''The Adventures of Superboy'' is a series of six-minute animated

Superboy Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...

cartoons produced by Filmation that were broadcast on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The 34 segments appeared as part of three different programs during that time, packaged with similar shorts featuring '' The New Adventures of Superman'' and other

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

es. These adventures marked the animation debut of Superboy, as well as his teenage alter ego

Clark Kent 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 ...

, Lana Lang, and Krypto the super-powered dog who would accompany his master on every dangerous mission. Other characters such as Jonathan and Martha Kent, foster parents of the Boy of Steel, and the town of

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

were also faithfully recreated from comic book adventures. As a result of the production's budget, the show featured a great amount of stock animation as well as limited movement from the characters. Each episode featured the Boy of Steel ducking out of high school and racing into action to battle a wide array of adversaries, from dognappers in "Krypto, K-9 Detective", androids run amok in "The Revolt of Robotville", and alien menaces in "The Spy from Outer Space", to another young hero with similar powers in "Superboy Meets Mighty Lad", and a slew of otherworldly monsters ("The Deep Sea Dragon", "The Visitor from the Earth's Core"). He winds up being captured and fighting a gang of small-time crooks—all while in his disguise as Clark Kent—in "The Gorilla Gang". Most of the stories were written by DC writers such as

Bob Haney Robert Gilbert Haney, Jr. (March 15, 1926 – November 25, 2004) was an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. He co-created the Teen Titans as well as characters such as Lance Bruner, Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and ...

and George Kashdan, while character designs were based closely upon the Superboy comic books of the time.

Home media

In 1985,

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

released eight selected episodes of the series on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

in the "Super Powers" video collection along with

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. These videos were rereleased in 1996. Although '' The New Adventures of Superman'' was released on DVD, the sets do not include the Superboy shorts because of a legal battle between Warner Bros. and the estate of

Jerry Siegel Jerome "Jerry" Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He was the co-creator of ...

over the rights to the "Superboy" name that occurred at the time. Streaming services have included the Superboy shorts for seasons two and three, but not for season one, which as of 2023 has not yet been released for any home video format.

Voice cast

* Bob Hastings as Kal-El/Clark Kent / Superboy * Janet Waldo as Lana Lang *

Ted Knight Ted Knight (born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka; December 7, 1923August 26, 1986) was an American actor known for playing the comedic roles of Ted Baxter in ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', Henry Rush in '' Too Close for Comfort'' and Judge Elihu Sm ...

as Narrator * Jackson Beck as Introductory narrator

Episodes

Season 1 (1966–67)

The series premiered on September 10, 1966 as part of a 30-minute program named '' The New Adventures of Superman'', featuring two Superman shorts with one Superboy segment in between. Asterisk (*) indicates episodes that do not contain narration.

Season 2 (1967–68)

'' The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure'' was first broadcast on September 9, 1967. This 60-minute program included new Superboy and Superman segments, and adventures featuring

and his sidekick

Aqualad Aqualad is the alias of several superheroes in American comic books published by DC Comics and appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was originally created by writer Robert Bernstein and artist Ramona Fradon, serving as ...

. It also comprised a rotating series of 'guest star' cartoons featuring the

Atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

, the Flash and Kid Flash,

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

and the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

( Speedy, Kid Flash,

Wonder Girl Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple list of superheroines, superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. They are associated with the superheroine Wonder Woman and possess Amazons (DC Comics), Amazonian powers. The Wonder Girl a ...

and Aqualad). Asterisk (*) indicates episodes that do not contain narration.

Season 3 (1968–69)

'' The Batman/Superman Hour'' premiered on September 14, 1968, featuring Superboy and Superman shorts alongside the adventures of

, Robin and

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures Of Superboy, The 1960s American animated television series 1960s American children's television series 1966 American animated television series debuts 1969 American television series endings 1960s American superhero television series American English-language television shows American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated superhero television series Superboy Animated television shows based on DC Comics CBS animated television series Superman television series by Filmation