Fleischer Superman cartoons

[jon-el87]

"Destruction Inc."

Lois can see through Clark's disguise, when he poses as an elderly guard... can't figure out Superman's secret identity.

Supes gets an extended fight against three regular guys... after fighting Electrothanasia-Rays and mechanical monsters. Dragging down big ships, with his bare hands.

[jon-el87]

"The Mummy Strikes"

Still prefer the 1932 Boris Karloff movie.

Superman gets to fight supernatural mummies, while also trying to prove a young woman innocent of murder (I like that the final scene concludes that matter. It's not just forgotten or brushed over).

[jon-el87]

"Jungle Drums"

While Lois has to play the role of damsel in distress, she is depicted as headstrong, able to resist torture.

Could've done without the racist depiction of Africans.

[jon-el87]

"The Underground World"

Superman and Lois finds themselves in an underground world, inhabited by hawkmen. Made me think a bit about Feitherans (who were introduced in 1946, in a Flash comic book). The hawkmen are not really fleshed out. At least, they present a physical threat to Superman.

[jon-el87]

"Secret Agent"

Lois Lane does not appear in this one. Instead, we get to follow an unnamed blonde secret agent, who looks just like Lois (even voiced by the same actress). Bud Collyer's only got one line, in the whole cartoon. Superman gets to play second fiddle, to the titular secret agent (whose mission gets the focus)... who is not afforded a name. If we're going to spend so much time with her, maybe afford her, at least, a codename.

Overview of all 17 cartoons: Thought that most hold up, but don't have much story to them. The ones that don't hold up, are the ones too rooted in WWII (and contemporary racist depictions of non-white people). "The Mad Scientist", "The mechanical Monsters" and "The Underground World" (just to give three examples) could easily be moved to the present, without a changing much (ex. the mechanical monsters would be far more advanced). With the updates being stuff like more fleshed out characters, longer runtime, and villains having names.