Superman is the first in the series of seventeen animated Technicolor short films based upon the DC Comics character Superman. Also known as The Mad Scientist, Superman was produced by Fleischer Studios and released to theaters by Paramount Pictures on September 26, 1941. Superman ranked number 33 in a list of the fifty greatest cartoons of all time sourced from a 1994 poll of 1000 animation professionals, [1] and was nominated for the 1942 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Subject.
The short’s prologue sums up the origins of Superman, and are as follows:
“In the endless reaches of the universe, there once existed a planet known as Krypton, a planet that burned like a green star in the distant heavens. There, civilization was far advanced, and it brought forth a race of supermen, whose mental and physical powers were developed to the absolute peak of human perfection. But there came a day when giant quakes threatened to destroy Krypton forever. One of the planet’s leading scientists, sensing the approach of doom, placed his infant son in a small rocket ship and sent it hurtling in the direction of Earth, just as Krypton exploded. The rocket sped through star-studded space, landing safely on Earth with its precious burden: Krypton’s sole survivor. A passing motorist found the uninjured child and took it to an orphanage. As the years went by and the child grew to maturity, he found himself possessed of amazing physical powers. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, the infant of Krypton is now the Man of Steel: SUPERMAN! To best be in a position to use his powers in a never-ending battle for truth and justice, Superman has assumed the disguise of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.”
The story cuts to the Daily Planet, where editor Perry White reveals to his two best field reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane that an anonymous figure has been mailing death threats to the Planet, should he not be paid in one million dollars to stop his rampage. About the only clue given is the alias The Mad Scientist (voiced by Jack Mercer ,who also voiced Popeye). He may be an early precursor to Lex Luthor or a reference to the Ultra-Humanite, whose original form he resembles, without the crippled legs. White assigns Kent to handle the story, but Lois, portrayed here as a strong-willed woman, insists that she investigate as well, much to the supposed chagrin of Kent.
Lois takes off in a private plane to an undisclosed location up at the mountain, where the main villain’s secluded lair/laboratory is located. He is preparing to fire his futuristic weapon (perhaps a particle beam or death ray), until he spots her aircraft in the process. Upon her arrival, Lois finds herself kidnapped, bound, and gagged, as the scientist boasts to her about the success of his plan, and then demonstrates the beam weapon by aiming it at a bridge. While listening to the radio, Clark and the other journalists learn of the coming disaster by the military, who warns everyone to stay inside. Instinctively, Clark steps into a storage room and changes into Superman before flying away.
The Mad Scientist then has the beam weapon weaken the foundations of the Daily Planet skyscraper, causing it to tip over. Fortunately, Superman arrives in time and prevents the structure from crashing into neighboring buildings or falling to the ground, successfully restoring the skyscraper to its upright orientation.
Superman then pushes the laser beam away from the base of the skyscraper, but shortly afterward gets struck down as the scientists turns up the weapon’s power to its full force. Superman remains determined to fight it and soon perseveres against the beam by punching it repeatedly, gradually pounding the beam back to its source. Seeing that the beam has been overpowered, the horrified Mad Scientist increases power, but Superman uses that against him by twisting the weapon into a knot, preventing the beam energy from escaping, and the buildup of pressure causes the machine to overheat and explode. As the scientist’s lab disintegrates with the weapon’s demise, Superman arrives to rescue Lois, while also capturing the scientist as he attempts to escape, flying them to safety.
The scene dissolves back to the Daily Planet where Clark Kent and Lois report back to Perry White. She has gotten a scoop on the story of the Mad Scientist, who is now in prison, and Perry commends her on doing it. Seeing she hasn’t suspected a thing, Clark looks at the camera, winks, and nods to the audience, and the story ends.
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[...] to have a site with a “Superman Film Festival” flavor to it. The first film is up at http://video.butlerblog.com/2009/11/12/superman/ and I’ll be adding more later, until we have the entire series. You can view the entire [...]
[...] season ten, as well as Martha Kent (Annette O'Toole) … Mail (will not be published) (required) …Superman (1941) | Atomic Drive-InThe story cuts to the Daily Planet, where editor Perry White reveals to his two best field reporters [...]