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Superhero Smash Season III—Audio Issue #44: The Super Family

Original Air Date

  • July 9th, 2025

Part 1 Begins

Super Show ID 1: Superhero Smash (0:10)

  • You’re listening to Superhero Smash on WIUP FM 90.1
    • Featuring “The Best in Superhero Music and Comic Book Lore”
  • I’m your host, Dr. Gian Pagnucci, a.k.a. The New Professor X

Heroic Opening Song (3:33)

  • “Superboy & Supergirl” by Math and Physics Club

Super Show ID 2: Superhero Smash (0:20)

  • You’re listening to Superhero Smash on WIUP FM 90.1
    • Focusing on current superhero movies and popular culture events
    • All summer long, I will be playing great music about superheroes as well as music that is featured in superhero movies and shows
    • I also will be talking about comic book history and heroism
    • And you can rest assured that no matter how much super cool stuff I talk about during each episode, you don’t have to worry because Superhero Smash is a NO SPOILERS show!
  • Superhero Smash is aired exclusively on WIUP FM 90.1
  • Contact me, the new Professor X, via email: SuperheroSmash3000@gmail.com

Heroic Audio Episode Theme: The Super Family (5:00)

  • I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July, and you are ready for a great new episode of Superhero Smash
  • Today I am featuring the Superman Family because tomorrow, July 11, is when the new Superman film premiers
    • New official poster for James Gunn's 'Superman' : r/comicbookmovies
  • It looks great and is getting great reviews
  • I can’t wait to see it
  • This is, of course, the Summer of Superman, which I kicked off with this summer’s Season III premier of Superhero Smash
  • Since I featured Superman in that episode, I figured I would feature his super family and friends on this episode as we wait for the movie to come out

Heroic Instrumental Theme Song (1:05)

Part 1 Ends (@10 minutes)

Part 2 Begins (@10 minutes)

Super Show ID 3: Superhero Smash (0:30)

The Superhero Smash Comic Book Vault (3:00): First Appearance of The Superman Family

  • The Comic Book Vault Sound Effect (0:12)
  • The Superman Family comic actually started with The Superman Family #164
  • The comic actually took over for the comic Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen (Vol 1) which was canceled with issue #163
    • Although he had lost his own title, Jimmy was featured in the new title along with many other Superman characters
  • The title was a little misleading because the family did not actually appear as a group
  • Instead, according to the website Fandom, “Each issue of the The Superman Family contained six vignettes spotlighting various characters within the Superman universe including Superboy, Supergirl, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Krypto, Van-Zee and Ak-Var. [The comic also had features on] the private life of Clark Kent and the adventures of the older Earth-Two [alternate reality] versions of Superman and Lois Lane.”
  • Publication Date: April-May, 1974
  • Publisher: DC Comics
  • The comic was a super spectacular 100 pages
  • The comic had tons of writers, including
  • Writer: Gerry Conway
  • Interestingly, Conway also wrote the first appearance of The Punisher in The Amazing Spider-Man #129
  • Value: $70 on eBay (CGC graded 9.2 on a 10-point scale), but you can easily get a copy for $20 bucks if you just want to read the issue
  • I don’t own #164, but I do own #169
  • And that issue features Superman’s dad Pa Kent gaining superpowers
  • Which is a good reason to play this next song which was the theme to the great CW show Smallville

Super Song 1 (3:59)

  • “Save Me” by Remy Zero

Super Secret Origin: Krypto the Wonder Dog (10:00)

