The first Superman film serial, and the first live-action adaptation of the character, premiered in 1948 by Columbia Pictures. Starring Kirk Alyn in the title role, credited only as his character, the serial made Alyn a household name and jumpstarted the career of Noel Neill as Lois Lane. Starring alongside them were Pierre Watkin as Perry White, Tommy Bond as Jimmy Olsen, and Carol Forman as the Spider Lady, a redressed version of the Scarlet Widow from The Adventures of Superman radio serials.
Starting off with Superman's origin as the distant planet Krypton explodes, he makes his way to Earth via rocketship and is adopted by the kindly Kents and given the name Clark. When they pass away, he heads to Metropolis and joins the Daily Planet staff, staying close to the news and helping people in need with his powerful strength and flight.
But all isn't well in Metropolis. The queen of the criminal underworld, the Spider Lady, hears of Superman's arrival and deems him a threat to her plans to obtain the Reducer Ray, which is more powerful than any atomic weapon. To make matters worse, the discovery of Kryptonite shows that even Superman has his weaknesses, and the Spider Lady plans to capitalize. Can Superman save the day, stop the Spider Lady, and save Metropolis and his friends?
The serial was followed by 1950's Atom Man vs. Superman, with the main cast reprising their roles with the addition of Luthor as the main villain, in his first live-action appearance.
This serial contains examples of:
- Age Lift: The Spider Lady's radio inspiration, the Scarlet Widow, was an old hag, while in the serial she's young and beautiful but no less evil.
- Art Shift: Due to the low budget, whenever Superman took off or landed he'd be overlaid with a cartoon doing the motions. Krypton's destruction and Kal-El's spaceship are also animated.
- Character as Himself: Kirk Alyn went uncredited in the serial to give the illusion that Superman was a real character.
- Designated Victim: Jimmy Olsen gets knocked out in practically every fight he gets in, which really stacks up across 15 chapters.
- Earth-Shattering Kaboom: In this version Krypton was drawn inexorably towards its sun, and eventually exploded from the heat and stress.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: After spending the entire serial trying to get the Reducer Ray to threaten the world, the Spider Lady is killed by the ray when it's turned on her.
- Informed Ability: Despite its pedigree as more powerful than an atomic bomb, all the Reducer Ray does is destroy a cement blockhouse and a jail cell. Its potential effects on Superman, if any, are never seen.
- Kryptonite Factor: The main reason Superman can't save the day quickly is because the Spider Lady manages to get her hands on some Kryptonite, which can weaken and destroy him.
- Kryptonite-Proof Suit: In the final chapter, Superman uses a lead-lined suit to counter the Spider Lady's kryptonite.
- More Deadly Than the Male: Invoked with the Spider Lady's black widow theming, as she's the crime boss of all the male gangsters in Metropolis.
- Origins Episode: The first episode of the serial is dedicated to Superman's origin and his first major heroic deed, which is stopping a runaway train.
- Psycho Electro: Fitting her name, the Spider Lady has a giant electrified web in her lair that she kills a henchman with and later tries to kill Lois with.
- The Queenpin: The Spider Lady is the female boss of all the crime syndicates in Metropolis and plans to use the Reducer Ray to cement her power.
- The Spook: The Spider Lady's real name and origins are never revealed to the characters or the audience, and even one of the most distinctive things about her, her blonde hair, is revealed to be a wig. Newspapers refer to her as a mystery woman and the location of her lair is equally unknown.
- Targeted to Hurt the Hero: The Spider Lady often puts Superman's friends in danger, forcing him to save them before focusing on stopping her.