Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jul 11, 2025 | 4 comments

SUPERMAN WEEK: One of the most overlooked entries in the Super-legacy…

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It’s SUPERMAN WEEK! Because there’s a fancy new movie out! Click here for the COMPLETE INDEX of columns and features! Look, up in the sky! — Dan

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By MARK EDLITZ

My new book, Look Up in the Sky: The Forgotten Superboy Series, features interviews with the cast and crew of the syndicated, live-action series The Adventures of Superboy, including Gerard Christopher (Superboy), Stacy Haiduk (Lana Lang), John Newton (also Superboy), Ilya Salkind (producer), David Nutter (director), as well as numerous writers, producers, and showrunners.

Here are 13 FACTS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT THE SUPERBOY TV SERIES:

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1. The Salkinds’ Superboy Experiment. After producing four Superman films, Alexander and Ilya Salkind launched a bold new chapter in the franchise: a live-action syndicated television series called Superboy, later retitled The Adventures of Superboy. The show ran for four seasons (1988–92) and produced 100 episodes, but it remains one of the most overlooked entries in the Superman legacy.

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2. The Man Behind the Show Was a Radio Producer. Superboy was conceived by Peter Marino, a radio producer best known for creatively splicing together Neil Diamond’s and Barbra Streisand’s solo recordings of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” His version became such a hit that the two artists re-recorded it as a duet.

Today, it’s common for Marvel and Star Wars projects to move seamlessly between film and television, but back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, that was far less common. The production of Richard Donner’s Superman, filmed in tandem with Superman II, stretched over 19 months. In contrast, episodes of Superboy were shot in just five days, sometimes even less.

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3. There Were Two Superboys. The title role was played by two actors: John Haymes Newton starred in Season 1 but was replaced by Gerard Christopher, who played Superboy for the remaining three seasons. Newton deliberately avoided Christopher Reeve’s characterization. Reeve was only 24 years old when he was cast as Superman. Interestingly, Christopher was 29 years old when he took on the role of Superboy. Because of his age, the writers stopped referring to him as “Superboy,” and he effectively became a de facto Superman.

4. Early Seasons Took Place at Shuster University. Named after Superman co-creator Joe Shuster, the fictional university was the setting for the first two seasons. Clark Kent (Newton), Lana Lang (Stacy Haiduk), and T.J. White (Jim Calvert), nephew of Daily Planet editor Perry White, were students there.

Not only was the actor playing Superboy replaced after the first season, but so were Calvert and Scott Wells, who portrayed Lex Luthor. Wells’ take on Luthor was that of an entitled frat boy. Only Stacy Haiduk, whose standout performance resonated with audiences, remained for all four seasons.

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5. Bug-Eyed Monsters. Producers Julia Pistor and Stan Berkowitz (later of Batman Beyond and Superman: The Animated Series) steered the show in a new direction. Seasons 3 and 4 centered on the Bureau for Extra-Normal Matters, with Clark and Lana investigating paranormal cases, years before The X-Files debuted. The name, Bureau of Extranormal Matters, is an inside joke for comic book fans and a subtle acronym for “Bug-Eyed Monsters.”

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6. An X-Files Director Got His Start Here. Acclaimed television director David Nutter, who later directed episodes of The X-Files, Game of Thrones, and Smallville, directed 21 of Superboy’s 100 episodes.

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7. The Show Featured Some Dark and Inventive Storylines. Episodes like “The Road to Hell” and “Roads Not Taken” explored alternate universes, one where Superboy becomes a fascist ruler. Another standout, based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ “For the Man Who Has Everything,” shows Superboy haunted by a dream world. In “Superboy… Lost,” he suffers amnesia and starts a new life with a woman unaware of his true identity. In “Know Thine Enemy,” Superboy is trapped in a device that forces him to relive Luthor’s abusive childhood.

8. Lex Luthor Was Maniacal and Multi-Talented. Sherman Howard gave a menacing and theatrical performance as Lex Luthor. He also contributed behind the scenes, writing two episodes, including “Mine Games,” where Superboy and Lex are trapped in a Kryptonite-filled mine. Howard also wrote “Darla Goes Ballistic,” in which Lex Luthor’s sidekick Darla (Tracy Roberts) nearly destroys the world. Superboy wasn’t strictly children’s fare; in fact, Luthor first meets Darla at a strip club.

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9. Top Comic Book Writers Were Involved. Some of the show’s best episodes were penned by comic book pros, including Cary Bates, Mike Carlin, Andy Helfer, and J.M. DeMatteis, bringing authentic superhero sensibilities to the scripts.

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Bates’ work on the show directly led him and Mark Jones to co-write Reeve’s unproduced fifth Superman film. Carlin and Helfer also served as DC’s representatives on the show, ensuring that the series stayed true to the spirit of the comics.

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10. The First Live-Action Bizarro. The show featured the first-ever live-action portrayal of Superman’s bizarre clone, Bizarro, played by Douglas B. Meyers.

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11. An Eclectic Cast of Guest Stars. The guest roster included Oscar nominee Michael J. Pollard as Mister Mxyzptlk, Leif Garrett as a sadistic rocker, and Gilbert Gottfried as Nick Knack, who was encouraged to ad-lib. Jack Larson and Noel Neill from The Adventures of Superman also guest-starred.

The House of El’s family Bond: George Lazenby, one-time 007, as Jor-El; Christopher; former Bond Girl Britt Ekland as Lara.

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12. The Show Spawned a Comic Book. DC Comics published a tie-in series that ran for 22 regular issues and one special. Gilbert Gottfried even co-wrote an issue featuring Nick Knack, the show’s version of the classic supervillain Toyman.

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13. It Took Years to Hit Home Video. Superboy remained unavailable on home video for over a decade. Season 1 was finally released on DVD in 2006, with the remaining seasons later issued via Warner Bros.’ print-on-demand service. It might take a little effort, but the series is worth discovering.

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MORE

— The Complete SUPERMAN WEEK INDEX of Columns and Features. Click here.

— It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s an INSIDE LOOK at 1966’s SUPERMAN Broadway Musical! Click here.

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Mark Edlitz also wrote The Lost Adventures of James Bond: Timothy Dalton’s Third and Fourth Bond Films, James Bond Jr., and Other Unmade or Forgotten 007 Projects.