Fans of the classic Superman cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios in the early 1940's now have the opportunity to watch episodes on Warner Bros. official Youtube channel.

It is not generally known what a great influence the Fleischer films had on the Superman mythos. The character was only four years old when Paramount Pictures contracted Max and Dave Fleischer to produce a series of cartoons based on the popular character. The Fleischers, creators of Betty Boop and Popeye, oversaw the production of seventeen classic Superman shorts between 1941 and 1943. Those films were an important, if somewhat unsung aspect of the Kryptonian hero's development. Many people are unfamiliar with these shorts, despite the fact that they were The Man of Steel’s first cinematic incarnation, pre-dating the movie serial of the late 40's and the TV series of the 50's.

The stories tend to be formulaic and straightforward in 7 to 10 minute long episodes - the villain is introduced, Lois Lane is endangered, Superman saves the day - and there is none of the character development that modern audiences have come to expect, although there is a bit of the playful banter between Lois and Clark that would become a benchmark of the characters in later years.

It is interesting to note how often World War II plays a part in these stories. In several instances Superman encounters the Nazis or some form of Axis threat. Of course in the forties even Donald Duck was doing war bond shorts, so it should come as no surprise that The Man of Steel was defending democracy and reminding people everywhere about the fascist threat.

Warner Bros. recently released the Fleischer cartoons on Bluray as well as DVD in 2006 and VHS several years ago but this is the first time the series has officially been available for viewing on Youtube.

Each episode, with the odd exception of "The Mechanical Monsters" and "The Arctic Giant," are currently available for viewing on Warner Bros. official Youtube channel.