-Look-- -Up in the sky.
-It's a bird. -It's a plane.
It's, it's--
Superman, Superman, Superman, Superman, Superman!
You wanted to see me?
He was the world's first comic-book superhero.
The fearless man in blue tights with a red cape...
...and an S stretched boldly across his chest.
My dad would give a dime to buy every new issue of Superman.
Superman made a big impact on me. . .
. . .and I guess on most of the people who read them.
For more than 60 years, Superman has been everything.
From a comic book to a cartoon, to a movie star.
Easy, miss, I've got you.
Everybody when they talk about Superman as part of their childhood. . .
. . .glows about why it's such a great character.
Look, Superman.
I first saw Superman on television, in George Reeves' TV series.
I just loved it.
I guess it was the idea of flying.
George Reeves would run up and bounce out the window.
I would try to mimic that. I mean who didn't?
Some have seen Superman as a mythic symbol of hope...
...strength and moral certainty...
... while others would simply call him a pop-culture phenomenon.
-It's not like I asked to be famous. -Yeah, well, it's the price you pay.
Throughout his history, heirs found himself in touch with the times...
...and occasionally out of fashion.
Forget it, Superman, you just do your thing.
Right on.
Lois is in danger. I'm going to split.
But Superman continues to endure...
...as generation after generation have come to know him.
I watched the Justice League cartoon on television.
That was really my exposure to Superman.
Thank you for flying Superman Airlines.
And with its new generation, Superman continues to challenge...
...our collective notion of what it means to be a hero.
There is always a time for heroes.
It's the spirit of Superman.
Someone that people can aspire to be.
The guy down the street wanted to be a sports jock.
I wanted to save Metropolis.
It's about having a hero who swoops down and saves you. . .
. . .who looks pretty good too.
He enables you to do everything humanly possible that we all wanted to do.
It's the greatest fantasy in the world.
According to the comic books, Superman began life as baby Kal-El.
Born on the distant planet of Krypton.
But Superman was actually conceived...
...in the imaginations of two teenage boys...
...from Cleveland, Ohio.
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster...
...both the sons of Jewish immigrants.
When they met at Glenville High School in 1931...
... the two teenagers were shy loners with a shared interest...
...in adventure, science-fiction pulp magazines...
...and comic strips.
Jerry wrote articles for his school newspaper.
Joe was an artist who enjoyed illustrating Jerry's work.
A powerful partnership was forged.
They were about 16 years ode.
They just connected and came up with this idea.
Jerry would write stories, Joe would draw them. . .
. . .and they would try to make it as comic-strip guys.
comic artists at that time were celebrities and miIIionaires.
But Jerry and Joe's dreams of fame and fortune collided...
. . . with the economic despair and political uncertainty of the Great Depression.
A time when Americans questioned...
... whether their way of life could even survive.
In 1932 Jerry and Joe created a mail-order periodical...
... they called Science Fiction.
It was just a little mimeographed periodical about 8 or 10 pages.
And inside it was the story caIIed ''Reign of the Superman. ''
Appearing in January of 1933 the ''Reign of the Superman'' told the story...
...of a bald madman who tries to use...
...his telepathic abilities to conquer the world.
The character's name came from the word coined...
...by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche some 50 years earlier.
A few months after the story was published...
...Jerry Siegel began to rethink the concept.
What if the Superman he and Joe had created...
... was a force for good instead of evil?
And instead of telepathic abilities, what if his powers were physical...
...just like Hercules, Samson and all of the other legendary strongmen...
... they had read about and tried to emulate.
Wouldn't this character be perfect to star in a daily newspaper comic strip?
They did it in a night in Cleveland.
They kept running to each other's houses that hot night in Cleveland.
Neither could seep. Joe Shuster would draw pictures. . .
. . .as Jerry came up with ideas.
Over the next few weeks, Jerry and Joe continued to refine their concept.
They made Superman a refugee from a distant planet.
Clothed him in a muscle-defining outfit of a circus acrobat...
...and gave him a secret identity...
...as a mild-mannered newspaper reporter named Clark Kent.
Superman had the dual identity. You know Zorro had had it. . .
. . .the Scarlet Pimpernel had it.
It was important to the whole Superman mythos.
Him working as a newspaper reporter so that he can know what was going on. . .
. . .and where his abilities were needed.
Drawing from both pop culture and myth...
...Jerry and Joe created something original, even visionary.
And every major newspaper editor and publisher...
... wasted no time in rejecting it.
The editors mostly said things like, ''It looks too juvenile. ''
Who wants to read about this guy in tights and a cape. . .
. . .who's jumping around like a flea and bouncing busiest off his chest.
By 1935, Jerry and Joe managed to find steady work...
...in the new medium of comic books...
... which expanded on many of the characters and situations found...
...in the shorter daily newspaper strips.
They churned out hundreds of routine tales featuring swashbucklers...
... vampire-hunters, and private eyes.
All for a fledging company called National Allied publishing...
...later to be known simply as DC...
...after one of its early successes, Detective comics.
By 1938, DC was preparing a new anthology comic book...
... that needed a lead feature.
Fortunately for Jerry and Joe...
... the company decided to take a chance on Superman.
That spring, Action comics #1 hit the newsstand.
It featured a full-color cover. . .
...boasted 68 pages of content and sold for a dime.
At a time when an average American worker made less than $ 25 a week.
In that first issue, Superman didn't fly.
Instead, he leaped from skyscraper to skyscraper.
He was also not as strong as he would later become.
But what he lacked in powers, he more than made up for in attitude.
Tackling problems ripped from Depression-era headlines.
In 1938, we're a nation on the verge of war. . .
. . .we are a nation that is new to this concept of urbanization and urban crime. . .
. . .and Superman was originally a social crusader.
He was beating up mine owners who were mistreating their employees.
He was razing defective buildings in Metropolis.
Action comics was a success.
And over the next years, Superman developed a large and loyal following.
But as much as he resonated with the public, so did his alter ego...
. . .the timid reporter, Clark Kent.
It's not the Ubermensch (German translation of Superman).
It's not the Germanic idea of the Superman, the superior man of Nietzsche.
This is the greatness of the meek, the miId.
Superman estabIished the idea of somebody. . .
. . .who seems to be a meek, ordinary, average person. . .
. . .and is really a superhero.
And it was a formula that virtually every superhero owes a debt to even today.
In January, 1939...
...Superman made the leap from comic book to newspaper comic strip.
And soon 20 million Americans thrilled to his adventures every day.
That summer, DC took an even bolder marketing strategy with the character...
...by featuring their superhero in his very own comic book.
Superman became so popular that they said:
''Why don't we create a comic book just about that character?''
Which back then was very unusual.
Superman #1 one sold more than a million copies.
And by the end of the year, the Man of Steel was everywhere.
He was at the New York world's Fair played by actor Ray Middleton.
And he was at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade...
. . .impersonated by a balloon.
Now seen as a symbol of hope to a struggling nation...
...Superman was bigger and more powerful...
... than even his creators could have imagined.
Look, up in the sky.
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman.
On February 12, 1940...
. . .The Adventures of Superman debuted on radio stations across America.
Yes, it's Superman.
Today, as we begin the Man of Steel's new adventure. . .
. . .a cunning trap is being set for the girI reporter, Lois Lane.
Within a year an estimated 20 million listeners were tuning in.
Now, for the first time, comic-book fans could hear...
... what a Superman story sounded like.
We didn't have television but, boy. . .
I mean you know you'd stare at that Atwater Kent (radio), or that little dial, and you were there.
I mean, it's the theater of the mind.
Hey! that roof's gonna fall in a second!
I'II just wrap my cape around these two like this--
Here comes that roof.
The dual role of Superman and Clark Kent was played by Clayton Bud Collyer...
. . . who would perform the characters in over 2,000 programs.
He got the concept of doing clark up in sort of his tenor voice:
''This looks like a job for Superman. ''
This is a job for Superman.
The radio-show writers added plot devices...
... that became part of the DC universe.
Superman didnn't just leap over buildings, he flew.
Up, up and away.
The writers also changed the name of the Daily Star to the Daily planet. . .
...and the name of editor George Taylor to perry White.
-Mr. White, I'd like to thank you. -Let it go, Kent.
You get a story and you get a job.
They made copy boy and cub reporter Jimmy Olsen a key member...
...of Superman's supporting cast.
And get this, Miss Lane, Mr. White gave me all the buried treasure.
It comes to almost 1 0,000 dollars.
And it was on radio that Kryptonite was introduced...
...as the only substance powerful enough to harm the Man of Steel.
Superman discovered to his horror that if he approached. . .
. . .within a distance of 1 0 feet of the strange green glowing meteor. . .
. . .he lost all his strength.
The 1940 radio show also fueled interest in a shower of Superman merchandise...
... that exploded onto the marketplace.
There are probably only two characters on the planet. . .
...that you could peg its popuIarity to its merchandising.
And that's Mickey Mouse and Superman.
More precious than a Superman toy was membership...
...in the Superman of America Club founded in 1939.
You had to keep sending in coupons. . .
. . .cut from Action Comics untiI you got this patch.
You see it says Action Comics.
This is from the very first year.
And there were very, very few sampIes of this particuIar patch known.
As Americans questioned whether to get involved...
...in the escalating world war overseas, Superman became...
. . .even more of a symbol of moral goodness and social responsibility.
In later years, the radio show even took on the controversial topic of racism...
...by having Superman fight the Ku Klux Klan.
We're a great secret society pIedged to purify America.
One race, one religion, one color.
I don't get it. America's got aII kinds of religions and colors.
Superman's appeal transcended nationality.
After all, in many ways, Superman was the ultimate American immigrant.
Irish kids, Hungarian kids, German kids, Italian kids, back kids, Jewish kids. . .
. . .were connecting to Superman.
Superman became every kid's fantasy.
I came to America at about 8 1/2 years of age. I wasn't born here.
I was born in Israeli.
Superman was the great longing of these immigrants to fit into society. . .
. . .and to aspire to greatness.
Up in the sky. Look.
-It's a bird. -It's a plane.
It's Superman.
