The Mayans, the wise race of ancients who created hot cocoa, set December 21st, 2012 as the end date of their Calendar, which the intelligent and logical amongst us know signifies the day the world will end, presumably at 12:21:12am, Mountain Time. From now until zero date, we will explore the 50 films you need to watch before the entire world perishes. We don’t have much time, so be content, be prepared, be entertained. The Film: Superman (1978) The Plot: Many light years away, the planet Krypton is doomed to explode, so the scientist Jor-El (Marlon Brando) and his wife launch their infant child Kal-El into space to find safety on the distant planet Earth. The young child’s spaceship crashes in a Kansas field, and he’s taken in by the older couple Jonathan and Martha Kent. The Kents raise the boy, whom they name Clark, as their own. However, he knows he’s different from other people, possessing amazing and superhuman powers. After finding a link to his Kryptonian past, Clark goes on a twelve-year journey to discover his destiny. He moves to Metropolis to become the city’s hero known as Superman (Christopher Reeve), all the while living a double life as a mild-mannered reporter at the Daily Planet. Superman catches the eye of the fiendish criminal Lex Luthor who plans for the hero’s destruction so he doesn’t interfere with Luthor’s plot to make a fortune in real estate.

Why Watch? Because he’s faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. No one uses the word “bound” as a noun anymore, but Superman is still alive and well. He’s a cultural phenomenon that’s unparalleled, and he’s even seeing Blu-ray releases this week. In honor of that, we’re presenting the Man of Steel’s first appearance on the big screen – as a short cartoon from Max Fleischer that ran before movies. Seven years after the first serial, the character would head to theaters live-action style with Kirk Alyn becoming the first actor to portray Supes. The animation is beautiful, the tale thrilling, and you can play along at home by spotting the character differences in his origin story and characteristics. What does it cost? Just 10 minutes of your time. Check out Superman for yourself: