Moving Kryptonian Images reaches its penultimate chapter...finally.

Yes. I know. It's been a minute. I feel a bit bad about that, but life got weird towards the end of last year.

Anyway, I finally get to the film that inspired this series in the first place. Superman, written and directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, came out last July and, by just about every metric, was a success. In terms of meeting box office expectations (despite what some people have tried to say) to bringing in new Superman fans to giving the world a Superman film that appeals to the widest possible audience, this new version of the Man of Steel did everything it needed to do and there is a lot to say about it.

Joining me to do that is Michael French, one of the founders of Retroblasting, the premier video channel specializing in humorous analysis and deconstruction of 1980s vintage toys and classic cartoons. Michael and I cover this film from stem to stern. From how the movie dealt with Superman to the lack of Clark Kent to why this was one of the best Lois Lanes we have ever gotten to the pros and cons of this version of Lex Luthor. We also go into how the Kents were portrayed, the role the other heroes played in the film, why Jimmy's hijinks took us out of the film occasionally, the costume, the comic book influences, and the one real issue I had with Krypto.

And yes, we do go into the "controversy" about Jor-El and Lara. Because we had to. The Internet wouldn't allow us to do otherwise.

I'd like to thank Michael for joining me for this episode. If you haven't already, check out his YouTube channel Retroblasting, which has some of the most fun and objective looks at classic lines you will find on the Internet.

Feedback for the show can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can.

The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next time: The final chapter of Moving Kryptonian Images! Not only do I go over all of the feedback I've gotten during this series, but I also rank the various Superman films!

This time out I finish my look at Superman: Birthright by having a conversation with the man who wrote it!

That's right, I got the chance to sit down (so to speak) with Mark to talk about Birthright. We talked about other things as well, but most of the conversation was about that series. We go over why DC wanted a new origin in 2003, why Mark kept the Kents alive despite his personal feelings on their deaths in previous versions of the origin, why Clark and Lex were friends during their time in Smallville, the "controversy" over making Clark a vegetarian, his take on Lois Lane, and what it was like seeing parts of this series end up in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. You'll also get to hear the sad story of what happened to his first comic book collection, which of his stories he might want to see adapted into audio form, and which friend, Jimmy Olsen or Pete Ross, is the better friend to Clark.

I'd once again like to thank Mark for agreeing to be on the show and being so generous with his time.

Feedback for the show can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can.

The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next time: If I can find the time this week I might have a fun episode dropping this weekend. If not, you'll hear the penultimate installment of Moving Kryptonian Images!

Many Lives, Many Origins, the series exploring the various versions of Superman's origin that I'll be doing off and on throughout 2026, continues with the second part of my look at Superman: Birthright.

Which, as I said during the last episode, is my favorite version of Superman's origin.

Full stop.

After a bit of housecleaning where I talk about the promo poster that was released to promote this series (which I really should have done last time but didn't) I get into issues six through twelve of the series. I talk about a scene involving a school shooting which I am surprised hasn't gotten more traction on social media, the pitfalls of Clark's secret identity, the origin of this version of Lex Luthor, Lex's plan to turn the world against the Man of Steel, a "Kryptonian" invasion, and the final battle in Metropolis. I also go into why I prefer to version of the origin over the 2013 film Man of Steel. Along the way I get into Lex's Silver Age origin, the fact that the Kryptonian writing no longer translate to literal gibberish, some of the fun Easter eggs Waid threw into the story, the covers, and why I used to be completely wrong about Leinil Francis Yu's art.

Shows promoted during this episode.

Justice Society Presents The Sandman Slept Here - Hosted by Ryan, Paul, and Max

Doomspeak -Hosted by Alan Middleton

Marvel Star Wars: From Empire to Jedi - Hosted by Shag

Feedback for the show can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can.

The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next time: I close out my Birthright coverage with an interview with Mark Waid!