Superman: The Animated Series (often shortened as Superman TAS or STAS) is an American animatedsuperhero television series based on the DC Comics character Superman.[1] It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and originally aired on Kids' WB from September 6, 1996, to February 12, 2000. It was the second series in the DC Animated Universe after Batman: The Animated Series, and like its predecessor, it has been acclaimed for its writing, voice acting, maturity, and modernization of the title character's comic-book mythos.[2][3]
Premiering 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.[4] For instance, the depiction of Krypton reflects the older idealized version in the Silver Age of Comic Books. The scope of Superman's powers reflects the more restrained contemporary concept as developed by John Byrne, in that the superhero has to struggle to perform spectacular feats. However, Clark Kent is shown to be open, if quietly, self-confident, without jeopardizing his secrets. This is similar to the depiction of Batman's alter-ego, Bruce Wayne, in Batman: The Animated Series.
In the time between the initial end of Batman, Steven Spielberg approached Bruce Timm about his admiration for his previous show while being curious about an adventure cartoon. Spielberg asked Timm and his crew to come up with concepts for him to look at (one of these ideas eventually sprung into Freakazoid!, which involved a crazed superhero, although Timm had aimed for a straightforward hero show rather than overt comedy). At any rate, Warner Bros was anticipating a feature film of Superman and thus wanted to make a television series to go alongside it, which led Jean MacCurdy to approach Timm about the idea of doing a series on Superman, which he agreed to.[5][6] Initially, Timm struggled with finding the visual style, to the point where he thought of trying to aim for a retro feel similar to the Fleischer StudiosSuperman-cartoon (as his prior Batman series had touches of inspiration from said studio). An original character design sheet showed the characters in a stylized 1940s/1950s style (not unlike that of the live-action Adventures of Superman TV series); however, Timm decided that he could not compete against the "perfection" of the past, although he would utilize influence from classic deco, which he described as "bright, futuristic, optimistic, ocean liner art deco...much more in line with Superman's character."[7][8] As with the first season of Batman, the opening theme sequence of Superman lacked an on-screen title. Also like Batman, the opening theme for Superman lacked any lyrics, instead of being an instrumental piece played over various scenes from the series. The character design for the title character was inspired not by one of the comics but instead The Mighty Hercules (1963) with the design of the title character.[9] DC asked Timm to give Superman a mullet haircut, but he refused.[10]
Koko Enterprise Co., LTD., Kyokuchi Tokyo Movie, Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD and Group TAC contributed some of the animation for this series. Kyokuichi Tokyo Movie also did the digital black hole effects in the episode "Absolute Power," although Koko and Dong Yang did the background and character animation. Like the previous shows, the animation on the series was done in traditional cels. The latter series Batman Beyond used cel animation in the first 26 episodes, it was then switched to digital ink and paint in the second half of season 2.
One noticeable aspect of the series carried over from Byrne's work was Superman's powers were significantly downplayed compared to his comic book counterpart. Whereas in the comic he could lift millions or billions of tons effortlessly, this version struggled lifting trucks, construction equipment, roadways, etc. The writers admit that he was made as strong as the story permitted. His durability was also considerably less than while bullets bounced off him, heavier ordnance like high caliber bullets, cannons, and missiles caused him pain or discomfort (but it is often due only to the recoil, such weapons are still rather inefficient, only slowing him down). He's also recurrently shown being sensitive to electricity, high-voltage electric currents being able to cause him a great deal of pain (for this reason, Livewire is one of his most formidable enemies in this animated series), and in one episode lasers proved capable of blinding him temporarily. Despite this greatly reduced durability, he's very rarely shown injured or bleeding. His lung capacity seems also quite limited since he needs special equipment to go underwater or in outer space.
In addition, the ship that carries the infant Kal-El to Earth is designed to have a pilot, and the autopilot used instead was programmed to land smoothly upon reaching its destination. This was done so that the ship is in perfect working condition during Superman's adulthood and could be used as his mode of long-range transportation in space.
