Retro Review – Fleischer Superman – “Superman” (AKA “The Mad Scientist”)

Fleischer Superman

Superman Homepage reviewer Micah Pickering reviews the Fleischer Superman animated shorts for those nostalgic for the 1940s.

Check out his review of the cartoon titled “Superman” (AKA “The Mad Scientist”).

In 1941, a cartoon was made that firmly established iconic character tropes for everyone’s favorite Kryptonian, Superman. Max Fleischer partnered with Paramount to create a series of iconic short cartoons that would help define the “Man of Steel” and make him the cultural icon that still stands today.

Now on to the review!

4Rating – 4 (out of 5): Before the story begins, narrator Jackson Beck gives the audience a brief rundown of Superman’s origin. Beck gives the wonderfully written narration the extra gravitas needed to emphasize the legend of Superman.

A particular line that stands out to me in this opening narration is his description of Superman’s home planet, Krypton: “In the endless reaches of the universe there once existed a planet known as Krypton. A planet that burned like a green star in the distant heavens.”

Fans may be interested to know that the origin in the opening narration has a few key differences from the modern origin.

Those differences include:
– Kryptonians are naturally powerful, no yellow sun radiation is mentioned.
– Krypton was said to be destroyed by earthquakes.
– There is no mention of the Kents, only that Superman was brought to an orphanage after being discovered by a passing motorist.

Beck then utters the lines that would become synonymous with Superman for generations to come.

“Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! The baby from Krypton is now the Man of Steel, Superman!”

Our story begins with an unnamed mad scientist threatening Metropolis with his “Electrothanasia Ray.” Lois Lane daringly goes to the mad scientist’s lair to get the scoop. It’s up to Clark Kent to spring into action as Superman to save Lois and the city!

A fun fact about the voice acting for this short is that the unnamed mad scientist is played by none other than Jack Mercer, the voice of Popeye. It’s one of those things you learn from Google because the characters sound nothing alike. Mercer was a true talent.

Another interesting note from this short is that it features Lois Lane as a pilot. Lois flies a plane out to the mad scientist’s lair. In modern media, Lois is depicted as an Army brat learning a lot from her upbringing under her father, General Sam Lane. However, I didn’t realize that Lois’ expertise as a pilot was introduced this early in the character’s history.

Predictably enough, Lois is captured by the mad scientist while he activates his deadly doomsday device onto Metropolis at the stroke of midnight. Rising to the occasion, Superman keeps buildings from collapsing and blocks the deadly ray with his own body.

The music by Sammy Timberg helps to build the dramatic climax as Superman literally fights the eletrothanasia ray all the way back to the villain’s lair, overloading the deadly device. With the villain jailed, Lois gets the story and everyone lives happily ever after. We also get Superman’s signature wink at the audience for the first time ever.

At first, this short seems to just have the traditional Superman fare: the origin story, Lois in danger, a feat of incredible strength, and a wink to the audience. However, viewed with an historical perspective shows that this particular piece of animation helped create a clear image of just who Superman is to an entire generation of fans.

In many ways, this portrayal of Superman has been the foundation that many other adaptations have attempted to build upon over the years, with varying degrees of success.

Whether you’re a fan of Superman or not, give this one a watch. I guarantee you’ll get something out of it.

The Fleischer Superman cartoons are available for purchase on Blu-ray and DVD, but can easily be found on YouTube since they are in the public domain.