While all eyes are on the big-screen adaptations, some of the best Superman stories have been told on television. After Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created the world’s most iconic superhero, he quickly jumped from the pages of comics to radio, film serials, animation and feature films. There have been five live-action series about Kal-El, and of those TV shows’ pilot episodes only one is a truly excellent Superman “movie.” Kirk Alyn first played Superman in two 15-chapter film serials. While appearing on the big screen, they were essentially television series before the technology was popular.
The Man of Steel finally got his feature film due with 1978’s Superman: The Movie with Christopher Reeve in the role. However, the franchise fizzled with each sequel, leading to The Adventures of Superboy, a half-hour syndicated Saturday morning series. While fun and ambitious, it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Superman’s other television appearances. Its pilot wasn’t special in the way the other series’ first episodes were, either by introducing the Superman concept or serving as a feature-length version of the show. After all, a pilot episode’s job is meant to both introduce and sell the show to networks and audiences. What makes the first episode truly excellent is if it also stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Superman’s movies.
The First Live-Action Superman TV Series Essentially Had Two Pilot Episodes
A B-Movie and Origin Episode Introduced George Reeves’s Man of Steel
Adventures of Superman technically had two pilot episodes: the true first episode and an hour-long B-movie feature released as Superman and the Mole Men. It’s surprising for the time, because Superman ends up protecting the titular mole men from the people. Lois Lane isn’t a damsel in distress, though when a person in the town nearly shoots her, Superman forcibly takes away their guns. This feature served as a pilot to sell the show into syndication, but it wasn’t the first episode. Directed by Lee Sholem, the 1951 film became the unofficial first season finale.
The actual first episode of Adventures of Superman runs for the series’ usually half-hour (with commercials) runtime. Called “Superman on Earth” it is a full retelling of the origin story which serves as something of a blueprint for future adaptations of the character, extending to 1978’s Superman and even Man of Steel. The first act of the episode is set on Krypton (with Griffiths Observatory standing in for Jor-El’s Kryptonian home). He warns of the planet’s destruction and plans to escape with Lara and his child, but he is forced to send only Kal-El in the “prototype” rocket.
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The middle act introduces Eben and Sarah Kent, the elderly couple who finds the baby in “one of them new-fangled rockets.” There is a scene where Sarah explains to a 12-year-old Clark (played by the uncredited Jeffrey Silver) where he comes from. After Eben suffers a heart attack on Clark’s 25th birthday, Sarah sends him off to Metropolis with a homemade costume to become Superman. To get his Daily Planet job, Clark rescues a man hanging from a blimp as Superman. What makes this pilot episode notable is how it establishes the Superman origin tropes repeated in countless stories since.
Adventures of Superman
- Release Date
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September 19, 1952
- Finale Year
-
November 30, 1957
- Cast
-
Al Eben
, Anthony De Mario
, Arthur Space
, Beverly Washburn
, Dean Cromer
, Denver Pyle
, Dick Gordon
, George “Spike” Hamilton
, George Reeves
, Henry Corden
, Henry Kulky
, Jim Hayward
, John Merton
, Kay Morley
, Norma Varden
, Paul Burke
, Paul E. Burns
, Phyllis Coates
, Robert Rockwell
, Vic Perrin
, William Forrest
, Ted Hecht
, Noel Neill
, John Hamilton
, Jack Larson - Seasons
-
6
- Network
-
ABC
, Syndication
Superman & Lois Is the Most Unique Adaptation of the Man of Steel’s Story Yet
Clark Kent and Lois Lane Finally Got to Grow Up as Characters on The CW
The most recent pilot episode of a Superman series is unique in that it breezes past most of the typical elements of Kal-El’s story. In fact, the only real costumed heroics in the first episode of Superman & Lois are his introduction in the narration, a sequence where he prevents a nuclear meltdown and a brief fight with Steel. Most of the episode’s story is focused on Clark Kent’s family, from his children with Lois to the death of his mother.
Superman & Lois was initially supposed to be part of the Arrowverse, however, producers changed course as the other series ended during its first seasons.
While it does what a typical pilot episode is supposed to do, the only real moments of “setup” for the future Superman & Lois series comes at the end. Clark and Lois decided to move the family from Metropolis to Smallville to save the Kent home, and introduces the series’ major players, from General Sam Lane to Lana Lang and her husband Kyle and daughter Sarah. It’s a fantastic episode that sets up a truly wonderful series, but the ending is left very open.
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The Superman & Lois pilot doesn’t quite work as a standalone movie-style story. It’s rich with character moments and emotion, particularly when Clark reveals his secrets to his sons Jordan and Jonathan. Fans have never seen Clark and Lois as parents in live-action before, and the episode delays resolution for how his double life as Superman changes the family dynamic. Similarly, Jordan developing powers (and his brother not) is merely a tease of what’s to come.
The world’s most famous superhero and comic books’ most famous journalist face the pressures and complexities that come with balancing work, justice, and parenthood in today’s society.