Just three years after his debut in the comics...
...Superman also became a movie star.
In 1941, the Fleischer Studios...
...famous for their Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons...
...produced the first of 17 animated theatrical shorts.
I don't believe it. He isn't human.
For the first time ever, audiences could now see Superman fly.
Once again, Bud Collyer provided the voice of the Man of Steel.
This is a job for Superman.
While radio actress Joan Alexander played feisty girl reporter Lois Lane.
What have you done with the jewels?
Youˇ¦ I read about it in tomorrow's paper.
Lois was one of the really strong female characters where she would go out. . .
. . .and do whatever to get at the truth, and nothing stopped her.
-city editor. -Look, chief, the panic's on.
The thing's gone haywire.
Using a process called "Rotoscoping"...
...in which live-action models were traced one frame at a time...
... the Superman cartoons set a new standard for excellence...
...and were even rewarded with an Oscar nomination.
But as moviegoers thrilled to Superman's animated adventures...
...a deadly force was preparing to attack America.
And not even the Man of Steel could stop it.
December 7th, 1941
A date which wail live in infamy.
With the United States' entry into World War II...
...comic-book villainy gave way to a real-life battle between good and evil.
As American men and women left their families to fight overseas...
...DC Comics struggled to find a way for Superman...
... to provide moral support for the Allies.
There were some cool covers.
The story almost never touched on the war.
In Superman stories where he saves the world's problem. . .
. . .the problem's still there the next morning.
It was a wise choice. Sending Superman overseas. . .
. . .could wipe out the Nazi menace in an afternoon.
But it was viewed as disrespectful to the honest, genuine effort. . .
...that was being made over there by the Allies. . .
...to have a costumed character run in and just fix everything.
During the war, Superman was often featured in the comics...
...dealing body blows to Hitler and Hirohito.
It was a time of moral certainty.
One in which enemies of the day were depicted as two-dimensional...
...in more ways than one.
America's favorite superhero cheered on the troops...
...and urged folks to buy war bonds and recycle scrap paper.
Ironically, this recycling campaign helped make vintage Superman comics...
...a rare and valuable commodity.
The end of World War II would mark a new chapter...
...in the evolution of the Man of Steel.
Like the country that created him, Superman now seemed invincible.
Stronger even than the invention that ended the war, the atomic bomb.
As GIs came home and began raising families...
...DC readers could also follow the character's teenage adventures...
...as Superbly, the obedient adopted son of loving Earth parents, the Kent's...
... who live in the idyllic town of Smallville.
This chapter in Superman's history had also been chronicled in a 1942 novel...
... written by George Loather, a key contributor to the radio show.
It's a very conservative era. It's very respectful of authority.
And Superman therefore went from being a crusader of social causes...
. . .to a symbol of the social order.
He became the quintessential big blue boy scout.
On movie screens, the Man of Steel also got a fresh makeover...
...in a 15-chapter serial produced by Columbia Pictures.
That track flier races through here and she's loaded to the hit.
This looks like a job for Superman.
The films were made on a shoestring budget...
...and were intended to entertain children during Saturday matinees.
Former movie cowboy Kirk Allen was an exuberant Man of Steel--
Get that man to the police.
Turn the reducer ray over to proper authorities and I'II round up the others.
--and a very mild-mannered Clark Kent.
-I'm going out for a while. -But things may pop here.
I'll be back in time.
I just want to get the reaction of the man on the street when the news is fished.
Actress Noel Neill became the screen's first flesh-and-blood Lois Lane.
-Lois! -Yes?
-It's Jimmy, can I come in? -It's, ''May I come in'' . . .
...and the answer is yes, you're in.
My dad was this newspaperman.
He said, ''I never see anybody going around with a pad, pencil or anything.
He's running, getting in trouble and it'' . . . .
-You're wanted. -What goes on here?
-Heidi, Miss Lane. -It's Dr. Hackett, he's on the hot list.
-can you identify him? -Yes.
Good enough for me.
The serial inspired...
...an equally successful sequel: Atom Man vs. Superman.
Here, audiences were introduced to the villainous Luthor...
...not yet Lex Luthor, played by Lyle Talbot.
They think I'm buffing. I'll show them.
I'll destroy the bridge and then all of Metropolis.
Luthor had become well-known to comic book readers...
...as the Man of Steel's archenemy.
The mad scientist was a fitting bogyman for an age...
...living under the threat of atomic annihilation.
In the Kirk Allen Superman serials, you don't actually see him fly. It's animation.
Up, up and away.
I have talked to people who to this day remember being disappointed. . .
. . .that they didn't really see Superman fly and that it was a cartoon.
Return to your office.
By the end of the 1940s, Superman had become an American icon.
And after triumphing in everything from comic books and radio dramas,,,
... to merchandising and movies, the Man of Steel was about to conquer...
... the most exciting new technology of the day.
In November of 1951 the feature film Superman and the Mole Men...
...premiered in theaters across America.
The low-budget movie starred a new Superman, George Reeves...
... who was joined by Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane.
Now Listen to me, all of you. You don't know anything about these creatures.
What they are or where they come from. But here's the man that can tell you.
The story concerned the fear that infects a small town...
... whose inhabitants come face-to-face...
... with gnome-like visitors from the depths of the Earth.
As Superman comes to the creature's rescue...
... the audience is given a lesson in tolerance...
...a timely theme during the politically paranoid 1950s.
You're not going to shoot those little creatures.
In the first piece, they haven't done you any harm.
In the second piece, they may be radioactive.
If they fall in the reservoir, they may contaminate the water supply.
Save your time and ammunition, Benson.
Shot on a dusty backlit in Culver City, California, in just 12 days...
... the movie was a box-office success.
It also helped launch a bigger project already in production.
A Superman series for the young medium of television.
Faster than a speeding bullet.
More powerful than a Locomotive.
Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound.
-Look, up in the sky. -It's a bird.
-It's a plane. -It's Superman.
In the Adventures of Superman, George Reeves returned as the Man of Steel...
...and so did Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane.
Largest ruby in the world, stolen three years ago from the London Museum.
-What a story. -Thanks to Kent here.
And to Superman.
Like I always say, two heads are better than one.
Classically trained at the Pasadena playhouse,,,
,,,Reeves first came to the attention of movie audiences in 1939,,,
... when he appeared as one of the Tarlatan twins in the epic production...
...of Gone with the Wind.
But after World War II, Reeves' career had come to a virtual standstill.
The 38-year-old shared his frustration...
... with fellow Superman actor Jack Larson, cast as Jimmy Olsen.
The first time George and I met, I said. . .
. . .how good he was in so proudly We hail!...
. . .which was a star-making route, and he said, ''Yes.
And if the director, Mark Sandwich, who was a mentor to me, hadn't died. . .
. . .while I was away in the Army. . .
. . .I wouldn't be sitting here in this monkey suit today. ''
That's the only time ever I heard him say anything negative. . .
. . .about being Superman.
As I understand it. . .
. . .you want to go in the roller coaster?
And the merry-go-round, and the Ferris wheel.
AII right.
Targeted mainly at children...
... the Adventures of Superman premiered in syndication...
...on September 19, 1952, and became an instant hit.
But I don't understand. Why did he do this?
There's a deposit of hydroxide in that cave. I just Yearned this in Washington.
What is this hay--? Hydro--?
Hydroxide, it's a rare mineral used in making the hydrogen bomb.
I first saw Superman on television, the George Reeves TV series.
And I just went mad for it. I just loved it.
Superman, you're wonderful. How did you know we were in trouble?
A little bird told me.
I bet you the little bird's name was Clark Kent.
Before the show started, I would immediately run into the bathroom. . .
. . .and grab the largest towel and wrap it around my neck.
And when he few through the air. . .
. . .George Reeves, I dove off my bed just like him.
I was first exposed to Superman when I was about 2 or 3 years old. . .
. . .through the George Reeves television series.
Superman was a huge influence on why I wanted to be an actor.
I just loved that television series so much.
Jimmy, are you all right?
Yeah, I guess so, my legs are a little weak, that's all.
That was a close one.
Jim, a word of advice:
-After this, keep out of peoples' safes. -You bet.
He's a terrific guy and a totally accomplished actor.
His Clark Kent was wonderfully reviewed in the New York Times.
They said how the depth of his performance. . .
. . .had a bit of sadness, Loneliness, mystery as Clark Kent.
Most of the show's lighter moments...
...came from Jack Larson's appealing performance as Jimmy Olsen.
-My ankle. -Let me give you a hand.
I was waiting on the pier for Miss Lane. . .
. . .to interview Denise Dario, the French movie star.
Sorry you missed her. They say she's very pretty.
Right now you're prettier to me than all the movie stars in the world.
Larson's popularity even led to a new DC comic book...
...Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen.
It was followed by a book starring Lois Lane.
DC looked at Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane to appeal. . .
. . .to young boys and young girls.
They could see themselves not as Superman. . .
. . .but they thought of themselves as Superman's friend.
But not everyone loved the Man of Steel.
In fact, one outspoken psychiatrist, Dr. Fredric Wertham...
,,,considered Superman un-American.
In his 1954 book, Seduction of the Innocent...
... Wertham waged an incendiary war on comic books...
...and called the Man of Steel a fascist.
Wertham was a star witness at the Senate investigation...
...into popular media...
...and its alleged responsibility for juvenile delinquency...
... which was on the rise across America.
Wertham's message, echoed by other witnesses, sent shock waves...
... through the anxious comic-book industry...
...and threatened its very existence.
Fortunately, Wertham's attack on Superman...
...bounced off the Man of Steel like so many bullets.
Here was a hero who represented all people. . .
. . .not white, not back, not women, not men. Everybody.
The Adventures of Superman soared into its third season.
It benefited from a bigger budget.
One that allowed for the series to be filmed in color.
Inspector, I think you'll find a lot of missing people in the basement of that house.
-Where's Clark? -Yes, where is he?
Where he usually is.
By now, there was also a new Lois Lane in the person of Noel Neill,,,
... who'd been a favorite with audiences in the Kirk Allen serials.
