Superman - First Episode

[Remeez1000]

i love these old cartoons drawing..than these cartoons we have today

[MaverickHunterX3]

The animation here is topnotch considering the time it was made.

[lauraps2]

I can't believe it! I saw this as a child in 1994 xD

[quicksilver36]

7:40 Master of the obvious

[Gazirra]

Take that, Focused Beam of High-Energy Photons!

[Kopaka808]

Punching a laser beam, now that shit is beast lol

[pytko3]

@Kopaka808 I think it's a particle beam.

[preacherZer0]

I just picked up the boxset, every episode on 3 dvds for $8.

I'm happy.

[Ferpius]

@preacherZer0 Really? Interesting.

[aquarius11]

The vulture's the best part. And when did Lois take flying lessons, anyway?

[kdemonde]

I like the animation but that was truly a crappy way of explaining the origin of how Kal-el came to earth. Stories were never told that he was sent to an orphanage because as we know he was found by George and Martha Kent. I guess they had copyright issues i dont know or maybe they had not solidified the whole Superman origin yet back when this cartoon was introduced because if you notice in all the episodes of this Superman, he never really flies, he leaps around instead of flying.. LOL

[salvtrooper113]

@kdemonde Its Martha and Jonathan Kent and your right they didnt have Supermans story down yet. First his creators only made him able to leap tall buildings and out of nowhere the writers decided to give him the ability to fly and everyone loved it so it stuck

[kdemonde]

@salvtrooper113 Thanks I figured back in the 40's they had not developed the Superman story as of yet but i'm glad they granted him with the power of flight , which is good and sets Superman apart from other heroes. Ya know i watch Spider-man cartoons and the movies and i realized there were a few quips in reference to Superman and i just never saw a comparison between the two, Can Spiderman turn back time swinging around the earth on his web? LOL I see way too many vulnerabilties in Spidey

[salvtrooper113]

@kdemonde theres references of Superman with spiderman cartoons? foreel??

[kdemonde]

@salvtrooper113 Yeah i was watching the 90's Spiderman cartoon and Spidey was comforting a little girl and the girl said "people say your from a dying planet and was sent here by your parents to save the world" And in Spiderman 1 while Peter's on the roof trying to work his web he say's "up up n away web" and when Aunt May is in the hospital telling Peter to get some rest she states 'Your not Superman ya know" and then theres that unnecessary 1976 comic book "Superman vs Spiderman"

[salvtrooper113]

@kdemonde ooh yeah pff I remember those. The Spiderman cartoon reference was so funny

[plugginmuffin]

Gorgeous animation, these cartoons are lovely and fits so well with Superman. <3

[preacherZer0]

The use of light, shade and color is amazing.

Watch this, then go watch a modern cartoon.

Hell go watch a modern animated feature film like some Disney movie to see just how slack standards have gotten.

And this was just a regular saturday morning show... amazing.

[VinnyMonster1]

@preacherZer0 Agreed, and not just for the shading and colour. The Movement is realistic, better than most cgi cartoons IMHO.

[shayaan2354]

The animation looks really good. Also it looks different somehow.

[50zcarsman]

I read that this series cost the equivalent of $1M/episode to produce. They only stopped b/c WWII sapped the studio's strength in animators, and it was by then busy with more blatant war propaganda pieces -- but, see the excellent (if racist) eps, "The Japoteurs" and "The Eleventh Hour" -- also the final one, "The Secret Agent", which features a femme fatale I think Supes gets kinda sweet on.

[emilykittie]

@1805902349 1941

[nobodysperfect06]

there should have been a Batman Fleischer cartoon

[buzzflydunbother]

beautiful animation. absolutely beautiful. GO FLEISCHER!!! shits all over disney.

[htollett]

beware you fools!

[KavalierII]

Love how on time this guy was...even stopped for Lois, let her 'park up her plane' and ring the doorbell....man, humans were so civilised then...lol

[tuxguys]

One incredibly boring afternoon in a hotel,on a trip with my family in 1960, with nothing to read, and nothing good on TV, this very cartoon came on, as "filler" between the end of some movie and the start of some game show. I could not believe my luck...I was totally eaten up with Superman at the time, and I'd never seen anything like this...I didn't even know that there were any Superman cartoons in 1960. I had not seen this cartoon since that afternoon 50 years ago, and I remembered it all.

