Up to this point I’ve covered one particular topic after another in the Superman film universe, so here’s a few quick little bits to share with you that I’ve picked up along the way…

First off, I recently completed another rewatch of the Restored International Cut of Superman II to analyze those particular scenes that were exclusive to the various TV cuts of the film (hey, any reason to enjoy yet another viewing of the film!), and I noticed something very peculiar. About midway through the film, Zod and his minions invade the tiny town of East Houston, Idaho (which is actually much further west than its much larger counterpart of Houston, Texas), and during the moment Zod and Ursa enter the restaurant, we hear the sounds of the Average White Band’s 1974 instrumental hit “Pick Up the Pieces” (how creative were they with the lyrics?!?).

In the RIC, much of the song is dialed out of the scene of Zod and Ursa inside the restaurant. I have compared this cut with the theatrical version of the film, a copy of the Danish broadcast of the extended TV cut, and the original 122-minute version of the Richard Donner Cut, and the song is indeed dialed out of the RIC. Whether this was an intentional decision by the RIC editor and his sound mixer, or whether it may simply be a sound balancing issue with my monitor, the answer is unknown as of this writing. If anyone else has seen the RIC, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

This week saw the first surfacings of the new Supergirl Blu-ray set in Germany. This brand new release contains not one, not two, but all three cuts of the film, including the 124-minute international cut (which was previously released on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive), the 138-minute director’s cut (which was previously available on a standard definition DVD from Anchor Bay and the 2-disc Warner Archive set), and, for the first ever on disc, the 105-minute US theatrical cut (which has never been available on disc at all). This new set also includes nearly all of the bonus features from the 2000 Anchor Bay DVD set with apparently the exceptions of the US TV spots and a collection of talent bios—small potatoes of the overall meal, to be sure—but when you have three cuts of the film, each one containing more meat than the other, it makes for quite a tasty meal indeed! It also contains a new 20-page retrospective by writer Christian Heiss (sp?), who wrote the foreword and afterword for the German language release of the Superman ‘78 graphic novel collection. A great release for the film’s 40th anniversary this year!

The only caveat is that it’s available in a Region 2 release only, so it will not play on a Region 1 Blu-ray player. Your best option would be to get a region-free disc player, but it also might play on a gaming system such as a PlayStation 4. I recently got a Region 4 DVD of Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack from Australia, and I was able to switch the region code settings on my PS4, and it played perfectly well with no issues at all, so this might be an option as well. Once I receive a copy of the new Supergirl disc, I’ll have more to report.

A few years ago I acquired my first Superman prop replica of the 3×5 card that Lois Lane receives from “a friend”, which was developed by my friend Daniel Sanchez, who is one of the leading Superman cosplayers in the US. Up to this point I like many others had believed that Christopher Reeve had written the note on the original 3×5 card. However, at the recent Superman in Concert performance, CapedWonders leader Jim Bowers learned that it was actually written by none other than David Michael Petrou, the writer of the Making of Superman: The Movie paperback chronicle. Oh, the things you learn!

And while it doesn’t necessarily pertain to the Superman movies, I would be remiss in saying that former Superman actors Dean Cain from Lois and Clark and Brandon Routh from Superman Returns will be part of an all-star lineup at the Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo next month on April 12-14! The lineup will include dozens of actors, comics creators, and athletes, including George Takei, Jonathan Frakes, Lindsay Wagner, Alessandro Juliani (from Battlestar Galactica and Smallville), Star Wars actors Dee Bradley Baker and Taylor Gray, former WWE star Trish Stratus, AEW Star Orange Cassidy, and dozens more. It’s going to be jam-packed, and I plan to go, so if you’re local, maybe I’ll see you there!