Memories of the Boy of Steel
A Fan Retrospective by: Ginger De Los Rios
The Adventures of Superboy was the first show to spark my imagination fully. I was eight-years-old when it premiered and twelve when cancelation struck. Superboy then disappeared from American television and the minds of many Superman fans. Who didn't already love Superman The Movie and Christopher Reeve's portrayal of the Man of Steel? Who can dispel George Reeves on The Adventures of Superman? His show enthralled a whole generation of Baby Boomers.
In going further back, it's hard to forget the impressive cartoon flying effects and Kirk Alyn's sincere performance as the very first live-action Superman in the 1940's serial films. The sleek, animated Superman Fleischer shorts of the thirties were also fantastic, along with the classic Radio program, The Adventures of Superman, and subsequent cartoons voiced by Bud Collyer. So, where does Superboy fit? It all started as a DC comic book first published in 1949.
The Adventures of Superboy TV Pilot (1961) – starring an earnest Johnny Rockwell – failed to fly because it lacked commercial sponsors. (Thanks, Kelloggs!) The Salkind Superman movies waned in popularity in the later eighties. Superman's origins were rebooted in the comics by John Byrne in an excellent 1986 “Man of Steel” series. The eighties drew to a close and had launched a deep focus on teens, sci-fi, and fantasy in movies and television. It was a prime era for a young-adult Superman, so the Salkinds resurrected the Boy of Steel.
At eight-years-old, I wasn't an avid comic book reader yet, but I knew of the Superboy comics and had seen the seventies cartoon. By 1991 I was collecting the Superboy comic book spinoff.
I loved Superboy the TV series from its first season and found the show fresh and exciting. John Haymes Newton did an admirable job as the first Superboy. In 1988, the show aired on the East Coast Saturday afternoons between 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm. I often wasn't home to enjoy it and caught the reruns. It was the last era where kids eagerly played outside rather than sleeping in and playing video and computer games. When I watched the Season 1 DVDs, I was surprised to find a few episodes I'd missed. Between 1988-1992, I was locked in a never-ending battle to see my favorite show as it bounced around different schedules and Networks.
My first episode with Gerard in the role was "Nightmare Island." I'd lost track of the series when Season 1 ended and had nearly given up hope. But it'd only moved to prime-time during the NBC family hour between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm. I caught it after Mama's Family and got hooked on Mama Harper and her goofy clan while waiting. So in that hour, I had belly laughs and thrills!
In the episode, Clark, Lana, and Andy wash up on a deserted island when their dinghy breaks. Clark wanders off as usual, and Superboy appears, ready to fly them back A malevolent dwarf guards the island. He's an alien warrior who steals Superboy's powers and kidnaps Lana to be his mate. The alien values her red hair – a distinct and prized feature on his planet. Superboy and Andy must battle life-threatening traps set for intruders as they race to find her with just their wits and very human stamina.
I was so enthralled that I held my rabbit-eared Antenna up for the entire ½ hour because my little TV was often a snowy mess. Remember, these were the pre-digital days. (Our household didn't get full Cable TV until 1993.) A grainy screen was better than nothing. After that, I was hooked for life.
I can recall the "traumatic" evenings Superboy was pre-empted by sports or news and the horror I felt when I tuned in to a double dose of Mama's Family or The Golden Girls because Season 2 had ended. Whenever Superboy didn't air, I'd angrily swear off television forever. I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I could remember, and I used to write out some of the episodes and tried to continue the adventures. Little did I know that was called "Fan-Fiction." I wish I'd kept those papers and notebooks.
Superboy was a contemporary show (For 1988) and being so young I related more to the college kids than some of the adults in the Superman movies. I once had a lovely chat with Gerard Christopher and told him that I didn't think kids really wanted to watch all the 'boring' banter between Lex Luthor and Otis. They wanted to see Superman in action, and his show delivered that. Superboy was fast-paced (Before commercials it only clocks in at about 21 minutes!)
