Unfortunately, the Justice Society of America never made it to the movies. This is understandable when one looks back to the circumstances of the Forties. In those days the major studios simply did not  make multi-million dollar movies about superheroes, as they do today. Much of this was probably due to the perception that comic books, and hence the superheroes that were featured in them, were children's fare. It was then probably widely believed that a superhero movie would be limited to an audience made largely of people under the age of thirteen. Even if this had not been the case, the special effects technology of the day probably could not have duplicated the powers of many of the JSA members (particularly The Flash and Green Lantern) on screen. After all, this was an era in which making Captain Marvel and Superman fly provided special effects technicians with significant difficulties, and providing special effects to create Green Lantern or The Flash's powers would be difficult even given today's FX technology. Indeed, The Flash tv series of the early Nineties was one of the most expensive TV shows of all time, largely because of the expense it took to create the illusion of Barry Allen moving at super speed. It must also be pointed out that because it is a superhero group, a Justice Society of America movie would have had at least seven "leading" roles, which would have increased the cost of the movie even more.

That is not to say that superheroes were largely absent from film. Superheroes did indeed make it to the silver screen and rather early in the Golden Age at that. Serials featuring the Fawcett Comics characters Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher were made in 1941 and 1942 respectively. The Timely Comics character Captain America would be featured in a serial in 1944. Unfortunately, none of the regular members of the Justice Society of America would make it to the silver  screen. This did not mean the JSA was wholly unrepresented in the movies, however, as honourary members Superman and Batman would both have adventures shown in theatres everywhere.

By 1940 Superman was already a multimedia sensation. In addition to being featured in the comic books, Superman also appeared in a daily newspaper strip and a radio show as well. The next step for Superman was quite naturally the silver screen. In 1940 Republic Studios entered into negotiations with Detective Comics Inc. to produce a serial based on the Man of Steel, which would have been called The Adventures of Superman. The script would have pitted the Man of Steel against a mad scientist called Dr. Satan, who utilised super strong robots. Unfortunately, negotiations between the studio and the comic book company fell through. According to some sources this was because of disagreements between the two as to the portrayal of the character. According to others it was because the Fleischer studio, producers of the Superman animated shorts (see below), apparently had exclusive rights to the character. Regardless, The Adventures of Superman was never made. The script was renamed The Mysterious Dr. Satan and rewritten so that it was The Copperhead, a hero with no real super powers, who batted the evil doctor. The effects to simulate flying developed for The Adventures of Superman would later be put to good use on another Republic serial,  The Adventures of Captain Marvel.

Superman's first appearance on the big screen would not be in a serial, then, but in animated cartoons. With the popularity of Superman seeming to grow with every passing day, Paramount Studios asked the Fleischer brothers, Max and Dave, to adapt the Man of Steel for the silver screen. The Fleischers were hardly pleased with the prospect of animating Superman and so Dave Fleischer told Paramount that the cartoons would be overly expensive. In fact, Fleischer quoted them the figure of $100,000 as the amount it would cost to produce a series of Superman cartoons. The Fleischers were quite naturally shocked when Paramount agreed to the hefty price tag.

The first Superman cartoon, titled Superman (although also referred to as The Mad Scientist) debuted September 26, 1941. This first cartoon cost an astonishing $50,000 (which was nearly four times the budget of the average animated short in that day). Expense was not spared on the following cartoons in the series either--each had a budget of $35,000 apiece. The Superman series proved very successful, both with the public and the critics. The initial Superman cartoon was nominated for the Academy award for Best Animated Short the following year. With World War II well under way, the Superman series of cartoons would eventually prove cost prohibitive for Paramount Studios. After seventeen animated shorts, the final Superman cartoon produced by the Fleischers, "Secret Agent," debuted July 30, 1943. The series was replaced by a much cheaper and easier series to produce, Little Lulu.

The Superman animated shorts produced by the Fleischers remain a high point in the Man of Steel's sixty plus years. Never before or since has so much money, time, and effort been spent to produce a series of cartoons centred on a superhero. The Fleischers' Superman cartoons caught the look and feel of Golden Age comic books better than any cartoon or movie produced since. Despite the subsequent serials, multi-million dollar motion pictures, TV shows, and animated series produced since that time, the Fleischer cartoons may well have captured the spirit of Superman comic books (some would say comic books, period) better than anything else.

While plans for the Republic serial, The Adventures of Superman, had fallen through, that did not mean the Man of Steel would never appear in a chapter play. In 1948 Columbia Pictures produced Superman, a fifteen chapter serial featuring the Last Son of Krypton. Kirk Alyn, a former dancer,  played the Man of Steel for the first of two times (he would later play Blackhawk as well). Noel Neill played Lois Lane for the first of many times to come--later she would return to the role on the TV series.  The movie portrayed Superman's origin, from the destruction of Krypton to his boyhood spent with the Kents. The main portion of the serial was devoted to the plot of the evil Spider Lady (played by Carol Forman) to destroy Metropolis with a reducer ray.  The special effects on Superman were minimal. Indeed, when Superman took flight he suddenly became an animated figure--there are no live action shots of Kirk Alyn in flight.

