Lois Lane’s Lava Lament.
Throughout this whole run of write-ups about the shorts, I’ve been noting that (assuming you accept my argument that T-Rexes having been relatively recently discovered, so they count) the shorts have all been about pitching Superman against some newfangled sci-fi threat. This one doesn’t do that. This time, it’s Superman versus Nature when a small island town is threatened by an ancient volcano becoming active again. All the newspapers are following the story, but only the Daily Planet actually sends some reporters to the scene, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s Lois and Clark that are sent (and Lois halves the group by stealing Clark’s press pass so he can’t get in). Everything goes badly and Superman has to save the town (and Lois) from lethal lava.
Now, there may be no scientific threat, but that’s not to say there’s no science at all. There’s a team of scientists who are studying the volcano and devising a plan to save the town which doesn’t go perfectly, but is the way Superman ultimately saves the day. That means science is not the tool of the villain here, it is a tool for good. I like to see that. Also, there IS NO villain here. As I make my complaints about the superhero genre, I’m often told that we Need To have supervillains and stories that end with fights because stories thrive on conflict. It’s always nice to see an example that proves my side.
Other than that, we get some good Lois here. I don’t like that she stole Clark’s press pass so he wouldn’t be able to play reporter with her, but I do like that she flees the erupting volcano by climbing hand-over-hand down the cable car cable. I’ve always said this woman is no mere “damsel in distress” no matter how often she is absolutely in distress.
A minor note from the opening too. Notice that they do the speeding bullet and locomotive, but then instead of leaping tall bullets, we’re told that Superman is “able to soar higher than any plane” and the plane we see is a bomber. A sign of the War creeping in for not the last time. Bombers are, of course, another example of Superman being contrasted against a modern invention. They just love to do it.