The clean, loyal romance between Lana and Superboy warmed my young heart. To this day, they are one of my favorite fictional OTPs. (That's "One True Pair" in Fandom lingo.)
In season 2, Gerard gave the nerdiest portrayal of Clark Kent anyone had ever seen. Fans are still vehemently divided on this, but eventually, I found it endearing and very funny. Nerds were hot stuff at the time. What I believe gets overlooked is that Gerard played Clark Kent with tongue firmly in cheek, and he used the dynamics of Christopher Reeve's beloved performance without being a carbon-copy. Gerard added humorous nuances that I appreciate more as an adult and I continue to catch them with subsequent viewings. For those who didn't like his ultra nerdy-style, that's fair enough, but the blame can't be 100% on Gerard, he was told to play it that way and he wasn't about to disappoint the bosses. This was an Ilya Salkind production after all!
By seasons 3 & 4, nerdy Clark matured into mild-mannered, "gopher" Clark – go for this, go for that, "Yes, Mr. Jackson, no, Mr. Jackson." He was so mild-mannered at times he blended into the wallpaper of the Bureau of Extra-Normal Matters. The Bureau was a cool Government-funded agency that investigated supernatural phenomena. (This was the X-Files before the X-Files.)
I'm not faulting Gerard's performance. Mild-mannered Clark allowed Superboy to shine all the more.
I love the character of Clark Kent. Some of my favorite episodes featured Clark more than Superboy, but I also feel that in any Superman production the focus shouldn't be too much on him. Gerard pulled off the contrast fine. He kept those quirky “Clarkisms” I enjoyed from Season 2 – the knowing grins, smirks, and eye-rolls. Clark wasn't afraid to show aggression either. He stood up for himself when necessary. Clark Kent had stand-out episodes in season 3 – “A Day in the Double Life.” He was also the unsung hero during a hostage crisis in “Standoff.” A number of episodes featured Clark getting in on the adventures before he had changed into Superboy.
The Faces of Clark Kent
Season 2-4
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Lana Lang
Superboy's Girlfriend since 1950!
Stacy Haiduk played Lana Lang in all 100 episodes. She's a beautiful and talented actress who truly fits the role, based on the comic book character. Lana Lang was one of the first adult female TV characters I admired. Stacy cemented her Lana for me, and her performances improved immensely through the seasons. Lana matured from a love-struck, giddy college Freshman to a strong, independent woman who, for example, boldly defended Superboy in court despite Metallo holding everyone hostage. In another episode, she turned the tables and saved Superboy by intelligently defeating an evil, powerful entity in her form, despite being weakened on the ground.
Lana Lang is Clark's best friend from Smallville and deeply loves Superboy. She's as adventurous as Lois Lane and conflicted over her feelings and suspicions that Clark and Superboy are the same. She's brave and not afraid to stand up for morality and justice. Lana supports Superboy any way she can, even attempting to stop a giant warrior from attacking him, only to be transported with them onto a spaceship in “West to Alpha Centauri.”
Lana Lang, to me, is a bit of a tragic, lovelorn character in the Superman saga. In traditional Superman lore, when Clark Kent comes of age and moves to Metropolis, Lana's left behind. This version set in my mind thanks to John Byrne's Superman Reboot for DC Comics in 1986. Pre-eighties, Lana Lang, tended to be a nosy busybody with no life of her own other than to expose Superboy's secret identity. Despite the shift in personality and character development, Lana Lang was always Clark Kent's first love. Smallville took that to the next level by the end of her character arc when Kirstin Kreuk left the show. However, in any current universe, Lana's emotionally stable enough, that you know she won't fall to pieces without Clark.
Superboy in this show is supposed to become Superman the world knows. But after all Lana and Superboy have been through in the series, I find it impossible to believe they'd part ways. (Even if they did in Smallville.) In Season 3, “Roads Not Taken,” and "Road to Hell" presented with the idea that billions of parallel universes exist, and a new one appears with every counter-decision. I'd like to believe this show exists in a dimension where Clark and Lana stay together!
