In Episode 170 of Adapt or Perish, we’re celebrating the release of a new Superman movie with a look back at every major screen adaptation of the Man of Steel released since 1941!

We’re also releasing this as a video, so feel free to enjoy a rare visual episode!

In this episode, we discuss:

• The Mad Scientist, the 1941 animated short directed by Dave Fleischer, written by Seymour Kneitel and Isadore Sparber, and starring Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander
• Superman, the 1948 movie serial directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Thomas Carr, written by Lewis Clay, Royal K. Cole, Arthur Hoerl, George H. Plympton, and Joseph F. Poland, and starring Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, and Carol Forman
• Superman and the Mole Men, the 1951 movie directed by Lee Sholem, written by Robert Maxwell and Whitney Ellsworth, and starring George Reeves and Phyllis Coates
• Adventures of Superman, the 1952–1958 TV series also developed by Whitney Ellsworth and Robert J. Maxwell, and also starring George Reeves and Phyllis Coates
• The New Adventures of Superman, the 1966–1970 animated series developed by Lou Scheimer, and starring Bud Collyer and Joan Alexandar
• Super Friends, the 1973 animated series created by E. Nelson Bridwell, Carmine Infantino, and Julius Schwartz, and starring Danny Dark and Frank Welker
• It’s a Bird... It’s a Plane... It’s Superman, the 1966 musical with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams, and book by David Newman and Robert Benton, and the 1975 TV special directed by Jack Regas, written by Romeo Muller, and starring David Wilson, Lesley Ann Warren, Loretta Swit, and Kenneth Mars
• Superman, the 1978 movie directed by Richard Donner, written by Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, and Robert Benton, and starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, and Marlon Brando
• Superboy, the 1988–1992 TV series developed by Ilya and Alexander Salkind, and starring John Haymes Newton and Stacy Haiduk
• Superman, the 1988 animated series developed by Ruby-Spears Enterprises and Marv Wolfman, and starring Beau Weaver and Ginny McSwain.
• Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, the 1993–1997 TV series developed by Deborah Joy LeVine, and starring Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher, Lane Smith, K Callan, Eddie Jones, and John Shea
• Superman: The Animated Series, the 1996–2000 animated series developed by Alan Burnett and Bruce Timm, and starring Tim Daly, Dana Delany, and Clancy Brown
• Smallville, the 2001–2011 TV series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and starring Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Annette O’Toole, John Schneider, and John Glover
• Superman Returns, the 2006 movie directed by Bryan Singer, written by Singer, Michael Dougherty, and Dan Harris, and starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, James Marsden, Frank Langella, and Kevin Spacey
• Superman: Doomsday, the 2007 animated movie directed by Bruce Timm, Lauren Montgomery, and Brandon Vietti, written by Duane Capizzi, and starring Adam Baldwin, Anne Heche, and James Marsters
• Man of Steel, the 2013 movie directed by Zack Snyder, written by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan, and starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, and Russell Crowe
• Superman & Lois, the 2021–2024 TV series developed by Greg Berlanti and Todd Helbing, and starring Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch
• My Adventures with Superman, the 2023–present animated series developed by Jake Wyatt, Brendan Clougher, and Josie Campbell, and starring Jack Quaid, Alice Lee, and Ishmel Sahid
• Superman, the 2025 movie written and Directed by James Gunn, starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult

Footnotes:

• Superman: Birthright, the 2003–2004 comic series written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu and Gerry Alanguilan
• Superman: Secret Identity, the 2004 comic series written by Kurt Busiek and illustrated by Stuart Immonen
• Peggy Lee singing “You’ve Got Possibilities”

Head to adaptorperishcast.com to see our episode archive, read some fun extras, and get in touch. To get the latest updates or support the show, check out our Patreon page.