Original Air Date
- May 16, 2024
Part 1 Begins
Hero Song (4:07)
- “Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers & Coldplay
Superhero Smash: Season II Begins! (2:00)
- You’re listening to Superhero Smash: Season II!
- Featuring the best in Superhero Music and Comic Book Lore
- Focusing on current superhero movies and popular culture events
- I’m your host, Dr. Gian Pagnucci, a.k.a. The New Professor X
- Playing great music about superheroes as well as music that is featured in superhero movies and shows
- Also talking about comic book history and heroism
- But no matter what cool stuff I discuss, you don’t have to worry because this is a NO SPOILERS show!
- Contact me, the new Professor X, via email: SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
- I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans
Audio Episode Theme: Superman Returns! (1:00)
- DC Comics is set to reboot its cinematic universe next year
- The DCU will begin with Superman in 2025
- The film had been tentatively titled Superman: Legacy, but director James Gunn has retitled it simply Superman
- David Corenset will be playing Superman in the film, replacing Henry Cavill
Heroic Instrumental Theme Song (4:24)
- “Theme from Superman (Concert Version)” by John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra
Collector’s Item Classic Comic Book (4:00)
- Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1
- Publication Date: June 1938
- Publisher: National Allied Publications, founded in 1935, which later became DC Comics
- Written by Jerry Siegel
- Penciled by Joe Shuster
- Value: Action Comics #1 sold in 2022 for $3.55 million; then, in 2024, a copy sold for a record $6 million, making it the most valuable comic book in the world
- If you watch the fantastic action movie, The Accountant, you can see that Ben Affleck’s character actually has a copy hidden away in his secret stash of valuables; when he has to run for his life, that’s one of the valuable things he grabs!
Superman Song 1 (2:53)
- “Superman” by R.E.M.
Part 1 Ends (@20 minutes)
Part 2 Begins (@20 minutes)
Show ID: Superhero Smash (0:30)
- WIUP FM 90.1
- The best alternative music in the DC Cinematic Universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and our Universe too!
- Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
- Or email Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
- I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans
Superman’s Origin Story (5:00)
- Superman was sent to earth from the planet Krypton
- Superman’s Kyptonian name was Kal-El and his father was the Kyrptonian scientist Jor-El
- Jor-El’s research told him that Kyrpton was going to explode, but Krypton’s leaders would not heed his warnings
- So he put his baby Jor-El into a rocketship and sent him to earth
- Because earth’s sun is yellow unlike Kyrpton’s red sun, Jor-El gained superhuman powers when he landed on earth
- He was raised by Marth and Jonathan Kent in Smallville, Kansas
- His parents gave him the name Clark Kent
- When he moved to Metropolis city, he became a reporter for The Daily Planet and also started helping people as Superman
- Andy Lewis “Check That Bought Rights to Superman in 1938 Being Auctioned” (The Hollywood Reporter, 2012)
- The creators Siegel and Shuster were originally paid $130 for the rights to Superman by the company Detective Comics Inc.;
- David Vidal “Superman’s Creators Get Lifetime Pay” (The New York Times, 1975)
- Both creators were very poor and received no money from Superman royalties for many years
- Shuster had to draw adult comic strips at one point and Siegel worked as a mail clerk making $7000 per year
- At age 61 and each nearly destitute, in 1975 the creators were finally given lifetime payments that also went to their heirs, including Siegel’s wife Joanne who was the original model for Lois Lane
- They also received medical benefits, after DC Comics parent company, Warner Communications Inc. agreed to the settlement
- According to Vidal, “Jay Emmett, executive vice president of Warner, said the company had agreed to the contract “in recognition of their past services and out of concern for their present circumstances.”