[DisturbedShifty]

Woooooo! I haven't seen this in years!  Gotta love the animation.

[buzzclick500]

Well, I gave it a rest for month to rest my senses. The scientist still looks Asian. The hairsytle is also distinctly Japanese samurai. And our government had already DECIDED we were going to war with Japan.

[gelu4056]

O.o it looks like the ugly guy raped lois!!!

[buzzclick500]

Hmm. The "scientist" looks quite Asian--the national racial propaganda had BEGUN, with a fun cartoon that all the children would love.

[TheJomogogo]

@buzzclick500

Looks like a white guy to me you're just making shit up

[buzzclick500]

@TheJomogogo : I see a Mongol aspect to his facial features. Some people argue anything just for the fun of doing it.

[DeuteriumDrones]

Lots of Vitamin D3, Silicon (as orthosilicic acid from green/string beans) and GNC's Dark Matter will make us all SUPERMEN. Guaranteed.

[zeppelinator]

Oh my god the mad scientist sounds like Fat Tony and is dressed like Dr. No/Dr. Evil!!! Truly pioneer stuff, amazing!

[Xainor]

I much prefer cartoons from this time. The musical score is not only amazing but it makes the story!

[rustybiker08]

i love these but even when i was a kid i wondered what would have happened if no one had seen clark go in but seen superman come out what would he say "i just want to borrow a stapler"?

[alfayhaa3]

YAY YAY

I LIKED THAT

[JimmyColls]

I love how bored sounds when he reading is reading out the Villain's threat, it's like he's sick of getting worried about all the insane shit that seems to happen in Metropolis every other weekday.

[flapdoodle64]

Lot better than that crap on Smallville, that's for sure.

[scorpiogtx]

these are fucking sweet. i have them on dvd from walmart. i bought thes three discs for a dollar each

[Kagaines]

That is one smart buzzard.

[rahulupd007]

yheee superman

[GTidmore1]

Is this from the Superman cartoon shown in the 1960's, or from one shown in a later decade? I vaguely remember watching Superman and Batman as a young child in the second half of the 60's while going to elementary school. But I think it was the action drama Superman with George Reeves that I recall seeing then.

[angelwriter360]

how awesome is superman?

HE PUNCHES LASERS! THAT IS AWESOME!

[sunshineflag]

greatest manga. simple.

[Nuclearman2]

Is there anything more perfect than Superman winking at the audience at the end of episodes like these?

No, there is not.

These cartoons are masterful. The fact that they are STILL influencing Superman media today is testament to their brilliance.

[boingokky]

Someone needs to resurrect the musical theme for this cartoon for future SM cartoons! This is a very recognizable theme for Superman, along with John William's Theme!

[jokamund]

I love the lighting of this show.

[tailsy]

superman is cool

[watariryusaki]

Bring this back and they'll get loads of money :D

[Bonzel]

they had them for sale at a 7-11 for like 4 bucks... really not much money there.

[dorsettwerp]

THIS...is QUALITY animation, far superior to the crap produced today !!!!!

[FBrizman89]

true, Hand drawn animation is Culture

[obiwanobiwan13]

@dorsettwerp Well, the Superman cartoon in the 1990s was great too...

But yes, it seems like the 2000s came and took all of our best cartoons and heroes...this version and the 1990s version of Superman, along with the Batman cartoon from the 1990s, was always on when I was growing up.

The forces of LEx Luthor, the Joker, a horde of enemies and natural disasters and out of this world mosnters and aliens will never defeat the Man of Steel and The Dark Knight! (But TV executives...) :(

[octagon79]

@obiwanobiwan13 The Superman cartoon of the 1990's was decent for this era but it doesn't even compare to this kind of animation. The money and time its cost to make these early cartoons is mindblowing.

[HardWarUK]

@dorsettwerp You said that right!

[raahmoan]

that was intense, lol

[ranel63]

lmaooooo! love superman!

[Coldspider801]

"We've got a letter from the mad scientist, the one whos going to destroy the city, I forget his name"

[wanderer711]

@Coldspider801 Which one? Dangit theres so many of them....

