Superman - the serial

[Zone Fighter]

Superman (1948)

Kirk Alyn as Clark Kent/Superman
Noel Neill as Lois Lane
Tommy Bond as Jimmy Olsen
Pierre Watkin as Perry White
Carol Forman as Spider Lady

This 15 episode serial combines live action and animation (flying scenes).

After the introduction of Superman and friends in the first two episodes the main story begins with episode 3, as Superman finds himself fighting the mysterious "Spider Lady". Of course this serial is b/w but based on the light shading of her hair I'd guess that the Spider Lady is a blonde.

I like Kirk Alyn as Clark Kent/Superman and glad to learn from Internet Movie database that he lived a reasonably long life, dying of natural causes at 89 in 1999, instead of commiting suicide at 45 as George Reeves did.

Kirk Alyn would play Superman again in the serial "Atom-Man vs Superman" (which I have on DVD also).

Noel Neill would go on to play Lois Lane in the 1952-1957 tv series "The Adventures of Superman", with George Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman.

Super: The Movie (1978) featured (uncredted) Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill as the parents of Lois Lane.

The episodes:
Chapter 1, "SUPERMAN COMES TO EARTH", covers Superman's origins, from the destruction of Krypton to his growing up on the Kent farm. It ends with a train (carrying Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen) heading for a broken track. Can Superman fix the track in time?

Chapter 2 , "DEPTHS OF THE EARTH", has Superman save the train then follows Clark Kent to Metropolis. Superman saves a woman from a burning building. Clark Kent asks Perry White for a job. Perry sends him to cover a mine disaster, as test. Lois and Jimmy are already at the mine. Lois finds away into the mine but is traped when it colapses.

Chapter 3, "THE REDUCER RAY" introduces the Spider Lady. Superman rescues Lois Lane and the miners. Clark Kent beats Lois and Jimmy back to Metropolis to give Perry White the story which gets him the job on the Daily Planet. After rescuing 70 men from a plant explosion, delivering a badly needed serum, foiling a bankrobbery (bullets bounce off his chest), breaking up a smuggling ring and stoping a prison break (most of this is done off camera) Superman is summoned to Washington. The government asks his help in guarding a new weapon. A weapon the "Spider Lady" intends to steal, even with Superman protecting it. Superman tells the "Secretary of Security" that he can fly 2000 miles in about 30 seconds and promptly flies out the window, to the secret location of the Reducer Ray test. The Spider Lady does not want the test to gothrough until she can get a scientist on site so she has her men set up a "negative ray" gun to block the test. The men try it out on a train causing it to stop dead. Superman arrives at the test site and using his x-ray vision (seems to have to be used at least once in every episode) detects the presence of the men, in a shack and uses his own body to relect the negative rays back, shorting out the bad guy's ray gun. Superman flies to the cabin to smash the ray gun then returns to Washington. Meanwhile at Metropolis a phone call informs Perry White that meteor is heading to Earth and may land near Metropolis. AFTER this scene we see two astronomers discussing the "asteroid" and one telling the other to alert the media. Scenes out of sequence? Anyhow, Clark Kent has returned to Metropolis. He and Lois Lane are assigned to investigate the meteorite after it has landed on a nearby farm. Lois, still angry at Clark for stealing her mine story, tricks Clark into getting out the car to check a flat, then she drives off without him. The joke's on her however. As Clark meets the scientist who's assistant has already picked up the meteorite, and offers Clark a ride to the lab to see it. At the lab the scientist tells Clark he belives the meteorite is a fragment of the planet Krypton. Although the Kryptonite is in a lead box Clark begins to be nervous. When the scientist opens the box Clark sinks to the floor. After examing Clark the scientist phones the cornor to report that Clark Kent has "just died in my office".

