Superman: The Animated Series

Superman: The Animated Series
Superman from the S:TAS opening sequence
Starring	Tim Daly Clancy Brown Dana Delany et al.
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	54 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	22 minutes
Original release
Network	The WB
Release	September 6, 1996 – February 12, 2000

Superman: The Animated Series is the name of a Warner Bros.' American animated television series that ran from 1996 to 2000. The official title of the series was simply Superman, and starred the fictional character of the same name. Warner Bros. applied the same "more modern, more serious" animated treatment to DC Comics' flagship character in the same way they had successfully produced Batman: The Animated Series.

Airing ten years after the 1986 "reboot" of the Superman comic book character, the animated series paid tribute to both the classic Superman of old and the newer "modern" Superman. Perhaps most significantly, Clark Kent displays the more aggressive personality used by John Byrne in his reboot of the comic book continuity. Elements of Superman from all eras of his history were included in the series, especially in a potrayal of the planet Krypton, the planet that Superman was born on, that fans praised as a "modernization" of Superman's origin that contrasted John Byrne's reboot, and some fans felt was superior to the "newer" comic book version. Notably, the evil computer Brainiac was not only now from Krypton, but was portrayed as responsible for preventing the knowledge of Krypton's imminent destruction from reaching its people. In a lesser innovation, the ship that carried the infant Kal-El to Earth was designed to land smoothly upon reaching its destination, rendering it in perfect working condition during Superman's adulthood and is used as his mode of long range transportation in space.

The "new" Lex Luthor featured prominently in the series as well, menacingly voiced by actor Clancy Brown. Superman himself was voiced by Tim Daly.

While the series featured fresh recreations of much of Superman's rogues gallery, the series' writers supplemented the limited supply of enemies by paying tribute to Jack Kirby's Fourth World creations which also introduced the villain Darkseid to the series as one of Superman's greatest enemies. Darkseid had been portrayed as a villain in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians in the 1980s, but in the new Superman series, he was closer to the enormously powerful, evil cosmic emperor originally envisioned by Kirby. The tribute event extends to the supporting character, Dan "Terrible" Turpin, who is visually modelled on Jack Kirby himself.

On August 18, 1998, Warner Brothers released The Batman/Superman Movie on DVD and video. This movie was formed of three episodes from season 2 of Superman: The Animated Series, "World's Finest" parts 1, 2 and 3. Mark Hamill again provided the voice for The Joker.

Midway through the series' run, it was combined with episodes of The New Batman Adventures to become The New Batman/Superman Adventures. The characters of Superman and Batman were then spun off into a new animated series, Justice League, which also featured other popular DC characters, such as Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Flash.

Episode list

Main article: List of Superman: The Animated Series episodes

Notable regular guests

• Michael Ironside .... Darkseid (7 episodes)
• Ron Perlman ....Jax-Ur (3 episodes)
• Leslie Easterbrook....Mala (from the episodes, 'Blast from the Past Parts I and 2')
• Sarah Douglas....Mala (from the episode 'Absolute Power')
• Malcolm McDowell .... John Corben/ Metallo(6 episodes)
• Michael Dorn .... Kalibak / John Henry Irons/Steel ... (6 episodes)
• Bruce Weitz .... Bruno Mannheim (5 episodes)
• Gilbert Gottfried .... Mxyzptlk
• Jodi Benson .... Angela Evans Smith
• Brad Garrett .... Lobo/ Bibbo/'Neato' Coralli ... (5 episodes)
• William H. Macy .... Director of the Paranormals Institute (voice)
• Jason Marsden .... Teenage Clark Kent (voice)
• Nicholle Tom .... Kara/Supergirl (voice)
• Corey Burton .... Brainiac (voice)
• Melissa Joan Hart .... Saturn Girl (voice)
• Chad Lowe .... Rokk Krinn/Cosmic Boy (voice)
• Scott Menville .... Kenny Braverman (voice)
• Jason Priestley .... Reep Daggle/Chameleon Boy (voice)
• Kevin Conroy .... Bruce Wayne/Batman (voice)
• Mark Hamill .... The Joker (voice)
• John Glover .... Edward Nygma/The Riddler (voice)
• Bob Hastings .... Commissioner James Gordon (voice)
• Charity James .... Roxanne Sutton/Roxy Rocket (voice)
• Roddy McDowall .... Dr. Jervis Tetch/The Mad Hatter (voice)
• Henry Silva .... Bane (voice)
• Mathew Valencia .... Tim Drake/Robin (voice)
• David Warner .... Ra's al Ghul (voice)

Superman: The Animated Series on DVD

Much like Batman: The Animated Series and other Warner Brothers cartoons adapted from popular DC Comic books, Superman: TAS was released on DVD January 25, 2005, though it did not receive the same Disc Transfer as Batman did (Volume One's second disc was given the Side A/B treatment, as did Volume two's and Volume three's second disc). The DVDs present the series' episodes in their airing order along with special features. Volume Two was released on December 6, 2005, and Volume Three was released on June 20, 2006.

