Ruby-Spears Superman (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

In 1988, Superman turned fifty and for a guy half a century old, he still looked pretty good. To celebrate the Man of Steel´s fiftieth anniversary, Warner Brothers produced a live-action "Superboy" show as well as an animated series in conjunction with Ruby-Spears Productions. Airing Saturday mornings on CBS, this incarnation of Superman isn´t as well known as others. I´m a huge comic book geek, but I have to admit I had no idea "Superman" even existed. It came two years after "Super Friends" went off the air, but eight years before "Superman: The Animated Series."

"Superman" definitely has a strong pedigree behind it. Ruby-Spears produced other animated series such as "Alvin and the Chipmunks," "Thundarr the Barbarian," "The Centurions," and Plastic Man. Legendary comic book artist Gil Kane was hired to do character designs while veteran comic writer Marv Wolfman was the show runner. In 1986, DC Comics celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with Crisis on Infinite Earths, a mega-event written by Wolfman that rebooted the company´s continuity. Surprisingly, Wolfman wasn´t hired because of his extensive comic book work, but rather because of a Superman parody he wrote for "The Garbage Pail Kids."

One of the biggest reboots DC did was for its most iconic character, Superman. Written and drawn by John Byrne, DC´s The Man of Steel mini-series made several major changes to the Superman mythos. The Big Blue Boy Scout didn´t gain his full powers until he turned eighteen which meant he was never Superboy. Superman was now the sole survivor of Krypton which meant characters like Supergirl, General Zod, and Krypto the Superdog no longer existed. They would eventually return in one form or another. Superman´s archenemy, Lex Luthor, wasn´t immune to the changes either. Previously, he grew up in Smallville and was a staunch ally and friend to Superboy. That is, until he blamed Superboy for a lab accident that caused all his hair to fall out. Post-Crisis, the new Luthor was changed from mad scientist to ruthless businessman. He lorded over Metropolis in his penthouse while keeping Superman at bay due to a ring he always wore made of Kryptonite.

This is the version of Lex Luthor seen here in "Superman." He´s ditched the purple and green leotards from "Super Friends" for a well-tailored three-piece suit. He also has the same fast-talking huckster qualities that Gene Hackman brought to the character in Richard Donner´s "Superman." He's even given a ditzy blond girlfriend named Miss Morgenberry, an obvious nod to Miss Teschmacher.

John Williams´ theme from those films definitely inspired the cartoon´s theme song. The opening credits as well take inspiration from the Donner films as well as the "The Adventures of Superman" starring George Reeves. Supes himself is the classic version we´ve come to know and love with the square jaw and spit curl. As Clark Kent, he plays up the nerdy klutz act as reporter for the Daily Planet along with the bow-tie wearing Jimmy Olsen, gruff editor Perry White ("Great Caesar´s Ghost!") and, of course, Lois Lane. While she still plays the damsel in distress from time to time, Lois is played a lot tougher and sharper than previous versions.

For me, the biggest surprise with "Superman" is the animation quality. Toei Animation (who also did "G.I. Joe" and "Dungeons & Dragons") was one of the studios who worked on the show. The animation is fluid and detailed, a step up from what was seen on "Super Friends" and a lot of other cartoons on at the time. The voice acting may have been fine for the time, but the actors can come off as pretty cheesy. Superman is played by Beau Weaver (who would later voice Mr. Fantastic on the 90´s "Fantastic Four") while Michael Bell (Duke on "G.I. Joe," Plastic Man) provided the vocal talents for Lex Luthor.

This 2-disc set contains all 13 episodes of "Superman." Each episode featured an 18-minute adventure with the Last Son of Krypton followed by a "Superman Family Album" short. These quickie cartoons focused on Kal-El growing up in Smallville from the time Ma & Pa Kent discovered his rocket ship to his debut in Metropolis.