- Release Date
-
February 23, 2021
- Finale Year
-
November 30, 2023
- Cast
-
Geoff Johns
, Greg Berlanti
, Marc Guggenheim
, todd helbing
, Tyler Hoechlin
, Elizabeth Tulloch
, Jim Lee
, Jordan Calloway
, Matt Ryan
, Sarah Schechter
, Grant Gustin
, Nicole Maines
, Javicia Leslie
, Alex Garfin
, Jordan Elsass
, Michael Bishop
, Erik Valdez
, Inde Navarrette
, Wolé Parks
, Tayler Buck
, Sofia Hasmik
, Chad L. Coleman
, Dylan Walsh
, Emmanuelle Chriqui
, Michael Cudlitz - Seasons
-
4
Smallville Was a Revolutionary Television Series That Inspired All That Followed It
The Pilot Episode Is the Most Traditional One Because It Had to Prove the Show Worked
Everything about Smallville was unorthodox, including its pilot episode. There is an “extended broadcast” version that adds fewer than 10 minutes of story. By choosing to focus only on Clark Kent’s life before he put on the suit, it’s almost unfair to consider this a “Superman” TV show. Yet over ten seasons, it showed how a mild-mannered farm kid became the Man of Tomorrow. Yet, the Smallville pilot wouldn’t work as a standalone story.
“[Working with Christopher Reeve] was very inspirational… And every time I think about it, I get the chills because… He was all about encouragement.” — Tom Welling in an interview.
Instead, it uses most of its narrative space to set up the series’ early format, pitting Clark against a “freak of the week.” The most ambitious element of Smallville is introducing Lex Luthor as Clark’s not-evil childhood friend. Technically, Superboy did it first, but that version of Lex was a villain from the get-go. The pilot episode establishes why Lex befriends a high school kid and the tension that creates for Clark at home.
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Smallville’s pilot also teases how Clark’s secret keeps him isolated, but he actually has a number of close relationships, including Pete Ross and series’ original Chloe Sullivan. The best thing the pilot accomplishes is establishing these character relationships. Smallville became the blueprint for superhero TV shows for a reason, and even when the show is extremely dated, there is plenty to love.
Growing up in the small town of Smallville, Kansas, Clark Kent harbors a secret. Sent to Earth from the planet Krypton as a baby, he possesses superhuman abilities that he must keep hidden. Under the guidance of his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, Clark learns to control his powers and use them for good. As he navigates the challenges of high school, friendships, and first love, he also faces threats from meteor-infected individuals and otherworldly villains. Along the way, Clark encounters familiar characters from the Superman mythos, like Lex Luthor and Lana Lang, while grappling with his true identity and destiny to become the iconic superhero, Superman.
- Release Date
-
October 16, 2001
- Finale Year
-
November 30, 2010
- Cast
-
Sam Jones III
, Annette O’Toole
, Jensen Ackles
, Eric Johnson
, Erica Durance
, Cassidy Freeman
, Michael Rosenbaum
, Laura Vandervoort
, John Schneider
, Kristin Kreuk
, Sam Witwer
, Aaron Ashmore
, Allison Mack
, John Glover
, Justin Hartley
, Tom Welling
, Callum Blue - Seasons
-
10
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Is One of the Best Stories
The Series Proved the Man of Steel Could Live Beyond Christopher Reeve’s Interpretation
The only series pilot that’s a truly excellent Man of Steel movie is Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from 1993. The show helped prove Kal-El could step from beyond the long shadow cast by Christopher Reeve. It skips the origin, with the first mention of Clark’s alien origin coming from a conversation with Pa Kent about his desire to eventually have a family of his own. It establishes Clark as an outsider, yet it allows him to be charming and capable in his human guise.
Lois Lane gets top-billing in the series as an established hotshot reporter. A great early scene is how Clark takes on an assignment she “wasn’t in the mood” for about the demolition of a local theater, earning him his Daily Planet job. Clark is worldly and confident, trying to balance his normal life with helping people. Despite the technological and budgetary limitations, Clark often uses his powers and the scenes hold up today.
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Lois & Clark’s Big Cliffhanger Wasn’t Supposed to Be the Series Finale
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What makes the Lois and Clark pilot so excellent is how it tells a low-stakes story without making it feel small. Keeping the story personal underscores how much Clark, and later Superman, cares about people. The characters are rich and likable, and the series lacks many of the qualities of 1990s shows that haven’t aged well. Even in holding back a fully-costumed Superman until the final act, Lois and Clark‘s pilot is one of the best introductory stories for the Man of Steel in 86 years.
Adventures of Superman is only available on DVD and digital, Smallville streams on Hulu, and the other two series are available to stream on Max.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
In addition to fighting evil, Superman has a burning romance with Lois Lane in both of his identities.
- Release Date
-
September 12, 1993
- Finale Year
-
November 30, 1996
- Cast
-
Dean Cain
, K Callan - Seasons
-
4