- Famous Batman artist Neal Adams was one of the people who fought hard to get the creators recognized
- Siegel and Shuster earned the right to have their names put as a byline on all Superman creations
Superman Song 2 (2:59)
- “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” by Jim Croce
Free Comic Book Day History (5:00)
- Free Comic Book Day was started to draw in new readers since the comic book reading audience was again
- First event was tied to the opening of Spider-Man staring Toby McGuire
- There was a free comic released that day which featured Superman in it: DC Comics’ Justice League Adventures #1 which was based on the animated series
- Free Comic Book Day was delayed for a year when the idea was first proposed
- And it was also put on hiatus during the pandemic
- But it’s back and better than ever
- It’s always the first Saturday in May
- That was May 4 this year
- But most comic book stores stock lots of Free Comic Book Day giveaways, so if you head to your local comic shop, you can probably still get a free comic in case you missed the actual holiday; just tell ’em the new Professor X of Superhero Smash sent you!
- Free Comic Book Day is my personal favorite holiday, and I wait for it every year
- Which is the perfect excuse to play this song…
Free Comic Book Day Song (4:27)
- “Waiting for Superman” by Daughtry
Long Lost Hero: The Phantom (3:00)
- Superman was the first superhero to appear in comic books
- Prior to that, a purple costumed hero named The Phantom first appeared in newspaper strips beginning on May 28, 1939
- The Phantom was created by writer Lee Faulk and artist Ray Moore
- Initially, comic books were reprints of newspaper strips, but Action Comics #1 was an original story
- The Phantom and Superman never met, but in 1966 there was a doll called Captain Action who had costumes for both heroes; in fact, 9 different heroes in their costumes were featured in the Captain Action ad
- A guy named Jim Kelly was lamenting in a comics discussion forum that he wanted the Superman or Batman costume, but only got The Phantom, and when he was at college, his parents threw out that doll and costume
- In 1996, a great movie was made of The Phantom
- It starred Billy Zane in the title role and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a beautiful villainess who even steals a kiss from The Phantom
- The film is an action adventure set in the jungle land of the fictional African country Bengalla where The Phantom had a secret headquarters in The Skull Cave
- The movie is well worth watching and used the wonderful tagline “Slam Evil!”
Part 2 Ends (@40 minutes)
Part 3 Begins (@40 minutes)
Show ID: Superhero Smash (0:30)
- WIUP FM 90.1
- The best alternative music in the DCU, the MCU, and our U-niverse too!
- Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
- Or email Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
- I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans
Superman Music
- “Juekbox Superhero: 26 Songs About Superman” by Danny Gallagher, Kevin McFarland, Annie Zaleski, Noah Cruickshank, A.A. Dowd, Josh Modell, Zack Handlen, Matt Wild, Oliver Sava, Sonia Saraiya, Marah Eakin, Sam Adams, and Laura M. Browning
- A great article discusses the many songs written about the Man of Steel
- So much great music out there about Superman
- Probably more than any other superhero
- Superhero Smash is all about researching superheroes
- Shoutout to the students in my English 202: Composition II course, some of whom are maybe listening now
Superman Song 2 (4:01)
- “Superman” by Sister Hazel
Superman Song 3 (4:46)
- “Land of Confusion” by Genesis
Superman Song 4 (4:36)
- “Superman” by Taylor Swift
- I’ll give Taylor Swift credit for each titling her song “Superman”
Romantic Interlude (1:00)
- Jimmy Olsen pining for Lois Lane, but her heart belongs to the man of steel, Superman
Romantic Superman Song 1 (4:38)
- “Jimmy Olsen’s Blues” by Spin Doctors from the album Pocket Full of Kryptonite
Superman As the Romantic Hero
- How a guy feels when he’s in love: He’s Superman!
Romantic Superman Song 2 (2:50)
- “Superman” by Keith Urban
To Be Continued Next Issue (2:00)
- Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel: Captain Britain
- Contact me, the new Professor X, via email: SuperheroSmash2023@gmail.com
- And always remember: “You don’t need superpowers to be a hero. The only thing it takes to be a hero is the courage to do what’s right when someone needs your help.”–Gian Pagnucci
End Credits Song (3:45)
- “Superman” by Five for Fighting from American Town
- Dr. Pagnucci’s favorite superhero song
Part 3 Ends (@60 minutes)
