Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 6 - Episode 5: "The Atomic Captive"

Original Broadcast Date: March 03, 1958

Writers: Robert Leslie Bellem and Whitney Ellsworth

Director: George Blair

Guest Cast:
Ben Ari as Doctor Ladislav
Elaine Riley as Miss Collins/X-29
Jan Arvan as Zerinski/X-249
Walter Reed as General Barrows
George Khoury as Nicoli
Mark Sheeler as Igor

"The Atomic Captive"

A few weeks ago, naturalized American citizen Doctor Ladislav was exposed to nuclear material, and, as a result of this, he is now dangerously radioactive. Anyone who comes near him will become as lethal as he is. Iron Curtain agents in protective suits named Igor and Nicoli are in the scientist's secluded desert shack, for his expertise in atomic energy is needed by his former country's government. Ladislav refuses to work for them. However, the two agents have an ace in the hole. If Ladislav refuses to cooperate, his sisters Anna and Sonya will pay the ultimate price with their lives. Doctor Ladislav seems to have no other options. He must reluctantly return to his homeland.

As the foreign spies attempt to put protective gear on Doctor Ladislav, Superman arrives. Once he has left the enemy agents for the authorities after the brief confrontation, the Man of Steel assures Ladislav that the atomic energy bombarding him is not enough to harm our hero. This allows the two men to discuss this attempt to take Ladislav. Knowing that Nicoli and Igor work for someone codenamed X-29, Superman realizes that the scientist might get more visitors. Even X-29 might personally try to capture him. This gives Superman an idea. Using Ladislav as bait, he can capture the most notorious espionage ring from the Iron Curtain. All Ladislav has to do is whistle if he needs help. Superman will hear him. Should this plan succeed, freedom and democracy will win the day. Should it fail, Doctor Ladislav and anyone else involved could be in dire peril for their lives.

Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Clark Kent are covering an atomic bomb test for the Daily Planet. It has been postponed on several occasions due to bad weather. The site happens to be near the location of Doctor Ladislav's shack. Clark has returned to General Barrows' bunker to tell Jimmy and Lois of a possible attempted abduction of Ladislav, who happens to be an old friend of editor Perry White. However, according to Kent, nothing came of it. Lois, on the other hand, is suspicious. She and Jimmy leave the military installation, not realizing they may walk into the most deadly situation of their entire careers.

Zerinski, a foreign agent codenamed X-249, has gone to meet with the head of operations X-29. He is surprised to learn that his commander is a woman named Miss Collins. The fact that nobody expects her to be X-29 works to her advantage. Collins, in the meantime, has other things on her mind. Nicoli and Igor failed to capture Doctor Ladislav. X-249 and X-29 must take him themselves. If anyone is with Ladislav, they will regret their decision to be there.

Not heeding the warning sign posted, Lois and Jimmy have entered Doctor Ladislav's shack believing they can help him get away from the foreign spies. The nervous scientist even tries to whistle with no success, for his mouth is too dry. They touch him in an effort to get him out. Now, both Lois and Jimmy are lethally radioactive. A Geiger counter even proves this to them. With so much atomic material in them, the two soon realize that they are in a grave situation from which even Superman may not be able to rescue them.

It is 3:45 PM in General Barrows' safety bunker. In fifteen minutes, the atomic bomb will detonate in the desert. Clark is worried about Lois and Jimmy. However, Barrows wishes to no longer delay the test. Meanwhile, X-29 has discovered that Doctor Ladislav is gone. She and Zerinski see a cloud of dust. It is caused by the wheels of the car transporting Jimmy, Lois and Ladislav in the direction of ground zero. Any other way could place them in a populated area. Miss Collins and her henchman pursue the trio in hopes of grabbing the nuclear researcher. With Ladislav unable to whistle and the detonation of the explosives mere minutes away, Superman could fail to save his friends from a burning, agonizing death.

The clock is ticking with the bomb detonation mere seconds away. Lois' car is out of gas, and X-29 is closing in on her prey. Doctor Ladislav, meanwhile, has managed to kick a canteen out of the car for a drink of water. He is finally able to whistle. Clark hears the noise. He then storms out of the bunker to become Superman in spite of General Barrows' protests. Soon, a radioactive mushroom cloud will fill the desert. Can Superman rescue Lois, Jimmy and Doctor Ladislav from the blast and bring X-29's espionage ring to an end before it's too late?