A Direct-To-DVD feature, Superman: Brainiac Attacks was also released on June 20, 2006.

The following is a list of Superman: The Animated Series episodes released onto videos, DVDs and DVD Box Sets.

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton VHS/DVD Episodes:

• The Last Son of Krypton, Part I
• The Last Son of Krypton, Part II
• The Last Son of Krypton, Part III

Superman: A Little Piece of Home VHS/DVD Episodes:

• A Little Piece of Home
• Speed Demons
• The Late Mr. Kent
• Where There's Smoke

The Batman/Superman Movie VHS/DVD Episodes:

• World's Finest, Part I
• World's Finest, Part II
• World's Finest, Part III

Superman: The Animated Series: Volume One 2-Disc DVD Set

1st Disc Episodes:

• The Last Son of Krypton, Part I
• The Last Son of Krypton, Part II
• The Last Son of Krypton, Part III
• Fun and Games
• A Little Piece of Home
• Feeding Time

2nd Disc - Side A Episodes:

• The Way of All Flesh
• Stolen Memories
• The Main Man, Part I
• The Main Man, Part II
• My Girl
• Tools of the Trade
• Two's A Crowd
• The Prometheon

2nd Disc - Side B Episodes:

• Blast from the Past, Part I
• Blast from the Past, Part II
• Livewire
• Speed Demons

Superman: The Animated Series: Volume Two 2-Disc Set

1st Disc Episodes:

• Identity Crisis
• Target
• Action Figures
• Mxyzpixilated
• Double Dose
• Solar Power

2nd Disc - Side A Episodes:

• Monkey Fun
• Brave New Metropolis
• Ghost in the Machine
• World's Finest, Part I
• World's Finest, Part II
• World's Finest, Part III

2nd Disc - Side B Episodes:

• Father's Day
• The Hand of Fate
• Bizarro's World
• Prototype
• The Late Mr. Kent
• Heavy Metal

Superman: The Animated Series: Volume Three 2-Disc Set

1st Disc Episodes:

• Warrior Queen
• Apokolips...Now!, Part I
• Apokolips...Now!, Part II
• Little Girl Lost, Part I
• Little Girl Lost, Part II
• Where There's Smoke

2nd Disc - Side A Episodes:

• Knight Time
• New Kids in Town
• Obsession
• Little Big Head Man
• Absolute Power
• In Brightest Day

2nd Disc - Side B Episodes:

• Superman's Pal
• A Fish Story
• Unity
• The Demon Reborn
• Legacy, Part I
• Legacy, Part II

Superman: Brainiac Attacks Direct-To-DVD feature movie

Deleted Scene in DVD release

In the original episode Apokolips Now! Part II, aired in WBKids! at February 14 1998, during the ending scene, a group of mourners appeared on screen at Terrible Turpin funeral, a homage Jack Kirby. They were Jack Kirby's creations like Nick Fury, Fantastic Four, Peter Parker, Big Barda, Scott Free, Orion and others, alongside Kirby's friends and fans, like Mark Evanier, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alex Ross and Stan Lee. In the Superman: TAS Volume 3 Disc one, these characters and persons were removed and the whole scene were reedited, even the soundtrack was modified. The reason is unknown, maybe a copyright issue. The original sketches for this scene can be found at The Krypton Companion book published by TwoMorrow's Publishing.

