Superman the Animated Series
With this post, we've reached the end of season two of "Superman the Animated Series." We only have 13 episodes left. We are heading in to the end game. Let's get going.
Jimmy Olsen: [IDing a video game token] "Bingo!"
Kara: "What's that mean?"
Jimmy Olsen: "They're the same."
Kara: [covering] "Oh, yeah. Bingo."
While exploring the remains of Krypton, Superman comes across Krypton's sister planet, Argo. Argo was thrown out of orbit when Krypton exploded. While exploring it's frozen wastes, Superman finds a recording that explains what happened and that there may be survivors. He finds one, Kara, who he takes back to Smallville to live with Ma and Pa Kent. Kara wants to help Clark with hero-ing but he doesn't think she's ready. When Intergang returns, Kara can't help but dive in headfirst, debuting her own superhero persona. But when Granny Goodness enters the fray, things take a turn.
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| Kara Pod. |
Supergirl is an interesting character in the Superman mythos. When she was introduced during the Silver Age, she was Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin, who was also saved from Krypton and was meant to look after her baby cousin. Instead she got lost in space and didn't land until he was an adult and suspended animation kept her from aging. She was famously killed during the "Crisis on Infinite Earths." After the death of Superman, a shapeshifting matrix combined with Linda Danvers to be Supergirl, but then during Jeph Loeb's "Superman/Batman" run, she was re-introduced as Superman's cousin. "Superman: The Animated Series" sort of creates an amalgam of these things.
In the comics, Argo City was a city on Krypton. In the show, they make Argo it's own planet. When Krypton exploded, it threw it's off it's orbit and the weather changes killing most of the people. Superman finds a recording from Kala In-Ze, the planet's chief physician. She puts herself and her family in stasis hoping that someone would rescue them. Superman finds the pods and almost all of them are destroyed. Superman finding the destroyed stasis pods and the corpses is really heartbreaking and I'm glad that the show doesn't shy away from that. They show the decaying bodies and it really adds to the emotion and it makes Superman's discovery of Kara in her pod more joyous.
Joy is the watchword for these episodes really. The sequence where Kara is flying through the sky above the Kent farm is maybe one of the happiest scenes I've ever seen in this series. She is clearly loving what she is doing and why wouldn't you? Who wouldn't? Flying with geese. Hovering over her reflection in a nearby pod. It's a great sequence. And I also have to give it up for the soundtrack in this episode. I don't remember every noticing the music on this show, but the whole episode it's on point. From the scenes in space to Kara's flying, the music does what good music should, just elevating what is already great.
I think the success of this episode really hinges on Kara and luckily, she's a great character. Like I said, she is joyous. She's a teenager but she's not annoying. Kara genuinely wants to be a hero. Like Superman, she comes from a planet that was destroyed so that makes her want to make sure that doesn't happen. It makes sense that Superman would want to limit it, but Kara is not going to be dissuaded. I love how she thinks that her disguise of a brown wig and glasses is so fool proof, but Clark sees through it right away. She has great chemistry with Jimmy when they are out investigating Intergang.
The action is great in this episode. Superman goes toe to toe with the Intergang teens, Trouble and Amy. One has a freeze ray and the other has a heat ray. I'm all for anything that gives someone a way to go against Superman without it feeling unrealistic. Then there is when Kara makes her debut as Supergirl. I don't love the outfit, but I get it. Supergirl isn't a pushover and just when it seems like maybe she's too good at this Granny Goodness Boom Tubes the Female Furies in to take on the Girl of Steel.
Grade: A-
Amy: "I still can't believe Granny and all this stuff is from another planet."
Kara: "I'm from another planet. It happens."
Supergirl faces off against Granny Goodness' Female Furies: Lashina, Stompa and Mad Harriet. Supergirl is struggling against the three of them until Superman shows up to even the odds. When Supergirl is trapped under rubble, Superman's concern for his "cousin" distracts him enough to get him captured by the Furies and taken back to Apokolips. Supergirl finds Granny Goodness' Boom Tube controller and follows. Once there she has to try to save Superman and get back to Earth to stop a comet that Granny has pulled out of it's orbit to destroy Earth.
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| People of Steel. |
This episode is a little bit flimsy when you take a look at it, particularly plot wise. That's not a bad thing necessarily. It picks up right where the last one left off and it's extremely fast paced. It doesn't feel like there is a moment that is wasted. It's a fast moving 22 minutes and I'm never upset about that. There's nothing worse than when an episode that barely clocks in at 25 minutes feels like it is double that. And there have definitely been a few episodes of "Superman the Animated Series" that have felt that way. It definitely feels like the episode is just moving from one action sequence to another, but again, that's not a bad thing, especially when the action scenes are as good as the ones that feature heavily in this episode.
The first action sequence is Supergirl vs the Female Furies. If you thought that Supergirl was maybe winning the battle that ended the last episode a little too easily, especially for being a new hero, then this one should make you very happy. Supergirl goes toe to toe with the Female Furies, but it's clear that they have been trained to be merciless by Granny and Supergirl is definitely out of her element when it comes to them. If Superman doesn't show up when he does, Supergirl would have been done for. Superman probably could have taken down the Furies if he wasn't concerned for Supergirl's safety and it's that concern that ends up getting him captured. I think that is overall a good thing because these episodes are more about Supergirl than Superman.
Once on Apokolips, Supergirl has to evade enemies while trying to find and save Superman. One of my favorite moments in the episode is when Supergirl makes a human tornado near one of the Apokoliptian fire pits and uses that to direct the flame at some pursuing parademons incinerating them. When Supergirl finds Superman, she finds that Granny was on Earth constructing a giant magnet that is going to pull the comet that Clark and Lois were reporting on to Earth destroying it. A convenient way for Darkseid to get his revenge and maintain the treaty with New Genesis.
Supergirl has another showdown with the Female Furies and this is an even better battle. It's great to see Supergirl dig deep and find these reserves that she maybe didn't know she had. I loved the moment when Supergirl has the giant pillar and is using it to smack Stompa around. Superman and Supergirl end up back on Earth and Supergirl destroys Granny's magnet despite Superman's protests. I love this moment because it highlights Supergirl's impetuousness reminding us that while she's shown what good she can do, she's still just an inexperienced kid.
Then the show gives us what we came for. People consume Superman media for moments like this. Moments where Superman diverts the course of a comet using his bare hands. You can't get that from Batman. You don't get it from Wonder Woman. This is pure Superman and I love it. A piece of the comet breaks off and Supergirl seizes on her moment to be a hero and stop another world from getting destroyed by ramming into it.
The episode ends with Jimmy getting his first front page byline with his story about Supergirl. And we see Supergirl flying triumphantly through Metropolis letting the people know they have another hero. It's really great and only soured a little by the men of the Daily Planet leering at her through the windows.
Grade: B+
Next up, we begin season three with Superman facing off against Volcana and the return of ... sigh... Roxy Rocket.
What did you all think of these episodes? Happy to see Supergirl make her debut? A good way to end season two? Let me know in the comments.
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