Superman The Animated Series
I had planned on finishing out my "Batman: the Animated Series" recaps with a look at the first "season" of the comic continuation, "Batman: The Adventures Continue," but I'm still figuring out how I want to do those. So, while I worked that out, I figured I would move on to the next series in the "Timmverse" of the DCAU: "Superman: The Animated Series."
S: TAS is much like it's predecessor, "Batman: The Animated Series." About 10 years prior to the series, comic creator, John Byrne, did a soft-reboot of the Man of Steel, making him much more in line with the Superman that we know today. "Superman: The Animated Series" uses this approach. It was acclaimed for the top notch writing, the portrayal of Superman and his various allies and enemies and the voice acting, specifically Tim Daly, Dana Delany and Clancy Brown as Clark Kent/Superman, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor respectively. The show premiered on September 6, 1996.
Jor-El: "Transmission set. It's feeding time."
Brainiac: "Data received. Ending transmission."
Jor-El: "You're welcome. Glutton."
On the distant planet of Krypton, bad things are getting ready to happen. Researcher Jor-El believes that a devastating catastrophe is getting ready to befall the planet. Despite his findings, the intelligence, Brainiac, refutes them and the Krypton council refuses to consider Jor-El's research especially since his plan to save them all through the Phantom Zone to get to a new planet. When Jor-El learns that Brainiac knows he is correct but is not willing to do anything to save the planet, Jor-El begins a frantic race to save at least one person from the exploding Krypton: his son.
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| Hush little baby. |
At this point, we are all familiar with the origin of Superman. The last son of a doomed planet. Raised by kindly Kansas farmers before heading to the big city of Metropolis to write for the Daily Planet and protect it from people like Lex Luthor. So, you may be thinking do we really need a three episode origin story? I'd say yes and no. You have to remember, when these episodes premiered in the late '90's the only real origin story non comics readers had probably seen was what was shown in the Christopher Reeve "Superman" film in the late '70's. Plus, these episodes go after the familiar story from a few different angles that make them very enjoyable and a great start for this series.
The entirety of this first episode takes place on the planet Krypton, which is nice. I couldn't help but think of the opening of Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel," which also takes place on Krypton and how much better this cartoon from the '90's did it. I wonder if Snyder knows this? He has to, right?
I really enjoy how the animated series portrays Jor-El. A lot of times you see him, he is cold or withholding. Cocky to a fault. This Jor-El is confident but not cocky. He is clearly a loving father and husband to Jor-El. I really love the interactions he has with Lara. Jor-El is also a man of action. When he realizes that Brainiac is lying to everyone and plans to upload his consciousness to a satellite he springs into it. I didn't expect the last part of this episode to be so action packed but I loved watching Jor-El take out the guards. It was a nice little twist that Jor's father in law Sul Van, voiced by the great Tony Jay, was a decoy so Jor and Lara could get Kal off the planet.
In other iterations of this, we don't really see a lot of what goes on on the surface of the planet when Krypton explodes. The episode doesn't linger but we do see some of the chaos as baby Kal's rocket goes off. It's not too much but enough to inject some pathos into the whole situation.
I do wish we had seen a little more of Jor and Lara's relationship and maybe learned a little bit more about how Brainiac worked with the Kryptonians, but overall a solid beginning to a classic origin.
Grade: B+
[Lois finds Clark ahead of her at the Lexcorp press conference]
Lois Lane: "How'd you get here before me?"
Clark Kent: "Well, I just flew."
Lois Lane: "What'd you get?"
Clark Kent: [puts away his notebook] "A shared byline, if you use it."
Lois Lane: "I take it back. You're not the rube hayseed I took you for."
Clark Kent: "Thanks... I think."
Jonathan and Martha Kent find little Kal's spaceship and decide to raise him as their son. As he goes through puberty, Clark realizes that he is not like the other boys. He has powers including flight. The Kents show Clark the aircraft he arrived in and he "meets" his parents. Flash forward to Clark joining the staff of the Daily Planet and meeting star reporter Lois Lane. When he goes with her to cover a press conference unveiling a robot that will revolutionize war, saboteurs show up to steal the prototype and Superman makes his first public appearance.
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| Clark + Lana... for now? |
Whereas the last episode spent it's entire time in Krypton, this episode focuses on a couple of different time periods in Clark Kent's life. Even though we did have an entire 10 season series that focused on Smallville, I still wish the series would have spent a little more time in the small town Clark spent most of his youth.
Weirdly, one of the most interesting parts of the episode is when little Clark's ship crosses paths with the Kents. You usually see it make a rather dramatic entrance, skidding as it hits the ground, sending gouts of dirt and grass flying. There's usually some smoke and fire. This is a much calmer landing, no crash at all. The ship gently landing and waiting for Jonathan and Martha Kent to get to it. This makes a lot more sense to me. Jor-El is a genius and he couldn't design a spaceship that wouldn't crash upon re-entry? It's interesting to see Jonathan Kent not be automatically accepting of taking care of the baby. He even calls baby Kal a "thing." Way harsh, Jon. I mean, he comes around relatively quickly, but its still a new take.
