Superboy (1988)

Action · Adventure · Family

Superboy is a half-hour live-action television series based on Kal-El's early years as Superboy. It depicted Superboy's adventures during his college years, his meetings with Lex Luthor and his romance with Lana Lang. The series was brought to the screen by executive producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind, who were the producers of the first three Superman movies and the 1984 Supergirl movie.

IMDb rating: 6.0 (1,654 votes)
Episode average: 6.8 ↑ +0.8 vs IMDb
Seasons: 4
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Slow burn trajectory: later seasons lift off. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well. See every Slow burn show in the explorer →

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 4 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1988)

6.05 avg 26 episodes 5.6 → 6.6 22 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Jewel of Techacal	5.6	90
2	A Kind of Princess	5.6	59
3	Back to Oblivion	5.5	67
4	The Russian Exchange Student	5.7	58
5	Countdown to Nowhere	6.0	54
6	Bringing Down the House	5.7	61
7	The Beast and Beauty	5.5	47
8	The Fixer	5.6	56
9	The Alien Solution	7.0	52
10	Troubled Waters	6.5	49
11	The Invisible People	6.1	47
12	Kryptonite Kills	6.4	48
13	Revenge of the Alien: Part 1	7.0	52
14	Revenge of the Alien: Part 2	6.7	51
15	Stand Up and Get Knocked Down	6.2	47
16	Meet Mr. Mxyzptlk	6.5	54
17	Birdwoman of the Swamps	5.6	58
18	Terror from the Blue	6.1	49
19	War of the Species	5.7	47
20	Little Hercules	6.0	53
21	Mutant	5.7	47
22	The Phantom of the Third Division	6.2	47
23	Black Flamingo	5.7	46
24	Hollywood	6.8	49
25	Succubus	5.3	58
26	Luthor Unleashed	6.6	45

Season 2 (1989)

6.81 avg 26 episodes 7.0 → 5.9 22 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	With This Ring, I Thee Kill	7.0	44
2	Lex Luthor: Sentenced to Death	6.7	47
3	Metallo	7.0	49
4	Young Dracula	6.3	49
5	Nightmare Island	6.7	43
6	Bizarro... the Thing of Steel	8.1	48
7	The Battle with Bizarro	8.0	46
8	Mr. and Mrs. Superboy	6.6	44
9	Programmed for Death	6.1	44
10	Superboy's Deadly Touch	7.3	44
11	The Power of Evil	6.4	42
12	Superboy... Rest in Peace	7.0	48
13	Super Menace!	7.5	52
14	Yellow Peri's Spell of Doom	6.4	57
15	Microboy	7.5	53
16	Run, Dracula, Run	6.6	47
17	Brimstone	6.6	44
18	Abandon Earth	7.6	49
19	Escape to Earth	8.0	52
20	Superstar	6.6	46
21	Nick Knack	6.9	43
22	The Haunting of Andy McAlister	6.7	44
23	Revenge from the Deep	6.7	41
24	Secrets of Superboy	5.3	44
25	Johnny Casanova and the Case of Secret Serum	5.5	45
26	The Woman Called Tiger Eye	5.9	40

Season 3 (1990)

7.20 avg 26 episodes 8.0 → 7.6 22 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Bride of Bizarro: Part 1	8.0	41
2	The Bride of Bizarro: Part 2	7.9	40
3	The Lair	6.6	42
4	Neila	6.6	42
5	Roads Not Taken: Part 1	8.6	51
6	Roads Not Taken: Part 2	8.6	51
7	The Sons of Icarus	5.8	44
8	Carnival	6.8	41
9	Test of Time	7.2	42
10	Mindscape	7.9	50
11	Superboy... Lost	7.4	45
12	Special Effects	6.9	43
13	Neila and the Beast	6.0	42
14	The Golem	6.5	44
15	A Day in the Double Life	7.4	43
16	Bodyswap	7.9	44
17	Rebirth: Part 1	7.5	44
18	Rebirth: Part 2	7.4	42
19	Werewolf	7.5	41
20	People vs. Metallo	6.3	43
21	Jackson and Hyde	6.2	39
22	Mine Games	8.0	42
23	Wish for Armageddon	5.8	36
24	Standoff	6.9	41
25	The Road to Hell: Part 1	7.9	42
26	The Road to Hell: Part 2	7.6	41

Season 4 (1991)

7.13 avg 22 episodes 7.6 → 8.1 22 min avg

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	A Change of Heart: Part 1	7.6	65
2	A Change of Heart: Part 2	7.4	43
3	The Kryptonite Kid	7.0	40
4	The Basement	6.5	38
5	Darla Goes Ballistic	6.9	35
6	Paranoia	7.7	69
7	Know Thine Enemy: Part 1	7.8	42
8	Know Thine Enemy: Part 2	7.9	60
9	Hell Breaks Loose	6.6	39
10	Into the Mystery	6.8	41
11	To Be Human: Part 1	7.8	41
12	To Be Human: Part 2	7.7	42
13	West of Alpha Centauri	6.8	36
14	Threesome: Part 1	6.5	39
15	Threesome: Part 2	6.8	43
16	Out of Luck	6.8	39
17	Who Is Superboy?	6.2	36
18	Cat and Mouse	6.0	37
19	Obituary for a Super Hero	6.4	41
20	Metamorphosis	7.5	41
21	Rites of Passage: Part 1	8.1	59
22	Rites of Passage: Part 2	8.1	60

Superboy (1988)

Cast

Seasons

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