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The DC Animated Universe Weekly Review - Superman: The Animated Series

 Superman: The Animated Series

Episode 5

A Little Piece of Home

 

It was going to happen eventually so why drag it out?  This is the episode that establishes Superman’s major weakness.  An irradiated piece of rock from Krypton, his home planet, called kryptonite.  While trying to stop a robbery at a museum owned by Lex Luthor, Superman gets his ass kicked.  Luthor figures out it was the rock that got Superman sick.  From there he sets up a robbery to lure in Superman and test the rock.  It works pretty well.  Luthor tries to work out a deal with Superman which would allow him to save the day as long as he stays away from Luthor operations. 

 

From a business standpoint, it’s not a bad offer.  But Superman being who he is, says no.  Lex Luthor sets out to kill him.  Lois gets involved, because it wouldn’t be a Superman story without Lois in danger.  Superman fights a giant robot T-Rex with kryptonite in the same room.  He’s not doing too good.  Lois uses some top-notch basketball skills to throw the rock in a led cup.  Superman destroys the monsters, launches the rock into space.  Lois agrees to not publish a story about his weakness, which is a class move considering how often he saves her life.  Luthor sends archeological teams all over the planet looking for more kryptonite.  

 

The best parts of this episode are Lex Luthor discovering the rock and instead of launching an all-out assault he first tests it, then tries to cut a deal.  The calculating approach is brilliant character development.  Luthor isn’t pure evil, just greedy.  He works as the antithesis of Superman because Supes would never barter in such a way.  And while his introduction in the opening three episodes was great, this fleshes out his persona much more.  

 

People have expressed complaints with the green little rock that can take out Superman but when you have a character who’s invulnerable and fights crime, you have to add drama and danger.  It’s a logical obstacle. Thankfully the creators didn’t overuse it as the episodes go on and focused on creating genuine foes Superman would have difficulty with.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

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The DC Animated Universe Weekly Review - Superman: The Animated Series

 Superman: The Animated Series

Episode 4

Fun and Games

 

It’s slated as episode four but it’s technically only the second episode.  We meet Toyman, a villain unknown in prior TV shows and films.  A smart choice to exclude Lex Luthor or Brainiac so as to establish Superman having a deeper rouges gallery.  The story is solid, Toyman is the son of a Winslow Schott who ended up working for Intergang leader Bruno Mannheim.  Mannheim used Schott’s store as a front and got busted for it.  Toyman wants revenge against Mannheim for screwing over his dad.  His gimmick is weaponized toys.  

 

In his very public efforts to kill Mannheim, reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane are on the case trying to get the story.  Mannheim gets kidnapped via a giant toy duck.  It’s very similar looking to the boat ducks Penguin had in the BtAS episode The Mechanic.  For some reason the DCAU creators must think rubber duckies are scary.  It probably relates to a childhood trauma.  

 

The toy weapons aren’t too difficult for Superman to destroy but since Lois gets also gets kidnapped along with Manheim that’s where the challenge is.  How does Superman save the day?  Superman isn’t in danger but the people he wants to help are.  Being Superman, giant explosions happen, he saves everyone, it’s revealed Toyman likely faked his death.  

 

Toyman isn’t the most interesting villain, his voice is annoying, his gimmick is ridiculous.  He’s not much of a challenge for Superman.  What works for him though is he’s not as well known as other villains in the Superman world.  That allows for plenty of creative freedom.  The concept of wanting revenge isn’t new to the DCAU and is a plot recycled in BtAS many times.  What lets BtAS get away with it is the villains have far more depth and interest.  As far as villain introduction episodes go this is still a solid episode and an interesting enough story in of itself.  The strength in this episode lies in Clark Kent’s investigative reporter abilities and how he leverages that to save the day as Superman.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

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Superman: The Animated Series

Episode 1 2 3

The Last Son of Krypton

 

The opening episode revolves around the planetary genocide of Krypton, thanks to ineffectual leadership and their overreliance on technology, AI to be specific.  Brainiac to be even more specific.  The changes made in this origin story are subtle to the outside observer but also brilliant.   Looking at the original Superman film which is the most influential version of the character in modern day, we get great creative differences in the animated series. 

