Update (9/18/14):

We first ran this feature when Arrow debuted, but with Gotham, The Flash and Constantine all about to premiere within a few weeks of each other, we felt it was time to update our look back at DC Comics' TV history, with some updates and a new entry for the aforementioned TV adventures of Oliver Queen.

Adventures of Superman (1952)

Keep in mind we're sticking to live-action TV projects only here (including pilots that weren't picked up to series), as a history of DC animated series is a whole other topic. We're also only including TV projects with characters who have at one point been part of the core DC Universe so don't look for, say, the Global Frequency pilot from a few years back... Though perhaps we'll amend that down the line, given some of the other DC/Vertigo titles in the works as TV series.The first incarnation of Superman on TV was the longest running live-action version of Superman until Smallville . Adventures of Superman debuted in 1952, having been preceded by the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men, which was essentially a theatrical pilot for the series. Mole Men actors George Reeves and Phyllis Coates reprised their roles from the feature as Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane , though Noel Neil -- Lois Lane in the 1940s Superman serials -- would replace Coates from Season 2 on. Definitely a product of its time, the series was a low-budget affair, and filmed in black and white the first two seasons before going to color in season three. Perry White (John Hamilton) and Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) also were regular characters, but the show featured no villains from the comic books, instead using various gangsters and thugs as the primary villains, with only the occasional foray into anything more fantastical. And with little money for effects, many shots of Superman flying were used repeatedly throughout the series.Campy as it may seem now (and you'll see the term campy used a lot in this piece), The Adventures of Superman was a tremendously popular show that did a lot to increase Superman's overall popularity and recognition of the character, and though Kirk Alyn had previously played Superman in two serials in the 1940s, for most people George Reeves was the first actor to truly embody the Man of Steel and define the character for more than one generation, thanks to repeats.

The Adventures of Superpup (1958)

Adventures of Superman was a big hit with kids, so naturally kids would love a version of Superman in which all the characters were walking, talking dogs right? Right?!A bizarre project, to say the least, this pilot came from Adventures of Superman (and DC Comics writer/editor) Whitney Ellsworth. A cast of little people played the re-imagined "Bark Bent" (secretly, Superpup!), fellow Daily Bugle (yes - they used the name before Spider-Man) reporter Pamela Poodle and their editor, Terry Bite.Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and The Adventures of Superpup never went beyond the pilot stage though it has been released, as a curiosity to be sure, on DVD in recent years on Superman box sets.

The Adventures of Superboy (1961)

The tragic death of George Reeves in 1958 had ended Adventures of Superman, but producers were still determined to continue the popular series in one form or another. Having discarded the Superpup pilot, one other spinoff idea was entertained in 1961, with The Adventures of Superboy A pilot was produced for the potential series, which was the first live-action portrayal of a teenage Clark Kent, along with Lana Lang. While an entire 13-episode season was written for The Adventures of Superboy, only the pilot was actually shot - and it would take a couple more decades for the Boy of Steel to make it to TV.

Batman (1966)

It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman (1975)

This show holds a complicated place in the history of both Batman and comic book adaptations in general. Batman was a hugely popular series, and it's the reason the Caped Crusader became one of the most recognizable and popular comic book characters in the world. Beyond that, it also made icons out of several Batman villains - The Riddler, for instance, was an obscure, almost forgotten character until Frank Gorshin's gleeful portrayal, and thanks to this show everyone soon knew who The Joker, Catwoman and Penguin were.Of course where this show causes problems for modern fans is the tone the epitome of camp, Batman, didn't take the title character, his "chum" Robin, nor anything else in Gotham City seriously. While Batman was played with mock seriousness by Adam West, this was clearly a very jokey, very tongue in cheek series. Let's put it this way: is there any other incarnation of Batman where the Caped Crusader and the Joker are in a surfing contest with each other?Because of this show and its popularity, comic book heroes would be perceived by many in the mainstream as very silly creations, something it's taken years to undo and there are still articles about Batman that can't resist a "Holy something, Batman!" or "Bam!" joke in the headline.The thing about the 1960s Batman though is that it's a very well done and very funny show. The show was intentionally played a certain way, and in that respect, it's a success. There are some completely hysterical, wacky sequences throughout this show, which is very much a product of the '60s, in all its trippyness. We all now know Batman as The Dark Knight, and that's how it should be these days. But this series showed that if you did play Batman for comedy, it could be legitimately funny -- as opposed to say, Batman & Robin.I need to at least briefly mention this special, which aired just three years before the first Superman movie would be released.It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman was originally a Broadway production in 1966, which closed rather quickly, despite generally positive reviews. Nine years later, ABC turned the musical into a primetime special, starring David Wilson as Superman and Leslie Ann Warren as Lois Lane - Warren would later almost nab the role of Lois in Richard Donner's Superman movie.The producers of the TV version upped the camp factor from what was in the stage version, and included an abundance of the "Bam!, Pow!" on-screen sound effects that Batman had introduced.

Continue to Page 2 as the 1970s bring us Wonder Woman, Shazam and more.