The Stolen Costume-Adventures of Superman

My point was not about what the villains did, but about Superman's way of resolving the situation, which is very uncharacteristic of him. I mean, the number of people who died in the comic was pretty much zero. They didn't call him the big blue boyscout for nothing.

Now, I admit, I kind of like the film-noirish way The Stolen Costume ends, with Kent smiling on his good luck that they just happened to die, so... no more problem. How convenient.

But, Man of Steel's ending is just pure lazy storytelling, with Supes destroying most of Smallville and Metropolis in his battle with Zod, and incurring what must be thousands, maybe tens of thousands of deaths in the process. And the only reason he did not lead them away from the city centers for the battle, was because that's what he did in Superman II, and Zack Snyder didn't want to do the same thing.

 

In the first 2-3 years of the comic, Superman sometimes did kill criminals, or allow them to die through his own inaction in a manner similar to the episode in question. But you're right that by the time that episode aired, he had adopted a strict "no killing" policy, and so the episode was quite out of character.

 

He DID warn them to not try and escape. He was gonna set them up in the "cabin" (perhaps a Fortress of Solitude prototype) and give them plenty of food and fire wood until he figured out what to do with them.
They didn't believe him and tried to scale down the mountain.

 

Warner Brothers basically put this entire DVD set together on the cheap.
They had a lot more elements available for this series, but were too cheap to do it the right way....restoration.
They were just looking to make a fast buck on this series, using transfers from Beta Tape circa 1990.
They didn't even pay Noel Neill and Jack Larson for their commentaries. The two of them graciously did it for free.

 

I just looked up Noel

I just looked up Noel Neill and Jack Larson on Wiki. I knew they are both still alive but didn't realize that Noel is 93 . Good for her. (Jack is 86)

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had the pleasure of meeting them both...very charming.
I met with Jack this past August and he is looking well.

 

There are various pictures on the net of the Superman event that Jack Larson attended this summer that JFOK refers to and he does look really good. John Hamilton's son and granddaughter also attended that event. Noel is in an assisted living center now after having suffered some health issues that have unfortunately ended her public appearances. She's always kept that million dollar smile though and her beauty never faded with age.

Jack Larson fans should look up the episode of L&O:SVU he did a few years ago. A terrific performance.

 

Yes...I met Jack once again at a Superman Celebration in Burbank this past August.
Also met John Hamilton's son and grand daughter and Stephanie Shayne the daughter of Bill "Inspector Henderson" Shayne.
All gracious and friendly people.