By season 4 of The Adventures of Superboy, Clark's deception, and their vague romantic relationship, took its toll on Lana. I felt terrible whenever Superboy kissed her and flew off. Though nothing tops Superman's hypnotic kisses on Lois Lane in the Salkind movies. What about those tender moments when Superboy said he loved her? She was near death or unconscious, But the bond between them is evident and doesn't need flowery words. As Superboy told her on live television after escaping Luthor's death trap – “The feeling is mutual.”
Ilan Mitchell Smith played Andy McAllister, Clark's roommate, in season 2. Ilan was fairly well-known on the teen movie scene for his star turns in the cult comedy Weird Science and a dramatic film adaptation of Robert Cormier's book, The Chocolate War.
Andy's character is just as divisive among fans as Gerard's Clark Kent. I never viewed him as a replacement for T.J. White; instead, he was just a new friend. Andy was the 'quirky' dude who blew in on his first day with shades, a vest, and bleached hair. Think “Duckie Dale” from Pretty in Pink. Andy tended to be a nuisance, like when he continually flirted with Lana or always teased Clark for being a "poindexter."
Andy was a gifted hustler for get-rich-quick schemes that never made it beyond Shuster's campus. The funny thing is that most of his products became hits in real life, such as Superboy insignia tee-shirts and other merch he tried to sell. And while there's no significant demand for the 8-tracks, he was ahead of his time insisting that everyone will be pining for all things “retro” and “vintage.”
Andy proved to be a loyal and brave friend, risking his life to help save Superboy and Lana from aliens, vampires, and sorcerers. His return in season 3's “Special Effects” was a treat. Andy had moved on to intern for a film studio. I can imagine him owning a lucrative business 30 years later and still keeping in touch with his old pals from Shuster.
The casting of Stuart Whitman and Salome Jens as Jonathan and Martha Kent truly elevated the show. They portrayed the Kents from season 1 as you know and love them from the comics and movies. They're wise, warm, and kind-hearted country folk. The Kents are “salt-of-the earth” people that raised Clark the best way they could by instilling firm values of truth and justice. I appreciated every episode they appeared in.
Rogue's Gallery
bA hero needs strong villains, and The Adventures of Superboy boasted many. Howard Sherman (Credited then as “Sherman Howard”) deftly characterized Lex Luthor as a vicious psychopath, a real “diseased maniac.” Howard took over the role from Scott Wells in season 2. How Luthor aged nearly twenty years is explained in the season 2 premiere, a macabre two-part episode called, “With this ring, I thee kill.”
Lex murders a millionaire industrialist and steals his identity and face so he can kill Superboy with a new heat-seeking missile. He then murders his only friend Leo (Played as funny and sympathetic by Michael Manno). Killing Leo, symbolically wiped out another loose end from season 1. Lex kidnaps and emotionally cripples Lana by forcing her into a macabre wedding. (Good thing Superboy didn't forever hold his peace!) It was all in a day's work for Luthor, and it was just the beginning of his reign of terror.
Sherman Howard brought unstoppable energy to the role. I also loved it when Lex became a good guy—particularly in the famous “Roads not Taken” and “Road to Hell” episodes where Lex, a Freedom Fighter and Lana's true love, tries to stop a wicked and jealous Sovereign Superboy with an underground movement. In the Utopian world, he's a kind-hearted Doctor that looks up to the elder Superman as a mentor who'd steered him on a righteous path. In one of my favorite episodes, “Body Swap,” Lex and Superboy switch minds like Freaky Friday. Gerard had the opportunity to ham it up, acting as zany Lex and plotting to kill Superboy with fiendish glee.
Not to be missed is “Mine Games,” written by Howard Sherman. Gerard's and Howard's performances were outstanding. Luthor kidnaps Lana to a mine shaft to lure Superboy and kill him with Kryptonite. In an attempt to help, Lana is struck down by Luthor, and the mine caves in. Luthor and Superboy are literally at each other's throats, waxing philosophical, and bonding long enough to work together and escape the airtight lead mine. Meanwhile, Lana's injured and trapped behind the rubble in an unstable tunnel.
