Sunday – 31 May 2020
This morning, I woke up a little earlier than expected. Nothing was wrong, I was just awake. I went to the kitchen to start coffee a’brewing, opened the blinds, let Evie out of her crate. A pretty typical start to the day.

After taking Evie outside for an uneventful – and non-productive – excursion, I came in, sat on the sofa, and turned on the TV. The past few weeks, I might have turned on CBS Sunday Morning, but my heart just wasn’t up for news today. I flipped past NBC’s Meet the Press and wound up letting it play in the background, while I distracted myself with other things.

At 9:00, I turned to Heroes & Icons to watch an episode of Old Man in Tights The Adventures of Superman, because… Superman.

George Reeve in The Adventures of Superman

As the last few episodes that I’ve watched were in color, I was a little shocked to see that it was a black-and-white episode. When the title card came up, it was one that I didn’t recognize: “Superman on Earth.” So, I sat back and took it in…

It was the FIRST episode of the first season, one that I’d never seen in all of the years I’ve watched the show! It went all the way back to just before Krypton’s explosion, as Jor-El tried to explain the ruling council members that they should make preparations for the planet’s demise.

Sidebar: If you have a young, hot-shot scientist – who isn’t given to hyperbole and whose expertise no one has had any reason to doubt, by the way – and he tells you, “We’re on the clock… start building ships, ’cause we need to raise up and roll out,” you might want to listen to him. Just saying.

Anyway, you know the spiel:

  • Jor-El tells the old dudes.
  • They scoff.
  • Jor-El and Lara put their only child in a prototype rocket.
  • Planet goes ‘splodey.
  • Rocket lands on Earth.

And here’s where things get a little different than what most people currently know about Superman: There’s no Jonathan or Martha Kent.

That’s not to say that there aren’t any Kents, just not the ones modern audiences know. The characters that we’ve come to know as “Jonathan” and “Martha” were originally named “Eben” and “Sarah,” even in the comics. Still farmers. Still in Smallville, Kansas. Just not “Jonathan” and “Martha.”

Man, that would have screwed things up in Batman vs. Superman…

But, I digress.

In the 22 minute episode, not only did we see all of the above, but also:

  • a twelve-year-old Clark wondering why he was different than other kids and being consoled by Martha.
  • The death of Jonathan.
  • Clark’s journey to Metropolis, and
  • How Clark met the Daily Planet gang AND scooped Lois on the first appearance of Superman.

All-in-all, I was not only thrilled to see an episode I’d never seen, but I also quite enjoyed how tightly – if dripping in 50’s Sci-Fi cheesiness – it introduced the characters and set up all you needed to know about Superman.