[Zone Fighter]

Chapter 4, "MAN OF STEEL", after the professor closes the lid on the Kryptonite he's astonished to see Clark Kent revive. Kent asks the professor to remove the lid, then when he starts to swoon to close it. Clark as the professor to destroy the Kryptonte. When he refuses Clark reveals to him that he is Superman and to prove it tries his x-ray vision on a closet. He can't see into it! The profofessr explains that it is lead lined and suggests the save as it's "only steel". Superman describes the contents of the safe then easly lifts it. Satisifed that Clark Kent is Superman the professor agrees to study the Kryptonite for two days then drop it into the sea. Superman flies out the window at for the first time utters those famous words, "Up, Up and Away". Unfortunantly for Superman, the professor's underpaid assistant, Morgan, was listening outside the door. Clark returns to the Daily Planet and reports that the meteorite was nothing important. As Lois and Jimmy go to meet a tipster Clark is assisgned to help write the advice to the love lorn column. Lois and Jimmy see Morgan, who placed a newspaper add offering to sell the secret to defeating "his or her enemy", grabed by two goons. Jimmy is knocked out, Lois is abducted. Blindfolded, Lois and Morgan are taken to the secret lair of the Spider Lady. After Morgan tells the how Kryptonite drains Superman of his powers (but not that Clark Kent is Superman, he missed that part) the Spider Lady put him in her electrofied spiderweb, killing him. Then she puts Lois in the deadly web.

Chapter 5, "A JOB FOR SUPERMAN!", the Spider Lady decides not to finish off Lois in her lair and turns of the power before Lois gets a fatal jult. As the unconscious Lois Lane is carried into a car to be driven to "the warehouse", Jimmy Olsen phones Perry White. Clark Kent heads out to meet Jimmy. In Jimmy's car the pair head down the road the tipster said he saw the adbuctors go. The car carrying Lois passes Jimmy's car. Clark using his x-ray vission sees Lois in the car and tells Jimmy to turn around after it. He has Jimmy drop him at the nearest farm house so he can "phone the police". Of course, he really changes into the Superman costume. Superman rescues Lois. Back in Perry White's office, Perry, Lois, Clark and Jimmy hear a radiobroadcast from the Spider Lady taunting Superman with the claim that she will steal "something important" to him from the musuem (the Kryptonite) and that there is nothing he can do about it. The chief of police puts two men on guard at the museum. Lois shows her press card and is allowed in. A car crashes into a street lamp. The police guards leave their post in response to the crash and the screams of a woman. The car bursts into flames. Superman arrives, puts ot the fire and discovers a record player is the source of the screams. The Spider Lady's men make off with the Kryptonite, leaving an unconsonscious Lois Lane in danger of being electrocuted by their safe breaking equipment. Superman goes after the thieves car.

Chapter 6, "SUPERMAN IN DANGER!", Lois Lane wakes up and screams. Superman hearing her scream flies through the window to her rescue. And flies out again, "Up, Up and Away!" after the Kryptonite theives. He stops their car but they use the Kryptonite to knock him out and escape. The Spider Lady decides she needs a scientist and show arranges for a Dr. Hacket to escape from prison. Clark tries to get information about the escapoe from Lois's tipster but he claims to know nothing. When Clark mentions a large reward he startts to speak but clams up when he spots the Spider Lady's goons in a black car (what else). Clark follows the car. Lois shows up at the tipster's. With the goons gone, he's now willing to talk, over lunch, paid for by Lois of course. He tells Lois about a "sick" man being kept in a cabin. Clark has followed the black car to the cabin. Standing outside he uses his superhearing to over hear the plot to wrap the doctor in bandages then sneak him through town in a fake ambulance. After the two henchmen have left, Clark enters the cabin to tie up, gag and lock the doctor in a closet. He phones Perry White to reporte the capture of the fugitive. Then he takes the doctor's place as the bandaged man. After the ambulance drives off, Lois Lane arrives at the cabin and foolishly unties Dr. Hacket who of course pulls a gun on her. In the ambulance the Spider Lady's henchman realise their bandaged man is wearing different clothes and start beating the imposter. Clark takes the blows and lets them drop him down a ravine. Los and Dr. Hacket, in Lois car, pass the ambulance. The men in the ambulance recognise Lois and turn around to go after her. Dr. Hacket recognised the hetchmen and orders Lois to stop. She refuses, claiming he don't dare to shoot her because of what would happen to him if they crashed. So, he just knocks her out and jumps out of the moving car, which of course heads straight for a cliff. The first literal "cliff hanger" of this serial.