The first Superman serial was heavily promoted. It was advertised during the Superman radio show and given a wide release in theatres throughout the United States. Between its promotion and the sheer popularity of the Man of Steel, Superman became the most successful serial of all time. Naturally, this meant that there would be a sequel.

Atom Man vs. Superman was released in 1950, with Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill once more playing Superman and Lois Lane. The serial would mark the screen debut of Lex Luthor, played by Lyle Talbot (perhaps best known for his roles in many Ed Wood movies). The script was taken from the Superman radio show, replacing the villain of that piece with the Man of Steel's archnemesis. The plot concerned Luthor's scheme to destroy Metropolis, who in the course of the serial actually develops "synthetic kryptonite." The special effects for Atom Man vs. Superman were an improvement over the first serial. At last fans of the Man of Steel got to see live action scenes of Superman in flight. There were also scenes in which animated bullets bounced harmlessly off the Man of Steel's chest, just like in the comic books.

Having conquered radio, newspaper comic strips, and the silver screen, Superman was now all set to conquer a new medium--television. DC Comics took charge of the production of the series themselves. It was planned that the pilot episode would be long enough to recoup its costs as a feature film. In the role of the Man of Steel was cast a little known bit player in several movies (among them, Gone With the Wind), George Reeves.  Phyllis Coates was cast as Lois Lane, having previously appeared in various b-movies. The feature film and pilot for the series, Superman and the Mole Men, was scripted by Robert Maxwell, who had handled the radio show and product licensing for DC Comics. It concerned a subterranean race whose lives are disturbed by an oil rig. The special effects on the film were minimal--as in the first serial, an animated character was used for the single flying sequence in the movie. Regardless, Superman and the Mole Men was released to theatres in November 1951 and proved rather successful. It would later be divided in half and aired as the two part episode "The Unknown People."

Production began on the tv series The Adventures of Superman in July 1951. Twenty six episodes were made in all, including the two part episode "The Unknown People" made from cannibalising Superman and the Mole Men.  Perhaps because of Superman and the Mole Men's release to theatres that November, The Adventures of Superman would not be released for syndication until the fall of 1952. One significant improvement that the regular series had over the pilot movie was that it actually featured George Reeves in flight. Because of the cost of simulating flight, these flying scenes would be used over and over from episode to episode.

The first season of The Adventures of Superman was produced by Robert Maxwell, who had handled the radio show and Superman licensing for DC Comics. Its overall tone was much darker than later seasons of the series. Superman often fought gangsters and there was often considerable violence in many of the episodes. Some believe that this could be why Maxwell left the series after its first season--the show's sponsor (the cereal maker Kellogs) and DC Comics wanted a lighter show directed at children. According to other sources, however,  Maxwell simply had a problem staying within his budget for each episode on the show. Regardless, Whitney Ellsworth, a veteran of the Superman comic books, became the series' new producer. The episodes Ellsworth produced were considerably lighter in tone than those produced by Maxwell and often involved elements of both science fiction and humour.

Not only did The Adventures of Superman change producers, but one change was made in the cast as well. Following the end of shooting for the first season, the cast was kept in the dark as to whether the series would continue filming. As a result, Phyllis Coates signed onto a feature film, thinking that her stint on the Superman series was over. She was replaced by the actress who had first played Lois Lane in the serials, Noel Neill.

The remaining episodes of The Adventures of Superman were made in batches of thirteen each, the last 52 in colour. In all a total of 104 episodes were made. They have remained on the air ever since.

If 1951 is considered the end of the first era of the Justice Society of America, then The Adventures of Superman can perhaps be considered the last Superman TV series or motion picture to debut in that time frame. As it was, new Superman material in a medium other than comics would not be seen again until 1966, with the debut of the Saturday morning cartoon The New Adventures of Superman. By then, of course, the Silver Age was well under way and the Justice League of America was the superhero group of the era.

Like Superman, Batman also has a rich history in multimedia. In fact, Batman has probably had more success than any other superhero on the silver screen. It is perhaps fitting that Batman would then be the first DC Comics character to appear in a live action movie. Unfortunately, his screen debut held none of the promise the character had for a successful career in film.

In 1943 Columbia Pictures released The Batman, a 15 chapter serial based on the popular comic book character. The production was exceedingly cheap. The costumes looked as if they had been sewn together for a costume party. The Batmobile was nothing more than an ordinary sedan. Even worse, the budget on the serial was so low that they even included bloopers in the finished product. A scene in which Batman crashes through a window and then falls to his knees (so unlike the Caped Crusader we know and love) made it to the final cut! The casting of the film was no better. Lewis Wilson, playing Batman, was perhaps less physically fit than Adam West would be twenty three years later in the TV series. Douglas Croft only made a passable Robin.

