Consume All Media! Atom Man vs. Superman: "Chapter Fifteen: Superman Saves the Universe"
Joe Heath is a big fan of comic books and watching things in order. So they made this spreadsheet containing every serial, short, film, television episode, commercial, motion comic, and web series based on a comic book. Now they're watching them all. Previously, Joe watched the fourteenth chapter of Atom Man vs. Superman. This time, they conclude with the fifteenth chapter.
Atom Man vs. Superman: “Chapter Fifteen: Superman Saves the Universe” - 15:13 (Available on Amazon)
Superman manages to pull the rocket up and drops it off into the sea where it explodes in a giant mushroom cloud. Apparently it was an atomic bomb. Hope there's no fallout...
Back at the Planet, Lois receives a package from Luthor. She pulls out a coin and is instantly teleported to Luthor's hideout. He tells her he plans to destroy the earth and take off in a spaceship. He sends a couple of henchmen off in the spaceship ahead of him.
Luthor causes another earthquake and Superman helps some people out in this serial's last mandatory rescue scene.
Superman overhears the police talking about how some people saw a projectile fired from the mountains, so he heads over to help the police check it out.
Luthor tries to hit the nearby police with an earthquake, but his henchmen are worried it will destroy the cave they're in. When it does begin to cave in, the henchmen punch Luthor and turn off the machine. Luthor grabs a gun and teleports to the spaceship with Lois.
Superman bursts in and questions the henchmen left behind. After the henchmen tell him where Luthor went, Superman knocks them out and flies up to the spaceship.
Superman flies in, wrecks the ship, and flies out with Luthor and Lois.
A passing meteor hits the ship and blows it up, presumably killing the two henchmen left inside. I don't think this goes on Superman's kill count as the meteor collision was an accident, but it's really damn suspect.
Everyone returns Earth and Luthor is left with the police.
After everything has calmed down, Lois relaxes by drawing a picture of Clark.
The idea is that without the glasses, he looks like Superman, but honestly this drawing looks nothing at all like Kirk Alyn.
Perry tells Lois and Clark that Jimmy is bringing in the synthetic kryptonite and he wants them to dispose of it. Clark seems uncomfortable with the idea, so when the kryptonite arrives, Lois shoves it in his face. Of course, he has no reaction to it as we've already learned the potency has worn off.
They proceed to be adorably awkward about the whole situation.
Should you watch it, though? First off, I just want to say that the universe was never in peril, just the Earth. But still, this final chapter was entertaining and wrapped everything up nicely! You stuck the landing, Superman!
On the whole, Atom Man vs. Superman is about on par with the original serial. The returning cast are great and Luthor is a wonderful addition. The serial is fun, witty, and generally moves at a decent pace. Plus, the Empty Doom is a truly amazing concept that predates the similarly-themed Phantom Zone that appeared in the Superman comics a full eleven years later!
However, it does retain the same problems as the original and adds some new ones to boot. The use of recycled footage is ramped up and the frequently shoe-horned rescue scenes get increasingly tedious. Plus, the serial peaks about six chapters before it's finished which makes some of the latter chapters a bit of a slog to get through, though the final chapter does make up for it.
But overall, if you enjoyed the first serial (which I did!), you'll most likely enjoy this one as well.
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And that’s it for 1950! There were a lot of grabbed cars, random rescues, and visits to the Empty Doom!
Tune in next time for the return of Superman in the first ever comic book feature film, Superman and the Mole Men!
A version of this article was previously published on The Dipp.
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