Superman has reversed the nuclear explosion, literally driving it into the ground. The force of the blast flipped Lois and X-29's cars. Now, Miss Collins and her associate are walking. Knowing they will not get far, Superman decides to deal with them later. Doctor Ladislav is content that Superman helped, but he is worried that the Man of Steel is permeating with deadly radiation. Superman believes that his dense molecules are different from that of atomic energy, leaving him to believe that if he could charge Lois, Jimmy and Doctor Ladislav with opposite particles, they will no longer be contaminated. Lois and the others place their hands in Superman's, allowing him to test his theory. Thanks to a Geiger counter, the Man of Tomorrow and his friends learn that they are no longer in danger. Once again, a great crisis has been averted and a maniacal spy ring has been bought to its knees thanks to Superman.

Doctor Ladislav, Lois and Jimmy are in Perry White's office recounting their tremendous adventure. Ladislav regrets that his sisters in the old country could not know of what happened. As if to grant the scientist's wish, Superman arrives with Anna and Sonya, who were rescued by the caped hero. As the Ladislavs have a touching family reunion, Jimmy, Perry and Lois wonder where Clark Kent is.

"Oh, you know Clark," Lois says, "He never shows up till everything is over with."

"Oh now, Miss Lane," replies Superman, "I wouldn't exactly say that. You wouldn't expect Kent to get around as fast as I do, would you?"

Rating - 3 (out of 5): Ben Ari played Ben Hoffman in 1959's Al Capone.

Elaine Riley can be seen as Jane Whipple in Rider from Tucson.

Jan Arvan is perhaps best known as Nacho Torres in Zorro and Signore Contino in 20 Million Miles to Earth.

Walter Reed was Bill Corrigan in Superman and the Mole-Men and Kent Fowler in Flying Disc Man from Mars.

George Khoury portrayed Habid in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.

Mark Sheeler played Eddie in 1957's From Hell It Came.

"The Atomic Captive", while not as good as previous outings, is a fairly decent half hour of television. It does have some flaws, which I'll discuss shortly. In spite of this, it is worth watching. It's a story with great visual effects and good performances by the entire cast. Plus, you get some great scenes with George Reeves as Superman.

"The Atomic Captive" seems to negate the events and continuity of season two's "Superman in Exile". He was exposed to radiation in that one, and anyone who came into contact with him could die. Granted, Big Blue says that the material that bombarded Doctor Ladislav is not enough to be deadly to him. However, Superman did fly into an atomic mushroom cloud. His theory of reversed polarity of atoms being responsible for his immunity violates the events in "Exile". Had he said his exposure in that episode and the subsequent lightning bolt that hit him made him immune to the energy's lethal effects, "Captive" would make more sense.

One thing continues to bother me about "The Atomic Captive". Knowing that his mouth gets dry when he is nervous, why in the samhill didn't Doctor Ladislav get a drink of water before leaving the shack? He asks for one, but nobody seems to be paying attention. He could have easily drank, whistled and have it go dry again before Superman arrived. This possibly could have created more suspense throughout the episode.

As much as I liked the villains and the concept of a female spy, I do wish more had been done with X-29, her organization and their plans for Doctor Ladislav. In the final product, we are led to believe that Miss Collins is the head of an espionage organization responsible for numerous acts against the United States government. However, all we see her do is sit, walk and make her underling drive her to follow Doctor Ladislav. There is really no confrontation with Superman as such. By the time "The Atomic Captive", concludes, X-29 feels more like Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy.

The comic nerd in me was reminded of the old Marvel books written by Stan Lee, particularly The Incredible Hulk #1. This was a factor that really helped me enjoy "The Atomic Captive". It also made me wonder if this adventure of the Man of Steel could have inadvertently inspired the origin of Bruce Banner's alter ego. It sure is an amusing idea to ponder the possibility of such a thing.

Once again, Robert Leslie Bellem and Whitney Ellsworth have given Superman a new power. This time he reversed the radiation poisoning. The premise does not work as well as the other ones did in previous episodes. This is mainly due to the fact that the half baked explanation negates the events of "Superman in Exile". Still, it's interesting to see what these two writers came up with for the Man of Steel.

Si Simonson and company really worked hard on the special effects for "The Atomic Captive", and it really shows how incredibly done things were at the time. In an age of CGI, it's refreshing to see the kind of tricks the wizards of the past could pull off. I have nothing against the computers doing the magic for film and television. Many things they do are fantastic, and others are rubbish. This is also true of visuals created mechanically by human hands. I just like to see the ingenuity of the artist without the aid of a keyboard and mouse sometimes. This episode really proves to the audience that Si Simonson is, to paraphrase Wolverine, the best at what he does.

"The Atomic Captive" is a bit more of a mess than the previous episodes in season six. Yet, it still manages to give viewers a decent story that is worthy of many of the best in The Adventures of Superman television series. The subject matter might feel slightly dated to some, but it will give young and old alike an exciting half hour full of action that will make them want more.

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