I'm tired Clark. Think I'II rest here a minute.
That's a good idea, Lois. I'II go ahead and scout around a bit.
-You wait right here. -Okay, don't get Lost.
I always got from the kids:
''Why don't you know that Clark and Superman. . .
. . .they're the same person wearing a pair of those darn eyeglasses. ''
And I said, ''I don't want to lose my job. ''
The TV series, like the franchise...
...fell under the watchful eye of DC Comics Editorial Director...
... Whitney Ellsworth.
Ellsworth crafted a code of conduct for all of DC's heroes,,,
...including a ban against killing and excessive violence.
It was a move designed to protect DC from further attacks by critics.
For the TV series, Ellsworth collaborated with the show's sponsor, Kellogg's...
... to make sure the program was on budget and patently inoffensive.
Get these better-than-ever puffs of wheat.
They're sugar-toasted and candy-sweet.
Klieg's are seeing cereals for children so they wanted to keep our show ''nice. ''
Ellsworth also vetoed the idea of letting Noel Neill appear...
...in Kellogg's commercials that featured her fellow cast members...
...enjoying a hearty breakfast.
And I kept saying, ''Aren't I going to do any?''
And they said, ''Oh, well, we don't feel that you should be sitting. . .
. . .at a breakfast table having cereal with Jimmy Olsen or Clark Kent. . .
. . .because that's just wrong. ''
Ironically, the idea of Clark and Jimmy waking up to breakfast together,,,
,,,didn't seem to raise any eyebrows.
Oh, good, you're both here. Now, we have an important assignment and I--
chief, can't it wait till after breakfast?
News can't wait, Kent, you know that.
-Now then-- -Not even for new Sugar Smacks, chief?
Now, I say we have this important--
Why, yes, don't mind if I do.
Over the next five years, the popularity of the Adventures of Superman. . .
...continued undiminished.
Ms. Lane, wail you please release Jimmy and the good professor, here.
I have to go catch those crooks.
The props might have been on the flimsy side.
And some of the situations may have been a bit bizarre.
But it didn't matter. Kids around the world couldn't get enough.
And much of the credit belonged to George Reeves...
... who anchored the often outlandish stories with his natural charm.
What was that?
Oh, just the usual hired thugs in the usual powerful back sedan.
But never mind, I'll get them.
-Are you ail right? -I'm all right.
What's going on here?
I was cruising by in my car and heard the shooting.
It's quite ail right, inspector. Miss Lane is unharmed.
I looked up to him as a kid. So many other people did.
George Reeves would have made a great dad.
You wanted to help people and that's what I call being real super, Bobby.
George was a noble. . .
-. . .person. -Southern gentleman.
-He was a gentleman. -He was wonderful.
And he always had a sign up on his dressing room:
''Honest George, the people's friend. ''
Reeves gave every episode his all...
...especially when it came to his character's famous entrances.
-Superman! -Am I glad to see you.
Gooey, Superman, you could have come in through the door.
-This seemed a little more spectacular. -George took the walls very seriously.
He liked to come through, and he liked them to pop out everywhere.
My word, it's Superman.
George made the entrances he did because he fell once.
In one of the very first shows, they were flying him in like Peter Pan. . .
. . .and the wire broke, and he fell and he said, ''That's it.
Peter Pan flies, my Superman doesn't fly on wires. ''
And when he would do his entrances, there would be a bar...
. . .and George would jump, grab the bar and come in.
Did you find it? Did you find Carborium-X?
I hope so, professor.
Special effects were quite primitive, but his entrances and exits are buffo.
That moment in the end of the episode where Lois would be criticizing Clark. . .
. . .and George would Look to us and say, ''well, I did my best, Lois.
After ail you can't expect me to be a Superman. ''
well, ail I can say is, if it weren't for Superman, I wouldn't be here.
And it was like breaking the fourth wall. We know.
Nobody else knows, just us.
And when I tell you to look, you Look.
You're going to see your favorite television star.
Look, Superman.
But Lois Lane wasn't the only redhead in Superman's life.
In 1957, George Reeves guest-starred...
...on America's number one prime-time show, I Love Lucy.
well, Superman, that was a wonderful thing you did.
Oh, Ricky, it was my pleasure. I'm only sorry I didn't get to meet Lucy.
-I've heard so much about her. -Yeah, well I don't know.
Where is Lucy, Ethel?
Oh, she? I be here in a minute. She's out on the edge.
-Out on the edge! -Out on the edge!
By the end of the 1950s, Reeves was desperate to move on...
,,,from the role that had made him a household name.
Of ail the crazy things that you've done in the 15 years that we've been married.
Ricardo, you mean to say that you've been married to her for 15 years.
Yeah, 15 years.
And they call me Superman.
George was typed-playing Superman and he could get another job...
. . .except on I Love Lucy playing Superman.
And it was awful for him.
Reeves was also frustrated by Superman's...
...unorthodox production schedule...
... which had the actors waiting months or even a year between episodes.
But in May of 1959, the actors seemed upbeat...
... when told that cast and crew would be reunited...
... to film a seventh season.
George was happy as a bug and looking forward to working.
''No'' he said, ''I'm going to try directing. . .
... because I'm getting a little old to be running around in my underwear. ''
well, three days later, this girl called and said:
''Did you hear what happened to George?''
On the morning of June 16, 1959...
...a nation awoke to read a shocking headline.
Superman had killed himself.
I was in Europe at the time. . .
. . .and there were headlines from all over the world.
people sent me all this stuff saying George had committed suicide.
I believed it. I still believe it.
I said, ''Oh, no, no, no. '' And I called Mr. Ellsworth immediately.
And he said, ''well, he's dead. ''
The headline said, ''Superman kills self. ''
How? Why? You know, we've seen him in so many episodes.
The bullets bounce off him.
At that age, you're trying to figure out, you know, death. . .
. . .what does it mean? I didn't know anybody who died.
It was just wrenching beyond belief.
The story I'd heard was that he was murdered.
Shot or something. And then the story changed.
And I'd heard that he tried to fly one day and flew out the window and then died.
On the day he died, Reeves had been drinking heavily.
But according to reports, no fingerprints...
...not even his own, were found on the gun.
Throughout the decades that followed...
... the circumstances of the 45-year-old actor's death...
,,,have remained one of Hollywood's most morbid mysteries.
Nevertheless, one detail was certain.
For millions of fans, Superman was dead.
With the death of George Reeves, the fate of the entire Superman empire...
...seemed at risk for the first time in its history.
A new series focusing on Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen...
... was considered, but abandoned.
producer Whitney Ellsworth also tried to create a kid-friendly...
...and actor-safe spin-off in the form of The Adventures of Super Pup.
Faster than the speediest jet.
More powerful than the mightiest rocket.
Abide to fey around the world faster than you can say ''Super Pup. ''
And only you and I know that Super Pup is really Bark Bent. . .
. . .star reporter for the Daily Bugle.
Filmed on the sets of the George Reeves series...
... this strange premise featured the Superman characters...
,,,as dogs and other animals played by little people wearing masks.
I just wanted to tell you what a fine job I think you and Pamela did. . .
...in helping the police put professor Sheep-dip in jail.
We could never have done it without the help of Super Pup.
Oh, it was nothing.
Why are you taking the bow. . .
-. . .if you think you're no Super Pup? -Me?
well, anyway, it'll be a long time before professor Sheep-dip gets out of jail.
Not surprisingly, the concept never got beyond this rarely-seen pilot...
... which was never broadcast.
-Take one. -Hello there.
A Superboy pilot starring John Rockwell as the teenage Clark Kent...
... was also attempted but never found a sponsor.
B1 take two.
You know, it's a funny thing.
Whenever you're around, Clark seems to, well, vanish.
What's funny about that? I guess he's got problems of his own.
And I don't suppose it's remotely possible. . .
. . .that there could be any close connection between you and Mr. Kent.
Look, Lana, if you want to persist in some ridiculous idea. . .
. . .that I'm Clark Kent, well, that's your business.
Now, I don't have time to discuss it.
Now will you or won't you do as I ask?
Of course I will, Superboy.
Fortunately for DC Comics, the death of George Reeves,,,
...had little impact on Superman's comic-book sales...
...partly because the comics were different from the television show.
Thank God for the comic books. I kept reading them.
I still had Superman.
I just didn't have this flesh-and-blood guy I could look up to anymore.
Throughout the 1950s, DC editor Mort Weisinger and his staff,,,
,,,began creating a vast mythology for the Man of Steel.
By 1958, there were seven different Superman titles,,,
...collectively selling nearly four million copies a month.
Mort Weisinger really built the breadth of the mythology.
He was the one who wanted us to know stories about Superman's robot. . .
. . .stories about the return to Krypton. . .
. . .so you would learn Superman's ancestors.
Readers learned of Kryptonian villains released from the Phantom Zone.
The Kryptonian city of Candor, shrunken by the alien Brainiac.
And the cube-shaped planet of the Bizarros.
There was Beppo, the Super-Monkey.
Comet, the Super-Horse, Krypto, the Super-Dog.
It seemed like every month or so. . .
. . .there were just new concepts being introduced.
Green Kryptonite. Red Kryptonite.
Blue, White, Jewel Kryptonite.
There was Superman's mermaid ex-girlfriend...
...and even a teenage cousin, Supergirl.
''Great guns, it's a flying girl. It must be an illusion. ''
''No, Superman, it's me, and I have all your powers. ''
Action Comics #252.
In the comics, Superman was now so all-powerful...
...so invincible that writers struggled to create stories for him.
I mean, at one point, he blew out a star like you blow out a candle.
well, if a guy can do that. . .
. . .how are you going to get conflict into the story, exactly?
One solution was to make Superman's conflicts...
...less physical and more emotional.
can you get married? can you have children?
can you have any kind of normal Life?
It just breaks my heart to think that the guy who saves everybody. . .
. . .can't enjoy his Life.
But no matter what conflicts he faced...
...Superman reflected the same unwavering optimism of his readers.
And as the 1960s dawned Superman seemed completely in-tune...
... with a hopeful new decade...
...symbolized by the election of a vigorous...