Chapter 7, '"INTO THE ELECTRIC FURNACE!", after checking the cabin and finding it empty, Superman rescues Lois Lane. The Spider Lady's men pick the doctor. Perry White chews out Clark, Lois and Jimmy for allowing Dr. Hacket to help the Spider Lady to menace society. At the Spider Lady's hideout Dr. Hacket agrees to study Kryptonite in work out how to more effectively use it against Superman, but he needs to see it work on Superman. So the Spider Lady plans to capture Clark Kent so Superman will come to his rescue. Once again, Lois Lane messes everything up. One of the Spider Lady's henchmen gets the tipster to phone Clark at the Daily Planet, but he's out, Lois takes the call then instead of giving the message to Clark she goes to the meeting in the park. Jimmy goes with her. At the park, Jimmy and Lois split up. Two goons grab Jimmy and drive off with him. Lois follows but loses them when she gets a flat tire. The goons take Jimmy to a warehouse (probably they tried to take Lois too earlier) where two others are waiting. Only now do the men realise they got the wrong guy, but they decided that it doesn't matter, since Olsen is still a friend of Superman's. While three goons tie up Jimmy the fourth phones the Daily Planet. This time Clark Kent answers the phone. He agrees to meet the gangster for proof that they have Jimmy. Clark heads off alone but of course Lois Lane follows. Clark meets a man, and convinces him thatif he sees the gang release Jimmy than and only than Superman will appear. Clark is taken to the warehouse, but the head henchman said he didn't agrree to the deal and refuses to release Jimmy. He doesn't believe that Superman won't come. He shows Clark the Kryptonite (smaller box so it must have been cut into pieces) but fortunantly for clark he closes the lead box right away. Ten minutes later Superman has not appeared. Clark claims its because they did not free Jimmy as agreed. When Clark makes a grab fro the box of Kryptonite the goons attack him. Clark seems to be knocked out. Jimmy unties himself but the goons grab him before he can get away and toss him unto a conveerbelt leading to a blastfurnace.

End of disc 1. I'm going to stop there, get something to eat, then watch something else for awhile.

<TO BE CONTINUED>

[Xenorama ™]

i remember watching these, but not too much about them. i liked them OK, i think, but i'd like to watch them again, now that i am more into the serials as a whole.

there is a bit of controversy about whether or not George Reeve killed himself. it's sad either way, that's all i know.

[Preston]

I don't know which of the Superman serials it was, but in one of them, there is a preposterous and even dimwitted discrepancy. I'm referring the one where Superman uses his X-ray vision while looking at a Photograph of a masked man. Mind you, his X-ray vision is NOT looking at the villain IN-PERSON but instead just a Photograph of him. Yet the X-ray vision penetrates through the mask to reveal the face beneath! Because it's just a photograph, there obviously would be NO face underneath the mask!

On the other hand, that idea would have been plausible and clever if it was done by DOCTOR STRANGE. Stephen Strange would have used the All-Seeing Eye of Agamotto, that is, his Amulet, to reveal the face in the Photograph. That Amulet is magical, so in that case, it would have been plausible.

[Zone Fighter]

That would be chapter 9 of this serial. Its not a mask though, supposed to be makeup and a wig. Of course its really two different actors.

