Up, up, and away — Atari’s 1979 Superman brings the Man of Steel to a solid-state four-player, and the pedigree behind it is the stuff of pinball legend. It was designed by a young Steve Ritchie, who would become one of the medium’s greatest designers, with sound and software by Eugene Jarvis, the future video-game icon behind Defender and Robotron, and art by George Opperman, creator of Atari’s famous logo. With an approximate run of 5,124, it’s a genuinely significant machine from Atari’s short-lived but memorable flipper venture.
The layout is a busy, feature-rich early-solid-state spread: two flippers, four pop bumpers, a pair of slingshots, five standups, five star rollovers, twin spinning targets, a five-bank of drop targets, a kick-out hole, and a free ball return lane. Its signature feature is a long left lane that returns the ball to the top of the playfield with a distinctive U-turn built into it, a memorable bit of geometry that gives the machine real character. Those dual spinners and the big drop bank offer plenty of scoring for a player who works the playfield, all in service of the superhero theme.
Superman is a must-know for anyone fascinated by pinball history and the crossover between the video and flipper worlds, thanks to that legendary Ritchie-Jarvis-Opperman lineup. The Man of Steel was a perfect fit for the era’s superhero enthusiasm, and this Atari-era machine captures it with real energy. For the collector who values pedigree, it’s a treasure. Work those spinners, ride the U-turn lane, and clear the drops. It’s a heroic, historic machine from the dawn of some very famous careers, and it still soars. Look, up in the sky.