In a memorable part of his stand-up act, comedian Jerry Seinfeld recalled dressing up as Superman for Halloween when he was a kid. “On the side of the box of my Superman costume,” remembered Seinfeld, “it actually said – ‘Do Not Attempt to Fly!’”
Such is the power of the character of Superman, introduced in Action Comics #1 in 1938. He has continued to return generation after generation, allowing people to believe that “a man can fly.”
Case in point is director James Gunn’s Superman, the eagerly awaited latest incarnation of the iconic hero, which debuts in theaters this weekend. It’s the third different movie version of Superman to debut in less than fifteen years, and audiences are, once again, ready to fly to theaters to see it.
However, reboots of the Man of Steel are nothing new to fans of classic Saturday Morning animation. From 1966 to 1988, Superman was featured in a number of different shows.
To celebrate the debut of the latest big-screen Superman, here is a look back at the character’s many versions from the ’60s through the ’80s:
The New Adventures of Superman, 1966
This series marked Superman’s animated debut on television (the Fleischer Studio had produced theatrical animated Superman shorts in the 40s) and was one of the first animated series produced by Filmation, a studio that would join Hanna-Barbera as a major player on Saturday mornings.
The New Adventures of Superman borrowed from the Man of Steel’s other major TV appearance before this – the popular, live-action Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves. New Adventures even featured the same “Faster than a speeding bullet!” opening to its show.
The series has connections to other previous versions of Superman, as actors Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander, who played Superman and Lois Lane, respectively, in the Fleischer cartoons and on radio, reprised their roles for the series.
DC Comics writers George Kashdan, Leo Dorfman, and Bob Haney penned the stories for the series, giving each one a more traditional, comic book feel. The episodes balanced ones where Superman would battle an immense force, such as icebergs or giant apes, and others where he would go up against one of the comic book’s villains, such as Lex Luthor or Mister Mxyzptlk.
The half hour series included two Superman adventures and one featuring Superboy.
The animation in The New Adventures of Superman is on par with Saturday morning animation of the time. Still, its limited quality only adds to the comic book tone of the show, as does the traditional end of each episode, where usually Clark Kent would make a sly joke about why he and Superman are never seen together and then wink at the camera.
The Brady Kids, 1972
Filmation brought Superman back as a guest in an episode of their animated series starring the younger members of The Brady Bunch. In the episode “Cindy’s Super Friend,” Cindy meets up with Clark Kent (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) as he is searching for a phone booth, and when he drops his wallet, the kids’ dog, Mop Top fetches it and attempts to bring it to Clark, where he sees Superman flying out of the phone booth.
Clark and Lois (Jane Webb) join The Kids to be part of an event where they volunteer to paint buildings in the town. Villains swap out invisible paint used for the bank and then attempt to rob it, but, of course, Superman saves the day (with the help of The Kids).
A highlight is a scene where, while the Kids are away, Clark ducks into their clubhouse to change into Superman, but is almost stopped by the Kryptonite in Jan’s rock collection. Cindy disposes of the rocks, and it’s “Up! Up! And Away!”
Yes, two disparate worlds collide in this episode.
Super Friends, 1973
This is how many generations remember Superman on Saturdays, as Super Friends (in various iterations and under different titles, ranging from The All-New Super Friends Hour to Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show) ran from 1973 to 1986.
ABC commissioned Hanna-Barbera to develop the series, and the studio enlisted famed artist Alex Toth (who had created Space Ghost) to develop Super Friends, which gave it such a unique, dynamic look.
Based on DC Comics’ Justice League of America, the series teamed up Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and many other members of DC’s universe. There was also the addition of teenagers Wendy Harris and Marvin White, along with their Wonder Dog.
Later versions featured Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna, and their monkey, Gleek. The twins did have powers and could morph into different forms after declaring, “Wonder Twin powers, activate!” a line from the series that’s become iconic.
They would battle a number of villains in the series, including the Legion of Doom, which included such Superman foes as Lex Luthor, Brainiac, and Toyman.
Actor Danny Dark voiced Superman, and the most recognizable voice on the show probably belonged to Ted Knight, who famously played Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
He provided the perfect, booming narration for each episode. His intro line, “Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice…” became synonymous with Superman and DC superheroes for many a generation.
Superman, 1988
The Ruby-Spears Studio produced this series that aired on CBS in 1988, the same year as Superman’s 50th anniversary.
The show pulled much of its inspiration from director Richard Donner’s iconic 1978 blockbuster, Superman: The Movie, which, of course, starred Christopher Reeve. Composer John Williams’ soaring score from that film was even used for the show’s opening.
Ruby-Spears’ Superman also had close ties to DC comics, as legendary comic book writer Marv Wolfman served as story editor for the series, and none other than Gil Kane created the character design.
What made this Superman series unique was that, toward the end of each episode, there was a segment entitled “Superman Family Album.” These short sections would provide a “flashback” to a moment in Superman’s early days. There were such moments as Ma Kent taking toddler Clark Kent to the supermarket, doing all she could to keep his superpowers under wraps, as he wreaked havoc in each aisle.
In another of these segments, young Clark’s friends come over to the Kent farm for his birthday party, during which Clark uses his X-ray vision to peek at his presents.
In all, the “Superman Family Album” offered some “softer,” funnier moments, which provided a nice change to the adventure that preceded it.
There have been so many Superman incarnations since, including this summer’s Superman, which will no doubt soar to box-office success, but for many generations, these Saturday morning memories of Superman are, well, the most Super, indeed.
