Sound Adaptation: How the 1940s Radio Show Established the Superhero Across Media

Comic book film and media studies have become more prevalent in the 21st century, as the superhero genre has proven sustainable on both movie screens (the Marvel Cinematic Universe series of around forty films) and in television and streaming shows (the four seasons of Superman and Lois on The CW network). Those studies, however, have yet to take an in-depth view of the earliest superhero media of radio, particularly the eleven years' worth of Superman radio shows, and its role in the superhero's development through adaptation and transmedia. This dissertation analyzes the adaptation practices behind the Superman/The Adventures of Superman (collectively from 1940-1951) and The Blue Beetle (1940) radio shows to emphasize the comic book superhero's early development in media. In doing so, I apply theory from both adaptation and transmedia against the backdrop of the respective comic book history.