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Ruby-Spears Superman DVD Review

November 2nd, 2009 by Tommy Day

Fans of Superman rejoice! Today Warner Bros releases the Ruby-Spears Superman series from 1988 on a two-disc DVD set! If you’re not familiar with this short-lived series, it ran for 13 episodes in 1988 and was intended as a gift to fans in celebration of Superman’s 50th Anniversary. It was produced by Ruby-Spears Productions, who was known for various Saturday morning cartoons in the 70s and 80s, including Thundarr the Barbarian, Mr. T, Mega Man, Plastic Man, and Alvin and the Chipmunks (the ’83 version).

All 13 episodes are included in the set, as well as the four minute “Superman Family Album” segments that ran at the end of each episode. They’re short stories that focus on Superman growing up in Smallville with the Kents.

Episode List

Disc One

• Destroy The Defendroids/ The Adoption
• Fugitive From Space/ The Supermarket
• By The Skin of the Dragon’s Teeth/At The Babysitter’s
• Cybron Strikes/ The First Day of School
• The Big Scoop/ Overnight with the Scouts
• Triple-Play/ The Circus
• The Hunter/ Little Runaway

Disc Two

• Superman and Wonder Woman vs. The Sorcerer of Time/ The Birthday Party
• Bonechill/ The Driver’s License
• The Beast Beneath These Streets/ First Date
• Wildshark/ To Play or Not to Play
• Night of the Living Shadows/ Graduation
• The Last Time I Saw Earth/ It’s Superman

The Bonus Features

Corruption of the Corrupt: The Rise of LexCorp
A fascinating glimpse into the Decade of Greed, when Americans were growing more and more distrustful of corporate leadership. From the headlines of the day to the pages of Superman arose a new vision of an old villain, Lex Luthor and his conglomerate, LexCorp.

I’ve been a huge Superman fan for years but I’m completely new to this series. It’s not my favorite animated incarnation of the character, but I enjoy these episodes more than watching the Superfriends. One geeky piece of trivia is that the intro to this series combines the John Williams theme from the Superman films with the voice-over from the Adventures of Superman from the 50s. Sweet.

Whether you remember this show or you’re just a Superman fan like myself, I’d recommend picking this up on DVD, it’s a great addition to a Saturday morning cartoon collection.

Written by Tommy Day | Website | Twitter

Tommy is a freelance web designer/developer living in Indianapolis who enjoys blogging, playing video games, and writing about himself in the third person.