Copyright

SUPERMAN and all related elements TM & © DC Comics. © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. SOMEWHERE IN TIME and all related elements are the property of Universal Studios. All other appearances by Christopher Reeve in films, stage performances, television shows, advertisements/commercials, public service announcements, news stories and documentaries are the property of their respective studio and distribution companies. All Rights Reserved.

CapedWonder™.com and its subdomains are fan-based and produced with the highest respect and support for Superman and his creators, the Reeve family, the Superman movies actors & filmmakers, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, DC Comics, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Universal Studios, and other applicable studios, theater companies and related distributors.

All vintage photographs shot during the production of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies (1977-1987) are Copyright © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. CapedWonder.com makes no claim to owning the copyright of the photos; said copyright belongs to Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and shall remain as such. The Editor of CapedWonder.com, Jim Bowers, has an excellent working relationship with Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and DC Comics. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. has been in contact with Jim over the years and has approved all of CapedWonder.com’s content.

CapedWonder.com’s ever-growing library of Superman movies photographs – in the form of prints, Polaroids & transparencies – and other vintage production materials, is more extensive and robust than Warner Bros.’ own library; this has been confirmed by Warner Bros. through years of email and phone conversations with Warner Bros. employees, and by an exhaustive inspection of Warner Bros.’ archives by a third party). Much of the CapedWonder Collection contains what is believed to be the only-known physical copies of many vintage Christopher Reeve Superman movie photographs (in particular, those shot in 1977 and 1978 during the Richard Donner Years) shot by numerous still photographers (who surrendered copyright upon delivery of the photos to Warner Bros. during and after production of the movies in the 1970’s and 1980’s). As a result, over the course of over 21 years Warner Bros. Entertainment has shown interest in CapedWonder’s library and has acquired many of these photos directly from Jim Bowers for Warner Bros.’ official DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming releases (for use on box art, marketing & promotional materials, disc menus, and documentaries).

Special thanks to many wonderful people who have contributed amazing photographs, art, vintage materials, articles, stories, research materials, and more to CapedWonder™.com over the past 20+ years. Thanks to all of you, the website has grown into a remarkable resource for Christopher Reeve Superman movie fans!

Watermarks

Jim Bowers has occasionally been asked by fans why he chooses to watermark vintage Superman movie photos featured on this website and CapedWonder’s variety of social media outlets with a CapedWonder logo (or a Caped Wonder Superman Podcast logo) when he technically doesn’t own the rights to Superman. The answers are three:

1. To credit Jim, and contributing artists, for spending many hours scanning and restoring both rare and common prints, negatives and slides, and promotional materials from their personal collections in order to preserve, as close as possible, their vintage look & feel and present it in the best possible light. Granted, not everything shown in the galleries may look restored; often it is initially presented in “raw” form, and eventually reposted with dust, spots, flaws and more removed, and color & contrast adjusted/corrected.

Every effort is made to credit all of the official and unofficial Superman movie set photographers, including Bob Penn, Douglas Luke, and many, many others. A comprehensive list of official photographers can be found here.

2. Branding. As a marketing professional, Jim is always focused on branding…professional logos, clear mission statement, and a consistent overall tone to both the website and social media presence. A watermark automatically says that the image came from CapedWonder.com.

3. To discourage would-be “dealers” from easily taking the imagery and producing various “products” (prints, posters, etc.) to profit from on-line and at conventions. Sure, Jim has sold a print here and there, but this website is not a business; it is first and foremost a labor of love and an outlet to be able to conveniently share great content with Superman, movie, history, and photography enthusiasts around the world.

Jim Bowers’ decision to place a CapedWonder watermark on vintage Superman movie imagery doesn’t mean he is claiming copyright ownership of that imagery. Even if a vintage Superman movie photo is one-of-a-kind (print, transparency, Polaroid, etc.) and resides in Jim’s collection (and therefore, isn’t in the Warner Bros. or DC Comics archives), its copyright remains with Warner Bros. and DC Comics. That is an absolute. That is the law. Bottom line: Warner Bros. and DC Comics (and possibly Jerry Siegel family members, depending on current legal decisions) own Superman, not Jim Bowers. Simple as that.

Last, and certainly not least, in June 2006, the Warner Bros. Legal Department in Burbank, California approved Jim Bowers’ request to watermark any and all Superman movie imagery featured on this website and in social media.

Original Photography

Jim Bowers is a professional photographer who has photographed many Superman stars, events, reunions, ceremonies, filming locations and alike over the course of 45 years. All of his original photography appearing on CapedWonder.com, social media, other websites, message boards, forums, etc., is Copyright © Jim Bowers and Bowers Imagineering, LLC 2002-2023, and may not be reproduced, duplicated, or printed without prior written permission by Jim Bowers. All original photography by Jim Bowers is protected by law and registered with the United States Copyright Office.

Resume & Projects

Jim Bowers has spent many years researching, studying hundreds of location, set, and publicity photographs, visiting and photographing filming locations, and having discussions with celebrities, movie crew members, Warner Bros. employees, and other die-hard fans. Jim has spent nearly 40 years amassing, scanning, preserving, and studying these photos and other related production and promotional materials for the purposes of documenting the movie series’ history and sharing with fans around the world. It has been a truly wonderful and rare privilege for Jim to know some of the Superman celebrities, directors, producers and other movie industry professionals, and books editors, designers and publishers; and to have the opportunity to be a research/creative consultant and imaging contributor for corporations such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, Taschen Publishing, Film Score Monthly/Screen Archives Entertainment, and Cinemaquette.com, and an image reference provider for Hot Toys, Sideshow Toys, and various private figure/statue/bust commissions and projects.

Jim Bowers’ credits include: Research Consultant for the three 2001 Superman-The Movie Special Edition DVD documentaries; Graphics/Photography Contributor to the 2006 Superman Ultimate Collector’s Edition and Christopher Reeve Superman Collection DVD box sets; Creative Consultant and Photographer for the 2008 Superman-The Music (1978-1988) 8-CD music box set; and Photography Contributor to the 2008 Special Effects Superman: The Art and Effects of Derek Meddings coffee table book. I also contributed materials to the 1998 DC Comics books, Superman: The Complete History: The Life and Times of the Man of Steel and Superman Masterpiece Edition: The Golden Age of America’s First Super Hero; Photography Contributor to the 2010 Cinemaquette Superman booklet; Photography Contributor to Paul Levitz’s 2010 book, 75 Years Of DC Comics: The Art Of Modern Mythmaking; Photography Contributor to Paul Levitz’s 2015 book, The Little Book of Superman; and Creative Consultant on La-La Land Records’ Superman IV soundtrack CD set, Superman II & Superman III soundtrack CD set, and Superman: The Movie soundtrack CD set.

Contact Information

Questions or comments regarding the Website should be sent by e-mail to Jim Bowers, Editor, at [email protected].