  • Smallville was an excellent show which explored Superman’s years growing up in a small town in Kansas where he was raised by Martha and Jonathan Kent
    • Smallville (TV Series 2001–2017) - IMDb
    • The show actually started on the WB (for Warner Bros. which owned DC Comics) which then became the CW. The CW was a merger of Warner and CBS’s network UPN. I know, it’s a lot of abbreviations to keep track of. But it’s not as bad as HBO/MAX/HBO which has a real identity crisis on it’s hands.
  • Of course, I can’t mention Smallville without telling you about the Salute to Smallville Con which will be held Sep. 13-14 in Chicago
    • Creation Entertainment's Salute To Smallville
  • I was at the first Salute to Smallville Con in 2024 which was held in the hallway of a hotel in New Jersey
    • Very humble beginnings for that con, but hopeful things are looking up for their trip to Chicago
    • I did get an autograph from Clark Kent star Tom Welling at the show
    • And got to hang out with my good friends and fellow Comics Studies scholars Alex Romagnoli and Sandy Eckard
  • Guests already announced for Chicago in September 2025 include Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, and Erica Durance
  • Smallville was great, and though there was talk of a sequel, alas, that has not come to pass
  • But there were many great episodes of the show including one where Superman’s pet, Krypto the Wonder Dog, first appeared
  • Of course every farm kid growing up, so in Smallville (Season 4, Episode 14), a white dog shows up who turns out to be Krypto
    • 80 - Krypto - Talk Ville: The Ultimate Smallville Rewatch
  • Krypto first appeared in Adventure Comics #210 back in March 1955
    • That comic, in poor condition, is going for $2000 on eBay
    • It features a great cover with Krypto carrying a big metal safe and thinking he is playing fetch with Superboy who had just dropped off the safe at the town hall
    • ADVENTURE COMICS #210 (1955) MAJOR KEY: 1st appearance of Krypto Around GD - Picture 1 of 8
  • Like all superheroes, Krypto has his own origin story!
  • Again, thanks to Fandom, here’s a recounting of Krypto’s origin story
  • “As explained in his first [comic] appearance, Krypto was originally the toddler Kal-El’s dog while they were on Krypton. Jor-El, [Superman’s father] testing prototypes for the rocket that would eventually send Kal-El to Earth, decided to use Krypto as a test subject. However, Krypto’s rocket was knocked off-course; the rocket drifted through space for years until it eventually landed on Earth, where Krypto was reunited with the now-teenaged superhero, Superboy.
  • “Like all descendants of Krypton under a yellow sun and lower gravity environment (vs. Krypton’s red sun and heavy gravity), Krypto possessed the same powers and abilities as his master, although his physical abilities were proportionate to his smaller size and species, similar to an ordinary dog vs. a human. Krypto also had super-canine intelligence (approximately human level, though with his canine traits and interests still present); the comics expressed this via the use of thought balloons indicating what Krypto was thinking.
  • “Krypto was drawn as a white dog of generic pedigree. When fighting crime, he usually wore a gold collar, a miniature facsimile of the famed Superman-“S” symbol for a dog tag, and a dog-sized version of Superman’s cape.
  • “When not accompanying Superboy/Superman, Krypto spent much of his time romping through space; while on Earth, however, he stayed with the Kent family, posing as their pet dog, ‘Skip.’ In that identity, his guardians applied a brown dye patch on his back for a disguise which Krypto could burn off with his heat vision when he went into costume [fooling everyone, no doubt!].
  • Krypto was known as the Dog of El since he was from Superman’s family, the House of El. Superman’s Kryptonian name was Kal-El
  • “Krypto had the distinction of belonging to not one but two organizations of super-animals; the 30th century Legion of Super-Pets, and the Space Canine Patrol Agency.” Two groups almost as big as the Legion of Superhero Smash fans!
  • Since we’re talking about dogs, there’s only one song I can possibly play…

Super Song 2 (3:18)

  • “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men

Part 2 Ends (@30 minutes)

Part 3 Begins (@30 minutes)

Super Show ID 4: Superhero Smash (0:30)

Super Family Member: Supergirl (3:00)

  • Another great member of the Superman Family was Supergirl
  • Supergirl has always been a fun character
  • There are various stories of her origin
  • She was sent to take care of Kal-El, but her rocket was thrown off course, so she didn’t arrive in time to help raise him
  • So the reverse happened, and Superman ended up helping his cousin, Kara Zor-El, to learn to fit in on earth
  • Kara’s name matches the Kryptonian custom where women take as their last name their father’s first name
  • Women do not take their husband’s name although they may adopt their husband’s family emblem or crest
  • Since Superman is the world’s first superhero and first appeared way back in 1938’s Action Comics #1, writers have had a lot of time to fill in all kinds of background details about Superman!
    • Action Comics #1 first Superman appearance sold for record amount | kare11.com
  • And of course, Superman has been featured several times on Superhero Smash
  • Including the very first Superhero Smash broadcast
  • Let me do a double song feature in honor of Supergirl, the theme from the CW Supergirl show followed by “SuperGirl” by Saving Jane

Super Song 3 (1:14)

  • “Theme from Supergirl” by Blake Neely

Super Song 4 (2:59)

  • “SuperGirl” by Saving Jane

Learning to Be Super (2:00)

  • As I said, Superman teaches Supergirl how to use her powers and how to be a superhero
    • 1959 "Action Comics" Issue #252 DC Comic Book | Pristine Auction
  • There is a great moment in the GraphicAudio retelling of Crisis on Infinite Earths in which we get a little insight into this mentorship of Supergirl by Superman
    • “When Supergirl recovered from Luthor’s trap, she was certain that Kal [Superman] was going to somehow send her back into obscurity because of her stupid mistake, but he just smiled: ‘Always do your best. The rest is learning’”
    • As a teacher, I love that quote
    • And it gives me a good reason to play this next song

