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Atom Man vs. Superman
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<h2 id="plot">Plot</h2> <p><a href="/facts/Lex_Luthor/BFWq1WLU">Lex Luthor</a>, the Atom Man, invents a number of deadly devices to plague the city, including a disintegrating machine which can reduce people to their basic atoms and reassemble them in another place. <a href="/facts/Superman/1mQylpL6">Superman</a> manages to thwart each scheme. Since <a href="/facts/Kryptonite/cCb97wow">Kryptonite</a> can rob Superman of his powers, Luthor decides to create a synthetic Kryptonite and putters about obtaining the necessary ingredients: <a href="/facts/Plutonium/4bUw9zH3">plutonium</a>, <a href="/facts/Radium/VWo5gkzn">radium</a> and the undefined 'etc.' Luthor places the Kryptonite at the launching of a ship, with Superman in attendance. He is exposed to the Kryptonite and passes out. Superman is taken off in an ambulance driven by Luthor's henchmen, and he is now under the control of Luthor. Superman is placed in a device, a lever is pulled, and the Man of Steel vanishes into "The Empty Doom". </p> <h2 id="cast">Cast</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Kirk_Alyn/cXx0k3s9">Kirk Alyn</a> as <a href="/facts/Superman/1mQylpL6">Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Noel_Neill/WoBBGE1R">Noel Neill</a> as <a href="/facts/Lois_Lane/1okK0VRd">Lois Lane</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Lyle_Talbot/Uo9bfU5s">Lyle Talbot</a> as <a href="/facts/Lex_Luthor/BFWq1WLU">Lex Luthor / Atom Man</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Tommy_Bond/eIf23TTv">Tommy Bond</a> as <a href="/facts/Jimmy_Olsen/gkae1RLm">Jimmy Olsen</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Pierre_Watkin/zPzoHsmk">Pierre Watkin</a> as <a href="/facts/Perry_White/ArRc6c8K">Perry White</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Jack_Ingram_(actor)/0aSkgh6K">Jack Ingram</a> as Foster</li> <li><a href="/facts/Don_C._Harvey/hfxeNSHj">Don C. Harvey</a> as Albor</li> <li><a href="/facts/Rusty_Wescoatt/mE3Vbadd">Rusty Wescoatt</a> as Carl</li> <li><a href="/facts/Terry_Frost_(actor)/SryzG3qQ">Terry Frost</a> as Baer</li> <li>Wally West as Dorr</li> <li>Paul Stader as "Killer" Lawson</li> <li><a href="/facts/George_Robotham/FA2dmEDE">George Robotham</a> as Earl</li></ul> <p>Noel Neill would return to the role of Lois Lane in 1953, replacing <a href="/facts/Phyllis_Coates/QcUMz5L0">Phyllis Coates</a> in the second through sixth (and final) seasons of <i><a href="/facts/Adventures_of_Superman_(TV_series)/G7drogH1">The Adventures of Superman</a></i>, and would be the model for <a href="/facts/Metropolis,_Illinois/vwA8uccb">Metropolis, Illinois</a>' 2010 Lois Lane statue.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="production">Production</h2> <p>Lyle Talbot, who had previously starred as <a href="/facts/James_Gordon_(comics)/8xhYN1Xs">Commissioner Jim Gordon</a> in the 1949 Columbia Serial <i><a href="/facts/Batman_and_Robin_(serial)/BMnkMMKJ">Batman and Robin</a></i>, here portrays Lex Luthor (and also Luthor's alter-ego "Atom Man"). In his "Atom Man" disguise, Talbot as Luthor, utilizes a vaguely German accent and wears an ominous mask fashioned from a "Metallogen Man" robot costume left over from 1945's <i><a href="/facts/The_Monster_and_the_Ape/q5T1bwe8">The Monster and the Ape</a></i>. Despite their onscreen personas, Talbot (Lex Luthor), who wore a rubber scalp to create the impression of baldness,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> and Alyn (Superman) spent much of their time, when not shooting, exchanging recipes, both actors shared an interest in cookery.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h3>Special effects</h3> <p>The final set piece shows Metropolis under attack by "poorly animated" flying saucers and a torpedo.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>The flying effects were somewhat improved in this film than in the original, by the simple expedient of turning the camera on its side. Kirk Alyn stood with arms raised in front of a cyclorama, while a wind machine and smoke pot were placed above him (out of frame). This gave an inexpensive illusion of flight. Longer shots continued to use cartoon animation of the Man of Steel. </p> <h2 id="critical-appraisal">Critical appraisal</h2> <p>In their book <i>The Great Movie Serials</i>, Jim Harman and Donald F. Glut describe the serial as "far more gimmicky and gadget prone" than the first Superman serial. In addition to this, they also found it to be flawed with its cheapness characteristic in Katzman productions.