Consume All Media! Superman: "Chapter Fifteen: The Payoff"

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 Superman. This time, they conclude with the fifteenth.

Superman: “Chapter Fifteen: The Payoff” - 17:24 (Available on Amazon)

Superman gets Lois out of the building, but the cell explodes with Hackett and Anton still inside it.

I don’t think this goes on Superman’s kill count, but it does make me feel a little uncomfortable.

The Spider Lady sends a message saying she’s going to destroy the Daily Planet in a few hours.

Lois takes this time to write some truly upsetting words.

Clark leaves to do a man on the street piece, but in reality, he goes to the exploded prison and finds the broken recording of the conversation between Hackett and Anton. He brings it to the Daily Planet and reconstructs it with his superpowers. They listen to the conversation and hear where Hackett and Anton were supposed to meet up after getting out of jail: The Dog’s Eye.

Superman flies off and comes back as Clark. None of them know what Dog’s Eye is.

Jimmy reads a ticker about cars mysteriously dying around the foothills. Lois and Jimmy fly a plane to check it out. The plane’s ignition goes out and they crash land. They’re caught by henchmen and taken to the Spider-Lady.

Meanwhile, Clark makes unhelpful doodles.

He looks at a map upside down and realizes Metropolis is shaped like a dog. This is canon now.

The Dog’s Eye is actually the Silver Queen Mine.

Superman flies there and confronts a henchman. The henchman pulls out some kryptonite.

Superman collapses and is taken to the Spider Lady.

But this was all a ploy! Superman only faked being affected by the kryptonite. He was protected by some lead-lined clothing he wore under his costume.

I don’t know how that protected his face, but I will say the serial did setup that lead could block the effects of kryptonite, so it checks out. Kind of.

The Spider Lady turns the reducer ray on Superman and he is unaffected.

Graham, no longer under Hackett’s hypnotism, turns the ray on the Spider-Lady.

And she explodes!

Well, that’s everything taken care of, I suppose. Though Superman didn’t really do anything except kind of stand there.

Later, Clark pretends to be asleep in Perry’s office.

He wakes up and says he was dreaming that he was Superman, flying Lois through the air.

Lois says, “That’s not a dream. That’s a nightmare.” They all laugh.

Should you watch it, though? It’s a little sloppy and while Superman solves the Dog’s Eye mystery and tricks the Spider Lady with a lead-lined costume, he doesn’t actually do anything once he’s there. Most of the villains are disposed of by the Spider Lady and she’s disposed of by Graham. But it’s still a fun chapter and the ending is cute.

Overall, the whole serial is great fun! There are some reused shots, but if I wasn’t binging this, I wouldn’t have noticed. The animation is an interesting and slightly jarring choice, but I think it’s a choice that makes this serial a little more memorable. The plot is constructed well and the characters are distinct and played well. Out of all the serials I’ve watched so far, this is the one I’d most likely recommend watching.

Tune in next time for a serial I don’t recommend at all! Congo Bill!

A version of this article was previously published on The Dipp.

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