The Magnetic Telescope
The Magnetic Telescope (1942) is the sixth of the seventeen animated Technicolor short films based upon the DC Comics character of Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster. This animated short was created by the Fleischer Studios. The story runs for about eight minutes and covers Superman's adventures in saving the town from a comet drawn toward Earth by a magnetic telescope. It was originally released on April 24, 1942. Plot The story begins with Clark Kent and Lois Lane, along with the entire town, observing a scientist's (who resembles Captain Marvel's nemesis Doctor Sivana) demonstration of his magnetic telescope. A giant, u-shaped magnet connected to the telescope is pointed at a comet and turned on, drawing the comet towards the observers. Something goes wrong, however, and the comet crashes into the town, rolls through the streets, and then tumbles into the ocean nearby. Newspapers the next day report the disaster, and the police are shown arguing with the scientist, who claims the importance of his work is worth the risk to human lives. The police say, as Lois looks on, that they will stop any attempt to try the experiment again, but the scientist refuses to quit,