Adventures of Superman
"Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!" A mild-mannered reporter for the "Daily Planet" is really the greatest superhero of them all who "fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way!"
- 1952-1958
- 6 seasons
- MPTV
- Action & Adventure, Suspense, Family, Science Fiction
- TV-G
"Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!" A mild-mannered reporter for the "Daily Planet" is really the greatest superhero of them all who "fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way!"
Season 1 Episode Guide
26 Episodes 1952 - 1953
Episode 1
Superman on Earth
Fri, Sep 19, 1952 28 mins
Jor-El, Krypton's leading scientist, sends his infant son to Earth in a rocket just as the planet explodes. The rocket is found by Eben and Sarah Kent and Eben gets the infant out before the craft explodes. They raise the child as their own. Years later, after Eben's death and now aware of his super powers, Clark Kent moves to Metropolis. Sarah has made a costume for him, and she tells him that he must use his powers for good. Superman makes his debut saving a man falling from a blimp. As Clark, he hustles the man to the Daily Planet, which scores a scoop. This convinces editor Perry White to hire Clark.
Episode 2
The Haunted Lighthouse
Fri, Sep 26, 1952 26 mins
While visiting his aunt and cousin on Moose Island, Jimmy is alarmed by their suspicious behavior. After being warned to stay away from a lighthouse that is said to be haunted, he calls Clark for help in his investigation.
Episode 3
The Case of the Talkative Dummy
Fri, Oct 3, 1952 26 mins
Clark, Lois, and Jimmy attend a ventriloquist act that goes wrong when the dummy appears to talk by itself. Upon further investigation, they link what the dummy appears to have said to a series of armored car hijackings.
Episode 4
Mystery of the Broken Statues
Fri, Oct 10, 1952 25 mins
A notorious con artist and his thugs are going to all the antique shops in town, buying cheap figurines, and smashing them. Clark and Lois assume that they are looking for something hidden inside the figurines, so they investigate.
Episode 5
The Monkey Mystery
Fri, Oct 17, 1952 25 mins
The daughter of an Eastern European scientist flees to the United States to give a secret formula to the president before the communists who killed her father can get to it, and Lois receives information on her whereabouts from an organ grinder and his monkey.
Episode 6
Night of Terror
Fri, Oct 24, 1952 26 mins
While on vacation, Lois stumbles upon a ring of criminals who are smuggling fugitives into Canada. She and the innkeeper's wife are captured, and it is up to Jimmy and Superman to save them.
Episode 7
The Birthday Letter
Fri, Oct 31, 1952 30 mins
A crippled young girl writes Superman a letter asking him to take her to the fair for her birthday, but before he arrives she is kidnapped by a group of counterfeiters who need information that she has been given by mistake.
Episode 8
The Mind Machine
Fri, Nov 7, 1952 30 mins
A mobster kidnaps a scientist and takes possession of his invention. The crook uses the device to damage the minds of people testifying before an investigative committee. The victims die a short time later. Superman races to find the mobster before Lois Lane testifies before the committee.
Episode 9
Rescue
Fri, Nov 14, 1952 30 mins
While Lois is in Carbide, Pennsylvania, gathering information for a story about the town's mining system, an old prospector is trapped in a cave-in. Lois attempts to rescue him, but when she is trapped in the mine with him it is up to Superman to save them both.
Episode 10
The Secret of Superman
Mon, Nov 17, 1952 30 mins
Dr. H.L. Ort is using an advanced version of a truth serum to hypnotize employees of the Daily Planet in an attempt to discover Superman's secret identity.
Episode 11
No Holds Barred
Fri, Nov 28, 1952 30 mins
Bad Luck Brannigan, a wrestler working for a crooked promoter, uses "the paralyzer" to cripple opponents. Clark Kent discovers the promoter has imprisoned an immigrant dubbed "the swami," who has extensive knowledge of the body's pressure points. In his Superman identity, Clark sees the immigrant. "The swami" instructs Superman in his techniques. As Clark, he then teaches a college wrestler -- who has publicly challenged Brannigan -- how to counter "the paralyzer."
Episode 12
The Deserted Village
Fri, Dec 5, 1952 30 mins
When Lois has trouble getting her nurse on the telephone, she and Clark drive to the small town of Cliffton to see what the problem is. After arriving, they find that the town is mostly deserted, and the few remaining townspeople don't seem to want them to know what is going on.
Episode 13
The Stolen Costume
Fri, Dec 12, 1952 30 mins
A criminal breaks into Clark Kent's apartment, finds a hidden closet and steals Clark's Superman costume. The criminal is fatally wounded but not before he takes the costume to hood Ace and his girlfriend Connie. Clark is desperate to find the missing costume.
Episode 14
Treasure of the Incas
Fri, Dec 19, 1952 30 mins
While Lois is on her way to an auction featuring South American items, a man asks her to purchase an Inca tapestry for him. Soon after, the man is killed and the tapestry is stolen from Lois, so she, Jimmy, and Clark follow the murderer to Lima to find the tapestry and catch the criminals behind the murder.
