We’re back from the Phantom Zone!On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark fight for Truth, Justice and the American way when they discuss the 1978 superhero movie pioneer SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE! On this week’s show: Clamshell VHS Tapes One of the first superhero films Christopher Reeves: Adolfo’s childhood hero Henry Cavill’s mustache Brandon Routh’s Christopher Reeves impression A time when Superhero films were non-existent All superhero movies trace their origin to Superman An important milestone for superhero films How do you make someone fly? The cheesiness of Can You Read My Mind How long it takes to even see Superman The long process of casting Superman Marlon Brando at his laziest Brando scored big Green bagels Christopher Reeves doesn’t get top billing The wacky names considered to play the title part Christopher Reeves’ amazing dual performance “You’ve got me? Who’s got you?” The electric chemistry between Reeves and Margot Kidder Dual filming on Superman and Superman II Krypton’s blowing up? FAKE NEWS Lax adoption paperwork laws The ludicrousness of Lex Luthor’s plan Why Lex Luthor is awesome even though he differs from the comic book Hackensack, New Jersey Does Superman REALLY spin the Earth backwards? “Head Canon” The iconic score streak of John Williams What’s missing from modern superhero films Evil Superman flicking peanuts The 3 Hour TV cut FILM REFERENCES IN THIS EPISODE: FLASH GORDON (1936) THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL (1941) BATMAN (1943) CAPTAIN AMERICA (1944) BATMAN AND ROBIN (1947) SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE-MEN (1951) ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (TV Series, 1952-1958) BATMAN (TV Series, 1966-1968) THE GODFATHER (1972) LAST TANGO IN PARIS (1972) STAR WARS (1977) SUPERMAN II (1980) SUPERMAN III (1983) SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987) BATMAN (1989) DARKMAN (1990) THE SHADOW (1994) THE PHANTOM (1996) SPAWN (1997) STEEL (1997) STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999) X-MEN (2000) SMALLVILLE (TV Series, 2001-2011) SPIDER-MAN (2002) STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002) STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005) SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006) IRON MAN (2008) TED (2012) THE AVENGERS (2012) MAN OF STEEL (2013) STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015) JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017) STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017) KRYPTON (TV Series, 2018) BLACK PANTHER (2018) AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018) RED SPARROW (2018) LINKS: The Essential Films: essentialfilmspodcast.com SOCIAL MEDIA TWITTER: @EssentialFilms, @FPMoviePodcast, @Adolfo_Acosta, @Sportsguy515 FACEBOOK: The Essential Films