or “BUS 422: Introduction to Law really does have its uses!”

Superboy Tom Welling may indeed return to DC after the latest ruling from the courts that overturns the Siegel (Joanne and Laura) lawsuit against Time Warner.

Jeff Trexler has a summary of the latest ruling at his site.

In a nutshell, the court ruled in favor of Time Warner’s motion to reconsider the prior ruling in favor of the Siegels and vacated the relevant portions of the earlier ruling, including part of the statement of facts.

The judge’s opinion is worth reading on several counts, especially for crisp review of the history of the Superman/Superboy cases. William Patry has a brief run-down on the estoppel issues, which will seem a bit esoteric to non-lawyers, but you should not let the law-geek bait get in the way of the judge’s analysis of whether Superboy is a derivative work. (pp. 66-71). The judge calls for further briefing on that issue but, as reviewing judges often do, lays out a roadmap for concluding that Superboy was nothing “more than a trivial variation from the pre-existing material in Superman, other comic book characters in general, or even more broadly with other comic book characters.” (p. 69)

Of course, this case is far from over, so there may be still more surprises to come.

Well somebody needs to decide something soon as our Major Spoilers Dictionary and constant references to Superboy Tom Welling will have to go through a retcon that would make even the heads at DC spin.

You can read the entire ruling for yourself at here.

via Trexfiles

Over 1000 iconic Hollywood items go up on the auction block August 2 and 3, with one of the more interesting items being the Superboy Tom Welling costume worn by John Haymes Newton in that 1980s television series Tom Welling Superboy.

According to the eBay Live Auction site, the costume is expected to go for between $3,000 and $5,000.

Other Superman items on auction include an original 1970 letter from Jerry Siegel looking for work, Billy Curtis (The lead ‘moleman’) costume from Superman and the Mole-Men ($3,000-$5,000), Original concept sketches of Superman’s childhood on the farm from Superman: The Movie ($2,000-$3,000), Fortress of Solitude clear crystal from Superman: The Movie ($800-$1,000), Three prop newspapers from the Superman films ($300-$500), and a Kryptonite Box from Superman III ($2,000-$3,000).

Considering I didn’t get to go to San Diego this year, perhaps I’ll use that money to bid on that costume so it can be added to the Collection Room of Major Spoilers HQ.

via Superman Homepage

Oh god, here’s a flashback to my high school days. Getting to see Superboy was hit and miss for me because a) the local channel kept bouncing it around the time slot clock b) I lived in the middle of nowhere and the aerial antenna didn’t always pick up the channel in question. Thankful I can relive my childhood with the help of  YouTube.