While the old serials were short on budget, like using an animated cartoon of Superman to do the flying, they were long on action and humor. And as with the radio show Jimmy Olsen provided a character kids could identify with and “girl reporter” Lois Lane was the type of girl that little boys wouldn’t mind hanging out with.

For me, however, George Reeves was my childhood Superman. Admittedly I wasn’t old enough to have seen the series in its original run, but he was most definitely the first Superman I remember. He inspired me, and a lot of other kids, to don towels to ‘fly’ around the front yard.

Reeves’ Superman was very kid friendly and sometimes children factored into the plot lines. I remember being envious of the little girl who got to fly around the world with Superman. Then again, what kid wouldn’t want to fly with Superman? Even as an adult, I still love the series because of the great childhood memories it provided and to be honest, some of those old plot lines were pretty clever. 

About 20 years later, with the simple tag line, “you will believe a man can fly,” the Superman movie packed theaters and a new generation of kids fell in love with the Man of Steel. A good deal of the movie’s success was due to the casting of the title character.

Christopher Reeve was Superman and he was able to sell the concept of the ultimate good guy, but without turning Superman into a caricature, or portraying him as an earthbound god in a cape. His Clark Kent, on the other hand, was played for laughs with the utmost bumbling flair. The movie proved that not only could a man fly, but he could convince both children and adults to buy tickets.

The franchise ended after four films and theaters would not see the return of Superman to the silver screen for another 20 years. In the meantime, television was ready to step in and fill part of the gap.

The next generation of kids would grow up with a new TV Man of Steel in the series Lois & Clark, The New Adventurers of Superman, based on the John Byrne revamp from the comics. For the first time Clark Kent became the real person and Superman became the disguise. Dean Cain, who looked youthful enough to play Superboy and was easily the most athletic actor to play the role, harkened back to the George Reeve dichotomy of Superman and Clark Kent both being real, but distinct individuals.

Dean Cain’s Superman, like those who came before him, was kid friendly and  accessible and even performed stunts that kids could appreciate like playing all positions on a baseball team simultaneously, or just lying on his back keeping a basketball suspended above him with his super breath. Kids watched the show for Superman and adults watched the show for Lois and Clark’s romance, but I confess I watched for both.

In 2006 Superman finally found his way back to the big screen in the movie Superman Returns, but it was the first time I felt a Superman movie was inappropriate for younger children. Particularly bad was the sadistic beating Superman took at the hands of Lex Luthor and his henchmen. It not only went on far too long, but the violence was graphic.

Most of the movie’s tone was melancholy and the humor was often cruel, but worse by far was a scene involving Jason, Superman’s son. He pushed a piano with such velocity that it killed the man who was attacking his mother, Lois Lane. While it’s completely understandable that he wanted to protect his mother, especially considering they created a Lois Lane who was utterly helpless, they should never have depicted the child killing someone.  

It’s hard to say what children will remember from Superman Returns when looking back at it as adults, but I imagine most of their memories won’t be pleasant. Producers of television shows and movies may not like the idea that Superman should be kid friendly, but Superman has and always will attract young children as part of his audience. Children look up to Superman, but that doesn’t mean the movie has to talk down to them or adults to achieve the right balance.