The Adventures of Superboy (TV series)

The Adventures of Superboy is a series of six-minute animated Superboy cartoons produced by Filmation that were broadcast on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The 34 segments appeared as part of three different programs during that time, packaged with similar shorts featuring The New Adventures of Superman and other DC Comics superheroes.[1]

For the 1988 TV series, see Superboy (TV series).
The Adventures of Superboy
Title card
Genre
Based on
Written by
Directed byGeorge Blair
Starring
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes34
Production
Running time6 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseSeptember 10, 1966 (1966-09-10) –
November 2, 1968 (1968-11-02)
Related

These adventures marked the animation debut of Superboy, as well as his teenage alter ego Clark Kent, who acted as the bespectacled, mild-mannered disguise for the young hero, Lana Lang, and Krypto the super-powered dog who would accompany his master on every dangerous mission. Other characters such as Martha and Jonathan Kent, foster parents of the Boy of Steel, and the town of Smallville were also faithfully recreated from comic book adventures. As a result of the production's budget, the show featured a great amount of stock animation as well as limited movement from the characters.

Each episode featured the Boy of Steel ducking out of high school and racing into action to battle a wide array of adversaries, from dognappers in "Krypto, K-9 Detective", androids run amok in "The Revolt of Robotville", and alien menaces in "The Spy from Outer Space", to another young hero with similar powers in "Superboy Meets Mighty Lad", and a slew of otherworldly monsters ("The Deep Sea Dragon", "The Visitor from the Earth's Core"). He even wound up being captured and successfully having to fight a gang of small-time crooks—all while in his disguise as Clark Kent—in "The Gorilla Gang". Most of the stories were written by DC writers such as Bob Haney and George Kashdan, while character designs were based closely upon the Superboy comic books of the time.

DVD and video releases

In 1985, Warner Home Video released eight selected episodes of the series on VHS in the "Super Powers" video collection along with Aquaman, Batman, and Superman. These videos were rereleased in 1996 and are out of print.

Although The New Adventures of Superman has been released on DVD, the sets do not include the Superboy shorts because of a battle between Warner Bros. and the estate of Jerry Siegel over the rights to the "Superboy" name that occurred at the time. The series remains unreleased to DVD.

Voice cast

Episodes

Season 1 (1966–67)

The series premiered on September 10, 1966 as part of a 30-minute program named The New Adventures of Superman, featuring two Superman shorts with one Superboy segment in between.

Nº Ep Title Directed by: Written by: Original air date
1–21"The Spy from Outer Space: Part 1"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffMort WeisingerSeptember 10, 1966 (1966-09-10)
Krypto encounters an alien spy who creates disasters on Earth as part of an invasion attempt.
2–22"The Spy from Outer Space: Part 2"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffMort WeisingerSeptember 17, 1966 (1966-09-17)
Superboy must be rescued by Krypto when he follows the spy to his home planet and the system's red sun drains his powers.
3–23"Krypto's Calamitous Capers"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffGeorge Kashdan, Mort WeisingerSeptember 24, 1966 (1966-09-24)
A criminal scientist has created a sonic beam transmitter with which he can cause Krypto to turn belligerent.
4–24"The Man Who Knew Superboy's Secret"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffOscar Bensol, Mort WeisingerOctober 1, 1966 (1966-10-01)
A man pretending to be from Krypton sets a trap for Superboy by promising the ability to inject immunity from Kryptonite.
5–25"The Deep Sea Dragon"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffMort WeisingerOctober 8, 1966 (1966-10-08)
A dragon whose egg is mistakenly taken by deep sea divers becomes violent until Superboy sets things right—but the egg is later stolen by undersea pirates.
6–26"The Super Clown of Smallville"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffMort WeisingerOctober 15, 1966 (1966-10-15)
A sickly billionaire vows to give away his fortune to charity if he can be made to laugh.
7–27"The Visitor from the Earth's Core"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffJ.W. Doctor, Mort WeisingerOctober 22, 1966 (1966-10-22)
When Superboy drills to the Earth's core, he finds a glowing black sphere that draws out a crystalloid being.
8–28"The Beast That Went Berzerk"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffMort WeisingerOctober 29, 1966 (1966-10-29)
A scientist's growth serum makes a pygmy elephant into a giant beast; the scientist developed an antidote, but his bitterly jealous assistant sabotages the experiment.
9–29"Superboy's Strangest Foe"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffMort WeisingerNovember 5, 1966 (1966-11-05)
Two alien children cause havoc on Earth through their innocent play.
10–210"The Capricious Crony"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffGeorge Kashdan, Mort WeisingerNovember 12, 1966 (1966-11-12)
An undersea volcano releases an impish water being who causes havoc on solid ground.
11–211"Krypto, Super Seeing-Eye Dog"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffLeo Dorfman, Mort WeisingerNovember 19, 1966 (1966-11-19)
When a Kryptonian space probe is found, it contains weapons, one of which accidentally blinds Superboy.
12–212"The Black Knight"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffOscar Bensol, Mort WeisingerNovember 26, 1966 (1966-11-26)
Clark Kent's young friend Timmy (Lou Scheimer) finds a magician's mantle that transports him back in time to the jousting fields of Camelot and King Arthur.
13–213"Operation Counter Invasion"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffMort WeisingerDecember 3, 1966 (1966-12-03)
Superboy must convince three alien warriors that Earth is populated by metahumans.
14–214"The Jinxed Circus"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffGeorge Kashdan, Mort WeisingerDecember 10, 1966 (1966-12-10)
Superboy must help a circus being sabotaged by the ringmaster's former partner.
15–215"Hurricane Fighters"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffMort WeisingerDecember 17, 1966 (1966-12-17)
Superboy must work to stop a violent hurricane.
16–216"Superboy's Super-Dilemma"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffLeo DorfmanDecember 24, 1966 (1966-12-24)
A scientist tests a Kryptonite antidote on Superboy that does not work, but which he accidentally mixed with plant growth serum that causes big problems.
17–217"A Devil of a Time" *Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffMort WeisingerDecember 31, 1966 (1966-12-31)
Spotting two criminals during a costume ball, Clark Kent decides to use his devil costume to masquerade as the real Mephistopheles.
18–218"The Revolt of Robotville"Hal Sutherland, Anatole KirsanoffGeorge Kashdan, Mort WeisingerJanuary 7, 1967 (1967-01-07)
Robotville is an experimental city controlled by machine beings, which suddenly go on a rampage at the programming of the city's evil main engineer.