... young president who promised a future of space exploration and social justice.
We choose to go to the moon.
One Superman comic written in 1963, even suggested a friendship,,,
...between the American president and the Kryptonian crime-fighter.
The comic was set to go to press that November...
...just as shots rang out in Dallas, Texas.
Shooting in the motorcade--
At the age of 46, John F. Kennedy was dead.
And his assassination shattered the dreams of a new frontier.
Another generation grew disillusioned.
Institutions, traditions, convictions all became candidates for radical change.
And change they did.
A decade that began with great optimism...
... was marked by race riots, political protest...
...and militant activism against the Vietnam War.
paper heroes like Superman now seemed irrelevant, even silly.
It was a time of, you know, long-haired hippie freaks running the streets.
And Superman was still, like the agent of the status quo.
cape Kennedy could be next.
This is a job for Superman. Up, up and away!
He made me see stars that time.
In 1966, DC's number-two hero, Batman, came to television...
...as a straight-faced parody of comic-book heroes.
It was part of a resurgence, if you will, in pop art.
And we were adding our slice of the cultural pie.
We had the comic balloons and the sounds like ''zap'' . . .
. . . ''barroom,'' ''crunch,'' and so on.
-Ringside table, Batman? -Just looking, thanks.
I'll stand at the bar. I should wish to attract attention.
The same year that Bat mania gripped the country, Superman landed on Broadway...
...in a musical comedy.
It's a Bird. . .It's a plane. . .It's Superman boasted a talented cast...
...direction by the legendary Hal Prince...
...and songs by the team who'd earlier written "Bye Bye Birdie."
But the tongue-in-cape spoof closed after 128 performances.
Although it did resurface as a 1975 television special...
...starring David Wilson and Lesley Ann Warren.
-Not so fast. -Oh, Superman, you're wonderful.
I just got a call from ABC (network) that said:
''could you give us a musical for the late night?''
That was 1:30 at night.
The whole thing was shot in four days with a couple of cameras.
Hi there, America, and friendly nations everywhere.
Glad we could get together.
Come on, paw! Let's go, bam!
I need a little exercise Take that, paw!
And that, oink! Let's see what you can do
The man that played Superman is David Wilson.
He was wonderful to work with and we had a Little crush on each other. . .
. . .which was perfect. It worked out well for the piece.
-Oh, Superman, you're terrific. -Yeah, I know.
He wasn't a dancer and that was, you know, that drove him crazy.
You know, putting on those tights and leaping across the stage.
I mean, he was like, not thrived about that, but he was a great sport.
Good night, sweet dreams So sorry to mess up your plans
But now you know Splat, paw!
Don't fool around
Wham, sow, with Superman
I really don't think it did well.
The reviews in the paper were kind of okay, but I would have no idea. . .
. . .how it did number-wise, or who came in, who turned in.
I don't think a heir of a Iota of people.
By the 197 0"s the future looked bleak for the Man of Steel...
...and it seemed the world's most powerful superhero...
... was, at best, a fond memory...
...or a figure of fun.
Everyone knows that you can leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Certainly we all have heard that you are more powerful than a locomotive.
-I love a good race with a chow-chow. -I'm sure.
-Faster than a speeding bullet? -Are you kidding? I'm ten times faster. . .
than a speeding bullet -I have a pistol here, Superman.
-Bullet race, huh? -And I would like to test it out if I can.
Okay, any time you're ready.
Superman?
As comic-book sales plummeted, DC eagerly brought in a new editor...
...Julius Schwartz.
Schwartz encouraged a new generation of writers...
...raised on Superman to update...
...and reexamine the character, with intriguing, if mixed results.
Julius Schwartz was not a great Superman fan.
He felt kids didn't pay attention to newspapers anymore.
So maybe we should make Clark a television reporter, and it didn't stick.
perhaps it's because it makes Clark more glamorous. . .
. . .than he ought to be, somehow.
Under Schwartz? direction, Superman became more introspective.
And Lois Lane received a feminist makeover.
We almost went too far the other way. . .
. . .in that she just became a really bitchy, cynical female character. . .
. . .that I don't think Superman would fail in love with.
As the Vietnam War escalated, and political scandals,,,
...and presidential resignations brought a nation to its knees...
well, I am not a crook.
...Broadway musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspeed. . .
...reflected a rekindled interest in spirituality.
Superman was now seen in pop culture and in the comics...
...not just as a superhero, but as a secular messiah.
There's definitely an allegory, a Judeo-Christian allegory. . .
. . .that's happening in the mythology of Superman. . .
. . .right up to the fact that he descends from the heavens.
They took an Old Testament story, which is Moses. . .
. . .whose mother and father were about to be killed by the Egyptians. . .
...in this case it was Krypton.
And just like Moses went down the Nile. . .
. . .and he landed on Earth as an immigrant. . .
. . .and was adopted.
I don't think Superman becomes a substitute for religion.
I think he becomes a substitute for mythology.
Superman is the mythology of a hero. This is what a hero can do.
This is perhaps what you can do if you choose to be a hero.
There is morality in that, that's very important.
Unfortunately, making Superman comics more socially relevant...
,,,didn't make them more popular.
And even the success of Saturday morning incarnations like the Super Friends. . .
...could't dispel the notion that Superman's best years might be behind him.
I can't break the grip. I'm powerless.
help! help me, someone.
I think Superman needs help.
help! please, help. I can't hold up much Longer.
But although heroes may fall and their powers fade,,,
,,, they always come back fighting.
And thanks to a combination of talent and good timing,,,
... the Man of Steel was about to experience a remarkable resurrection.
Superman was losing popularity in his native country.
But ironically, he was about to be revived by a Russian-Mexican movie producer...
,,,living in Paris.
I was waking in front of a cinema that had Zorro playing...
. . .with a French star called Alain Delon.
And two days after, I had dinner with my father. . .
. . .and I said, ''Why don't we do Superman?''
By 1974, Ilya Salkind and his father, Alexander...
...had enjoyed acclaim producing films like their star-studded remake...
...of The Three Musketeers and its equally popular sequel.
Though Alexander was unfamiliar with the character of Superman,,,
...his 28-year-old son envisioned an epic blockbuster...
...unlike any film ever made before.
I said, ''We got to do something that is serious, that is big. ''
After securing 40 million dollars in financing,,,
... the Salkinds hired Godfather author and screenwriter Mario Puzo to pen the script.
I come to the office one day and there's Mario Puzo in the Library. . .
. . .Looking through old Superman stories. So they introduced me to him.
Carry Bates, another writer, and I spent two days sitting. . .
. . .smoking Havana cigars with Mario. . .
. . .in the conference room and taking about who Superman was.
And his eyes started to shine and he said:
''Wow, this is a Greek tragedy. ''
By getting Mario Puzo, of course the movie immediately started to exist.
Just as they had done with the Three Musketeers and its sequel...
... the Salkinds intended to film...
... two mammoth Superman films at the same time.
To direct the challenging project, the producers chose Richard Donner...
...hot off the hit thriller, The Omen.
Donner also saw Superman as an epic.
But he felt that the script, now tackled by four writers...
... was too jokey and cynical.
I said, ''This is Superman. This is, you know, apple pie, Americana. ''
It was a part of American history. And to me it had its own sense of reality.
It's own verision of altitude, and the mission was to keep it straight.
To polish the script, Donner enlisted writer Tom Mankiewicz...
... who was no stranger to adventure and fantasy...
...having co-written three James Bond films.
Dick said, ''We can't be smarter than the material.
We have to get inside the material. ''
Of course there's funny stuff. Lex Luthor is a funny guy.
Of course this man can fly. Of course.
But if you root for these two kids, if you want them to get together. . .
...if we make the love story work, the whole movie works.
playing the part of Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor...
... would be Academy Award winner Gene Hackman...
... who brought wit and humor to what had previously been...
...a two-dimensional role.
Bye-bye, California.
Hello, new West coast, my West coast.
To play Superman's Kryptonian father Jor-El...
...Ilya Salkind chose the Godfather himself, acting legend Marlon Brando.
Now, Brando, at this point, was the greatest star in the world.
This was after Godfather.
This was like literally getting Gods for Jor-El.
For the Man of Steel, Salkind and Donner resisted the temptation...
... to cast a box-office name.
They felt strongly that the part required a newcomer...
...provided that established stars would be showcased in supporting roles.
I just couldn't see Redford or any of those guys in blue tights...
. . .flying around New York and being, ''Oh, there's Robert Redford,'' not Superman.
So I really wanted an unknown.
It can't be Jon Vogt in a Superman suit or Burt Reynolds in a Superman suit.
When Superman comes on the screen, he has to be Superman.
Over the next weeks, dozens of actors were considered and screen tested.
I mean, we were going completely nuts to get the right guy.
It's all over, Luthor. You're coming with me.
We even tested the dentist of my first ex-wife.
It's too late. The rocket is already on its way. . .
. . .and even you can't fly fast enough to stop it.
I won't have to fly anywhere. Not after you tell me where the controls are.
controls? Who's got controls?
I've traced the signals to this room. Now, you tell me.
I don't know where they are, I swear.
That's a print.
I was in New York, to see whoever was available in New York and Chicago. . .
. . .and one of the kids that came in was Christopher Reeve.
And a tall, skinny. . . . As a matter of fact. . .
. . .he had this big sweater on to make him look twice as big.
But we talked and he was just this fascinating kid. . .
. . .who was very, very bright.
He had a handle on the character. It was a good handle.
Very pure, very clean.
The 25-year-old Juilliard graduate...
...eagerly traveled to London for a screen test.
He was so nervous, testing. . .
. . .that I remember that you could see the sweat stains under the armpits.
But he hopped off the edge onto Lois' balcony and said:
Good evening, Miss Lane.
And as he started to do the scene, it was just so clear.
Thank you very much for finding the time for this interview.
I realize there must be many questions about me. . .
. . .the world would like to know the answers to.
So it's become important to me to have close relations with the press.
You really shouldn't smoke, you know.
-Lung cancer? -well, not yet, thank goodness.
Chris had the self-confidence, self-assurance.
