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''The Mad Scientist'' [[note]]originally called "Superman", but we will refer to it by its alternate title to avoid confusion[[/note]] is a [[MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1941]] theatrical animated short (ten minutes) produced by [[Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer Fleischer Studios]], and the first of seventeen WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons.

An extended prologue establishes the origins of Superman (voiced here by Creator/BudCollyer from [[Radio/TheAdventuresOfSuperman the radio show]]), how his parents sent him to Earth after Krypton blew up, and how he assumed the public identity of Clark Kent, mild-mannered Daily Planet reporter. After the prologue we get to the main story: a mad scientist has sent the Daily Planet a letter announcing that he has a deadly death ray. Lois Lane (voiced by Joan Alexander) goes off to pursue the story, but her IntrepidReporter fearlessness gets her kidnapped by the mad scientist, who promptly zaps out a section of a bridge with his death ray. Clark Kent, upon finding out that both Lois and the city of Metropolis are in peril, puts on his Superman costume and saves the day.

The short had a production budget of $50,000 (three times the cost of an average Popeye short at the time), and '''it shows'''.

The short was nominated for the 1942 MediaNotes/AcademyAward for cartoon short subjects (losing out to the WesternAnimation/PlutoThePup short ''WesternAnimation/LendAPaw'').

This short has entered the PublicDomain, and can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UJphNPwDfk here.]]
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!!Tropes:

* AdaptedOut: [[MuggleFosterParents Ma and Pa Kent]] are apparently absent from Superman's origin--the unidentified person who found him as a baby instead brought him to an orphanage. The person was identified as a "passing motorist", which was true in Superman's first story in ''[[ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber1 Action Comics #1]]''.
* AnimationBump: Compared to the Fleischers' previous flop of a series, ''Stone Age'', the animation quality of this first short is a HUGE upgrade in contrast. (This is in part because its comparative budget at the time was so high, it may as well have been infinite; its $50,000 budget would be the equivalent of between $950,000 and $990,000 in 2021 dollars.)
* ArtisticLicensePhysics:
** The beam melts the support beams in a building, causing it to fall over. Inexplicably, Superman stops the beam and props the build back up, and it stands without doing anything to repair its foundation.
** ''Punching a laser'' in order to deflect it. This looks like a job for the RuleOfCool!
* AsideGlance: Clark Kent winks at the audience at the end.
* BlackBeadEyes: Lois, which is rather bizarre in a short that's otherwise fairly realistic.
* BoundAndGagged: Lois upon reaching the Mad Scientist's lair, attempts to get an interview, but is instead immediately kidnapped by the madman and tied to a chair and gagged. He informs her she'll get her story as she watches helplessly at the destruction of Metropolis. Luckily, Superman unties her at the end just as the evil lair falls apart.
* ClarkKenting: Maybe never more nakedly obvious than here. When he hears that Lois has been captured by the mad scientist, Clark mutters "This sounds like a job for Superman!" Then he ducks into the office's supply closet. The supply closet ''has a glass window'', so we can see the outline of Clark changing into his Superman outfit. Then we see Superman emerging from the closet. None of the other reporters in the office notice Superman emerging from their closet and flying out the window.
* CollapsingLair: The scientist's lab after Supes overloads the cannon.
* DamselInDistress: Lois, who ends up a captive of the mad scientist.
* DeathRay: Complete with a great big Jacob's Ladder, and an elevator-floor gauge for showing its {{Power Level|s}}.
* DigitalDestruction: The version included on Warner's DVD compilation has an audible jump in the prologue ("Superman fights a nevereding battle for truth-justice"), and also makes one of Perry White's lines sound garbled. A prolonged pause also occurs in between the closing shot and the Paramount logo.
* ForTheEvulz: The mad scientist doesn't seem to have any goals other than showing off his death ray.
* IWillShowYouX: "So you want a story! I'll give you the greatest story of destruction the world has ever ''known''!"
* IntrepidReporter: Lois Lane, going off to chase the big story--too intrepid in this instance, as she gets kidnapped by the mad scientist.
* MadScientist: But of course!
* MickeyMousing: The pulses of the beam don't seem to make a sound in-universe when they hit Superman, but are emphasized by the soundtrack. The same happens when Supes is punching the beam back to its source.
* MostlyNormalAnimal: The vulture. It does not speak, but clearly has human-like intelligence and sometimes makes gestures that are outside the bounds of realistic bird behavior. It warns the scientist of Superman's approach, makes a "So there!" head gesture at Lois, and even operates a door-bolt with its beak.
* NoNameGiven: The eponymous scientist.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign:
** Downplayed with the Mad Scientist; his features are slightly more stylized and his movements slightly more cartoony than those of the other human characters.
** Played absolutely straight with his vulture minion, who is a case of RealisticSpeciesCartoonySpecies.
* OhCrap: "It's Superman!"
* OriginsEpisode: Being the first one in the series, it has an intro briefly summarizing how Krypton blew up, but not before baby Superman was sent to Earth in an escape pod.
* ParrotPetPosition: The Mad Scientist's bird sidekick, shortly.
* PlotHole: How does Lois know where the mad scientist's lair is? Maybe the note had a return address.
* RealisticSpeciesCartoonySpecies: The humans of the story have rotoscope-realistic proportions and movements, but the vulture looks like something out of a slapstick cartoon.
* {{Rotoscoping}}: Prominently used to animate the characters. It is pretty rough here, but it would improve as the series ran its course.
* TheyCalledMeMad: Mentioned in the note the scientist sends.
* VillainousBreakdown: The Scientist when Supes starts overcoming the laser.
-->''"I don't believe it! He isn't human!"''
* WaveMotionGun: The Scientist's laser cannon.
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