Season two was originally scheduled to run 26 episodes, but it was extended to 28 episodes in order to accommodate a two-part story introducing Supergirl.[11]
In the series, the writers decided to alter Brainiac's origin by making him an artificial intelligence supercomputer from Krypton, instead of the planet Colu like the comics, to give him a more personal rivalry with Superman. While the producers of the show found Brainiac's character and abilities interesting in the comics, they disliked his original design so they drastically altered his appearance; his green artificial skin was replaced with an icy-blue coloration, and the rest of his outfit became a mix of purple and grey rather than pink and black. Corey Burton's vocal performance as Brainiac was done in a cold, low-affect style similar to HAL 9000 in the Space Odyssey films and the 'Control Voice' heard during the opening narration of The Outer Limits.[13] before being cast as Brainiac, Burton also read for the parts of Superman and Lex Luthor.[14] Clancy Brown also read for Superman but he was chosen as Lex Luthor instead.[15]
To pay tribute to Jack Kirby's Fourth World creations, the show introduced the New God Darkseid as Superman's archenemy. In contrast to the character's less than faithful adaptations in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians in the 1980s, Superman: The Animated Series portrays Darkseid as the evil and omnipotent cosmic dictator originally envisioned by Kirby in the comics. Michael Ironside's vocal performance was initially lowered for Darkseid's first two appearances in the series, though this modulation was later dropped in favor of Ironside's natural voice. The character is notable for being the only villain the DCAU's version of Superman is willing to kill, and Darkseid's actions in the series finale in addition to their rivalry become a recurring staple throughout subsequent spin-off shows.
A DVD titled Superman: The Last Son Of Krypton, compiling the first 3 episodes of the series was released on February 3, 2004. Much like Batman: The Animated Series and other Warner Bros. cartoons adapted from popular DC Comic books, Superman: The Animated Series was released on DVD January 25, 2005, though it did not receive the same disc transfer as Batman did (the second disc of each volume was given the Side A/B treatment). 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. On November 24, 2009, Warner Home Video released Superman: The Complete Animated Series, a 7-disc boxed set that includes all 54 episodes of the series as well as extensive bonus features.[16][17][18] On October 26, 2021, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released Superman: The Complete Animated Series on Blu-ray, also including all 54 episodes and bonus materials.[19][20]
A direct-to-DVD feature, Superman: Brainiac Attacks was released in 2006, although it is not considered to be part of DCAU continuity, despite featuring the same character designs as Superman: The Animated Series, as well as both Tim Daly and Dana Delany reprising their voice roles as Superman and Lois Lane, respectively.
DVD Name
Ep #
Release Date
Additional Information
Superman: The Animated Series – Volume 1
18
January 25, 2005
Commentary on "The Last Son of Krypton Part 1", "Stolen Memories", "The Main Man" and "Tools of the Trade"
Superman: Learning to Fly Featurette
Building the Mythology: Superman's Supporting Cast
A Little Piece of Trivia – Pop up trivia over the "A Little Piece of Home" episode
Superman: The Animated Series – Volume 2 from The New Superman Adventures
18
December 6, 2005
The Dark Side: Behind The Villains Of Superman: The Origins and Evolution of Superman's Adversaries.
Audio Commentary on "Brave New Metropolis" and "World's Finest Part 1" with Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, James Tucker, Dan Riba.
Video Commentary on Mxyzpixilated with Bruce Timm, Dan Riba, Paul Dini and Moderator Jason Hillhouse.
Superman: The Animated Series – Volume 3
18
June 20, 2006
Superman: Behind the Cape: David Kaufman (the voice of Jimmy Olsen) takes you behind the scenes with the show's creative team
Look, Up in the Sky!- the amazing story of Superman excerpts from the new documentary produced by Bryan Singer and Kevin Burns
Superman: The Complete Animated Series
54
November 24, 2009
Commentary by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, Dan Riba, Glen Murakami, Curt Geda, Jason Hillhouse, James Tucker and Butch Lukic on many episodes
Superman: Learning to Fly – Explores the creation of the series
Building the Mythology: Superman's Supporting Cast – showcases the supporting players in the Superman Saga
Menaces of Metropolis: Behind the Villains of Superman – the origins and evolutions of Superman's adventures
Superman: Behind the Cape – David Kaufman (the voice of Jimmy Olsen) takes you behind the scenes with the show's creative team
Look, Up in the Sky! The amazing story of Superman – excerpt from the new documentary produced by Bryan Singer and Kevin Burns
Selectable Pop-Up Trivia Tracks
Bonus Disc Featuring the all-new Documentary The Despot Darkseid: A Villain Worthy of Superman
Altered sequence in "Apokolips...Now! Part II"
The original mourners attending Dan Turpin's funeral.