Superboy's Lex Luthor wouldn't be complete without his number one gal and emotional punching bag, Darla. She was played to witty and ditzy perfection by actress Tracy Lewis. ("Tracy Roberts" when the show aired) I loved Darla. She gave Miss Tessmacher from the Superman movies a run for her money and ran circles around Kitty Kowalski, Lex's girlfriend in 2005's Superman Returns.
Darla strutted her stuff in an episode, written by Howard Sherman – "Darla Goes Ballistic.” It was a switch seeing her have all the smarts with increasing telekinetic powers after drinking one of Lex's brain serums. She flirted shamelessly with Superboy and is hell-bent on taking over the world. But with her emotions in a tailspin, Darla couldn't control her powers and nearly flipped the planet off its axis. Once again, Lex and Superboy worked together to make the cure, and their funny, antagonistic chemistry was excellent.
Darla was the big-haired, gum-chewing “bad girl” right from the start when Lex had found her in a Strip-club. She eagerly went along with his crimes, but you can't help pitying her in later seasons. In the fantastic two-parter, "Know Thine Enemy," Darla's love for Lex comes to a head when she makes passionate pleas for him to stop his nuclear bomb and demands he designs her a robot too.
“Know Thine Enemy” is another excellent episode to see Gerard out of his Superboy element. After hooking up to a machine, Superboy's mind gets trapped in Lex's surreal memory loop. The writers explored a fascinating concept. We sympathize with Lex Luthor because of his abusive childhood and can empathize with his love for his innocent little sister, Lena. Gerard acted out the various memories with pathos, and also displayed the beginnings of Luthor's psychotic turn to evil when he straps a bomb to his parents for revenge. By this time, we realize this is no longer the Lex Luthor of the first season, as portrayed by Scott Wells.
What about other villains? Michael Callan played Metallo as a chilling “grease-ball” gangster with a victim mentality. Metallo murdered the Doctors who'd tried to help him and wants revenge on Superboy. Gerard had his first crack acting “evil” when Superboy's exposed to the mind-altering red Kryptonite in “Super Menace!”
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried plays the insane toy master Nick Knack along with his literal doll companion Daisy (played with hilarious gusto by Donna Lee Betz.) Richard Kiel stomped on the scene as Vlkbok, a giant from the magical Fifth dimension hunting down the impish Mr. Mxyptlk. Christine Moore was excellent as the alien Punk Princess Neila in two episodes, and Justina Vail decidedly wicked as scorned Dr. Odessa Vexman. Lost in Space's Bill Mumy was the unassuming, but insidious scientist Tommy Puck in a thrilling two-part episode, "Change of Heart."
The Adventures of Superboy exploded with outlandish and menacing villains and fantastic plots. It's truly a comic book come to life. Superboy encountered any kind of threat you could imagine, from human crooks and deranged individuals to androids, robots, and aliens. He's battled wizards, vampires, werewolves, and the Devil himself. But he always prevails to vanquish any threats.
Superboy and Lana also had their allies – played by Peter Jay Fernandez and Robert Levine. They were stand-out as Clark and Lana's friendly, intelligent co-worker Matt Ritter and cantankerous boss Dennis Jackson in Season 3 and 4. Superboy befriended great scientists like Professor Peterson (played without irony by George Chakiris) and kept crossing paths with the eccentric Dr. Winger, who'd invented the Inter-Dimensional Portal. Actor Kenneth Robert Shippy appeared to have fun playing different Portal versions of the scientist. All of the recurring characters, good and bad, were integral to the show.
The talented Barry Meyers played Bizarro in eight episodes. He masterfully used his entire body and voice, giving Bizarro a semblance to Frankenstein's monster. Bizarro was created when Superboy stepped in front of a duplicator machine during a lightning strike in Professor Peterson's lab.
