- Jor-El, Krypton's leading scientist, sends his infant son to Earth in a rocket just as the planet explodes. The rocket is found by Eben and Sarah Kent and Eben gets the infant out before the craft explodes. They raise the child as their own. Years later, after Eben's death and now aware of his super powers, Clark Kent moves to Metropolis. Sarah has made a costume for him, and she tells him that he must use his powers for good. Superman makes his debut saving a man falling from a blimp. As Clark, he hustles the man to the Daily Planet, which scores a scoop. This convinces editor Perry White to hire Clark.—Bill Koenig
- The Governing Council of Krypton has been summoned by its Supreme Leader, Rozan (Herbert Rawlinson), to an emergency meeting at the Temple of Wisdom. Chief scientist Jor-El (Robert Rockwell) is there to report on his investigation into a recent spate of tidal waves, quakes, and eruptions. He announces that Krypton's orbit is decaying, and before very long, their sun's gravity will tear the planet apart. He says that a model rocket he has built is ready for testing. If it's successful, he'll need unlimited resources to build a fleet of full-sized rockets to take Krypton's population to Earth. A sustained booming sound is heard, which the Council members call thunder, but Jor-El identifies as exploding pockets of subterranean gas. A couple of his hearers say he's been working too much, but most just laugh at him.
Returning to his home/laboratory in disgust, Jor-El tells his wife Lara (Aline Towne) of his failure with the Council and that he's about to launch the model. Unfortunately, the death throes of the planet then begin, much sooner that Jor-El expected. He says that one of them can escape in the model, and Lara says it must be their baby son, Kal-El. As she starts to put the infant in the rocket, Jor-El tries to talk her into going too. However, she says her place is by his side, and that she'd be lost on a strange planet without him. With the building collapsing around them, they manage to launch the rocket. It flies off as Krypton meets its doom.
On April 10, 1926, farmer Eben Kent (Tom Fadden) and his wife Sarah (Frances Morris) are out for a drive when the hear a ringing sound. It gets very loud, then the rocket crashes into the ground ahead of them. Eben gets out to look, and finds that the the rocket is on fire and that there's a baby crying inside. He puts on gloves, throws dirt on the fire to extinguish it in one area, and retrieves the infant. Sarah takes him and notes that neither the child nor his blanket is the least bit burned. The rocket then explodes, completely obliterating any trace of its existence. With no evident to back up their incredible story, they can't take the baby to the authorities, so they decide to raise him as their own, naming him Clark.
Over the years, they notice that he is developing strange powers. At age 12, Clark (Jeffrey Silver) comes home from school, wondering why he, on top of being stronger and faster than the other boys, just discovered he could find a lost baseball by looking straight through a rock. Sarah begins to tell him what they know of his origin. Jumping forward to April 10, 1951, Sarah scolds Eben for tracking dirt into the house. She wants everything perfect for the surprise party in honor of Clark's 25 years with them. Eben is also excited and starts to go get ready, but he collapses. The doctor (Sam Flint) is summoned, but he has grim news. Sarah says, "He was a good man," to which Clark adds "and a good father." Some time later, Sarah is at the Smallville Bus Depot as she sends Clark off to make use of his powers. She makes sure he has the costume she sewed for him from his indestructible baby blanket. They say their goodbyes, and Clark boards the bus.
In Metropolis, Clark dons glasses and adopts a pose of mild-mannered timidity to protect his secret. At the Daily Planet, he's stuck for hours with the receptionist (Danni Sue Nolan) while Perry is in his office, barking into his various phones. Clark finally takes matters into his own hands, rushing into a storeroom while removing his hat, emerging from an open window with his hat back on, walking along the ledge to Perry's office, and walking in through another open window. Lois is already there, and Perry can't get a credible explanation of Clark's intrusion before Jimmy bursts in, exclaiming that there's a "dirigible" flying over the airport with a man hanging from a rope. Lois takes the wire report Jimmy is holding, and reads that an oil company blimp was trying to land in high winds when it was forced back up. Most of the men trying to handle it immediately dropped their ropes, but one is now dangling as the blimp is forced to remain at 1000 feet. Perry sends Lois and Jimmy to the airport, and Clark asks if he would be hired if the man could be rescued and give the Planet the exclusive story. Perry, who doesn't appear to be really listening, says yes.
Clark returns to the storeroom, changes into Superman, and flies off just in time to catch the man (Dabbs Greer) when he finally loses his grip on the rope. In Perry's office, the rescued man is repeating the story he already gave to Clark. Perry doesn't want to believe in the flying man, but Lois and Jimmy confirm that they saw something streak across the sky and catch the faller. The man goes on to say that "this super-guy" set him down behind a hangar, at which point he fainted. When he woke up, Clark was there to hustle him into a cab that brought them to the Planet. Clark asks if this means he gets the job. In answer, Perry hands him the latest edition of the Daily Planet. The headlines read "SUPERMAN RESCUES AIRPORT MECHANIC. Catches Doomed Man Mid-Air As He Falls From Blimp Rope. by Clark Kent." Lois has a couple questions for Clark. How did he leave later than she and Jimmy did but beat them to the airport? How did he manage to look in the right place at the right time to find the rescued man when every ace reporter in town was breaking his or her neck to get the story?" Clark's answer: "Maybe I'm a superman."
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What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of Superman on Earth (1952) in Australia?
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