Entertainment :: Television
Ruby Spears "Superman" by Blake Matthews
EDGE ContributorSaturday Nov 7, 2009 In 1988 Superman turned 50, to celebrate that Ruby-Spears produced a 13 episode animated series that ran on CBS from September to December 1988. Each episode in the series had an 18-minute story for a Superman adventure; and they also had a four minute episode about young Clark Kent from his adoption by the Kents culminating in his debut as Superman called The Superman Family Album.
The series look was designed by legendary DC artist Gil Kane, and Marv Wolfman was the series’ head story editor which meant he could keep the show faithful to the new changes. The show also pays homage to its roots by using the John Williams theme to Superman with a slight twist as well as having the opening narration the same as The Adventures of Superman from the 1950’s.
The series had Lex Luthor as a reoccurring villain equipped with a kryptonite ring to weaken Superman, he had an assistant named Jessica Morganberry who is a version of Miss Tessmacher from the films. Superman fights Luthor, goes into the Phantom Zone and takes on Zod, and becomes a international diplomat trying to keep peace between two races, all while trying to balance a life as Clark Kent and Superman while working with Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. In the episode Superman and Wonder Woman vs. The Sorceress of Time, Wonder Woman enlists Superman’s help when a sorceress named Syrene escapes from her state of suspended animation on Paradise Island. The episode has BJ Ward reprising her role as Wonder Woman from the final two seasons of Super Friends and is the only team-up in the series, it would have been great to see a World’s Finest team-up with Batman and Superman but this was a fun episode to watch.
The Superman Family Album segments start by spotlighting an infant Clark who can fly and get into mischief, Clark uses his X-Ray vision to peek at his presents at a birthday party and with the last album covering his heroic debut, it feels like the series had run its course. It would have been nice to have more than one season, but at least there is a season to watch.
The sole extra is Corruption of the Corrupt: The Rise of Lexcorp which talks about greed in the 1980’s, with American become more and more distrustful of corporations, how Wall Street can be seen as an influence on Lex Luthor and LexCorp.
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