He knew that he was destined for big things. . .
. . .and I think he thought this was part of the way to get there.
Why are you here?
Yes, I'm here to fight for truth, for justice and the American way.
For the role of Lois Lane, Donner needed an actress...
... with the right mix of steely determination and romantic vulnerability.
Numerous actresses were tested, including Ann Archer.
Superman.
Stockyard Channing.
No, no. please, please, don't move. I mean, just don't go anywhere.
I mean, move if you want to, just don't fly away.
Deborah Raffin.
Where do you hail from?
And Lesley Ann Warren.
Test 54, take 1 . pick up.
Alright, right where you were. Action!
Oh, would you like. . .
. . .a cookie?
-Oh, what kind? -Macaroons.
I was actually a little nervous about carrying over...
...what I had done in the musical special into this piece...
. . .because I wanted to make sure. . .
. . .that I wasn't bringing the largeness that a musical requires.
-How about a glass of wine? -I never drink when I fly.
You never drink when you fly.
-Is it true, you can see through anything? -pretty much.
-And you are totality impervious to pain. -well, so far.
What color underwear am I wearing?
-What color underwear am I wearing? -pink.
Do you like pink?
-Do you like pink? -I like pink very much, Lois.
-You could take a ride with me. -You mean, I would fly?
This is utterly fantastic.
This is incredible.
Clark said you were rigged with wires.
-Like Peter Pan? -Peter Pan flew with children, Lois.
In a fairy tale.
Ultimately Canadian Margot Kidder won the part.
Donner had been impressed by her unique chemistry with Reeve...
...and her creative approach to the role.
Take 6.
What color underwear am I wearing?
pink.
Lois was one way with Superman. . .
. . .just cockeyed, a little girl and kind of phony baloney. . .
. . .because she could fold her head together. . .
. . .enough to think when she was around him.
-Do you like pink? -I like pink very much, Lois.
And just sort of dismissive and curt when she was with Clark--
Seventy-six take 2.
It's not my fault you put yourself down all the time.
-Oh, yeah, how? -For starters, Look, you're slouching.
Stand up straight. Here.
There, stand up. That's better.
And I was very conscious of doing that...
... because I was very conscious around that time...
...of my revolting tendency to do that around men in my own real life.
Clark said that you were rigged with wires. . .
. . .like Peter Pan.
Peter Pan few with children, Lois. In a fairy tale.
print it.
When production began at Pinewood Studios in England...
... two facts became apparent:
The film would be the most ambitious comic-book movie ever made.
And shooting it would be next to impossible.
Especially difficult were the film's crucial flying sequences.
flying-- It certainly wasn't romantic to do it...
. . .because you're hanging 50 feet up from a sound stage. . .
...in an extremely uncomfortable leather harness...
...that's cutting into your armpits and your everything else.
We'd be whirled back and forth across the ceiling on these wires. . .
...and I would be smashing into Chris in midair.
In those days, because there was no computers there were--
It was hard effects.
You had to-- practically had to do it in the camera.
There were a few optical houses, but things were limited.
You had to convince the audience a man could fly.
At one point, somebody dropped a clapper board on the wire...
. . .and cut off the electric current. And we quickly went:
And were hanging upside down held in only by our safety belts...
...and Christopher actually did this.
He reached out, in character, and held the pole.
As if he was going to hold us both up from gravity.
And afterwards, I went, ''Chris, do you know what you did?''
And he went, ''Oh, yeah. ''
And I said, ''I think you're just a little too much in character.
This is going too far. ''
The production presented countless logistical challenges.
Locations stretched from the sound stages of London...
... to farmlands in rural Canada...
... to evoke Superman's three separate worlds...
...of Krypton, Smallville and Metropolis.
The film is very much a three-act play.
On Krypton, everything was shot through fog.
And people spoke in almost Shakespearean Language.
And I wrote everybody the same way.
My friends, you know me to be neither rash nor impulsive.
I am not given to wide unsupported statements.
And I tell you that we must evacuate this planet immediately.
When we go to young Clark growing up, it becomes like Andrew Wythe.
It's sepia colors and everybody is ''pa'' and ''Ma. ''
And there's one thing I do know, son, and that is you are here for a reason.
And then all of a sudden, you hit Metropolis and the jokes start flying.
Clark Kent may seem like just a mild-mannered reporter. . .
. . .but listen, not only does he know how to treat his editor in chief. . .
. . .with the proper respect, not only does he have a snappy, punchy, prose style. . .
. . .but he is, in my 40 years in this business. . .
. . .the fastest typist I've ever seen.
Excuse me, Miss Lane.
You could tell in the first hour. . .
. . .it was going to be one of the most pleasurable experiences. . .
. . .that, that-- That as an actor I hadn't gone through.
I was surprised to hear Chris hadn't all that much acting experience. . .
... because he was so professional.
Also, unlike a lot of actors, he was so well-mannered.
Not at all, I'd say it's been swell.
-Swell? -Yeah.
You know, Clark. . .
. . .there are very few people left in the world. . .
. . .who feel comfortable saying that word?
-What word? -Swell.
really? I always thought it was kind of natural.
I'm sorry.
-Clark? -Don't worry. It's all right.
Chris was very specific about Clark never behaving like Superman.
Lois, I think maybe you better.
Lois, what are you doing?
Clark's shoulders are held differently and his walk is different.
Then there's this wonderful, confident upright being that Superman has. . .
. . .and he strides in a certain way.
Good evening, Miss Lane.
Oh, hi.
Chris was a very earnest young man. . .
. . .and he did very much fee obligated to the myth, to the movie.
He worked really, really, really hard.
Is it true that you can see through anything?
Yes, I can, pretty much.
And that you're totally impervious to pain?
well, so far.
What color underwear am I wearing?
pink.
Do you like pink?
I like pink very much, Lois.
But as the production dragged on...
... the mood on the set was far from relaxed.
The movie's special effects and flying scenes pushed the film...
,,,far over schedule and over budget.
Tensions rose between Richard Donner and the Salkinds...
...and by the end of production, they were barely speaking.
The tension started to escalate. . .
. . .because of course the budget was going completely out of control.
It was everybody's fault and nobody. . .
. . .because there were so many things that were new that had never been done.
After shooting more than 70 percent of the movie's intended sequel,,,
... the decision was made to focus entirely on finishing the first film...
...and hope for the best.
Take, take, cut, great.
On December 10th, 1978, more than 40 years...
...after the publication of Action comics #1...
. . .Superman: The Movie was unveiled at a gala premiere in Washington, D. C.
Enhanced by Academy Award winner John Williams' stirring score...
,,, the film impressed even its creators.
When Superman comes up on the screen. . .
. . .all of a sudden the music went, ''Superman. ''
It actually said-- I heard it say, ''Superman. ''
Easy, miss, I've got you.
You've got me? Who's got you?
I was blown away by the movie.
I absolutely felt in love with the movie.
Head over heels in love with the movie. . .
. . .which was kind of amazing. . .
. . .because I thought all the way through it I was just screwing up.
My good friend, Pierre, said that I would never make the guy fly.
And after 120 million dollars, we made him fly.
Superman: The Movie took in a staggering...
...300 million dollars worldwide...
...making it one of the most popular and successful films of the 1970s.
Christopher Reeve had become a movie star.
The film inspired a new wave of Superman merchandise.
From toys to hit records.
The sequel was inevitable.
And fortunately, most of Superman II was already shot.
But by now, the creative differences between Richard Donner...
...and the Salkinds seemed irreconcilable.
So the producers turned to The Three Musketeers director...
...Richard Lester to finish production.
I believe this is your floor.
Lester brought his trademark wit and comic flair to the project...
,,,and delighted moviegoers with dynamic action scenes.
Superman?
But some fans and critics voiced concern that the Man of Steel...
... was beginning to get lost in the mayhem.
Audiences were also divided over the choice to have Clark Kent...
...reveal his true identity to Lois Lane.
Clark?
-No, no, no. It's okay. -Let me see your hand. Give it to me.
-No, no. It's all right, Lois. -Let me Look at it.
-You are Superman. -Lois, come on, don't be s--
Even more outrageous was the sight of Superman...
...enjoying a sexy sleepover with Lois in the Fortress of Solitude.
I'm going to go change into something more comfortable.
I think people were horrified.
I think, were I to revisit that process now. . .
. . .I would think, ''You know what?
She wasn't supposed to sleep with Superman. ''
I would come down with the prudes on that one.
Superman II was another box-office triumph...
...earning over 120 million dollars worldwide.
The Salkinds quickly prepared another sequel.
Once again, with Richard Lester at the helm.
Instead of helping others, all the four of you want to do is help yourselves.
Superman III co-starred Hollywood's reigning comic actor, Richard Pryor...
...as Gus Gorman, a bumbling computer programmer--
Wait, wait a minute.
--who is forced against his will to build a machine to destroy the Man of Steel.
Superman, no!
It works, so real. It works.
Most of the film's emotion came from its subplot,,,
...in which Clark Kent makes a nostalgic pilgrimage back to Smallville.
There he rekindles his boyhood crush on local girl Lana Lang...
...played by Annette O'Toole.
Do you know how lucky you are to live in Metropolis? The Big Apricot.
-well, Lana you could-- -That's easy to say. But how? What about Ricky?
-Ricky? -My Little boy.
-You? Oh, that's great. -Yeah.
I was big into Superman, Betty and Veronica and Archie.
Those were my favorites. And I loved Lana Lang.
I was like Betty more than Veronica and Lana more than Lois.
I don't know why. Because they were underdogs, I guess.
So when I got to play Lana, it was like. . .it was huge.
It was such a big deal to me.
This is nice.
For most of the production, O'Toole did her scenes with Christopher Reeve...
... when he was portraying Clark Kent.
Something that made her first sight of the actor in his Superman costume,,,
...all the more astonishing.
Lana, I think I'll just go see if Ricky is all right.
-Are you okay? -Yeah.
I worked with him quite a while as Clark Kent. . .
. . .and I was on the set one day. . .
...and he was doing another scene as Superman.
And I hear this voice say, ''Hello, Annette. ''
-There you go. -Ricky.
