ATOM MAN VS. SUPERMAN (1950)
(Serial)
Article #628 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 12-3-2002
Posting date: 4-28-2003

Superman faces the threat of a technological genius named Atom Man, who is, of course, none other than Lex Luthor in disguise.

One advantage of basing a serial on a well-known comic book is that you have an instantly recognizable cast of characters from square one; I have no trouble with confusing characters in this one (a common problem I’ve encountered with serials). Most of the flying effects are done via cartoon animation, which is somewhat jarring, but you get used to it well enough. It’s loaded with cheating cliffhangers, but at least they aren’t just the “man sees the car is going over a cliff and bails out at the last moment” type; in fact, some of them are quite clever. It’s well acted all around, with Kirk Alyn a very appealing Superman, and Lyle Talbot having a fun time as Lex Luthor. I found it very good for a serial from the fifties.