Chapter 8, SUPERMAN TO THE RESCUE!, Jimmy Olsen is on his way to being fried, but Superman appears, knocks two of the goons heads together (his favorite move) then knocks the other two goons down as well, before turning of the conveeyer belt. One of the goons recovers and throws a piece of Kryptonite at Superman, but Superman ducks and the Kryptonite lands in the fire. For a moment it looks as if Superman has saved himself, but then the melting Kryptonite turns into a gass which knocks him down. The sound of a police whistle scares the goons away. Jimmy closes to door to the fire, cutting off the gas. Superman crawls away. Lois Lane arrives, police whistle in hand. Lois and Jimmy find Clark just coming to in the other room.

Meanwhile back at the Spider Lady's hidehout: the scientist plots with the Spider Lady's right-hand man, to take control of her gang, but as soon the doctor is out of earshot the henchman rats him out to the Spider Lady. She intends to get rid of the doctor once he's perfect a weapon to use against Superman.

The government asks Superman to take the Reducer Ray to the Metropolis University, in secret. Superman agress to do it, but not in secret. Instead the news of Reducer Ray being carried in a special truck is published, in order to trap the Spider Lady.

The Spider Lady receives word from one of her spies that the truck is a trap, the Reducer Ray is really on a train. She tries to radio "Car 4", but the occupents of Car 4 have switched the radio to music and do not get the word that the truck is a trap. Car 4 stops the truck and Clark Kent is knocked down into another revine. When Superman appears two other goons fire a morter containing Kryptonite at Superman, but he catches it, so it doesn't explode, and hurls it back at them.

Back at the truck, the driver pretends he can't find the keys to back. Superman appears and the goons from Car 4 waste their bullets. While Superman holds the goons, the driver of the truck gets a rope.

The Spider Lady is still trying to reach Car 4. Superman hears her message about an attack on the train and huries to the rescue. Two more of the Spider Lady's men have set up an explosive charge on the track. They set off the charge. Surprise, there was no use of X-ray vision in this episode.

Chapter 9, "IRRESISTABLE FORCE!", Superman stops the train just before the bomb goes off. Back at the trunk two more bad guys show up and are about the recusue their comrades when a police siren scares them off. Clark Kent arrives, asking what happened.

Back at the Daily Planet, Lois Lane is suspicious of Clark's ability to write a story about Superman saving the train. Perry White assigns Lois to interview the inventor of the Reducer Ray.

The Spider Lady removes a blonde wing, revealing dark hair. She plans to impersonate Lois Lane in order to worm the secret of the Reducer Ray from its inventor, while the real Lois Lane interviews an imposter. A car carrying to of the Spider Lady's men rearends Lois Lane's car. No real damage is caused but the "accident" allows the Spider Lady to beat Lois the airport where the Spider Lady meats the doctor, as Lois Lane. She takes the doctor to her hideout.

Lois finally arrives at the airport, where the imposter meets her. Before they leave for the university, Jimmy secretly takes a picture of the eminent scientist. At the university Lois begins to become suspcious of the doctor.

At the Daily Planet, Clark Kent uses his x-ray vision on the photo of Doctor Graham, and discovers that its really a photo of Dr. Hacket.

When Lois tries to use a phone, just outside the lab, to call the police she is caught. After photographing the Reducer Ray machinery and taking notes so he can recreat the machine, Dr. Hacket causes a short circuit which will destroy the machine and Lois Lane with it.

Chapter 10, "BETWEEN TWO FIRES", Superman stops the Reducer Ray form overloading and carries Lois Lane (she must have fainted) to her car, which Clark Kent drives to the Daily Planet.

Jimmy Olsen haing been sent back to the University, has a flat tire. While the gas station attendent is fixing it Hacket and Conrad pull in. Jimmy pretends to be the attended and while fixing their empty gas tank, let air out of one of their tires. When both cars are fixed the villains drive off. Jimmy follows them to their secret lab but when he tries to look around he's caught and knocked out.

