Authors such as Edgar Rice Burrows, Jules Verne and H.G. Wells had long since planted the seeds of space travel in the imagination of millions. But the first true interplanetary hero to emerge in pop culture was the outer space adventurer, Buck Rodgers. His popularity would travel the century from novella to comic strip to film to television and bring millions of young fans along for the ride.  

Paralleling the early years of what would eventually become known as the “space age”, Buck Rodgers blasted on to the scene in 1928, as the hero of two novellas that first appeared in the pulp magazine, Amazing Stories, written by author, Philip Francis Nowland. Soon, a popular comic strip would follow, thanks to a collaboration between Nowland and the President of the National Newspaper Syndicate, John Dille Sr. Its success would lead to the first Buck Rodgers film, a 10-minute short called Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century. The film premiered at the 1933-1934 World’s Fair in Chicago, starring John Dille Jr (son of the comic strip guy) and featured Buck battling the Tiger Men of Mars.

A few visible strings didn’t detract from the popularity of the film and it was inevitable that more Buck was soon to follow. Universal enlisted actor Buster Crabbe for the lead role and 12 episodes were soon produced, each with a tantalizing cliffhanger ending. In typical form, Buck awakens from suspended animation to fight the various villains of the 25th century, with some help from sidekick, Buddy Wade. Their archenemy is the recurring character, Killer Kane, and his group of supergangsters, keeping Buck's hands always full in the never-ending war between good and evil.

In 1939, all twelve episodes were condensed into a single 90-minute episode called Destination Saturn. The same year, Universal Pictures would finally release the first true feature-length film, Buck Rodgers Conquers the Universe. But that wasn’t the last the world would see of the heroic space traveler, not by a long shot. In 1950, Buck got his own short-lived television series. Unfortunately, with all of his heroics, Buck wasn’t able to dent the popularity of Uncle Miltie on the popular show, Texaco Star Theater and the series only lasted a year. No worries, Buck just had to go back into suspended animation for another 28 years or so. 

Less than a decade after man finally made it to the surface of the moon, and on the heels of an enormously popular space flick called Star Wars, Buck was finally back on the big screen, in 1979s Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century. The film would (not so) coincidentally serve as pilot for an NBC television series starring Gil Gerard as the space hero. The show would only last two years, thanks to a writers strike, but the question remains – was that the last the world would see of Buck Rodgers? Like any good cliffhanger, the answer is uncertain. But in a world that seems to thrive on sequels and revivals of old heroes, Buck may just be living once again in suspended animation, ready to pop up when we least expect him, and fight the good fight yet again.