Superman: The Animated Series Review!

 Alright! Today I'm reviewing the second addition to the DC Animated Universe, Superman: The Animated Series. After Batman: The Animated Series' highly successful run from 1992 to 1995, a new champion was needed: DC's man of steel.

The first thing you should know is that this is not Batman: The Animated Series. There's no dark and gritty origin, no lush animation, no definitive versions of iconic characters (Save the title character). It's just a Superman show. 

Like, my biggest complaint is that it's not one of the best television shows I've ever seen. It's an episodic Superman show that was made in the 90s - it's just a perfectly fine show. Nothing groundbreaking. And that hurts. If Bruce Timm and Paul Dini can't make better Superman media than Batman, who can? 

But in terms of Superman mythos, it still did a great job modernizing them and making me excited for b-list villains like Bizarro and Metallo. The villains specifically - Bizarro, Parasite, Metallo, Mxyzptlk, and Livewire were all incredible villains. I was hooked each time they were on screen. 

Bizarro's world was definitely one of my favorite episodes.

Superman's defining villains, however, were never given the same treatment, most noticeably Brainiac. After Brainiac's ridiculously cool role in the pilot (He knew about Krypton's destruction and did nothing! He saved himself instead!), he sits out the first season and shows up, like, twice in the other two seasons! And each time he was ineffective! 

Lex Luthor faired best since he definitely has the perfect relationship with Superman here. They're uneasy folks who don't get along and fight with words every now and then and cooperate every now and then. Perfect relationship.

Darkseid was also incredibly cool. The series finale was absolutely epic and satisfying in its handling of the Darkseid mythos. The slaves of Apokalips carrying Darkseid to safety, even after Superman had defeated him and given them freedom, was the most Darkseid-y Darkseid crap I've ever seen. That was real Darkseid. 

"Had I known one human's death would pain you so I would have killed more."

On the heroic side, Superman: The Animated Series features, by far, the best version of Superman. Hands down. I love Reeve and see the potential in Cavill, but Tim Daly/George Newborn blows them both out of the water. This Superman is so pure, and him facing off against someone other than Zod really helps make it definitive. 

Lois Lane's portrayal here is also the best. Margot Kidder's whiny damsel in distress routine is grating, Amy Adams' sarcasm is nonexistent, and let's not even acknowledge Kate Bosworth. Dana Delany is THE Lois Lane. This series made me believe that Lois Lane can be successfully done. 

I loved the 1950s Metropolis aesthetic.

 However, another thing I wasn't keen on was the number of team-ups. I just wanted a Superman show, and while season one delivers, seasons two and three start crossovers with Batman, Orion, Flash, Doctor Fate, Robin, Green Lantern, and Batman again. It's, like, eight episodes out of fifty-four! 15% of the Superman show doesn't focus on Superman! 

This actually led me to a rather interesting question: Is Superman actually popular? Every Superman movie since 1980 has underperformed critically and commercially. Superman: The Animated Series couldn't survive two seasons without a boost from a revived The New Batman Adventures, and even after that S:TAS was mostly filled with characters that weren't Superman! 

Is it bad I always thought this was Hal Jordan? 

If this was any other superhero, people would have given up. They didn't keep trying to remake Daredevil after the 2003 film flopped. 

I can't really say I loved Superman: The Animated Series. It certainly gave me a lot of ideas on who Superman was and, while those ideas were very useful when trying to work my Superman trilogy, I can't say I loved The Animated Series as a whole. There were standout episodes, and I 

Overall, I give Superman: The Animated Series an 8/10. "Superman: The Animated Series overcomes mild criticisms mostly due to containing the defining interpretation of the title character."

My favorite episode was the Robin team-up... maybe I'm part of the problem...