He's all right, but you should have him checked by a doctor.
And I turned around and it seemed to me as if I looked up at a mountain.
I looked up at this man and it was him. I get chills thinking about it.
-Oh, I'm Lana Lang and this is Ricky. -Nice to meet you.
Because this was the Superman of my youth, of my childhood.
He wasn't Clark Kent, he wasn't Chris. He was Superman.
Written to showcase Richard Pryor's unique comedic abilities--
Watch the trees.
--Superman III was ultimately a disappointment...
...for fans of the first two films.
-Gesundheit. -Thank you.
And although it opened to strong box office, reviews were often harsh.
Faring worse was the Salkinds's next foray into the comic-book universe...
...Supergirl starred Helen Slater as Kal-El's Kryptonian cousin.
The movie crashed at the box office.
I said, ''I don't want to do Superman IV. ''
So then, we were able to sell the rights for an option to Cannon (Group Inc.). . .
. . .and Chris Reeve had the original idea for the story and came back.
Directed by Sidney J. Furies, Superman IV: The Quest for peace. . .
...showed the Man of Steel...
... tackling the real-world problem of nuclear disarmament.
Effective immediately, I'm going to rid our planet of all nuclear weapons.
But despite the best of intentions, Superman IV delivered a bomb,,,
,,,in more ways than one.
Many critics thought the film was more tiresome than topical.
And for the first time...
...a Christopher Reeve Superman movie failed both critically and commercially.
You can't make a good movie out of a bad script and it simply didn't work. . .
. . .and fly flat on its face, but I thought its ambitions were good.
I would say that if there's one film. . .
. . .that killed Superman at that point it was Superman IV.
Superman III made 100 million dollars. . .
...Superman IV killed the franchise, sadly enough.
I never saw Superman-- Was there a Superman IV?
I didn't even see that one.
Superman IV marked the final time that Christopher Reeve...
,,,appeared as the Man of Steel.
What began as one of the hottest movie series of all had now simply burned out.
By the mid- 1980s it was obvious that Superman was in desperate need...
...of a makeover.
Comic-book readers weren't just kids anymore.
Many were now adults and for them Superman seemed too clean-cut.
They demanded their heroes have dimension...
...depth and decidedly human problems.
In 1986, DC Comics hired writer-artist John Byrne...
... to reinvigorate their franchise.
Byrne purged the Superman universe of its more outlandish elements.
Kal-El was once more the last survivor of a lost world.
His costume was no longer indestructible.
Our idea of what a strong man was at that point. . .
. . .was no longer the circus acrobats.
before he was Arnold Schwarzenegger.
well, Byrne gave Superman that bulked-up physique.
In this new reality, Superman's archenemy, Lex Luthor...
... was no longer a mad scientist but an evil billionaire.
That was definitely a reaction to what was going on. . .
. . .in Corporate America in the '80s.
Lex Luthor's personality is basically the same. . .
. . .but you can identify with a businessman type screwing you. . .
. . .or your favorite character, as opposed to a mad scientist, which really was. . .
. . .by the '80s a little bit of a hackneyed idea.
But when Byrne left the Superman books, sales declined once again.
By the end of the decade...
...DC's Batman had eclipsed the Man of Steel in popularity.
Superman's stories say the world will get to be a better piece.
It can happen, we have it within us.
Batman's is more of an unending struggle to just stay in the same piece.
Although Superman's 50th birthday was celebrated in the media...
...Batman was now considered the coolest crime fighter in comics...
...and at the movies...
... thanks to Tim Burton's Dark Knight-inspired film.
Once again, Superman had been left behind in a changing culture.
The Man of Tomorrow now seemed like yesterday's news.
In 1988, Alexander and Ilya Salkind...
...brought their troubled film franchise to television.
In the form of The Adventures of Superboy.
After a rocky start in the ratings, the series took off when newcomer...
... Gerard Christopher replaced John Hayes Newton as the Boy of Steel.
Who did this?
This was Superboy, so I could do it a little bit differently. . .
. . .but it had to be on the same track as what Christopher Reeve had done.
George Reeves did it.
He was somebody I could relate to as much because he was older.
Christopher Reeve, what he did just seemed to be more the way to go with it.
One of the first things I did is, they put me in this tremendous sound stage. . .
. . .about 300 feet long. They made me fly from one end to other.
And I remember being on a crane with nothing under me.
And I have to tell you, I was never afraid because it was just a cool thing to do.
I mean, you're Superman.
I must speak with Superboy.
There is a terrible, a terrible evil in your midst, an evil that you must fight.
I did three episodes of the Superboy television series with Gerard Christopher. . .
. . .as Superboy and that was cool.
I played this evil genius, kind of a Luthor type, named Tommy Puck.
Nobody calls me a symp.
I was bad. I was really bad. I was a nasty, mean guy.
I would very much like to conduct some experiments on Superboy's cadaver.
It was good. You had to be there.
While Superboy flew through the airwaves of syndication...
... the editors at DC were once again struggling to make Superman relevant...
...both to male and female comic book readers.
In 1990, they reached a momentous decision.
After half a century of romantic banter...
...between Lois Lane and her caped colleague...
...DC decided it was time for the pair to take their relationship to the next step.
Clark Kent would propose to Lois and reveal his true identity.
That came from the writing team and myself being a little tired...
...of Lois not figuring it out.
I mean, it was starting to make her look a little stupid.
And you can't be a top reporter and be stupid.
I got to ink the engagement.
And so this is Lois showing Jimmy for the first time her rock. . .
. . .and announcing her engagement.
You can kinda see how I took some major liberties on this page.
This is my wife. This is me, you know, a little, a couple of pounds lighter. . .
. . .and this is Elvis and Priscilla. So that was very cool.
Hardcore fans were stunned. But the superhero's popularity soared...
... with young female readers.
He is prince charming in a cape, the dark-haired, blue-eyed, handsome. . .
. . .ripped-abs man who you feel safe with. . .
. . .and he can fly you to Hong Kong for dinner.
But before Lois and Superman walked down the aisle,,,
... the wedding ceremony would be delayed by a funeral.
The world was taking Superman for granted.
We literally said, ''Let's show the world what it would be like without Superman. ''
In Superman issue number 75, the unthinkable finally happened.
The Man of Steel was beaten to death by the monster called Doomsday.
In less than two weeks, fans and collectors bought nearly 3 million copies.
No one at DC honestly thought. . .
. . .we were going to kill Superman forever. As luck would have it. . .
. . .the day that ''The Death of Superman'' comic hit the newsstands. . .
... nothing else happened in the world.
It hit the wire services. . .
. . .and it was a huge, huge, gigantic cultural touchstone moment.
And the guys at DC are now freaking out, like:
''Oh, God, what do we do now?''
For us it was just going to be the next story and the world really reacted.
The real world acted the way the characters acted in the story.
They were shocked. . .
. . .and sad and worried, ''What would the world be like without Superman?''
They played it off quite well. They kept him out of the comics for a few months. . .
. . .and dealt with what the world would really be like. . .
. . .if Superman suddenly didn't exist and built up that need for him again. . .
. . .so his triumphant return marked a whole new era for Superman.
I have four different creative teams on the character at the time.
And they all had a different idea about how to bring Superman back.
Eventually, we just said, ''Let's do them all. ''
We always knew that the real Superman was not one of those four.
And that he was going to come back.
But the Man of Steel wasn't just resurrected in the comics.
1993 also saw his return to television...
... this time in a romantic comedy.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. . .
...starred Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.
In this incarnation, the emphasis was placed not on the Man of Steel...
...but on his alter ego Clark Kent.
This is Clark Kent, in the newsroom.
In Lois & Clark, it was Clark Kent playing Superman.
I think I need some kind of outfit.
You know, like a disguise I could wear when things like that explosion happen.
The idea we had while we were shooting the show was. . .
. . .that clark Kent is the main guy. . .
. . .and then he becomes Superman as an invented character.
And that's where we differed from a lot of the films and such in the past.
What do you think?
One thing's for sure, nobody's going to look at your face.
Mom.
well, they don't call them tights for nothing.
Never before had the situations between Lois, Clark and Superman,,,
,,,been so deliberately sexy.
All you have to do is look up.
Lois & Clark's focus on romance was mirrored in the Superman comics.
And in October 1996, after a courtship of nearly 60 years...
,,,Lois Lane became Mrs. Clark Kent.
We did ''The Wedding Album. ''
And so this was the book that they had past, present. . .
...you know, everybody that ever worked on Superman that was still around...
. . .and able to hold a pencil or pen, work on.
The wedding issue sparked a bump in sales...
...but many Superman fans just couldn't accept the idea...
...of their hero being domesticated by marriage.
We still have a good debate on that in the office.
There's a lot of people on the creative staff who'd like to find a way. . .
. . .to have him wake up one morning and that just be a dream.
TV's Lois & Clark also married off its title characters.
But shortly after the ceremony, ratings began to fall,,,
...and the series was cancelled after four seasons.
I wanted us to push it to the next level and let them have children. . .
. . .and get crazy and explore new territory and see what those children would be.
It opens up this whole new realm of Superman lore. . .
. . .and we didn't really get to do that.
But by the time Lois & Clark was canceled...
...Superman fans had been dealt a far greater blow.
On May 27, 1995, the actor who had embodied their hero for a generation...
...became the victim of a horrible accident.
Christopher Reeve had been critically injured...
... while riding a horse in an exhibition.
His spine was injured and his body was paralyzed from the neck down.
Almost immediately there were rumors of a Superman curse,,,
...as Christopher Reeve's tragic accident...
... was now linked with George Reeves' death.
The irony isn't lost on everybody that here is this person who played. . .
. . .the most powerful man on Earth in the most vulnerable. . .
. . .and weakest position he could possibly be in.
But that's where he showed such incredible strength.
Surprisingly, instead of validating a Superman curse,,,
,,,Reeve's accident would do much to redeem Superman's legacy.
The actor became a tireless activist for spinal research.
His courage and optimism reminded people around the world...
... that human beings could be as courageous and influential...
...as any superhero.