Episode 15
Double Trouble
Fri, Dec 26, 1952 30 mins
A man aboard a ship to Metropolis is smuggling something valuable into the country, but when one of his partner's henchmen shows up to help him get the item through customs, the passenger kills the other man. The passenger then dresses up as a woman, and, in an attempt to give his partner the slip, he gives Jimmy, who is at the dock to interview an actress, an empty box and tells him to give it to the men who are waiting for him. When Jimmy is kidnapped by the men, Superman must save him--but in order to do that, he first must figure out why he was kidnapped, solve the murder, track down the passenger, find out what is being smuggled, and find the passenger's partner.
Episode 16
Mystery in Wax
Fri, Jan 2, 1953 30 mins
Madame Selena and her husband own a wax museum in Metropolis. She claims to have visions that prominent people will die within six months. And indeed, the people do appear to commit suicide. Madame's latest vision: Perry White will die.
Episode 17
The Runaway Robot
Fri, Jan 9, 1953 30 mins
The inventor of a robot is kidnapped by burglars who intend to use his robot for robberies. Meanwhile, the police are looking for the inventor, who they believe to be responsible for the crimes, and Clark and his colleagues are out to clear the man's name.
Episode 18
Drums of Death
Fri, Jan 16, 1953 30 mins
When Jimmy and Perry White's sister go missing in Haiti while filming voodoo practitioners, Perry and Clark go looking for them.
Episode 19
The Evil Three
Fri, Jan 23, 1953 30 mins
Perry White and Jimmy Olsen, while on a fishing trip, end up staying at a rundown hotel. It has only three occupants -- two men who are trying to kill each other and a wheelchair-bound old woman who laughs like a maniac. Superman races to help his friends before they fall victim to the "evil three."
Episode 20
The Riddle of the Chinese Jade
Fri, Jan 30, 1953 30 mins
Harry Wong, manager of Lu Song's antique store, decides to help thief John Greer steal a priceless jade statue from Song. Although no one is supposed to get hurt, the plan changes when Song's niece Lily witnesses the robbery and is kidnapped by Greer. Superman, who, as Clark Kent, is interviewing Song for the scoop on his donating the statue to a museum, must solve the crime.
Episode 21
The Human Bomb
Fri, Feb 6, 1953 30 mins
"Bet A Million" Butler, who will "bet on anything," wages $100,000 he can keep Superman under his control for 30 minutes. He shows up at the Daily Planet and abducts Lois Lane, forcing her onto the ledge of the newspaper's office building. Butler, calling himself only the "human bomb," has strapped dynamite to himself. After Superman arrives, the "human bomb" says he'll detonate the explosive unless Superman agrees to stay put for 30 minutes while a robbery takes place. Superman agrees but has no intention of allowing the robbery to take place.
Episode 22
Czar of the Underworld
Fri, Feb 13, 1953 30 mins
A movie is being filmed about mobster Luigi Dinelli. The film is based on a series of articles that Clark Kent wrote for the Daily Planet. Dinelli is more than displeased. He orders a hit on Clark before the reporter and Inspector Henderson can leave for Hollywood to observe filming. Later, an actor on the movie is killed when real ammunition has been substituted for blanks. Clark, in both his civilian and Superman identities, works to put Dinelli away for good.
Episode 23
Ghost Wolf
Fri, Feb 20, 1953 30 mins
The Lone Pine Timber Company, which is owned by the "Daily Planet" and supplies it with the pulp wood to make its paper, is in danger of shutting down after a series of mishaps. When the last of its employees is scared off due to evidence of a werewolf on the premises, Perry White sends Clark, Jimmy, and Lois to investigate.
Episode 24
Crime Wave
Fri, Feb 27, 1953 30 mins
As a massive crime wave unfolds, Superman vows to put top mobsters behind bars. His ultimate target is the mysterious "No. 1 man." The top criminal devises a trap for the Man of Steel.
Episode 25
The Unknown People: Part I
Mon, Aug 10, 1953 30 mins
Clark Kent and Lois Lane travel to Silsby, site of the deepest well ever drilled. But when they arrive, the well is being shut down and the oil company manager present isn't saying why. Meanwhile, two short beings with large heads and furry hands come up from the well to explore. Luke Benson leads a mob of townspeople wanting to kill the "unknown people." Despite Superman's efforts to calm things down, the mob has tracked the two creatures to the top of a dam, trying to kill them. What the mob doesn't know is the creatures cause things they touch to glow in the dark -- and may be radioactive.
Episode 26
The Unknown People: Part II
Mon, Aug 10, 1953 30 mins
One of the "unknown people" is shot while atop a dam near Silsby, Texas. Superman catches him before he falls into water and takes him to the Silsby hospital. Superman, in his Clark Kent identity, assists a doctor who operates on the creature. The doctor discovers his patient has all the organs and internal body structure as humans. Meanwhile, the Luke Benson-led mob tries to kill the other visitor from the center of the Earth. That creature escapes, later bringing up more of his people along with a weapon. Superman races to defuse an explosive situation.
