This week we celebrate Christopher D’Olier Reeve’s 73rd Birthday. Decades after his untimely passing, in an era where people are now living comfortably into their nineties, seventy plus sounds younger than ever. In these heady days of fictional Multiverses, I often wonder about what our hero would be doing in an alternate 2025, while the rest of us languish here in the misery of what simply has to be Biff Tannen’s hijacked timeline.
What continues to thrive, thankfully, is the Superman Legacy. Even with a new movie franchise launching this year, it seems the classic movie series has only solidified its position in fandom and cinema history. Indeed, while comparisons to the new actor in the cape are inevitable, it seems that Christopher Reeve has gained a mythical status equivalent to Sean Connery’s Bond – Others may come and go, but nobody does it better.
As for the future, the celebration continues with the recent announcement from Capedwonder.com that author David Michael Petrou’s seminal work The Making Of Superman: The Movie is to be re-released in 2026 in a spectacular new edition –
– And the fan-made tributes not only keep coming, but get better with every project – now easily surpassing the quality of licensed products. See below Chris King’s upgraded wish-fulfilment action figure, made with the kind of love and attention to detail only a SuperFan could provide –
As time marches relentlessly on, perhaps the defining attribute of Reeve’s Superman is not only hope, but reassurance that there’s always something to look forward and aspire to. Both the dedication of the fanbase plus the efforts of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation will ensure the legacy continues in earnest on this Birthday and beyond.
The final word, then, is appropriately delivered by SuperFan Gary Irving, whose heartfelt thoughts must carry us through until next Sept 25th –
“Christopher will forever be remembered as the man who brought Superman to life on the big screen, but his legacy goes far beyond the cape. After his tragic accident, he showed the world what true strength and courage look like. He became a tireless advocate for spinal cord research, a voice of hope, and a reminder that real heroes inspire us through their actions and their heart!!”
The greatest Superhero theme of all time?
Though there have been many claims to the title, almost fifty years later, John Williams Magnum Opus continues to resonate all around the world as the definitive soundtrack for all things Super and heroic.
This inescapable conclusion is also obviously not wasted on current Superman Movie director James Gunn, who, even with the budget granted for any music at his disposal, still opted for adapting Williams score for his latest cinematic outing (as did Bryan Singer in 2006).
As for what actually makes The Superman March so utterly compelling, so thrilling, so enduring, the debate rightly goes on – but what is arguably more fascinating is what it means to people personally. The memories, the nostalgia, all transcend anything merely constituting ‘music from a film’.
No, just like the movie itself, the Theme From Superman is a cultural landmark, instantly recognisable and has already stood the test of time. A shame then, that the phenomenon of the Super Hero theme seems to be all but at an end. Could it be that filmakers/composers are so aligned with the views above that they have simply stopped trying? Indeed, only Danny Elfman’s score for Batman (1989) comes close in terms of both impact and resonance, while the much-missed Jerry Goldsmith’s cues for Supergirl (1984) are a fond memory (like so many of the other themes of the ’80’s)
For the millennials, however, one struggles to pinpoint a strong musical accompaniment to associate with your favourite comic-book hero. Only veteran composer Alan Silverstri (Back To The Future) with his stirring theme for the Avengers arguably manages to conjure up the kind of memorable hum-along theme tunes of old. This is only one, amazingly, in a period of over 25 years and countless Superhero pictures with no real theme or march to speak of. This includes Hans Zimmer’s meandering work for Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, which occasionally borders on brilliance with a singular theme, but like so much of his work, gets buried in indulgence.
So from what must be a bygone age, lets remind ourselves of just what a phenomenon the music from Superman The Movie was, with this small collection of 45rpm singles from all countries all over the globe – indeed, there are over 20 variations of this one single alone – and we may never see its like again…
It’s Christmas morning, 1978. It’s 5am and you just can’t sleep another wink so you gingerly open your bedroom door and start down the stairs in your pyjamas. The welcoming smell of Turkey in the oven hits your nostrils and your excitement goes up another notch. In the kitchen, your mom spots you, smiles, rolls her eyes and whispers “Just wait for your Dad” before heading back up the stairs. And then its just you, staring at the tree in the lounge with its mesmerising coloured lights and at its base, two small mountains of wrapped presents.
There’s thumping down the stairs as now your sister is awake, with Dad following close behind. You wait patiently while sis tears past you, diving right into her pile. “Okay, go ahead” says Mom. Dad takes a seat on the armchair while you kneel down next to the tree and grab the first one, tearing at it in a frenzy. You draw breath when you see its a Dinky Eagle Transporter from Space 1999. You grab another, bigger this time – seconds later the paper’s off and you’re holding the Star Wars Escape From the Death Star board game with mouth agape. Then its three Star Wars figures wrapped together. Greedo, Hammerhead and Han Solo. Just when you think life couldn’t get any better, out pops the Palitoy Superman figure from the movie dad took you to see only a week ago…
Sadly, this is where I always wake up. It’s not as if we were completely deprived – the Mego Pocket Super Heroes Superman was a solid addition to the toybox at the time, (with its short cape and metallized ‘S’) pitched against assorted Star Wars aliens and winning every time. The 12″ Mego Worlds Greatest Super Heroes were, for me, much better, just because they looked more like their cinematic counterparts. But even as a kid, you got the sense these weren’t actually from the film in the same way the Star Wars toys undoubtedly were.