Hacket returns to the Spider Lady. She tells him his plan to destroy the Reducer Ray and elimante Lois Lane failed.

Jimmy wakes up an Doctor Graham tells him that while he pretends to work on making another Reducer Ray he is actually working on a device to send out a short way radio destress call. His signals interrupt telephone service. clark and Lois are sent to "get the story". Clark listening in on a phone line recognises the single as a call for help, no one else can hear the signal clearlly enough. Using equipment borrowed from the phone company Lois sets out to trace the signal in her car, while Clark uses a walkie talkie to give her directions.

Back at the lab, the doctor's guards finally figure out what he is up to. They decided to take their prisoners to the Spider Lady. They leave the transmitter on and prepare a trap for whoever follows the signal. Jimmy slugs one of the goons and jumps from their car.

Lois enter the lab, the fire bombs ignite.

Chapter 11, "SUPERMAN'S DELIMMA", Superman rescues Lois, naturally. Dr. Hacket has produced a duplicate Reducer Ray but it is incomplete. Dr. Graham says he'll never cooperate in finishing it. The Spider Lady has one of her henchman take the doctor out to persuade him. We don't see the pursuasion but whatever it was worked. Dr. Graham says he'll need "mono chromite". The Spider Lady sends two men to a chemist to get some. After looking in his "index" in which he has a notice that he should report anyone asking for mono chromite to the authoritiees, the chemest tells the henchmen it will take two hours to fill their order. They say they'll be back. As soon as they are gone the chemist gets on the phone, but instead of calling the authorities he calls Perry White to ask what authorities he should contact. White tells Clark Kent to go to the chemsits, but Clark is distracted by a phone call and Lois Lane heads to the chemist, first telling the phone operator to report her car stollen. Lois and Jimmy take Clark's car. Lois throws her car's keys to Cark. Clark is of course arressted for stealing Lois car. I don't like this Lois Lane. I wish Superman would not rescue her.

Jimmy gets the chemist to label an empty crate as mono-chromite then Jimmy hides inside the crate so the Spider Lady's men will take him to their headquarters. Lois hides in the closet but foolishly leaves her purse on the chemists desk. The men arrive and knock the chemist out. They find the purse, and opening the closet, Lois. They lock her in the chemist's vault.

Superman bends the bars on the jail window and flies out. He uses his x-ray vision on the vault than tears the door of its hinghes. Lois tells him about Jimmy.

A curve in the road causes the crate to fall over in the back of the truck. The driver stops the truck to check on the crate and sees Jimmy reclosing the door. He tells his partner and they both open fire on the crate with their pistols.

[Zone Fighter]

Chapter 12, "BLAST FROM THE DEPTHS!", most unfair cliffhanger resalutionI've seen yet. It turns out the hands seen closing the crate belonged to Superman who entered the truck, had Jimmy hide behind the crate then entered it himself. Superman ties up the hoods then returns to the jail just in time for Clark Kent to be released.

Realising that all the proccessed mono-chromite will now be closely watched, the Spider Lady sends two of her men to an engineer to get unproccess oar, but the man pulls a gun and in the struggle over he ends up being kille. Perry White assisngs Lois Lane to the story. Lois goes to the man's office where she finds a map. When she hears someone at the door she climbs out the window and hides on the ledge. The two crooks have returned to the scene of the crime. One finds a matchbook from the Daily Planet. Looking out the window he finds Lois and drags her back into the room. She tries to get away and in the struggle hits hear head. To remove the unconscious Lois from the building without being noticed they try the old hide the body in a rolled up carpet trick. As they leave the building they pass Clark and Jimmy, but not suspecting anything Clark failes to use his x-ray vision, so they get away with Lois.

In the engineers office Clark finds a ? and + Lois managed to scratch on window. Looking through a book on mines he discovers that there is a mine at Question Cross.

