''Superman On Trial'' To celebrate the 50th anniversary of

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

produced a docudrama about Metropolis’ superhero. This story was partly based on '' Superman: Last Son of Krypton'' and some early issues of ''

Adventures of Superman Adventures of Superman or The Adventures of Superman may refer to: * ''The Adventures of Superman'' (radio series), program of the 1940s * ''The Adventures of Superman'' (novel), written in 1942 by George Lowther * ''Adventures of Superman'' (TV s ...

''. The BBC released an Audiobook production in 2010.

Story

Poisoned with

Kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton (comics), Krypton that emits a u ...

and put on trial for causing as many disasters as he prevents, Superman must relive his past as his closest friends and allies try to save him from eternal imprisonment in the

Phantom Zone The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created b ...

. Prosecutor Lex Luthor (who is also running for Mayor of

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

) squares off against Superman's advocate, Lois Lane in front of acting judge, one of the Guardians of the Universe. Luthor claims that because Superman is an alien, he should not be "meddling in human affairs." Witnesses appear from both the comic world, like Jimmy Olsen, and from the real world, like Adam West (TV's Batman), Jenette Kahn (then-President, DC Comics) and Dave Gibbons (DC Comics artist/Co-creator, ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

''). In the end, the Guardian rules that because Superman was raised by human parents, he acquired human values and was thus part of humanity.

Cast

Stuart Milligan Stuart Milligan is an American actor based primarily in the United Kingdom, best known for his recurring role (1998–2010) as Adam Klaus in ''Jonathan Creek''. Career Milligan has been seen extensively on British television. An early role was ...

* Shelley Thompson as

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...

and

Lara Lara may refer to: People * Lara (name), can be a given name or a surname in several languages * Lara (mythology), a naiad nymph, daughter of the river Almo in Ovid's ''Fasti'' Places *Lara (state), a state in Venezuela * Electoral district ...

William Hootkins William Michael Hootkins (July 5, 1948 – October 23, 2005) was an American actor. He was best known for supporting roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as ''Star Wars'', ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', and ''Batman''. Early life Hootkins was born ...

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

Leon Herbert Leon Herbert is a British actor. Herbert is known for appearances in films including '' Salome's Last Dance'' (1988), ''Scandal'' (1989), ''Batman'' (1989), ''Alien 3'' (1992), '' Double X: The Name of the Game'' (1992), ''Point of No Return'' ...

as The Guardian of the Universe * Bob Sessions as

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

Vincent Marzello Vincent Marzello (July 4, 1951 – March 31, 2020) was an American actor. Early life Marzello was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 4, 1951. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Career Marzello was active on screen ...

Jimmy Olsen Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Superman, Clark Kent ...

* David Graham as Jonathan Kent *

Lorelei King Lorelei King is an American actress, screenwriter and development executive who has been based in the United Kingdom since 1981. She has narrated audiobooks, acted in radio plays for BBC Radio 4 and appeared on television. Early life King was ...

Martha Kent Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent (often referred to as "Pa" and "Ma" Kent, respectively) are fictional characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are the adoptive parents of Superman, and live in the rural town of Smallville (co ...

Lana Lang Lana Lang is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is a ''Superman'' supporting character and love interest of the teenage Clark Kent. She was created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela ...

, and Hooker (Extended Edition) *

Garrick Hagon Garrick Hagon (; born September 27, 1939) is a British-Canadian actor. He is known for his role as Biggs Darklighter in '' Star Wars: A New Hope''. His films include ''Batman'', ''Spy Game'', '' Me and Orson Welles'' and '' The Message''. He ...

Jor-El Jor-El is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in the Superman (comic strip), ''Superman'' newspaper comic strip in 1939. Jor-El is Supe ...

Perry White Perry White is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the editor-in-chief of the Metropolis newspaper the '' Daily Planet''. The character maintains very high ethical and journalistic standards and i ...

(Extended Edition), Cop (Extended Edition), Bartender (Extended Edition) and Newscaster *

Adam West William West Anderson (September 19, 1928 – June 9, 2017), known professionally as Adam West, was an American actor. He portrayed Batman in the 1960s ABC series of the same name and its 1966 theatrical feature film, reprising the role in ...

as himself *

Jenette Kahn Jenette Kahn (; born May 16, 1947) is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics in 1976 as publisher, and five years later was promoted to president. In 1989, she stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of editor ...

as herself *

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story " For the M ...

as himself

Later Developments

When Maggs's Superman radio series went into full swing, actresses Shelley Thompson and Lorelei King swapped the roles of Lois Lane and Lana Lang, and along with Perry White, Garrick Hagon took up the role of Jonathan Kent, while the parts of Jor-El and Lara were assigned to

Dick Vosburgh Richard Kennedy Vosburgh (27 August 1929 – 18 April 2007) was an American-born Grammy and Tony-nominated comedy writer and lyricist, working chiefly in Britain. Early life Vosburgh was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States. He persu ...

and Jane Wittenshaw respectively.

References

1988 television films 1988 films British documentary television films Superman in other media 1980s British films {{DC-comics-stub