You’ll believe a kid can drink…
Continuing our look at Pepsi’s DC Comics drinkware beyond the famed “Moon Series.” (It is a full moon, after all).
Now, the Superman: The Movie Collector Glasses:
Superman: The Movie hit theaters in December 1978, and with it came a plethora of merchandise.
Superman had been a household name since the late 1930s, branded on products from pajamas to coloring books, so DC, Warner Bros. and their licensees were prepared to fully exploit their Kryptonian cash cow.
Pepsi joined in on the movie-specific blitz with this set of beautifully illustrated glasses, depicting scenes from the Richard Donner film, and describing the movie’s plot in short blurbs on the back.
Image courtesy of capedwonder.com
I’m not sure who the artist was, but the style is similar to Gray Morrow, who worked in both the film and comics industries. These premiums were available for 69¢ a piece at Taco Bell, and perhaps other restaurants. Superman: The Movie is my favorite film of all time, and the quality of these glasses is very consistent, so it’s hard to pick one over another, but I’ll give it my best shot!
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6. The Caped Wonder to the Rescue. This glass gets the bottom spot simply because it’s not quite as exciting or action-packed as the others. Promotions for the film really emphasized the scene where Superman saves the train by becoming part of the missing track. It works better on film than paper… or glass. The likenesses of Christohper Reeve as Superman and Margot Kidder as Lois Lane are spot-on, though!
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5. Kal-El Comes to Earth. Another winner, only let down by Marlon Brando’s refusal to allow his likeness as Jor-El be used on certain merchandise. We don’t see Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor on these glasses either. At least we get excellent representations of Susanah York as Lara and another of Reeve as the titular hero. The real highlight is the memorable scene of Baby Kal-El (Aaron Smolinski) lifting the truck as an astonished Ma and Pa Kent (Phyllis Thaxter and Glenn Ford) look dumbstruck.
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4. Superman Saves the Day. It pains me to put this one so low, because it features a wonderful illustration of one of cinema’s greatest fist-pumping moments: when Superman debuts, saving Lois in one hand, and grabbing her falling helicopter in the other! The figures are just a bit small, and the likenesses of Reeve and Kidder are better elsewhere in the series.
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3. Lois Lane is Saved by Her Hero. What comics fan doesn’t love a good Superman shirt rip? This glass captures that iconic moment (although Clark Kent is standing here, not running as he was in the film), as well as the tragic scene where the Man of Steel lifts the dead Lois’ car from the crevice. Another nice closeup of Kidder as the intrepid reporter, but there are two glasses I feel capture the film just a bit better.
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2. From the Child Kal-El to the Man of Steel. This glass features some of the most iconic elements of the film. Baby Kal-El emerging from the burned-out rocket; Superman at the crystalline controls in his Fortress of Solitude; and the romantic flight scene between the film’s leads. Hard to argue with this one, but…
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1. The Characters. It’s the giant Reeve-as-Clark likeness that really puts this one on top. All his goofy charm as the character is captured in just simple lines. It’s sublime, even if the Superman figure is a bit small. That, along with the on-the-money depictions of Kidder as Lois, Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen and Jackie Cooper as Perry White, make this my favorite of the bunch. We even get the film-accurate headline on the copy of the Daily Planet!
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That’s all six but it wouldn’t be a 13th Dimension article if there weren’t 13 to rank — so click here for Pepsi’s seven 1978 comics glasses!
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MORE
— The TOP 13 DC Comics Pepsi MOON GLASSES — RANKED. Click here.
— BEYOND THE MOON (GLASSES): PEPSI’s Other Groovy DC Comics Drinkware — RANKED. Click here.