On September 6, 1996...
... Warner Bros. Animation Division joined forces with DC Comics...
... to produce an ambitious new Saturday morning...
...Superman cartoon series for the WB network.
Superman: The Animated Series. . .
...stylishly updated the classic art direction featured...
...in the landmark Fleischer cartoons of the 1940s.
The Fleischer cartoons are phenomenal-looking but not a lot of story.
I definitely think that the Superman animated show. . .
. . .was just strong written material.
And if they shot them as movies people would always think Superman was cool.
The series' success later paved the way for another animated TV hit...
...Justice League Unlimited, which brought an edge...
... to the former Super Friends.
In the year 2000 as a new millennium dawned...
...DC Comics consented to let the WB network give...
... their superhero franchise an even more innovative interpretation.
What's happening, Jonathan?
Smallville would tell the story of Superman's boyhood on a farm...
...in rural Kansas.
John Schneider and Annette O "Toole...
... were cast as a young Jonathan and Martha Kent.
Sweetheart, we can't keep him.
What? I we say? We found him in a field?
We didn't find him.
He found us.
What DC had toad us was Superman is who he is because of his parents. . .
. . .which struck us and we decided. . .
. . .to make the parents as opposed to grandparents.
So we made them younger so that they would have more interaction. . .
. . .you know, and more of a presence.
They cast me and they didn't really realize it at first. . .
...that I had been in Superman III.
I went and just talked to them about doing it.
I was taking a lot about Superman and they thought:
''well, she knows a lot about this. ''
And I said, ''You know, I did play Lana. ''
He said, ''What? well, then, you've got to do it. ''
I said, ''well, I guess I have to. ''
She actually was a much bigger fan than we were.
She knew much-- She knew all the history. It was incredible.
It was like Bible-quoting with a nun. It was a little scary.
In the series, Clark Kent, played by Tom Welling, would be depicted...
...as a confused teenager just on the verge...
...of developing superpowers and his dual identity.
It's time, son.
Time for what?
The truth.
Your real parents weren't exactly from around here.
Why didn't you tell me about this before?
-We wanted to protect you. -protect me from what?
You should have toad me.
Clark.
Clark!
To distinguish their Superman from earlier portrayals,,,
... the series' producers promised viewers no tights, no flights.
We said, ''We don't want to do Superboy, we don't want to have the suit. ''
-Lois & Clark had just gone off the air. . . -Yeah.
. . .and that point in time superheroes were sort of stir not cool.
-Right. -So we thought this is. . . .
''How do we do Superman in a fresh way?''
Kent, are you all right?
So we came up with the idea of puberty with superpowers.
You know, the sort of the ultimate alien and when you're a teenager. . .
. . .you feel alienated.
You guys, I can see through things. How do you control that?
You got to practice, Clark. Your eyes have muscles just like your legs.
Your mom is right, son.
All you have to do is you have to figure out a way. . .
. . .to condition them so that you don't get these random flashes.
That sounds great.
How am I going to do that?
There is no Superman in our show. Superman doesn't exist.
We don't know what he's going to become.
That's the whole idea of the show: ''How is he going to live in the world?
What is he going to be?
Will he have to keep the secret forever?
Did it happen again?
Let's go home.
Let her go.
Smallville found a way to do Superman without the costume, without the stuff. . .
. . .that people think are the normal trappings of superhero stories.
And the character is stir a hero as far as I'm concerned.
No.
To advertise the new series, the WB devised a bold marketing strategy...
... that showed their 24-year-old star stripped to the waist...
...and tied to a post.
The startling image suggested more than a passing similarity...
...between Clark Kent and a crucified Jesus Christ.
-He's Christ-like. -He's Christ-like. You see him three times.
You see him, you know, at birth, once when he was in his teenage years. . .
. . .and then when he suddenly appears at 30, ready to take on his mantle. . .
. . .and save the world. So I mean, that it's all-- It's all through there.
-Yeah. -We definitely heightened it.
But when we saw that campaign we were shocked.
We thought, ''They're going to crucify us for this,'' but it was really compelling.
And people remember that campaign.
help me.
But on September 11, 2001, one month prior to the premiere of Smallville...
... the twin notions of truth and justice were put to the ultimate test.
Within minutes, a powerful nation was brought to its knees and the concept...
...of heroes and heroism was stunningly redefined.
A lot that you see from September 11th is a redefinition of what a hero is.
A lot of people used to throw that term around very loosely prior to that.
A hero is a guy who scored the most touchdowns, hit the most home runs.
But when you Look at the selflessness and sacrifice that average people made. . .
. . .in an extraordinary time, it forces you to go back and examine. . .
. . .how our heroes are supposed to act and behave.
What we need is a sense of purpose for our characters.
A reason for our characters to be heroes.
How do we make these characters do things that matter?
Superman is the greatest hero we have.
He's our fireman in the DC Universe.
He sits and he waits to help others.
He doesn't pass judgment.
He helps fix that situation, then he goes back and waits to be called again.
He's a person you know you can always count on. . .
. . .to be there if you need him.
We shot Smallville in early 2001 and we premiered them a month after 9/11
And all the press before the show was all about:
''How can you take Superman out of the suit?''
-And, you know, who cares--? -Who cares about Superman?
And then after 9/11 , it was suddenly, ''America needs a hero. ''
So overnight, it's like, it just fits the time.
SmallVille's premiere set a new ratings record for the WB.
Over 8 million viewers.
And week after week, audiences, including teenagers...
... who'd never read a comic book, came back for more.
-Lex, what's going on? -Get out of the way.
In the series, Superman's arch nemesis, Lex Luthor...
...played by Michael Rosenbaum, appeared as a boyhood friend of Clark's.
It was a nod to a 1960 Superboy story that established...
... the two had once been friends in Smallville before Luthor's twisted jealousy of Superboy...
...sent him down the path of evil.
I'm sorry you got thrown through that window.
-I promise I'm not a criminal mastermind. -I know.
A criminal mastermind would have worn a mask.
They get it. They understand the mythology of it.
You know, They have this Luthor and Superman character and they're friends.
You know, It's inevitable. It's fate that they'll be enemies.
We have a complicated relationship, Clark.
My father wants me to believe it's built on trust but it's not.
It's built on lies and deceit.
Any relationship with that foundation is destined to fall.
Lucky we don't have that problem.
Lucky us.
They have the farm, the iconic American values...
...whereas the Luthor character is raised by an evil, wealthy man fated...
. . .to grow up to be an evil, wealthy man.
What happened, Lex?
The two theories seem to be:
I either ran the plane into the ground through incompetence. . .
. . .or did it deliberately so that I could go back to Metropolis.
Your dad offered you a job in Metropolis. Just tell people the truth.
Then I get stuck with the incompetence rap.
Being reviled is the lesser evil.
Season one, the question of that season would be, ''Who am I?''
You know, that's when he sort of finds out where he's from. . .
. . .and sort of takes on his mantle in Smallville.
Season two really became about, ''Where am I from?''
It became sort of the ultimate, you know. . .
. . .adopted-child search for his real parents.
What am I doing here?
Looking for answers, I assume.
Hello, Clark.
I've been expecting you.
In Smallville's second season, Christopher Reeve made...
...an unforgettable appearance--
Activate screen.
--as the mysterious Dr. Virgil Swann, a scientist who tells Clark...
...of his Kryptonian origins.
This says, ''This is Kal-El of Krypton. . .
. . .our infant son, our East hope.
please protect him and deliver him from evil. ''
The episode was one of many that reminded young viewers...
... that growing up, like being Superman, involved tough choices.
Why me?
There must be a reason why I was sent to this planet.
You won't find the answers by looking to the stars.
It's a journey you? I have to take by Looking inside yourself.
You must write your own destiny, Kal-El.
Season three was the darkest season.
I think that was sort of Clark, you know, the end of the season. . .
. . .he put on the Red Kryptonite ring. . .
. . .which, in the show, takes away his inhibitions.
Season four was the last year in high school. . .
. . .and it was about sort of putting away childish behavior. . .
. . .and sort of moving towards your destiny.
But just as young Clark Kent was facing his destiny in an uncertain future...
... the world was stunned by another tragedy.
On October 10, 2004...
... Christopher Reeve died after his nine-year battle with paralysis.
The actor's nobility and optimism had suggested...
... that a man really could fly even if fate had denied him the ability to walk.
The thing that was great about Chris. . .
. . .is not that he was a hero and something superhuman.
But that, in fact, a very ordinary human. . .
. . .did these incredibly strong, transcendent things.
Chris was a hero to a lot of people in the last part of his life. . .
. . .and I admire him enormously for that.
Chris is my Superman.
He was on this earth for a lot of reasons.
He wasn't here just to be an actor.
He was Superman.
You won't find the answers by looking to the stars.
It's a journey you? I have to take by Looking inside yourself.
You must write your own destiny.
Boy, this is a great way to see the country.
Yeah, it's amazing how much you miss at super speed.
Yeah.
In 2004, comedian and Superman fan Jerry Seinfeld...
...appeared with an animated...
...Man of Steel on a series of commercials for the American Express company.
I want to hear this thing. It's got surround sound.
I've always wanted that.
-You've got superheating. -Yeah, but it's not surround sound.
I mean, surround sound.
It's like-- It's like you're there.
The success of the ads and the continued popularity of Smallville suggested,,,
... that perhaps the time was right...
...for Superman to return to movie screens as well.
Attempts to get a new film off the ground...
...had brought new meaning to the phrase, ""Never-ending battle. ""
Among those on the frontlines, producer Jon peters...
...secured the rights to the property in the early 1990s.
I knew that the character was hip.
Over 11 or 12 years, four or five number-one records. . .
. . .all about Superman.
Superman. Superman. Superman.
I kept going to the studio and saying, ''They're dying for it.
They're writing songs about it. The kids in the street have tattoos on them.
We've got to get it. ''
In trying to make Superman relevant to a jaded new generation...
...producers tried to avoid almost everything that had come before.
I always got the sense that some of these other attempts didn't take off. . .
. . .because they weren't sticking true to what Superman really was.
