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Rating:  -
There's one major flaw with the Bruce Timm Superman series. Yes, the animation is pretty good.The stories are enjoyable and keep adults interested as well as kids. The vocal cast is solid too. The use of Jack Kirby's creations such as Orion and Darkseid is a great move by the show's creators. So what's wrong with this series? The most important thing: the portrayal of Superman! Instead of the mightiest hero in comics we are treated to a punching bag in blue. Without fail, in every episode, we hear big red screaming in agony as he is hit by anything from an electric bolts to an alien's punch. Even a tank shell can apparently hurt this version of Supes. Huh? That's news to any reader of the comics.
The lowest point is when Batman judo tosses Superman in their first meeting, "World's Finest". Give us a break! But then again, Bruce Timm adores Batman. It's obvious with this series that he has no such affection for the Man of Steel who has the reflexes of a lame duck and frequently forgets he has powers like heat vision and super speed. It gets downright embarrasing- as well as annoying- to see Superman fail to be the Superman. This dismal portrayal then made its way into the Justice League series where Timm's obvious bias for Batman made itself most pronounced. Whereas Bats can do no wrong, Superman -who incidentally can snap Bruce Wayne like a chicken wing- is dumb, outsmarted, and outpowered. Have a look at Batman holding his own against Darkseid in the Justice League series whilst Supes gets smashed and screams in pain like a mynah bird. It's ridiculous.
In the accompanying featurettes, Mr Timm and his team gush over their efforts. Yet they would have been well advised to go back to basics and had a good look at Max Fleischer's version of Superman from back in the 1940's - still the most brilliant portrait of Superman and incredibly well animated for its vintage. For all Superman animators,if you do a Superman series, its simple: keep him super!
Rating:  -
While Batman:The Animated Series lasted about four seasons;Superman wasn't so lucky. It's too bad because it was just as good. A stark contrast to Batman's world of dark cities, Superman's universe took place in the daytime. I was hoping that the creators would have stressed the New Gods story arc. Watching Kirby's New Gods was a thrill because there wasn't any other way we could see them. There should have been a cross over or war with Darkside that lasted four episodes. At least it could have been marketed as an animated film. I do think the series would have been more successful with the crossovers with Dr. Fate and many other unsung DC heroes. The Spectre or even a Crisis on Infinate Earths story might have turned this around. If the producers ever bring it back Superman has get better guest stars and villians besides Luthor and Brainiac. Other than those minor things, it's a show that can bear repeated viewings.
Rating:  -
I watched the animated BATMAN with my daughter when she was a small child, when it was coming out for the first time. I recently watched the Justice League cartoons that were done by largely the same people. I should have watched SUPERMAN before watching JUSTICE LEAGUE and JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED, and so should you if you haven't seen them all yet. SUPERMAN, like BATMAN, is not at all a bad show. It is, in fact, a very decent one. The problem is that the Justice League shows are extraordinary and they make all of the others look weak in comparison. On the other hand, watching SUPERMAN after JUSTICE LEAGUE really brings how brilliant the latter truly was and how much both the writing and the animation techniques improved as they worked on it.
Still, SUPERMAN is all in all a pretty decent cartoon series. While the writing isn't nearly as strong or as innovative as the writing on JUSTICE LEAGUE would be, it was still quite above normal for children's programming and the voice talent, like all of the DC cartoon shows, is top notch. It is all quite watchable, but I never, ever got the sense that I was watching something remarkable as I did with JL.
I also did not care much for the general "dumbbing down" of the DC stories. And some of the revisions of traditional DC storylines were unnecessary and arbitrary. For instance, they do a Green Lantern origins episode in Season Three, several traditional elements are changed. Abin Sur is shown as having been pursued by Sinestro, whereas in most origins stories Abin Sur is deeply upset at the death of his colleague. And Sinestro is shown already a fully blown bad guy upon the selection of the earthling Green Lantern for Section 2814. The successor of Abin Sur is in this version Kyle Raynor, while there is a bizarre nod to the original Green Lantern, Hal Jordan in the episode. Why Kyle Raynor instead of Hal Jordan? Perhaps because Jordan's back story as a test pilot is too well established, while it was easier to work with Raynor? It was all just odd and I'm confused at nearly all of the narrative choices in this particular episode. But the same kind of oddness afflicts several episodes. Not to beat too often on the same drum, but these kinds of changes were much better handled in the later JL series.
I don't recommend skipping this episode, but I definitely recommend watching the three DC series in the order that they were made, BATMAN, then SUPERMAN, and then JUSTICE LEAGUE. While the first two series are of a similar quality, the third grew into something truly special.
Rating: -
The only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars because one of the movies froze I had to put it in a sony dvd player to watch it. It also froze in my computer that is a first. Keep in mind this is made for TV,some of the Justice League Unlimited stories are more adult, my son liked the Superman series .The seller send this order New. Since is was new and hard to get I didn't want to send it back.It was only one story that have a problem.
Rating: -
I would still rank Batman as a better animated series as it truly embraced the essence of the Dark Knight however Superman is not without his merits, this series manages to introduce a lot of characters and paves the way for Justice League.
My favorite episodes was Mxyzpixilated I enjoy the lighthearted yet power this character brings to the Man of Steel.
I would recommend this for younger viewing although Superman will always be a timeless hero for all ages.
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