[jakesdoc]

Notice the guy smoking in 5:25. You don't see THAT in cartoons anymore!

[philipbabb]

Classic, definitely a classic.

[dethjef64]

7:51 its over 9000 !!!

[WhiteLightning325]

Funny how the scientist looks suspiciously like Edward Nigma from the Batman series (the one that came out in the 90's)

[dkswede]

wow i think that 5:32 is an excellent example of great voice acting! Notice how as he says the famous line "this looks like a job for SUPERMAN"....his voice changes from Clark's voice to Superman's! If you have seen the other episodes you realize how supermans tone of speech differs from Clark's! Brilliant!

[boingokky]

I need sheet music to this music - absolutely AMAZING Music!!!!!!!!

[sonic423]

lol the crow copys the creepy scentist

[mkang1]

and lois is a pilot too... .whatta woman!

[cathalc2006]

What happened to the kents?

[kidkhorne]

i used to own this on vhs, forgot all about it actually

[ansemkurt]

He got killed by Superman Prime.

gotta love infinite crisis

[andrademe28]

this Superman cartoon is actually Superman from earth-two Kal-L? please tell me.

[delavega70]

Yeaph, Lol.

[Timmyfunk1]

Grew up in an orphanage? That's not how the story goes.

[delavega70]

I was thinking the same...

[Timmyfunk1]

Creative license is a mutha...isn't it?

[archer1949]

That was the original story. In the first Superman comic stories, he was raised in an Orphanage. Ma and Pa Kent didn't come along for a few years later.

[Timmyfunk1]

No it wasn't. Ma and Pa Kent found Superman amongst the destruction of the rocket that brought him to earth.

[Jenga666]

The Kents were from the Silver age earth.

[Timmyfunk1]

And that story was the original story. Not that orphanage crap.

[GTidmore1]

If I remember right, as a child, the "Superman origin" story from the comics was that the Kents found the baby at/near the spaceship. They turned it into the orphanage and adopted the child a short time later. That version is in one of the "Superman Family Album" cartoon shorts that were done decades ago. I'm not sure what the origin story was in the 1930s.

[newguy90]

@GTidmore1

This is the original origin straight from the comics. Pick up Action Comics #1. He was raised in an orphanage as a seemingly normal child, then his powers manifested as a teen. Superman didn't even know he was an alien, only the readers knew. He thought he was a human being who just happened to develop super powers. The whole being raised by the Kents, Superboy career, and learning about Krypton wouldn't be introduced until years after this cartoon.

[zfrend]

the animation is so great its so 30's like some cartoons of bugs bunny but this one has colors!!!!

[1napprec1able]

Классно

[lostoath007]

what the dillio!!!

[will4ward]

The artistry! The Artistry!

Max Fleischer put so much detail in ,animated shadows, beautifully rendered backgrounds.

-Cell animation at its finest!

Anime artists prolly studied the crap out of these animations.

[museguest]

each of these episode are masterpiece !

[SchwarzHee]

Clark Kent is like superman but the glasses confused me! (hahaha).

[grimbragreen]

Yea, This very classic old cartoon in 1941 or 42.

[abaddon32]

Brilliant! Why couldn't New Frontiers be this good. Look at how smooth the animation is, check out the smoke at 5;20.

[marvelcomicsown]

no not nice.......................... gay

[lfrisone]

Okay, here's a question. How do you suppose the Daily Star (or is it the Daily Planet?) figured out where the bad guy was and the police didn't?

[samsam29]

I think it's even more baffling that Lois Lane flew an airplane and that the building didn't collapse after Superman stopped holding it, but hey, it's cartoons.

[brcbrtn]

Orphanage! What happened to the good and loving guiding hands of Ma and Pa Kent? If Kal-el grew up in an 1940's orphanage, he'd be a human-hating super villian!

[mdrehmer]

LOL! Possibly.

[redruth1955]

A Mad scientist kidnaps Lois Lane and Clark Kent goes to the stock room changes into Superman and he must stop Lois Lane at the mad scientist and his vulture.

[MeninoLatino]

the narrator's voice is epic

[Cool2fool]

nice