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="home-media">Home media</h2> <p>In 2006, the <i>Atom Man vs. Superman</i> serial was still available for purchase on <a href="/facts/VHS/aN1lffdC">VHS</a> <a href="/facts/Videotape/fNekHd5Y">videotape</a>, where it was first released back in 1989 as a double tape box set. The serial was also offered available in two separate VHS tapes as Volume 1 (Chapters 1 - 7) and Volume 2 (Chapters 8 - 15). It was officially released on <a href="/facts/DVD/7fJsHJrN">DVD</a> by Warner Home Video, along with its predecessor, 1948's <i><a href="/facts/Superman_(serial)/WYnLBTuH">Superman</a></i>, on November 28, 2006 as <i>Superman - The Theatrical Serials Collection</i>. </p><p>With the previous 2006 DVD release out of print for a few years, on October 9, 2018 the serials were re-released as manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD from <a href="/facts/Warner_Archive_Collection/gcRhNxGK">Warner Archive Collection</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="chapter-titles">Chapter titles</h2> <ol><li><i>Superman Flies Again</i></li> <li><i>Atom Man Appears</i></li> <li><i>Ablaze In The Sky</i></li> <li><i>Superman Meets Atom Man</i></li> <li><i>Atom Man Tricks Superman</i></li> <li><i>Atom Man's Challenge</i></li> <li><i>At The Mercy Of Atom Man</i></li> <li><i>Into The Empty Doom</i></li> <li><i>Superman Crashes Through</i></li> <li><i>Atom Man's Heat Ray</i></li> <li><i>Luthor's Strategy</i></li> <li><i>Atom Man Strikes</i></li> <li><i>Atom Man's Flying Saucers</i></li> <li><i>Rocket Of Vengeance</i></li> <li><i>Superman Saves The Universe</i></li></ol> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_film_serials/7CCw7ncp">List of film serials</a> by year</li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_film_serials_by_studio/zlnA9ana">List of film serials by studio</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042211/"><i>Atom Man vs. Superman</i></a> at <a href="/facts/IMDb_(identifier)/uWrqVYVy">IMDb</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/atom_man_vs_superman"><i>Atom Man vs. Superman</i></a> at <a href="/facts/Rotten_Tomatoes/rLs7ktSY">Rotten Tomatoes</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061211164308/http://superman.ugo.com/movies/superman_atomman/default.asp%23">Superman.UGO.com</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 250–251. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X. <a href="0-7864-0471-X" target="_blank">0-7864-0471-X</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Marc Lawrence to Play Heavy". The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder. Vol. 40, no. 4083. New South Wales, Australia. 6 November 1951. p. 5. Retrieved 8 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia. <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article99746083" target="_blank">http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article99746083</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Schelly, William (2013). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 9781605490540. <a href="9781605490540" target="_blank">9781605490540</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Metropolis unveils statue of Superman's Lois Lane". WPVI-TV. June 16, 2010. <a href="https://6abc.com/archive/7498465/" target="_blank">https://6abc.com/archive/7498465/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "9.". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 215–217. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9. <a href="978-0-7130-0097-9" target="_blank">978-0-7130-0097-9</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "9.". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 215–217. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9. <a href="978-0-7130-0097-9" target="_blank">978-0-7130-0097-9</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "9.". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 215–217. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9. <a href="978-0-7130-0097-9" target="_blank">978-0-7130-0097-9</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "9.". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 215–217. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9. <a href="978-0-7130-0097-9" target="_blank">978-0-7130-0097-9</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Superman Serials: The Complete 1948 & 1950 Collection". Amazon. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Superman-Serials-Complete-1948-Collection/dp/B07HGKPNHH/ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KQTA1DNTVB0HKMQ1CAHT" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Superman-Serials-Complete-1948-Collection/dp/B07HGKPNHH/ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KQTA1DNTVB0HKMQ1CAHT</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>