Michael Lyons is a freelance writer, specializing in film, television, and pop culture. He is the author of the book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney’s Animation Renaissance, which chronicles the amazing growth at the Disney animation studio in the 1990s. In addition to Animation Scoop and Cartoon Research, he has contributed to Remind Magazine, Cinefantastique, Animation World Network and Disney Magazine. He also writes a blog, Screen Saver: A Retro Review of TV Shows and Movies of Yesteryear and his interviews with a number of animation legends have been featured in several volumes of the books, Walt’s People. You can visit Michael’s web site Words From Lyons at: 
The last “Super Friends” iteration was actually titled “THE SUPER POWERS TEAM: GALACTIC GUARDIANS”.
That’s because it was a tie-in with the Kenner “Super Powers” toy line
In “The New Adventures of Superman” the voice of Lois Lane was provided alternately by Joan Alexander and Julie Bennett, who had voiced Cindy Bear in the Yogi Bear cartoons.
I’m curious about the catchphrase “Up, Up, and Away” as uttered by Bud Collyer in the animated series. I don’t recall it being used in the Fleischer cartoons or in the George Reeves TV series. But I have not heard the radio series, so maybe it originated there. Either that, or it started in the 60’s Filmation cartoons. I know it was used in the Broadway musical “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman.” It seems to have been associated with Superman ever since.
“Up, up and away” was from the Superman radio show – a signature line spoken by Bud Collyer on that series – written to help the audience visualize the action. It was also spoken (or sometimes dubbed over a take off) in the Kirk Alyn movie serial.
I like the Filmation series. Superman deals with intergalactic invaders in about the same tone of voice you’d expect he’d use to share golf tips or advice on how to fix a highball. My favorite episodes were with the Parasite (where he overloads the Parasite with super power until he explodes) and the Prankster (where Superman imitates Wile E. Coyote for a bit). I think they were both written by someone named Oscar Bensol – I’ve never been able to find out anything much about him.
Magical! That kind of drawing that glues a nose seen from above onto a face seen from below and so on. Wally Wood would do this sort of thing with perspective from time to time except that he would do it on purpose.
Terrific and timely post. Perhaps someone has some info on this oddity. I’ve heard that the first TV animation of Superman was the commercial for Soaky (kids’ bubble bath). Oddly, it pairs Supes with Tennessee Tuxedo. One source said that Alan Swift is the voice of Superman. That’s not Don Adams as TT, so maybe Swift is voicing him, too. Could this have been animated by Total TV (Gamma Prod.), or maybe Filmation, as a “test” for the Sat AM show? Here’s the commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtFJ66-SCHA&ab_channel=cactusjump
JWB, It’s funny how so many of the comments for that Soaky ad say it’s Don Adams voicing Tennessee when it’s so obviously not. I’d say it’s probably Allen Swift.
In the early 1960s, kiddie show host Mayor Art (KRON4, San Francisco) had the Fleischer / Famous / Paramount Popeye cartoons. He also had the Fleischer Superman shorts, rationed out at one a day max. I don’t remember seeing the Supermans anywhere else for several years, while Popeye, like Loony Tunes and Three Stooges, was always on the air somewhere. Were the Superman shorts syndicated differently / separately? Did they go off the market at some point, perhaps under terms of the deal with DC?
….And the Brady video got quickly taken down……
Regarding the 1988 series and considering that Wolfman was the story editor, did his character Cat Grant, a reporter and rival love interest for Clark Kent that debut in the comic a year prior appeared in the series?
So…why hasn’t the 1994 WBKids series been included in this article? Surely it must merit some mention, as it goes further into revealing more lesser-known lore about the Man of Steel as the previous series did.
You mean 1996, but yeah… Warner Bros’ “Superman: The Animated Series” was a Saturday morning show, too. Maybe Michael Lyons considers the era of “classic Saturday morning animation” to have ended before that time?
No, I don’t consider that at all. The 1990s was an amazing time for animation. I decided to focus on the 60s through the 80s, as Superman in animated form is a lot to cover. But, the1990s and beyond for Superman in animation would make for a nice Part 2…and Part 3…and 4, to this article. Thanks.
Next year’s 30th anniversary seems like a good time for a look back on that series.There’s no shortage of ways to approach the material, from its choices in synthesizing decades of comic-book lore, to its status as a bridge between Batman and Justice League. Or you can just point out that a few short years after establishing himself as perhaps the iconic Lex Luthor, actor Clancy Brown brought to life another avaricious businessman: Eugene Krabs.
@Mesterius: Thank you for correcting me.
@Michael Lyons: Pardon my ignorance for not (re)reading the article header close enough. And yes, I agree, this era was the best as far as animated iterations of the Man of Steel. Bud Collyer brought an integrity to Superman that was well-suited for his image, likewise Danny Dark with his characterization for the Super Friends series. I didn’t see much of the Ruby-Spears series, but it was quite a unique and fresh take on the Man of Steel, to say the least. Looking forward to reading a Part 2 covering the 90’s series, as this was an interesting time for the DCU’s progressive transition to animation, with Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski revamping the worlds of Batman and Superman.
On a somewhat related note, I seem to recall an animated PSA produced for the American Lung Association that ran in the late 70’s through early 80’s in which Superman spoke to kids about the dangers of smoking. Has anyone else here seen it? Has it ever been mentioned in a previous Cartoon Research article?
For my money, nothing beats The New Adventures of Superman (and Superboy) toons from Filmation. The voices and stories worked for me.