Of the cast, only J. Carroll Naish truly succeeds. Although the ethics of casting an Occidental to play a Japanese villain can be argued, Naish played the role of the Japanese spy Daka with the usual relish he brought to his roles as villains. Unfortunately, as the serial was released during World War II, The Batman contains a good deal of racism which was later cut from the film when it was released on video.

Even Naish could not save The Batman, however, as the serial is exceedingly boring, with the only entertainment coming from waching it being the laughs to be had at the chapter play's nearly Ed Wood production. Despite this, the serial would have a few lasting effects on the Batman comic books. The idea of the entrance to the Batcave being hidden behind an old grandfather clock made its first appearance in this serial.

Starting in 1945 Batman and Robin would appear on the Superman radio show (an earlier pilot for a Batman radio show had failed), although the Dynamic Duo would once more return to the silver screen before the end of the Golden Age of comic books. In 1949 Columbia Pictures released The Adventures of Batman and Robin, another 15 chapter serial. Unfortunately, this second chapter play was even worse than the first. The costumes were still cheaply constructed and the Batmobile was still an ordinary car. The budget was still poverty level and the production only a few steps above that of an Ed Wood movie. Both Robert Lowery and John Duncan were hopelessly miscast as the Dynamic Duo.

The plot concerns a villain named The Wizard (not to be confused with The Wizard then seen in All Star Comics), who steals a device which can operate vehicles (anything from cars to trains) by remote control and then uses it to stage a number of heists. Like The Batman, most of the entertainment from The Adventures of Batman and Robin is still to be had at the poor special effects and incredibly cheap props.

Despite its quality, The Adventures of Batman and Robin still marks an important point in the history of the Caped Crusader. It marks the first screen appearance of Vicki Vale (Jane Adams), Bruce Wayne's off again, on again girl friend. It also marks the first appearance of the Bat Signal on film.

The Batman and The Adventures of Batman and Robin were both somewhat successful on first release and would see yet more success in 1965. Even before the debut of the Batman tv series in 1966, Batmania was beginning to build across the nation. Because of this Columbia Pictures re-released the two serials, which played to large audiences in art houses around the United States. This time the serials were appreciated not as action-adventure serials, but rather as sheer camp--material that is so bad that it is good!

Having been produced in1966, the Batman TV show and the feature film which was spun off from it belong to the era of the JLA, the Silver Age. Following the series' cancellation in 1968,  the Caped Crusader would not again be seen on the big screen until the 1989 release of Batman. An interesting footnote to the 1989 film is that in its ten year journey to movie theatres, one of the ideas considered was making the Batman movie a period piece set in the Forties. Had the producers followed through on this idea, fans would have been able to see on screen a little of what Batman was like in the Golden Age of comics!

Unfortunately, no other members of the Justice Society would make it to the big screen during the first era of the JSA. Ironically, one member could be considered to have made it to television in the Seventies. In March 1974 ABC aired a TV movie very loosely based on Wonder Woman, with Cathy Lee Crosby dressed in a glorified stewardess uniform. The movie does not appear to have been very well received and ABC aired another movie, The New Original Wonder Woman, in November 1975. Lynda Carter played the lead role in the traditional red, white, and blue costume from the comic books. What's more, the movie was set during World War II with a somewhat  faithful retelling of Wonder Woman's origin. In the wake of the movie came a Wonder Woman series. Like the movie, it too was set during World War II. Unfortunately, ABC usually scheduled the show as one-shot specials, the first of which appeared in March 1976. After popping up all over the ABC schedule, it received a short run from December to January 1977 for a few consecutive weeks. Though hardly a great show by any means, it had a sort of campy charm, much of which came from the era in which it was set. Unfortunately, ABC cancelled the series, whereupon it was picked up by CBS. CBS moved the series to the present, robbing it of what charm it had possessed.

During the Golden Age of comics, superheroes were generally seen in serials, if they ever made it to the big screen at all. Today superheroes regularly appear in mulit-million dollar movies. It is possible that the Justice Society of America may one day make it to the big screen, particularly if one of its many fans ever becomes part of the film industry. When and if that day ever comes, there will no doubt be many people well over the age of thirteen rushing to the theatres.

The Justice Society of America, The Justice League of America, The Seven Soldiers of Victory, and all characters, titles, and covers associated with them are trademarks and copyright DC Comics Inc. This site is not officially associated with DC Comics Inc. in any way, shape , or form. Cover images used on this web site are protected under the fair use principle of American copyright law for nonprofit, educational purposes.

 Unless otherwise stated, all text on this site is © 1999 T. L. Canote