The mourners attending Dan Turpin's funeral in the edited version.
"Apokolips...Now! Part II" was later altered from its original airing on February 7, 1998. Originally the Dan Turpin funeral at the episode's end was a true homage to late New Gods creator Jack Kirby and featured several of his comic creations as attendees to the funeral including Nick Fury, the Fantastic Four, Big Barda, Scott Free, Orion and others, alongside Kirby's friends and fans Mark Evanier, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alex Ross, his father Norman Ross and Stan Lee. These characters and persons were later removed and the scene pacing was re-edited for subsequent airings and its DVD release on Superman: The Animated Series Volume 3 Disc 3. The original sketches for this scene can be found at Michael Eury's book The Krypton Companion published by TwoMorrow's Publishing ( ISBN1-893905-61-6). Neither DC nor Warner ever commented on the decision to alter this particular scene, but it has been speculated that copyright issues regarding the use of the likenesses of Marvel Comics characters and the long-time rivalry between the two companies might have motivated the deletion. On March 17, 2021, Superman: The Animated Series was made available in high-definition on the streaming service HBO Max. They used the original broadcast version of this episode, reinstating the original mourners at Dan Turpin's funeral. The original version also made it to the official Blu-ray set later that same year.
Music
As with Batman: The Animated Series, Shirley Walker was in charge of the series' music. Walker wrote the series theme and composed themes for various characters, as well as scoring six episodes herself – "Father's Day," "The Hand of Fate," "Obsession," "Absolute Power" and the two-parter "Legacy." Unlike the previous series, only four other composers worked on the series – Kristopher Carter, Harvey R. Cohen, Michael McCuistion, and Lolita Ritmanis. Almost every episode had a completely original score; very few reused music from previous shows, and only one episode ("Superman's Pal," credited to Carter, McCuistion, Ritmanis, and Walker) was entirely "scored" with tracked material.[21]
On January 28, 2014, La-La Land Records released a 4-disc compilation of music from the series, collecting 20 complete episode scores, including those of the "World's Finest" three-parter, the "Apokolips... Now!" two-parter, the "Little Girl Lost" two-parter and "In Brightest Day...". It is a limited edition release of 3000 units and can be purchased through the label's website.[22]
If sales of this release improve significantly, La-La Land Records will produce a second volume.[23]
Track listing
Disc One (Total Time 78:59)
Superman: The Animated Series – Main Title (Shirley Walker) 1:07
Superman: The Animated Series – End Credits (Shirley Walker) :35
Video games
Superman 64, released for the Nintendo 64 console in 1999, was the first video game to be produced based upon the series, however it is considered to be one of the worst Superman video games and worst games ever.[24] A second video game, Superman: Shadow of Apokolips was released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube consoles. It was produced by a different company, and was described as "a respectable but average superhero game."[25]
Jean MacCurdy, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Hilary Bader, Stan Berkowitz, Rich Fogel, Steve Gerber, Bob Goodman, Hiroyuki Aoyama, Curt Geda, Kenji Hachizaki, Butch Lukic, Toshihiko Masuda, Dan Riba, Andrea Romano, and Yûichirô Yano[lower-alpha 1]
Jean MacCurdy, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, Bruce Timm, Hilary Bader, Stan Berkowitz, Rich Fogel, Bob Goodman, Hiroyuki Aoyama, Curt Geda, Kenji Hachizaki, Butch Lukic, Toshihiko Masuda, Dan Riba, Andrea Romano, and Yûichirô Yano[lower-alpha 4]
Jean MacCurdy, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, Bruce Timm, Hilary Bader, Stan Berkowitz, Rich Fogel, Bob Goodman, Curt Geda, Butch Lukic, Dan Riba, Andrea Romano, and Shin'ichi Tsuji[lower-alpha 6]
Nominated
Outstanding Music Direction and Composition
Michael McCuistion (for "In Brightest Day...")