At the mine Clark and Jimmy split up. Jimmy finds himself at a dead end and so makes his way back out of the mine. Clark finds Lois but just as starts to remove his jacket he's jumped. "Knocked out" he's carried to another part of the mine, Lois dropped beside him and handcuffed to him.

Jimmy is discovered and knocked out.

Back in the mine explosives are set off.

Chapter 13, "HURLED TO DESTRUCTION", just as I expected, the explosion knocks Lois out, allowing Clark to remove the handcuffs and as Superman make a next exit from the mine. When Lois wakes up she realises that the handcuffs have changed hands, but Clark convinces her that the blow to the head has her confused.

Back at the Spider Lady's lair Dr. Graham refuses to coperate any further. Dr. Hacket says that "there is a scientific way" to make it cooperate. We're not told what that is but in the next scene Graham obeys the Spider Lady's orders. He tells her that even with the mono-chromite the Reducer Ray will not work without a tube it would take months to reproduce. She blots to steal the existing tube from the original machine.

Perry White assigns Clark and Jimmy to return to the University, naturally since that's where the Reducer Ray is. He tells Lois to work on the woman's page, come up with a new to cook a roast or toss a salad. Clark sends Jimmy to the University why he checks on somethiing in the files.

Three of the Spider Lady's henchmen show up at the University claiming to be from the Globe and having permission to shoot pictures of the grounds --- which of course is what Jimmy was sent there from Daily Planet to do. When the crooks try to enter the lab building they are stopped by two guards. They offer to take the guards pictures for the paper. The guards accept but the camera fires knife blades, which get them in the necks. Jimmy arrives and is told by two "guards" that the science building is across the campus but he can't enter it anyway. Jimmy walks of but comes back when he see a sign putting back to the building he came from. As the two fake guards drive off the stolen tube Jimmy fights with the third man. He looses of course and is forced and gun point to drive off. A real guard shoots and both speeding cars but of course it does no good. Clark drive up at this pint and after several episodes of not saying it, says "This looks like a job for Superman!" The radio series narrator does a better job of saying it in two different tones of voice. Superman catches up with Jimmy's car. Jimmy asks him to take the gangster to the Daily Planet before handing him over to the police. So Superman does just that, telling Perry White to credit Jimmy for the story.

While Superman is in the file room changing clothes, the Perry hurls questions at the criminal, he repondes by attacking the editor. They fight. Perry gave as good as he got until the cheating crook through a chair at him, knocking Perry out his window.

[Zone Fighter]

Chapter 14, "SUPERMAN AT BAY", As Perry hangs on the ledge for dear life, Anton runs out of his office, only to be tackled by Clark Kent. Clark pulls his empolyeer to safety. The paper, staring with the Daily Planet, carry the story of the capture by Superman, of the Spider Lady's aid.

Back at the Spider Lady's lair Dr. Graham is told to finish the Reducer Ray. Hacket, who is still wanted for escaping from prison, to allow himself to be caught, so that while being held in the city jail he can reasure Anton that rescue is coming. Hacket reminds the Spider Lady that if she should decided to rescue only Anton, he could tell the police where her hideout is. She tells him she's aware of that and not to worry. [I'd worry] Hacket allows Lois and Jimmy to capture him. Lois does Hacket a favor, though she doesn't know it. by asking the cops to put Hacket in the same cell with Anton. Hacket drops a cigarette out the cell window. A man picks it up. Jimmy grabs the man and finds a coded message hidden in the cigarette. Jimmy tunable to decode the messages decides to deliver it. After handing the mesage over he's shoved out of the radio repair shop but sneaks back in to hide in a closet. He over hears a radio conversation between the Spider Lady and her henchmen. The message told which cell two men were in. The Spider Lady plans to use her new Reducer Ray to eiliminate two no longer needed men. Jimmy sneeses giving himself away. He's tide and gagged. A gas heater is turned out, without any flame. A device is planted on the door, so that if someone opens the door a spark will ignite the gas. The two men leave by the window. Which is the same way Superman enters to save Jimmy. Lois is talking to the two jailbirds. Jimmy tells Superman to hurry to the jail to save Lois. Superman finally remebers his signature line "Up, up and away"!