Asterisk (*) indicates episodes that do not contain narration.

Season 2 (1967–68)

The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure was first broadcast on September 9, 1967. This 60-minute program included new Superboy and Superman segments, and adventures featuring Aquaman and his sidekick Aqualad. It also comprised a rotating series of 'guest star' cartoons featuring the Atom, the Flash and Kid Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Teen Titans (Speedy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Aqualad).

Nº Ep Title Directed by: Written by: Original air date
19–21"The Beast With Two Faces"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorUnknownSeptember 9, 1967 (1967-09-09)
A saurian beast rampages through a Central American village before suddenly going docile, and the reason why is exploited by a gang of thieves.
20–22"The Gorilla Gang"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorUnknownSeptember 16, 1967 (1967-09-16)
During a school exploration of a canyon, Clark Kent and Lana Lang are captured by fugitive gangster "Ape" Hanson and his mob.
21–23"The Chameleon Creature"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorGeorge KashdanSeptember 23, 1967 (1967-09-23)
In the jungles of Africa, a mysterious mist transmutes an albino creature into any form.
22–24"The Great Space Race"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorGeorge KashdanSeptember 30, 1967 (1967-09-30)
Superboy must help a crew of interplanetary authorities (modeled after actor Barry Morse) pursue an evil scientist whose weaponry is causing disasters on Earth.
23–25"Finger of Doom"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorGeorge KashdanOctober 7, 1967 (1967-10-07)
A scientist is irradiated by the energy of a rogue star, turning him into an evil being with super energy emanating from his hands.
24–26"Krypto, K-9 Detective"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorBob HaneyOctober 14, 1967 (1967-10-14)
Dog thieves are on the rampage until Krypto, posing as an innocent dog, is captured.
25–27"The Neanderthal Caveman Caper"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorUnknownOctober 21, 1967 (1967-10-21)
Four fugitives encounter an iceberg in which a caveman has been frozen in suspension and now is revived.
26–28"The Terrible Trio" *Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorLeo DorfmanOctober 28, 1967 (1967-10-28)
Three school bullies are taught a needed lesson from Superboy.

Asterisk (*) indicates episodes that do not contain narration.

Season 3 (1968–69)

The Batman/Superman Hour premiered on September 14, 1968, featuring Superboy and Superman shorts alongside the adventures of Batman, Robin and Batgirl.

Nº Ep Title Directed by: Written by: Original air date
27–21"Forget Me Not, Superdog"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorGeorge KashdanSeptember 14, 1968 (1968-09-14)
Breaking up a meteor shower, Superboy and Krypto are struck by a kryptonite meteor, which gives Krypto amnesia.
28–22"Superboy Meets Mighty Lad"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorGeorge KashdanSeptember 21, 1968 (1968-09-21)
An alien youth has created superpowers implanted in a blue costume and begins showing off on Earth.
29–23"King Superboy"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorUnknownSeptember 28, 1968 (1968-09-28)
After destroying a fireball that bombards Earth, Superboy is hailed as a king by an alien civilization whose populace is held hostage by the Chrystal people, the source of the fireball.
30–24"Double Trouble, Double Doom"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorGeorge KashdanOctober 5, 1968 (1968-10-05)
Space authorities recruit Superboy to help them track down a gang of pirates.
31–25"The Trap of the Super Spacemen"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorGeorge KashdanOctober 12, 1968 (1968-10-12)
Alien beings capture astronauts and drain their energy into their warriors, and proceed to do the same to Superboy.
32–26"The Space Refugees"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorUnknownOctober 19, 1968 (1968-10-19)
Three vicious prospectors attack a pair of aliens who seek only sanctuary in a mountain countryside.
33–27"The Monster Molecule"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorGeorge KashdanOctober 26, 1968 (1968-10-26)
A Universal Molecule is used in an experiment that goes wrong; a scientist is irradiated and Superboy must fly 1,000 years into the future, where the Molecule will have grown to large size.
34–28"The Great Kryptonite Caper"Hal Sutherland, Rudy Larriva, Amby Paliwoda, Don Towsley, Lou ZukorGeorge KashdanNovember 2, 1968 (1968-11-02)
A gang hopes to use a Kryptonite amulet against Superboy, but in trying to lure him into their trap they accidentally detonate an underground oilfield—which causes them to lose the amulet, which is later found by Lana Lang.

References
  1. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 811–813. ISBN 978-1476665993.
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