Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Man Who Knew Superboy's Secret

Of note, unless my calculations are wrong, this marked the animated debut of green, or actually of any color, kryptonite. It was also shown in some of the New Adventures of Superman episodes that aired with the Adventures of Superboy, but I believe this one debuted first chronologically. The element was first introduced to the mythos via the Superman radio show in 1943 but found its way into the comics in 1949. It was originally supposed to be very rare, arriving as a single meteorite on earth, but as seen in this episode, common criminals or aliens could manage to accumulate bowling balls worth without too much trouble. By the time Smallville came around, kryptonite was about as common as sand.

Complete Guide to Stan "The Man" Lee's Marvel Movie Cameos*

*Now with 100% more Captain America

Over the last decade Stan Lee, creator of many of Marvel's prized heroes, has been honored for his contributions by being given cameos in nearly all of Marvel's theatrical releases. For the uninitiated here is the run down on all of Stan Lee's movie cameos with a couple of bonuses.

The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) - Discount Review

Recommended For: Kids who would be excited just to see Thor without actually caring how lame he was.

Heroes: Hulk and Thor AND (surprisingly) Donald Blake the non-alter ego summoner of Thor

Villains: Some extremely forgettable guys

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Krypto's Calamitous Capers

Since yesterday's ramblings, I was amused to learn that Krypto has in fact had a secret identity! At least on the Krypto The Superdog series, Krypto was the secret identity and Superdog the alter ego. Who knew?

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Spy From Outer Space

So I had a lot of funny thoughts seeing Krypto in this episode. First, its kinda cool that Superboy had a super pet to keep him company, but then I wondered what happened to the dog between this time and the time of the New Superman Adventures? I mean the dog was never mentioned. Did he die, or leave, or what? Also, When Krypto approached Clark Kent I wondered (for a moment this was actually a real question in my mind) does Krypto have a secret identity? Or had he ever in the comics? I mean, it sounds kind of dumb, but that costume is a real give away. And if he did have a secret identity, what would he be called? Obviously he wouldn't have glasses, but maybe a fake patch of color. Anyways, I guess I am getting sidetracked.

Giant Robot Bears? Watch the Berbils Return to Thundercats

Thundercats is the new Battlestar Galactica. Now hear me out, or should I say "bear" with me through an explaination. Like the original BSG, the '80 animated Thundercats series is fondly remembered but does not hold up well outside of one's fond memories. Also like BSG, the Thundercats was given a second lease on life in the form of a reimagining that thus far has offered a superb new series while paying tribute to the best parts of the original. Up next is the reboot's interpretation of the Ro-Bear Berbils.

Watch a sneak peak below:

Onscreen History of Gentleman Ghost

Probably due more to his dress than his manners, the villains Jim Craddock was given the name Gentleman Ghost. Oh, and he is a ghost if the name didn't make that fact obvious. GG first appeared in 1947's Flash Comics #88.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Adventures of Superboy

At the same time that the New Adventures of Superman aired, Filmation also produced episodes of The Adventures of Superboy in a similar six-minute format. 33 segments including one double length 12 minute segment were made and packaged to air along with Filmation's other series including Superman, Aquaman, and the DC Comics Super Heroes. Superboy ran from 1966-69 and focused on the adventures of The Man of Steel when he was still young, hence Super"boy." Ma and Pa Kent, along with Lana Lang would make up the supporting cast as opposed to Superman's Daily Planet crew.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The New Adventures of Superman Recap

As was the case with the previous Superman series of theatrical shorts, before beginning this challenge I was aware of The New Adventures of Superman, but I had only actually seen a handful of episodes. Anyways, yes, I realize how important this series is historically. It was the first Superman / DC / animated television series. And yes, I realize that it isn't fair to hold the series up to today's standards; however, if I am watching them today they really don't hold up well. I don't know why the producers went for short 6 minute segments, but that format made the series seem awfully repetitive. Unfortunately, the double length episodes were actually worse because they meandered too much. I guess at the time character development and story arcs were just not heard of. Another thing that really drove me nuts was how Clark Kent would always break the 4th wall at the end of the episode by making fun of a friend and winking at the camera. Once or twice was OK, but 60 times was too many.

Having said all that, there were some episodes that did stand out from the rest. In fact some of them were just plain enjoyable. My biggest surprise was that the Warlock, a villain I had never heard of before who was created for this series, turned out to be one of my favorites. Sure, he was silly, but he fit the tone of the series perfectly and was always used creatively. I hope at some point he reappears in DC animation, but as of the time I am writing this, He has not been seen since this series ended. For the most part I also liked the Brainiac episodes. The episodes featuring aliens other than Brainac were usually awful. The monster episodes were usually pretty dull, though a couple of them were so absurd they were genius.