- King of the Rocketmen (Republic Pictures) starring Tristram Coffin. (1949)
In this first of the three 12-chapter cliffhanger serials our hero is Jeff King, the mysterious rocketman who along with a fellow scientist develop the atomic-powered flying suit to prevent an evil scientist named Dr. Vulcan from gaining world dominance with his powerful weapon, the Sonic Decimator. Jeff King has the rocketsuit & the ray gun but never leaves the stratosphere. In a thrilling conclusion Rocketman triumphs over the evil Dr. Vulcan. This serial was made in response to Columbia Pictures' smash hit serial of 1948 "Superman" & was Republics' most popular original character to appear on the serial screen. Although at the end of the final chapter the story eludes to a return of Rocketman, his character never returns to the silverscreen. Considered by many serial fans as the last of the great Republic Pictures' cliffhanger serials.
- Radar Men from the Moon (Republic Pictures) starring George Wallace. (1952)
3 years later Republic returns the rocket suit to the screen in another 12-chapter cliffhanger serial with a new rocketman character- Commando Cody. Cody, who is employed as a scientist with a top-level government agency doesn't wear a uniform or a mask but somehow has obtained the flying suit. Cody & his colleagues become aware of some suspicious atomic activity taking place on the moon as well as several mysterious incidents of sabotage on earth that appear to be related. Cody & his assistants develop an atomic powered rocketship to explore the moon where he quickly finds out about the existence of a race of moonmen & their evil scheme. Cody takes 12 chapters to defeat Retik, the Ruler of the Moon & his radarmen ultimately preventing them from launching a wide-scale invasion of the earth. Stock footage from "King of the Rocketmen" is used for most of the flying scenes. Clayton Moore, TV's Lone Ranger, appears as a henchmen working for the alien force.
- Zombies of the Stratosphere (Republic Pictures) starring Judd Holdren. (1952)
6 months later Republic releases the third in their pseudo-trilogy of rocketman serials. This time even though the character is essentially Commando Cody, with many of his same assistants, the character's name is changed at the last minute from Cody to Larry Martin to avoid confusion with another Republic "rocketman" endeavor soon to go into production. Again, it takes the Rocketman 12 chapters to thwart another alien attempt at destroying the earth. This time the threat is from Marex & his fellow aliens from Mars. Although Rocketman never leaves the stratosphere there are several aerial rocketship battle scenes. In the final chapter rocketman, Larry Martin shoots down the martians' rocketship & defuses a hydrogen bomb in the nick of time to save mankind. Again there is stock footage from both "King of the Rocketmen" & "Radar Men from the Moon". Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek's Mr. Spock, appears as one of the martians.
- Commando Cody, Sky Marshall of the Universe (Republic Pictures) starring Judd Holdren. (1953)
Originally developed for TV, Republic Pictures first released this film in the theaters in 1953 and later to television in 1955. This time there are no cliffhanger chapters but 12 complete 26-minute episodes. Here Rocketman returns as a masked & uniformed Commando Cody with the same assistants from the serials. Cody's character is now completely developed as he now tangles with an alien megalomaniac known to us only as the Ruler. The Ruler has conquered much of our solar system & the only hope for mankind is Commando Cody who naturally in the final episode captures the alien dictator & puts an end to his imperialistic plot. Although there is much stock footage from the 3 serials there is also plenty of new footage. This was the last of the rocketman films, however, in 1991 Disney made a film that took place during the early 1940's about a rocketsuited hero called the "The Rocketeer" which was based on the Dave Stevens' comic book of the same name. The ending credits of this movie pay tribute to both the Rocketman & Commando Cody characters.
