While there are plenty of popular takes on the Man of Steel, few have defined the iconic hero for a full generation of fans quite like 1996’s Superman: The Animated Series. Developed and produced by the same folks who made 1992’s Batman: The Animated Series a cultural landmark (Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett and Paul Dini), S:TAS is the Superman screen adaptation with something for every comic book fan. Here are ten essential episodes…
S1E1-3 The Last Son of Krypton
Writers Burnett and Dini start the series’ first season with an epic three-part saga, each episode of which focuses on a different setting for Superman’s origin: Krypton, Smallville and Metropolis. The extra space gives the tale room to breathe. (As with B:TAS, the pacing of S:TAS is almost always perfect.) Introduced here are the series’ three star performances, all of which nail their character: Tim Daly’s confident, compassionate Superman, Dana Delaney’s shrewd, sassy Lois Lane and Clancy Brown’s sociopathic Lex Luthor. A storytelling masterstroke is introducing Brainiac as a power-hungry AI responsible for the Krypton council’s disbelief in Jor-El’s warnings of the planet’s impending destruction.
S1E5 A Little Piece of Home
While the show’s first story introduced Superman and Luthor, “A Little Piece of Home” develops the latter’s obsessive hatred of the Man of Steel, while bringing Kryptonite into the mix. The show’s minimalist character design and fluid animation are already a consistent step up from the early days of B:TAS, making for an especially gorgeous-looking episode.
S2E1-2 Blasts from the Past
What Superman adaptation would be complete without a visit from Krypton’s Phantom Zone criminals? Here, the duo of Mala and General Jax-Ur (voiced by Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman) kick off the show’s second, longest and strongest season by wreaking havoc on Metropolis. Superman: The Animated Series’ best episodes often climax with its hero outsmarting his enemies rather than outpunching them, allowing viewers to consider that, even without Superman’s many powers, maybe they too could save the day.
S2E5 Livewire
While all of Superman’s classic rogues gallery appears in Superman: The Animated Series—including Metallo, Bizarro, the Toyman and the Parasite—the show also introduces a few new enemies for the Man of Steel to battle. The most memorable of them is Livewire, a Superman-hating radio shock jock turned super-villain voiced by Tank Girl star Lori Petty. The character would prove popular enough to appear in comics, the Justice League animated series and the live-action Smallville and Supergirl.
S2E8 Mxyzpixilated
Arguably the most perfect voice casting in Superman: The Animated Series and the entire DC Animated Universe is the late shrill-voiced comedian Gilbert Gottfried’s turn as everyone’s favorite near omnipotent fifth-dimensional imp, Mister Mxyzptlk. Tiny Toons’ vet Paul Dini appears to have a field day writing the madcap merriment that ensues when Mxyzptlk challenges Superman to get him to say his name backwards twice in a row. King of Comedy star Sandra Bernhard adds to the merriment as Mxy’s Girl Friday, Gsptlsnz. (Fun fact: Pee-wee Herman himself, comedian Paul Reubens, would later voice the Dark Knight’s own fifth-dimensional antagonist Bat-Mite in the animated Batman: The Brave and the Bold.)
S2E12 Brave New Metropolis
Both a major step in the series’ Superman-Lois romance and an exciting dystopian science-fiction story, “Brave New Metropolis” finds the intrepid reporter trapped in a parallel universe where her counterpart was killed and Superman has created a police state with Lex Luthor. The episode anticipates a similar premise to the Injustice video games and comics. It also illustrates just how important Lois is to Superman, and thus the entire world, while setting up the series eventual finale.
S2E16-18 World’s Finest
The twin icons of the DC Animated Universe meet at last, as Kevin Conroy’s Batman visits Metropolis, butting heads with Superman while courting Lois Lane. (Delaney had already played another love interest for Conroy’s Dark Knight in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.) Even more fun is the uneasy alliance of Lex Luthor and Mark Hamill’s Joker, and a hilarious rivalry between Harley Quinn and Luthor’s own “hench wench” Mercy Graves. Like the series’ premiere, this story’s three episodes give suitable space for the two heroes’ first team-up, which would evolve into the Justice League animated series.
S2E25-26 Apokolips…Now!
Producer Bruce Timm has never hid his love for legendary creator Jack Kirby, and he pays the ultimate tribute to the King of Comics in the two-parter “Apokolips…Now!” Bringing Kirby’s Darkseid and the other inhabitants of his “Fourth World” universe to the DCAU, this episode establishes the ruler of Apokolips as Superman’s most dangerous enemy and takes the bold step of killing off a recurring character (based on Kirby himself). It also sets up the series unforgettable final story arc, in which Superman’s innate goodness is put to the ultimate test.
S2E27-28 Little Girl Lost
A welcome ray of light after the darkness of the preceding episodes, the two-part “Little Girl Lost” ushers in the arrival of Supergirl. Here, the Girl of Steel is introduced as the sole survivor of Krypton’s neighboring planet Argo, who assumes the identity of Clark Kent’s cousin and gives Jimmy Olsen an adventure of his own. Up star Ed Asner voices Darkseid’s acolyte Granny Goodness, who commands the all-female Furies of Apokolips, providing a baptism of fire for the Girl of Steel.
S3E12-13 Legacy
While Batman: The Animated Series never enjoyed a fitting final episode, morphing instead into Batman Beyond, Superman: The Animated Series is blessed with “Legacy,” a two-parter that sends the show off in style. Superman must face his inner demons when he’s made a slave of Darkseid and the harbinger of Earth’s doom. With a little help from Supergirl and Lois, the Man of Steel recovers, but must face the inevitability of evil as the grim outcome of human suffering. It’s heady, existential stuff for a show originally broadcast as part of the Kids’ WB program block. Yet it serves as a shining example of the depth Superman: The Animated Series employs while entertaining fans of all ages.
Superman: The Animated Series is now streaming on Max.
Joseph McCabe writes about comics, film and superhero history for DC.com. Follow him on Instagram at @joe_mccabe_editor.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joseph McCabe and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