 

The origin story of the film is a scientist named Jor’El sends his only son away on a spacecraft as the planet Krypton explodes.  Krypton is a crystal based technology, there’s a ton of slow moving Zod origin story jammed in there.  Marlon Brando plays Jor’El and talks a lot.  The animated series has a more traditionally looking advanced technology.  In the cartoon Jor’El is pleading with the council (much like the film) about Krypton’s pending destruction.  They refer to their super computer Brainiac who says it's nothing to worry about and Jor’El is laughed out of the room.  Jor’El discovers Brainiac is lying and actually saving himself instead of the people of Kypton because his programing has basically turned into Skynet.  

 

This is a major deviation from the comic and a brilliant one. Brainiac hasn’t received a film adaptation to-date, in the comic he’s a robot who shrinks cities for some strange reason.  Tying him to the destruction of Krypton sets him up as one of Superman’s biggest rogues.   The layers of meaning behind his character add so much weight to the story.  Krypton’s arrogance in their technology instead of cold hard facts, their unwillingness to entertain other possibilities, the bureaucracy of the council is their downfall.  Krypton the planet may have been destroyed but the civilization could have survived.  A very viable message in these modern times.  It could apply to climate change, AI, world leaders, any call of pending doom.  A solid message in 1996, a solid message in the 2020s.  

 

Ultimately the only person to escape the planet is Jor’El’s son.  He crash-lands on earth and is adopted by American farmer’s Jonathan and Martha Kent.  They raise him with good old Middle American values and he grows up to be Clark Kent reporter for the daily planet.  All of this is concrete Superman backstory that no creator should alter.  

 

While in Metropolis he dawns clothes similar to his Kryptonian heritage and starts helping people.  The giant S on his chest in conjunction with his powers causes people to name him Superman.  His heroic deeds bring him in conflict with his greatest villain Lex Luthor.  

 

This version of Lex Luthor more resembles his 1980s reimagining.  Instead of a mad scientist, he’s a corporate business mogul.  A true reflection of 1980s corporate greed which hasn’t diminished in 40 years.  He’s built the city of Metropolis through his business enterprises via cutthroat practices both legal and illegal.  Brilliantly voiced by Clancy Brown, this Lex Luthor is the pinnacle interpretation of the character.  

 

Luthor arranges the presentation of a super powered suit which gets stolen by John Corben, Superman stops him.  Corben would later go on to become Metallo.  The introduction episode of the series establishes three major villains and plays out like a feature film.  The character of Superman had so much hype around him, the premiere aired in a primetime Friday evening slot on 9/6/1996.  Follow-up episodes aired on Saturday morning, but the premiere was marketed as a major event.  Batman can never make that claim, Batman: the Animated Series was successful enough during its run and briefly aired in a primetime slot on Sundays in conjunction with its Saturday airings, but it was not its premier episode, also the BtAS ratings couldn’t garner a permanent stay in primetime.  

 

We meet Clark Kent/Superman, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Ma and Pa Kent in this three-episode arc.  It is a great foundation for the future of the series.  The show even makes a callback to Batman when Martha Kent refers to him as “that freak in Gotham.”  It gave viewers hope of a crossover but only time would tell.  At this point we were getting new stories focused on DC’s biggest character.  The DCAU wouldn’t truly expand into what it became until after Superman’s first season. This introduction even tops Batman’s because the creators never truly gave Batman an origin episode.  They just jumped right into him being an established vigilante.  Perhaps Batman’s overall story telling is superior for that reason.  Not everything needs a ground-up story from episode one.  Superman required that though.  The animation isn’t as amazing as BtAS’ On Leather Wings but the first episode story is superior.

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Say Word: The Fernando Rosas Story

Here is my latest movie, free for all of you to watch. A documentary about the life of a Long Island actor, Fernando Rosas.

Say Word: The Fernando Rosas Story.

The DC Animated Universe Weekly Review - Superman: The Animated Series

Superman: The Animated Series is a great series, while not as epic as Batman: The Animated Series, it is the definitive Superman.  Perhaps the series failed to differentiate between Clark Kent and Superman as well as it should have.  Clark was just a regular guy in this version as opposed to the overly nerdy version portrayed by Christopher Reeves.  They appeared to be taking a page out of the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman book with Dean Cain’s portrayal of the character.  An absolutely brilliant decision.   