It's nice to see a young Clark and it would have been nice to see a bit more of this. I love the fiery Lana Lang, but there's not enough of her. And, it's great that Clark goes and saves those people, but he's not very discreet. Not that I guess he really needs to be. I do love the melodramatic teenage reaction when Clark finds out that he's an alien and meets a holographic projection of his parents. It all really turns around though when Clark realizes he can fly. It's such a joyous sequence and I love the instrumental swells as Clark hits the sky. It really is a delight and much more enjoyable than a similar sequence in "Man of Steel." Sorry for the Snyder bashing, but you know what you were getting into.
Next thing we know we are in Metropolis meeting the feisty and fiery Lois Lane. She's perfect and Dana Delaney slays the voice acting. Just like hearing Kevin Conroy when I hear Batman, I hear Dana Delaney when I read Lois Lane.
The episode ends with the Lexsuit 5000 being hijacked and stolen by dissidents. Superman springs into action, saving Lois Lane and going after the hijackers. The inexperienced superhero accidentally sends a missile into a plane's wing and the episode ends on a great cliffhanger. It is nice to see Superman not being the polished hero that we are used to and it made it very easy for me to click over to the next episode.
Grade: B+
[Superman appears hovering outside Luthor's window. Luthor rolls it down]
Lex Luthor: "Sorry, but we already have a window-washer."
[silence]
Lex Luthor: "Oh, the silent treatment, eh? Well, I don't know what you think you hard out there, but I know what you can prove, and it's nothing. You see, uh... "Superman", I own Metropolis. My technology built it, my will keeps it going, and nearly two-thirds of its people work for me, whether they know it or not. Even you have to admit it's a model of efficiency."
[silence]
Lex Luthor: "And yet, I've often thought it's a waste of my talents staying in just one city. A being of your abilities could be very useful to me on a, shall we say, global scale. Why don't you float on in and we'll discuss it, face-to-face?"
[silence. Luthor finally loses his composure]
Lex Luthor: "SAY SOMETHING!"
[He grabs a model of the Lexo-skel and throw it. Superman catches it and crushes it to powder between his hands]
Superman: "I'll be watching you, Luthor."
After saving the plane, Superman takes off. Lois Lane is determined to get the first interview with this "angel" and after some encouragement from his folks, Clark decides to meet with her. They have a cordial interview and it's Lois who gives him the Superman moniker. Clark believes that Luthor orchestrated the whole theft and attack by Kaznia at the press conference in order to make more money off an even better battle suit the US will undoubtedly contract Lexcorps for. Lois gets a hot tip and heads to the dock where she's kidnapped by mercenary, John Corben. Will Superman be able to save the day and Lois in time?
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| Showdown. |
The episode begins with Superman saving the plane he accidentally damaged. It feels like all Superman or Superman related media has a plane rescue. The most famous is in the Reeve "Superman" film, but there was also a similar scene in the "Supergirl" pilot. There's a reason why they are usually included and that's because they work and this one does too. It's tense. It's action packed. You want to cheer once Supes brings the plane in for a landing. It's classic Superman.
There is a lot of classic Superman in this episode. Lois Lane coins the term Superman. Superman accepts her interview by picking her car up on the freeway and flying it to a secluded spot. That is so dramatic Superman. The gays would be so proud. I loved the Batman reference that precludes this when Clark goes to see his folks. Him looking for their advice is again very Superman. And Martha making the comment that he should do the interview because she doesn't want people thinking he's "like that nut in Gotham" is a nice in universe nod. And it helps show the differences between the two capes.
Clark shows off some journalistic skills in this episode by making the Luthor connection. Further proving he's not the rube hayseed that Lois took him for. Lex getting a massage when Lois and Clark confront him is classic Lex. I love that they are not damping down Lois at all. She is fearless and her heading down to the dock to get the story is great. John Corben will become important down the line and if you've watched "Supergirl" you're familiar with Kaznia. My favorite moment of the episode is the Superman stare down while Lex goes on and on. It's a great beginning to the classic Superman/Lex rivalry and I can't wait to see it develop in the animated series.
The last half of the episode is basically action. It's great action, but it definitely feels like a lot of filler and padding. Maybe this three part origin story could have been condensed down to two? But overall, it's a great start to this animated iteration of the Blue Boy Scout.
Grade: B+
Next up, Toyman shows up to play games and Superman learns that reminders of home can be deadly.
What do you all think? I'll admit I'm not as familiar with "Superman: The Animated Series" as I am with B: TAS and I don't think I've seen every episode, so I'm excited to go on this journey. Let me know how you feel in the comments.
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