The reasons for this, of course, are well-known now, with litigation going back for decades only recently settled to the point where the above description may have been a reality. Indeed, many fans in the US are currently reliving their childhoods this Christmas courtesy of McFarlane Toys, who have just released their fully-licensed Superman: The Movie 6″ Action Figure (which I will be reviewing in a future post!). Back in ’79 though, this was only a minor issue as the Superman sequels, would surely present the opportunity for an official line of figures? Were it not for Kenner’s Super Powers line in 1984, fans would have been outraged, but as that line produced arguably the greatest Superman figure of all time, even die-hard fans of the movies were placated, but never truly satisfied.
No Surprise then, when us GenX kids came of age and means, that we sought to plug childhood gaps. A strange phenomenon to be sure, and while the psychology of this is best left to professionals, when talent yields results that make many people happy, it shouldn’t be underestimated or overlooked –
And that’s where my good friend Chris King comes in – and take it from me, he’s the personification of talent devoted to making people happy. In the 20+ years I’ve known him, he has endeavoured, time after time and project after project (and at great personal expense), to fulfil these childhood shortfalls and create the toys we were cheated out of as kids. A lifelong sci-fi fan and collector, Chris decided to make for himself the collectables he always wanted but never got – starting with Flash Gordon – another seriously under-merchandised movie. Where were the figures in 1980? How could there not be a toy of Flash’ iconic Rocket Cycle? Cue years of research culminating in both fully realised versions as if Palitoy and Corgi had released both a playset and die-cast model respectively – complete with accurate period style packaging. Want more? How about a set of Viewmaster reels indistinguishable from the tie-ins from the era?
The advance of 3D printing over the last decade or so presented no end of possibilities – now you could actually make things vintage toy companies never had the vision to produce. Chris idea was simple – take a long-expired manufacturer and revive it with not only the Star Wars toys they never made, but any franchise in the Kenner style. KennerByKing is now one of the most popular shops on Etsy with an enormous range of cardbacks available for figures either of your own creation, or more recent re-releases. The Superman figure shown above was a special, limited commission by Chris never intended for sale, just to offer a tantalising glimpse into an alternate universe for Christmas 1978…
Its been way too long since I posted in general, but what with the continued success of the YouTube Channel, Instagram account and Restore Superman IV campaign, its fair to say Capedwonder Europe has never been busier –
That said, SUPERMANIA is where it all started and its high time I got back to what made the site so unique in the first place, the showcasing of rare and unique artefacts exclusively from the Superman Motion Picture Series. And what a great little addition to the collection the above has proved to be –
While not the original prop, this UK made & sold TIMEX Gold Ladies dress watch is the exact make & model worn by Margot Kidder in her role as Lois Lane (see portrait above courtesy Jim Bowers) Notable for its few seconds of screentime in closeup, this prop opens the pivotal ‘Balcony scene’ where the intrepid journalist is poised to get the story of the century.
Presumably obtained by the Wardrobe Dept. in 1977, this tiny, elegant timepiece was a very popular style at the time, with its pearlescent face, windup feature and metal strap. While specific details are scarce about the watch itself, it seems plenty were manufactured back in the day and can still be obtained in good condition for a reasonable price.
I couldn’t resist the temptation to pair it with the awesome replica Library card replica w/envelope (beautifully rendered by Daniel Sanchez) for the perfect ‘I spent the night with Superman’ display (sans wine & Marlboro’s!). If you can get hold of one, it makes a superb addition to your Superman replica prop collection…
Although SUPERMANIA’s long-standing relationship with Propstore has been going on for some years now, after last years bumper offering of incredible artefacts from all four Superman Movies It seemed there was no chance such a feat could be repeated. Indeed, after 40+ years, how many loft finds and shed discoveries from various former crew and/or family could there possibly be? No, the 2021 auction was surely the pinnacle of what remains of available Superman ephemera. The exquisite miniatures. The hairpieces, the crystals. Even Valerie Perrine’s iconic dress. After the last visit, we all shook hands and drove home with a sense of finality – how lucky were we to see these wonderful pieces before they were scattered across the world to their new custodians?
Well. Turn’s out joke’s on me.
Not content with having just as enviable a selection as last year, Propstore have gone one better by presenting a catalogue of fresh items in this years Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction with a complete costume from the Salkind Superman trilogy as their premiere lot. While Propstore has seen many a Super-garment pass through their hands, rarely does a complete costume (below, on a finished display, no less) become available. And quite the example it is too, with the description revealing it to be a composition of screenworn items from all 3 films, presenting a unique opportunity to own a piece from each in the franchise.
Also for Reeve fans there is the 1:1 in flight model from Superman II, an autographed still and my personal favourite lot, the two Leather-bound scripts personally signed by Reeve and donated as a prize to UK TV show Multicoloured Swapshop, where the provenance on offer is about as comprehensive as can be.
Enjoy the preview video (top) courtesy of the Capedwonder Podcast where Jay Towers and I interview Propstore CEO Stephen Lane and look out for the upcoming video on the SUPERMANIA YouTube channel as we prepare to visit the Propstore office once again at the end of this month. Until then, I will keep any predictions about next years auction firmly in check…