Nominated
Lolita Ritmanis (for "Fish Story")
Nominated
Outstanding Sound Editing – Special Class
Robert Hargreaves, George Brooks, Gregory Beaumont, Mark Keatts, John Hegedes, Linda Di Franco, Kelly Ann Foley and Diane Griffen[lower-alpha 7]
Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous radiation that can weaken and even kill Kryptonians. Kryptonite radiation can be transmitted through any element except lead. Thus, Superman has a special lead suit to protect himself from the radiation. There are other varieties of kryptonite, such as red and gold kryptonite, which have different but still generally negative effects.
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. Developed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, it originally aired on Fox Kids from September 5, 1992, to September 15, 1995, with a total of 85 episodes.
Darkseid is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, and debuted in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134.
Justice League is an American animated television series which ran from November 17, 2001 to May 29, 2004 on Cartoon Network. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics. It serves as a sequel to Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, as well as a prequel to Batman Beyond, and is the seventh series of the DC Animated Universe. After two seasons, the series was rebranded as Justice League Unlimited, a successor series which aired for three seasons.
Jor-El is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in the Superman newspaper comic strip in 1939.
Brainiac is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, and debuted in Action Comics #242. He has since endured as one of Superman and the Justice League's greatest enemies. The character's name is a portmanteau of the words brain and maniac.
Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to refer to anything created by or associated with the planet itself or the cultures that existed on it.
Doomsday is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as one of Superman's deadliest foes. Created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens, the character had a cameo appearance in Superman: The Man of Steel #17 and made his first full appearance in Superman: The Man of Steel #18.
Daniel "Terrible" Turpin is a character published by DC Comics. He first appeared as Brooklyn in Detective Comics #64, and first appeared as Dan Turpin in New Gods #5.
Metron is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Superman is an American fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and featured pervasively in DC Comic books. The character debuted in Action Comics issue #1 in June 1938 and has since become a paradigm for superhero characters.
The character of Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and has been continually published in a variety of DC Comics book titles since its premiere in 1938. There have been several versions of Superman over the years, both as the main hero in the stories as well as several alternative versions.
The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes that ran in 1985. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.
Superman, given the serial nature of comic publishing and the length of the character's existence, has evolved as a character as his adventures have increased. Initially a crime fighter, the character was seen in early adventures stepping in to stop wife beaters and gangsters, with rather rough edges and a rather looser moral code than audiences may be used to today. Modern writers have softened the character, and instilled a sense of idealism and moral code of conduct.
The origin of Superman and his superhuman powers have been a central narrative for Superman since his inception, with the story of the destruction of his home planet, his arrival on Earth and emergence as a superhero evolving from Jerry Siegel's original story into a broad narrative archetype over the course of Superman's literary history and as the character's scope continues to expand across comics, radio, television and film.
DC Universe: Justice League Unlimited Fan Collection is an action figure line based on the highly popular Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. Though it was based on the show(s), the line has continued well beyond it, and has been re-branded in 2008, as a Target exclusive. Mattel announced in February 2011 that the line would come to an end later in the year with the final figures being released on the Mattel website including the final two three-packs, a seven-pack as well as the three exclusive Con three-packs being made available to the public.
The fictional superheroine Supergirl has been adapted into pop culture several times since 1984. This includes a feature film and several animated and live-action television programs.
Lois Lane is a fictional character first appearing in DC Comics Action Comics #1, an intrepid reporter commonly portrayed as the romantic interest of the superhero Superman and his alter-ego Clark Kent. Since her debut in comic books, she has appeared in various media adaptations, including radio, animations, films, television and video games. Actresses who have portrayed Lois Lane include Noel Neill, Phyllis Coates, Margot Kidder, Teri Hatcher, Erica Durance, Kate Bosworth, Amy Adams, and Elizabeth Tulloch.
↑ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nded.). McFarland & Co. pp.813–814. ISBN978-1476665993.
↑ John Takis, "Maestros of Metropolis: The Music of Superman: The Animated Series, pg. 6, Superman: The Animated Series original soundtrack, La-La Land Records LLLCD 1276
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