'Superman' Creators Set Back In Warner Bros Lawsuit

For as long as we can remember, Warner Brothers and the estate of "Superman" creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster have been arguing in court over who owns the rights to the Last Son of Krypton. We've written about it for years, and yet, the battle rages on.

But yesterday, Warner Bros. may have won a big victory after focusing its attention on attorney Marc Toberoff, who was trying to fill the double role of representing the Siegel estate and serving as a business partner for their future endeavors. Warner argued that the double-dipping made for a conflict of interest, and the court apparently agreed. "Toberoff served as both a business advisor and an attorney for that venture," it stated in an opinion. "The ethical and professional concerns raised by Toberoff's actions will likely occur to many readers, but they are not before this court."

Blastr lays out some of the legalese, but what it breaks down to is this: Toberhoff will have to fully disclose his business dealings, which could prove a smoking gun in terms of assessing his intentions. Regardless of whatever happens, it appears to be a major setback for the Siegels and Shusters in the ever-lengthening trial.

In other "Superman" news, the check written by DC Comics to acquire the rights from Siegel and Shuster back in 1938 was auctioned for $ 160,000, or 388 times more than it was worth back then. (261 times, if we're calculating for inflation.) The unnamed buyer will be able to frame it in his or her den, and hope it'll be worth 388 times more in another 74 years. (Or however much inflation will factor in, assuming we're not in the Chinese yuan by then.)

Tell us what you think of the "Superman" news in the comments and on Twitter!