Superboy constantly assures Bizarro that he has a good heart and they're brothers. Bizarro, lonely and easily influenced, teams up with Lex Luthor in the season 3 premiere, “Bride of Bizarro.” (A nod to "Bride of Frankenstein with a creation scene that almost mirrors the classic film.) Lex steals the duplicator machine and promises to make him a mate for a price. After a failed attempt, he kidnaps Lana to keeps his word and the awesome Bizarro Lana is born. She tells Bizarro that “Me will not love you” if he kills Superboy. That's enough to get Bizarro back on the right side.
An aspect of Bizarro's episodes I loved was the tenderness and compassion Superboy showed for him, despite all his stubborn, childish confusion and near lethal mistakes. Your heart aches for him when he loses his love and gives up a real chance “To Be Human” in order to save his brother, Superboy.
Gerard excelled in showing the finer attributes of Superboy, both to the victims and villains. Superboy displayed patience, empathy, and compassion, but managed to balance it with a will of steel against evil and injustice.
Is The Adventures Superboy dated? Somewhat. I'm not blind to that. But season 3 and 4 adapted a timeless "noir" aesthetic with the costumes and sets. Think Batman – 1989. Is the show cheesy? Some Superman fans think so, but I love my retro TV. I'll take crackers and wine with that cheese and call it a night, practically any night over much of the new stuff on television today.
Was the show campy? I'd instead call it charming. Superboy respected its comic book roots and worked from them. Comic Book writer Mike Carlin wrote many episodes. They made story changes because of tangled copyright issues. Look closer, and you can easily see the thematic influences Superboy had on shows like Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, X-Files, and Smallville.
After the first season, Superboy filmed at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The special effects were decent for a ½ hour series on a limited budget, but there was room for improvement. Nearly all the SFX in the later seasons were on par with the Christopher Reeve films, particularly the flying and take-offs. It was the best live wire-work on a television series because the Salkinds used some of the same technicians from the Superman films. Both John Newton and Gerard made impressive and fluid take-offs and landings.
I may sound like a "Get off my lawn!" fan at this point in my life, but it's occurred to me that the latest Superhero fandom's littered with an onslaught of moody, angst-ridden, and reluctant anti-heroes.
Superboy's a forthright young man. He doesn't wallow in his problems, even though he occasionally has doubts, like in the thrilling 2-part episode, "Rebirth." He rises to the occasion to do what he must for the greater good. Superboy has an honest heart and strong values, and he gives of himself without whining or muttering snappy sarcasm. These heroic virtues faded with modern-day superheroes.
The very idea of Superman in today's cynical and divided world has unfortunately become a running joke, so filmmakers continuously feel the need to darken his personality and give him an existential crisis at every turn. When the current Supergirl TV show introduced their version of Superman played by Tyler Hoechlin, he swooped in with refreshing charm, confidence, and optimism. Currently, Superman's taken a backseat to all the female characters around him and is merely a prop to validate and boost Supergirl. That's not how it should be.
There's always hope for a return to the principles and virtues that had previously defined the Man of Steel.
The Adventures of Superboy was set for two additional seasons before trouble came in the form of copyright Kryptonite and killed it with legal liens. The show went into limbo, and Warner Bros. was free to green-light Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I thought Superboy was a superior show. Because of the legal mess, a generation was born that had never heard of Superboy. International fans are rectifying that now.
In 2005, Warner Brothers released Season 1 with John Haymes Newton to little fanfare. After much pushing and creative efforts by dedicated fans online, Gerard's three seasons were released in 2012 (though only in limited MOD format with no extras.) I'll forever say the studio robbed his seasons with that flimsy release, but as fans, we have to be content to take what we can get.
The fandom prevailed, and Superboy is on streaming websites such as Amazon, Youtube, iTunes, and the DC Universe. The Adventures of Superboy will never again languish in the Phantom Zone! And Gerard Christopher has sealed for himself a magnificent place in Superman's legacy.