Super Song 5 (4:02)

  • “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
  • We all need to learn to fly
  • Even Clark Kent, who didn’t know how to fly in his early days in Smallville

Super Friends (2:00)

  • Part of what was great about The Superman Family was that Superman had a lot of friends who were always going on adventures
  • And that leads to one of my all time favorite superhero songs which was featured…
  • That’s right, the CW show The Flash actually did an episode that was a musical
  • It was called “Duet” (Season 3, Episode 17) and in the episode, the Flash and Supergirl get transported into an alternate reality where they must sing and dance to escape from the evil Music Meister

Super Song 6 (2:15)

  • “Super Friend” by Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin who stared as Supergirl and the Flash respectively
  • I know I’ve played this song before on Superhero Smash, but where else are you going to get to hear amazing music like this!

Part 2 Ends (@45 minutes)

Part 3 Begins (@45 minutes)

Super Show ID 5: Superhero Smash (0:30)

Super Romantic Interlude: Lois & Clark (4:00)

  • Of course I can’t talk about Superman’s family without talking about the romance between Lois Lane and Clark Kent
  • Lois has always been a feisty reporter, but she has a knack for getting into trouble and needing to be rescued by Superman
  • Lois has also evolved over time, becoming more and more independent as writers have worked to bring her character into modern times
  • I mentioned my friend Sandy Eckard who teaches at East Stroudsburg University
  • When Lois Lane was portrayed by Amy Adams in 2013’s Man of Steel, Lois not only had become an independent reporter, but she hunted down Superman to find out who he really was
  • This does become a plot point in the movie, which I won’t spoil since Superhero Smash is, of course, a no spoilers show!
  • While not everyone liked the movie, I have definitely grown to like it more over time and especially have come to appreciate Amy Adams as Lois once I saw her in Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League which is really fabulous
    • Hard Pill to Swallow: 8 Bitter Truths Snyder Fans Realize after Watching Batman v Superman, 7 Years LaterFandomWire
  • Through all their challenges, Lois and Clark have always remained steadfastly in love with each other
  • Which leads to this great romantic song

Super Song 5 (3:34)

  • “Lois Lane” by Olivia Lane
  • Olivia’s grandmother really was named Lois Lane!

Superman Is Coming to Save the Day! (2:00)

  • Officially, Superman opens on Friday, July 11
  • But I know how excited Superhero Smash listeners get
  • There should be advanced showings of the film today
  • You can even see it right here in Indiana, PA
  • Apparently there has been a little controversy about Superman being a “woke” film because Superman says we need to value immigrants
  • Superman is the ultimate immigrant, adopted by our planet when he lost his own, so yes, he is supportive of immigrants. That is not a surprise!
  • Superman is a part of earth’s family, and I, for one, say he is welcome to call our planet home!
  • Especially because the Superman movie also means all kinds of cool movie-tie in’s!
  • There’s a Superman blizzard at DQ
  • I bought Superman and Batman Old Spice body wash at Walmart and they also have deodorant featuring those 2 heroes and Aquaman (more about him in a moment)
  • Old Spice has a Freshness Face Off game going so you can “smell like a hero!”
  • Burger King is supposed to have Superman toy giveaways starting July 15
  • And, if you have an Alexa, you can activate the Superman theme and hear the big guy flying around the city saving the day
  • It’s a great time to be a superhero fan!

Super Show ID 6: Superhero Smash To Be Continued LATER This Summer! (2:00)

  • Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel: Aquaman
    • If you are enjoying today’s show, you can catch more Superhero Smash on Thursday mornings at 11:00 a.m. all summer long on WIUP FM 90.1
    • It’s summer time and a great time to head to the beach and go swimming, so I think I’ll do an Aquaman show
      • I mean, hey, he’s now got his own deodorant!
    • Back Issue Bin: Audio Issue #18: Aquaman (01/02/24)
    • But that was a Winter Superhero Smash special, so it’s time for summer swimming version of the King of the Seven Seas!
  • Listen to Superhero Smash on WIUP FM 90.1
    • Featuring the best superhero music and comic book lore in the DCU, the MCU, our U too!
  • Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
  • Or email Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash3000@gmail.com
  • And remember, while Superhero Smash is about the exploits of amazing individuals,
    • “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

Heroic End Credits Song (4:27)

  • Superman is coming, but until you get to see the movie, you will be…
  • “Waiting for Superman” by Daughtry

Part 4 Ends (@60 minutes)