The Spider Lady has Graham activate the Reducer Ray. At the jail there are flashing lights and electric sound effects.

Chapter 15, "THE PAYOFF", Superman rescues Lois (too bad). Hacket and Anton are killed, along with several other prisoners in the city jail.

At the Daily Planet, Perry, Clark, Lois and Jimmy worry about the Spider Lady having a Reducer Ray.

At the Spider Lady's lair her remaining aid worries about Graham, since Hacket had never explained how he made the doctor obeient. The Spider Lady says not to worry, that Graham's usefullness is just up complete. She then has her radio set to a police band. She tells the police to have Perry White tune into the police band. White has Clark, Jimmy and Miss Lane return to his office. The Spider Lady says that to prove that she has perfected the Reducer Ray she will destroy the Daily Planet building at 3pm. It's 11am, so they have 4 hours to find her.

20 minutes later Superman shows up in Perry White's office with the recording of the conversation between Hacket and Anton. It was broken when the jail was zapped but Superman's super vision allows him to see how the pices should fit back together. He uses his superstrength to press the record back together. (Btw no heat vision in this serial). As the record plays Lois writes down what is said. The only insteresting thing is "If we get out of here and get seperated meet me at the dog's eye". Superman flies out the window and Clark Kent walks in the door, pretends to read Loi's transcript and comments on the dog's eye, unfortuantly he doesn't know what it means. Lois says she'll get a copy to the police chief. While Clark thinks, Jimmy reads a report coming over the newswire about cars stalling. He tells Lois and they decice that the Reducer Ray passing by could knock out cars. So, without telling anyone, they take the paper's airplane to fly around the effected area. The plane's engine fails. Jimmy brings the plan in for a crash landing. Jimmy and Lois are captured and taken to the Sider Lady. She tells them they will live just long enough to see the descruction of Superman, the Daily Planet and all those who have stood against her.

Back at the Daily Planet, Clark notices that a map of Metroplis when turned upside down resembles a dog's head. Superman flies to the Silver Lady Mine, located at the bottom (or top) of the map and twists a man's arm to make him talk. He says he has a map showing the way to the Spider Lady's hidehout, but instead of a map he shows Superman a piece of Kryptonite.

The unconscious Superman is dragged to the Spider Lady's lair, whe to be save she opens the lid on a box of Kryptonite. Noticing that's 3 olock she orders "Driller" to have Dr. Graham use the Reducer Ray on the Daily Planet building but the doctor has come to his senses and attacks Driller. Worse, Superman stands up, unharmed. Turns out he expected to have Kryptonite turned on him so he wore lead under his costume. Driller pushes away Graham and at the Spider Lady's command turns the Reducer Ray on Superman. Superman just stands there smiling. As the Spider Lady tries to escape, Graham turns the beam on her, she's vaporized along with her web. As Graham turns off the machine Driller goes after him but Jimmy comes to the doctor's rescue. Superman just stands there all this time. Then he tells Lois to turn Driller over to the police and hand the machine over to the proper authorties while he rounds up the rest of the gang. We don't actually see this rounding up, we just see Superman fly to the Daily Planet building's file room.

Perry, Jimmy and Lois find Clark Kent in Perry's office with his head on the desk. He "wakes up" and tells them he had a wonderful dream. Lois asks if he dreamed he was Superman. He says that was it and he flew Lois across the sky. She said that as far as she was concerned that wasn't a dream but a nightmare. Everybody, including Clark, laughs.

THE END

Coming soon to a web page near you, "Atom Man vs Superman".

[Xenorama ™]

i'm looking forward to the next one- i had hoped Superman would fight a super-powered foe, but i don't think it is that way in the serial.