Sometimes Superman has to punch a KKKlansman
In 1998, some time-travel shenanigans occurred in the Superman books that allowed the creative teams to tell stories as though they were taking place in the various historical eras of the franchise. Simonson and Bogdanove, the creators working on the … Continue reading Superman in Man of Steel #80
I’m not even sure if I’ve addressed Superman’s cousin Kara yet in this series. Well, he has a cousin. Kara. She’s Supergirl. She can do this Versus Bigots stuff too. “The Exile of Steel” SUMMARY This story picks up where … Continue reading Supergirl in “The Exile of Steel”
It’s fun to look at science fiction from decades past that try to predict what the future might be like when we’re past that point and can see how far off those predictions were. Take these stories from the early … Continue reading Superman 2020 vs the Purists
It’s been a while, so let’s do an easy one. Let’s just go back to war times and see Superman versus some Nazi agent. “The Blaze” Superman comic strip, Sunday strips #152-162, 1942 SUMMARY Our story opens with a steamship, … Continue reading Superman in “The Blaze”
The Superman cartoon from the ’90s had, as far as I can remember, no episodes directly dealing with bigotry. But it had this one, so let’s talk about this one: “The Late Mr. Kent” Superman: The Animated Series, Season 2, … Continue reading Superman in “The Late Mr. Kent”
Perry White is Superman’s boss. He doesn’t necessarily know that, since Superman is the secret identity of reporter Clark Kent, but it’s true that the gruff editor White routinely yells at one of the most powerful people in existence. And … Continue reading Stern and White in “Sins of the Father”
Lois and Clark was the primary source of live-action Superman content for the 1990s. It was also one of the foundational elements that led to me becoming a fan of the character, mostly because I was about twelve when it … Continue reading Superman in “Super Mann”
When discussing comics with those who are less familiar with the medium, one potential point of confusion I’ve found is the terminology used for the “Ages” of comics. The Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze Age in particular sound like … Continue reading Superman’s Bronze Age
Ever since I finished covering the era of the Adventures of Superman radio show, I’ve felt like I was just treading water until I reach the Bronze Age of comics, and especially this story. If anything I cover in this … Continue reading Lois Lane in “I Am Curious (Black)”
The “Superman vs Bigots” series has reached the 1970s. From this point onward there will be a lot more earnest attempts by the creators of Superman stories to intentionally deal with themes of race (and I’m sure they’ll continue the … Continue reading Superman in “Leave Us… Or We Perish!”
I’ve badly wanted to cover a story in which Lois Lane got more focus than she has in the previous things I’ve covered. But I’ve also been trying to go through the franchise mostly chronologically and, to put it kindly, … Continue reading Lois Lane in “Witch on Wheels”
Today I’ll take a quick look at one of the six-minute Filmation Superboy cartoon shorts. The episode comes from the third season, when it was airing as part of a show called The Batman/Superman Hour, which featured short cartoons starring … Continue reading Superman in “The Space Refugees”
I titled this feature “Superman vs. Bigots” with the intent of just covering stories in which Superman, surprisingly enough, fights bigots. But I’ve strayed into a more general realm of discussing race issues as found in Superman stories and nobody … Continue reading 28 Black Superman Characters
James Bartholomew Olsen. We haven’t seen much of Superman’s Pal since the radio show, but rest assured that he’s been headlining his own comic. The kid sure hated bigotry in the stories we’ve looked at before, I wonder what he’s … Continue reading Jimmy Olsen in “Jimmy’s D-Day Adventure”
Superboy: The Adventures Of Superman When He Was A Boy. Turns out, when Clark was a boy, he was still fighting bigots in his way. “The Weakling From Earth” / “The Revolt of the Weaklings” SUMMARY The story begins with … Continue reading Superman in “The Revolt of the Weaklings”
This isn’t a good one. It’s not a good Superman vs. Bigots story. Today I am once again diverting from my planned trajectory to examine something that isn’t what this series of articles was supposed to be about, but which … Continue reading Superman in “Superman, Indian Chief”
The Superman television show starring George Reeves was surely one of the most-enduring interpretations of the character. It ran from 1951 to 1958, but lived on in syndication for much longer and introduced generations of children to Clark Kent and … Continue reading Superman Visits The Malco Theatre
Nearing the end of its run, the Adventures of Superman radio show switched from long serials made up of ten-minute-long chapters to half-hour standalone episodes. The anti-racist message wasn’t as prominent in this era, but it didn’t die out completely, … Continue reading Superman in “The Story of Marina Baum”
As of 1950, Superman’s comics have not yet been as explicitly anti-racist as his radio show. Still, Superman fought plenty of Nazis back during World War Two, which counts to an extent, right? But the War is over now. Can … Continue reading Superman in “Black Magic on Mars”
Did you know that there were black people in the 1940s? Well, if you’d been listening to the Adventures of Superman radio show up to this point you may not have realized it. But by the time you’ve had four … Continue reading Superman in “The Skin Game”
Today I have returned to what was the original mission of this column, detailing Superman vs Bigot story arcs from the Adventures of Superman radio show. Today’s entry aired after both “The Hate-Mongers Organization” and “Clan of the Fiery Cross” … Continue reading Superman in “Knights of the White Carnation”