And no offense to the creators who were involved in the stuff. . .
. . .but you don't give Superman a back Latex suit with an ''S'' shied. . .
...that comes off and forms daggers and things like that.
That's just not who Superman is.
The elements were, that I was focusing on, were away from the heart.
It was more leaning towards Star Wars in a sense, you know.
I didn't realize the human part of it.
I didn't have that.
But through the process, Warner Bros. and DC executives...
... were encouraged by a string of comic-book-inspired films...
... that were profitable and critically acclaimed.
Many felt their success was due to one simple rule: Don't mess with the basics.
It was a philosophy shared by the director who was finally signed...
... to bring Superman back to the screen, Bryan Singer.
Singer had twice successfully brought Marvel's X-Men to movie theaters.
And news of his involvement brought a sigh of relief to Superman fans.
If you're in close-ups and then you're seeing S's everywhere. . .
. . .I don't know if that's too much.
He can handle the smartest material and help us connect with these characters. . .
. . .that have been, you know, beloved for many, many years. . .
. . .by several different generations.
You're dealing with a 70-year-old universe. . .
. . .with comic books and radio shows and TV and a multiple of series. . .
. . .that will exist long after I'm gone.
So at some point you have to just choose the things. . .
. . .that meant something to you.
He came in with the way he wanted to make the movie.
It was so unbelievably reliant and perfect.
It was like, ''I've been wrong for 12 years. ''
This is the right way to go.
To shape the story under the codename Red Sun...
...Singer worked closely with X-Men screenwriters...
...Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris.
We want to contemporize the character, at the same time. . .
. . .there's a gee-whiz quality about Clark and about Superman. . .
. . .that you've got to maintain.
We feet like Donner did something really, really right in the first one.
He created, essentially, the superhero genre of films.
And so I think it is a matter of us trying to kind of put. . .
. . .the Superman franchise back on track and bringing it back. . .
. . .you know, to a new generation.
But one important question remained:
Who would play Superman?
Superman has to feel, Look and sound as though. . .
. . .he has stepped out of your coercive consciousness of who that character is.
Just as Richard Donner had done three decades before...
...Bryan Singer decided to cast a relative unknown:
24-year-old Brandon Roth.
camera, action.
Taxi.
well, maybe, you know, saying goodbye was hard. . .
. . .because he wasn't sure whether he was going to be gone. . .
. . .for a Little while or forever.
And maybe he had to go and he wanted to say goodbye. . .
. . .but he could find the guts to do it. . .
. . .because if he saw you even for one East time. . . .
Or maybe he was afraid that if he saw you just once. . .
. . .he would never be able to go.
He had height and breadth.
Then we almost knocked into each other going out the front door.
Then I thought, ''Okay, he's got Clark. '' And then I said:
''Are you afraid of the Superman curse?'' And he said, ''well, it could be worse.
I could not get the role something terrible could happen to me. ''
I think I found my Superman.
With the fact that I came from the small town in the Midwest--
Much like Clark actually did.
--makes a lot of difference to my portrayal and who I am.
Bryan liked that I had Midwestern values, you know, everybody has values. . .
. . .but the Midwest gets a good rap for it.
And action.
He has to be able to embody Clark Kent on the farm.
Clark Kent in the newsroom, the bumbling Clark.
And then finally, Kal-El, the last son the Krypton. . .
. . .with all the majesty and honesty and virtue that you expect from Superman.
Brandon has those qualities rather inherently.
It's great to wear the suit when people bring their kids to set. . .
. . .and you just see, you know, a kind of sparkle in their eye.
Not because of me, but it's because it's Superman.
-Look in the sky, chief. -It's a bird.
-It's a plane. -No, Look it's--
You wanted to see me?
Joining Brandon Routh would be an ensemble of actors...
... who seemed tailor-made for their legendary roles.
Kate Bosworth would be the new Lois Lane, now a working mom...
... whose career ambitions and engagement to another man...
...are challenged by her love for Superman.
I knew it was going to be a tremendous chaining for me. . .
. . .because there's a very fine balance. . .
. . .with playing somebody who is a comic-book character.
You can either be much more of a caricature. . .
. . .or you can be very, very realistic.
I wanted to stir have that fun spunk that Lois Lane has.
But I also wanted to bring a heart to it that everybody could relate to.
can I ask you something?
Have you ever met someone and it's almost like. . .
. . .you were from totally different worlds, but shared such a strong connection. . .
. . .you knew you were destined to be with each other?
Then he just takes off, without explaining why or without even saying goodbye.
Sounds cheesy, I know. Taxi. Hey.
Thanks.
Frank Langella would bring a new clarity...
... to the role of Daily planet editor, Perry White.
I want to know it all, everything. I want to see photos of him everywhere.
Does he still stand for truth? Justice? All that stuff.
Sam Huntington would play the ever eager Jimmy Olsen.
Jimmy is just a happy-go-lucky guy.
He's goofy and wants to make people smile but I think he--
He wants to take a good picture and do his job well.
Clark has been doing a Little soul-searching. . .
. . .for the last coupe of years.
Must be tough coming back.
well, you know. Things change.
Kevin Spacey was cast as Superman's diabolical arch nemesis Lex Luthor.
tell me everything.
And utilizing footage shot for Superman: The Movie...
... the late Marlon Brando would return as Superman's father, Jor-El.
Even though you've been raised as a human being, you are not one of them.
They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be.
They only lack the Eight to show the way.
In the film, Superman is forced to find his place again...
...in a world that? almost forgotten him.
It was a conflict that resonated not only in the script...
...it also mirrored the many years the caped superhero...
...had been out of the pop-culture mainstream.
Superman has been off the Earth for five years.
He returns and finds that Lois Lane has moved on.
She has a fianc¨¦ and they have a child.
And he's taken a bit off guard by this.
I see you've already met the munchkin. Clark, Richard. Richard, Clark.
-Richard White. -Hi.
well, it's great to finally meet you. I've heard so much.
Oh, you have?
Yeah, Jimmy just won't shut up about you.
The struggle of Superman is he wants to have that semblance of real life. . .
. . .and of having Lois Lane, of having a family, all those things.
They haven't seen each other for five years. . .
. . .and she has moved on with her Life.
She has everything you feel when you have. . .
. . .a great love in your Life come back. . .
. . .and everybody can relate to that.
-Were you in love with him? -He was Superman.
Everyone was in love with him.
But were you?
Filmed at Fox Studios Australia...
. . .Superman Returns boasted a budget of nearly $200 million...
...but for Bryan Singer, more crucial than lavish sets or CGI...
... was making sure audiences...
...emotionally connected with his characters.
Bryan's always quick to say that he's not a comic-book fan.
That it's not the universe he grew up in. He didn't read comic books as a child.
But what I think he recognizes is that they deal with issues and emotions. . .
. . .that resonate with people in sort of a very highly entertaining fashion.
well, you're back, and everyone seems to be pretty happy about it.
Not everyone.
You can no longer get away with just great CGs or great special effects.
You really need to have story.
You really need to have character, relationship, emotion.
And it was very, very exciting for me. . .
. . .to feel like we're on to something very special.
Oh, my boy.
-Let me hear you say it, just once. -You're insane.
No, not that. No, the other thing.
-Superman will never-- -Wrong!
On June 30, 2006...
...audiences welcomed the return of Superman to movie theaters.
The film also represented the return of a dream...
...one born in the imaginations of two young boys from Cleveland, Ohio...
...a dream destined to change the world.
Since his debut in 1938...
... The Man of Steel has survived and thrived...
...during decades of reinvention and reinterpretation.
Superman has had a very diverse history.
He has been used to market, as propaganda material.
He's been in good television.
He's been in bad television.
He's been in good movies. He's been in bad movies.
-You didn't succumb to the Kryptonite. -I expected you to have it handy.
But the character Superman has always been strong enough. . .
. . .to survive his own history.
I think the reason Superman endures. . .
. . .is that it's the first character that is an alien from outer space. . .
. . .who comes to save us instead of to terrorize and defeat us.
Superman is the ultimate embodiment of the American dream.
proof that an immigrant can come to a new land...
...and achieve the greatest in human potential.
He is charged to continually see the good in people. . .
. . .and to keep on doing good when others don't see it.
He does have this vulnerable, fumbling, geeky side that everybody has.
And yet, he has this heroic, strong appearance as well.
And it's something that people can relate to and people can Look up to.
Battered by changing times and changing tastes...
...Superman always seems to emerge stronger than ever.
Superman will be around for a long time. . .
. . .because it captures the imagination of little boys and little girls.
-Does it make you dizzy? -Oh, no. I Iove it.
Like my grandson, running around in their capes. . .
. . .leaping off the backs of couches and running to save people.
Without question, Superman will do the right thing. . .
. . .because he's just the best.
At the end of the day, everyone--
Maybe they go on dates with Batman but they want to live with Superman. . .
. . .because Superman is about being the most virtuous man on Earth.
Superman is universal.
There isn't a country in the world you can go to. . .
. . .that they don't know Superman.
Because with the problems of today. . .
. . .the world is in desperate need of a hero.
Run for president Super, because God knows we need you now.
Take him away.
I think most people do believe in that kind of integrity and virtue.
They want to see goodness.
people have a deep need to believe that it exists out there.
They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be.
They only lack the light to show the way.
For this reason above all. . .
. . .I have sent them you, my only son.
Strong.
powerful.
Invincible.
Superman is a hero worth looking up to.
And to find him, we need only...
...look up in the sky.
Who unplugged my typewriter?
It's wonderful to meet a new Jimmy Olsen.
-Now, you? I Look at-- -No, no, no.
Superman, Look at me.
-I don't know where they are, I swear. -Don't force me to do humanity a favor.
You overblown, deluded creep.
Look, will you quit leaving your half-eaten sandwiches in the drawer.
They attract mice.
Stop it.
There it is.
They're Kellogg's new Sugar Smacks. You'll like'em.
Did you ever feel. . .
. . .like you could remember your lines?
I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree
A tree whose branch is wide and strong
The Campton ladies sing this song
cut it.
Subtitles by Supermann