Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) ownership of Superman is no longer absolute.

Some 70 years ago, Superman co-creator Jerome Siegel sold the rights to the hero to Detective Comics for $130. Detective Comics is now DC Comics and is owned by Time Warner unit Warner Bros.

Superman has been the subject of much legal wrangling over the years, a brief summary of which can be found on Wikipedia. On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that Siegel's heirs were entitled to share of the copyright, but left Time Warner's international rights intact. How this will effect the future of Superman remains to be seen, as there is still much more legal wrangling to come.

It gets more complicated. According to the New York Times, "A similar ruling in 2006 allowed the Siegels to recapture their rights in the Superboy character, without determining whether Superboy was, in fact, the basis for Warner Brothers's 'Smallville' television series. The decision was later challenged in a case that has yet to be resolved, said Mr. Toberoff, who represented the family in that action."

If you're interested in learning more about the legal issues involved in comic book cases, check out this story from The National Law Journal.

Summer is upon us, and for those of you who like to invest in companies you can examine up close, this is the perfect opportunity to expense some travel to the nation's amusement parks. For research, of course. One way to judge the quality of these stocks is how nauseous they makes you (in a good way, of course). For example, here are the 2006 top 10 steel roller coasters in the country as rated by The Internet Best Roller Coaster Poll.

1. Superman, Six Flags New England, Springfield, MA (Six Flags Inc., NYSE: SIX)
2. Millennium Force, Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH (Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., NYSE: FUN)
3. Nitro, Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, NJ
4. Goliath, Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, GA
5. SheiKra, Busch Gardens, Tampa FL (Anheuser-Busch, NYSE: BUD)
6. Superman, Six Flags America, Baltimore MD
7. Montu, Busch Gardens, Tampa FL
8. Phantom's Revenge, Kennywood Park, Pittsburg, PA (Kennywood Entertainment)
9. Superman, Darian Lake, Buffalo, NY (CNL Income Properties)
10. Dueling Dragons-Fire, Universal Islands of Adventure, Orlando, FL (General Electric, NYSE:GE)

Looking for a way to teach your children about stocks? A few shares in one of their favorite parks might capture their attention!

Regardless of how Time Warner's (TWX) movie division fairs overall this summer, The Man of Steel has been a boon for Imax (IMAX). Choose your metaphor: "Superman Returns" either soared with, flew away with, or as Sandy Brown of TheStreet.com says, "lifted" Imax this week when the movie took in $6.83 million during its first seven days as an "Imax 3D Experience." This special 3D-enhanced version of the film is currently showing on over 70 Imax screens in the US.

In recent summers movie-goers have shown themselves to be more the up to the challenge of craning their necks for recent Hollywood blockbusters such as "Batman Begins" and whatever they called the last Matrix movie, as opposed to just the forty-five minute glacier, coral reef, or mountain adventure odysseys that still dominate the big big big screen.

 A little 3D Imax buzz can only help Time Warner, which has seen the decent revenue taken in by this lynchpin film in its summer schedule overshadowed amidst repeated reminders in the media that, yes, other superhero movies have opened stronger -- and that is without even mentioning the decidedly mixed reception the movie got from critics.

[Disclosure: I have seen "Superman Returns" once, on the regular-sized big screen, liked it, and will probably see it again.]

(You can read more about Superman breaking a box office record from Christopher Campbell at Cinematical).

Somewhere in the deep dark attics of Time Warner, Superman has been waiting. He's been gathering star dust, or whatever it is that superheroes gather when they lie in attics so long. Up until last year, he was stored right next to Batman -- until he, you know, Begined with the $200 million, eighth-highest-grossing movie of 2005.

It was about time Superman answered the call and swooped down to save Time Warner from its no-big-movie-having self, says Rick Munarriz for the Motley Fool. The company has no top-10 movies this year, despite big hopes with action block-wanna-be-busters V for Vendetta, Firewall, and Poseidon.

That will certainly change with Superman Returns, says Munarriz, and he doesn't even much care if the movie doesn't make back its $260 million production budget. If people love it (and they will!), "it can turn the spigot for more cost-effective sequels in the coming years. This is about more than just one film or one Halloween season with a few more trick-or-treating Superman kiddies than in years past. It's about making a statement."

I, for one, hope Superman can save Time Warner -- if only for the fun I'll have writing headlines about it. [Photo opendoorexit]