Trivia

• Some of the character designs are clearly patterned on real actors. The more obvious likenesses are Shirley Jones to Martha Kent and Telly Savalas to Lex Luthor. The character Dan "Terrible" Turpin was visually modeled after the character's creator, Jack Kirby. His first appearance in the episode "Tools of the Trade" also marks the first series appearance of "The Fourth World" characters and concepts that were Jack Kirby's major modern DC Comics creations.
• Due to Lex Luthor's pronounced lips and tanned skin, several fans mistakingly thought he was African-American. This is due to the Telly Savalas inspiration for his look - the reason for which is that producer Bruce Timm thought of Clancy Brown's take on Luthor as a "cultured thug", the same way he saw Savalas' Blofeld in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Timm's favorite Bond film). Sometimes, the animated Luthor is portrayed as being distinctly darker than the people around him, and sometimes (like the shot in "A Little Piece of Home" where Luthor literally puts his face right into Superman's) his skin color is exactly the same as everybody else. Timm is rumored to quip that his Lex Luthor must "tan easily."
• Series producer Bruce Timm personally story-boarded Superman's climatic, final fight with Darkseid in the series finale, "Legacy", to ensure it would be done right and have as much impact as possible.
• The Prometheon rock creature, from the episode of the same name, actually made his first appearance in a Green Lantern comic as a servant of Gaia.
• Real-life married couple Mike Farrell and Shelley Fabares voice Jonathan and Martha Kent.
• Lex Luthor's henchwoman, Mercy Graves, is a character created for the show. She was eventually added as a member of the cast in the comics.
• Also created for the series and eventually added into comics continuity is the supervillainess Livewire, who can control and turn into electrical energy.
• A game was produced for the Nintendo 64 based upon the series which is considered one of the worst games ever. A later game produced for the Playstation 2 and GameCube, is considered far superior, but still in need of improvement.
• The series was originally meant to have an opening montage similar to the one Batman had in his previous animated series, showcasing what Superman could do in an awe inspiring manner, but the animators were unable to finish it by the deadline, so a montage featuring clips of Superman in action alongside his supporting cast from the episodes was utilized instead. Part of the abandoned montage, which featured Superman flying in the night sky of Metropolis, made it into the opening. Another such shot was the final one in the opening; The classic visual of Clark Kent ripping open his shirt to reveal the big red "S."
• Clancy Brown, who provided the voice of Lex Luthor, originally auditioned for the lead role of Superman/Clark Kent, but when Bruce Timm heard his audition, he immediately offered Brown the part of Luthor.
• The episode "Monkey Fun" was actually a modernized remake of an episode from the 1960s animated Superman series. It was based on the 1930s film King Kong.

File:Superman TTA.jpg

Superman makes a cameo appearance in the Tiny Toons movie.

• In the comics, Maggie Sawyer is a lesbian and is in a longterm relationship with another woman, a subject that Lex Luthor once tried to blackmail her for. While it is never stated in the animated series, there is an episode where a wounded Sawyer is visited by a woman in the hospital; the same woman later is seen consoling Sawyer at Turpin's funeral. Commentary on the DVD version of the episode acknowledges the woman as being Toby Raines, Sawyer's long-time girlfriend from the comics, whose -- albeit tamed -- inclusion in the series was a nod to fans of the comics.
• Four years prior to this series, Superman made a cameo appearance in the direct-to-video movie Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation. Somewhat annoyed at the imprompt appearance, Buster and Babs tell him to "get his own video" (perhaps as a bit of foreshadowing). Incidentally, immediately before the unexpected cameo, Buster and Babs have the dialogue exchange, "I gotcha!"/"But who's got you?", which is a direct reference to the first Superman movie. Later on in the movie, when Buster and Babs are trapped on a cruise boat filled with hungry creatures, Babs asks, "So where's Superman when you need him?" Byron Basset overhears her and inexplictably saves her and Buster by flying like Superman.
• In the episode "Heavy Metal", "Cousin Spunky" from the Batman animated series episode "Baby Doll" can be seen in the background along with the other men right after Steel's niece stops the car after running out of gas as well as when the crowd begins to gather around Metallo after he has been defeated. "Cousin Spunky" is also seen in JL series.
• The episode "Obsession" opens with Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen covering a fashion show. Also clearly seen amongst the press is Billy Batson, who works for WHIZ-TV in the comics and is the alter ego of Captain Marvel.
• In the episode "In Brightest Day...", Sinestro and Kyle Rayner briefly battle on an airstrip. One plane has the words "Col. Hal Jordan" on the side. Hal Jordan, of course, is the Silver Age Green Lantern.
• In the episode New Kids in Town, which features a teenage Clark Kent in Smallville, Martha Kent recognizes that Clark and Lana Lang need some time to talk alone. She tells Johnathan to come into the next room to watch The Dukes of Hazzard. Years later, in the show Smallville, which also features a teenage Clark Kent in Smallville, the role of Johnathan is portrayed by John Schneider, one of the stars of the Dukes of Hazzard.
• The historical comedy series Histeria! depicted William Clark resembling the show's version of Superman (i.e. Clark Kent). He was voiced, however, similarly to Dean Martin, to contrast the fact that Meriwether Lewis was made more like Jerry Lewis.
• Following the events of the two part episode "Legacy", the story arc of the fourth season was meant to focus on Superman trying to regain the trust of the human race, but the series was discontinued after "Legacy". When Superman is seen again at the beginning of Justice League, the human race appears to have forgiven him, but the events of Legacy would come back to haunt him in the second season.
• The semi-truck in season 1 episode 8 "Stolen Memories" was directly patterened after the Batmobile from the Batman Series.
• The series references the internet fandom surrounding Batman repeatedly. In the World's Finest episode, Batman notes that it "helps if you're prepared" referencing the Grant Morrison claim that Batman can do anything if prepared. In "Knight" episode, Braniac asserts that Batman is "every bit the detective that your fans on the internet believe".

External links

• Official Site from Warner Bros.
• Superman: The Animated Series at IMDb
• Superman: The Animated Series @ The World's Finest
• Superman: The Animated Series @ TV.com