was a symbol of Communist power. Initially, the costumed hero follows Stalin loyally, but a challenging interview with tough-talking American journalist Lois Lane prompts him to discover the truth—including poor emaciated Svetlana’s fate.

Unfortunately, Superman is not ready to embrace freedom. Instead, he stages a coup d’état, replacing Stalin as General Secretary. With Superman literally leading the Red Army, America is suddenly at a distinct disadvantage in the (not-so) Cold War. However, Eisenhower has a key ally: Lane’s husband, the genius inventor and industrialist Alexander “Lex” Luthor.

There is a lot in J.M. DeMatteis’s adaptation of the Red Son graphic novel that is smart and insightful. Stalin is definitely depicted as the monster that he was, but Superman’s supposedly benign dictatorship is not much different. Lord Acton’s warning regarding absolute power is absolutely spot-on here. The roles played by Brainiac and Wonder Woman are also quite clever, with the former becoming the allegedly perfect Socialist administrator and the former representing the Amazons, who like the so-called “Non-Aligned” nations of the Cold War era, protest their neutrality while favoring Superman’s USSR, until they can no longer ignore the truth of the despotic regime.