Superman is supposed to be a happier character, more positive.  Ultimately the show was darker than BtAS ever was.  Batman is a dark character so throwing glimmers of positively have more impact.  Superman is a positive character which means balance to the stories required darker spins.    

 

Superman lacks the robust rogues gallery Batman has.  Coming up with meaningful villains to fight Superman is difficult for any writer.  The shows early episodes were on point.  It was the follow-up episodes which didn’t have the same resonance.  So the show had nice introductions or reimaginations of villains but no plan on how to handle their follow-up episodes.  The show did hit it right with the Darkseid stories and basically created a Superman story arc revolving around the character.  A story arc the lie action films tried and failed to replicate.

 

Tim Daly as the voice of Superman was the perfect choice.  Known for his role on the NBC sitcom Wings, this was an interesting choice.  Even though he played the straight man on the show, it was still a comedic background in acting.  How could that translate to mild mannered Clark Kent and larger than life Superman?  Daly’s take on the character was Clark Kent is the guy, Superman is just a name people gave him.  All Superman’s actions and decisions are those of Clark Kent, there is no alter ego.  A similar take reflected in the live action TV show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.  While Lois & Clark’s success was winding down and would be canceled only nine month’s later (after four seasons), it’s clear the better story points of the show had an influence on the cartoon.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Here's the fake trailer we made for a friend and longtime collaborator of ours to trick him into thinking we made a documentary about the music scene.  

What we actually did was make a documentary about his life.  Here's the real trailer.

The DCAU Weekly Review - Batman and Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero

 Batman and Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero

 

Batman and Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero is a direct to video film that was created to cash in on the Joel Shumaker Batman & Robin film which had Mr. Freeze as the villain.  Batman & Robin came out in 1997 and while it made its money back it was labeled as “under performed” in the box office.  That didn’t stop the animation department from trying to capitalize on a live action film which made $238 million.  Thus we get 1998’s Batman and Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero.  

 

It’s the last film made in the traditional Batman: the Animated Series animation style.  Superman: The Animated Series premiered in 1996, the two wouldn’t crossover until 1997 with a different animation design.   This film was made in 1997 but not released until 1998.  This is why DCAU viewing-wise it just makes sense to watch it as a close out to BtAS by watching this direct to video film.  

 

The animation is superb, some of the best in the entire run and event better than the feature film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (MotP).  The story isn’t nearly as epic as MotP though.  It plays out more like an extended episode of BtAS.  Nora Fries’ cryo-tube gets popped by some submarine people.  Mr. Freeze flips out and kills them all.  He’s now rushing to cure his wife and enlist the help of a sleaze ball named Dr Gregory Belson. 

 

It’s determined Nora needs a series of organ transplants but there are no donors.  Barbara Gordon is the match for Nora’s condition but she’s still alive.  Freeze opts to kidnap her and steal her parts to save his wife.  It’s a bit out of character for Mr. Freeze since he wasn’t going to destroy the world in the name of his wife.  Perhaps killing one life versus millions is different in his mind. 

 

Dick Grayson is full on dating Barbara Gordon at this point and is there when she gets kidnapped.  He tries to stop the kidnapping but Mr. Freeze gets away.  The best sequence in the entire movie is the motorcycle chase between Dick Grayson (not Robin) and Mr. Freeze.  What’s more surprising is a children’s cartoon showed motorcycle riding without a helmet.  That would never fly on television but direct to video movies have no such requirements. 

 

Batman and Robin track Freeze’s hideout to an off shore oil rig.  As the final showdown happens the oil rig catches fire.  Everyone has to leave now.  Freeze is stubborn and Dr Gregory Belson rightfully leaves Mr. Freeze to die as he’s begging for help.  Freeze has been a douche through the entire film and Belson owes him no loyalty.  Belson himself might be a total jerk but that doesn’t mean he was wrong in this case.  

 

As Batman is helping everyone escape, Barbara Gordon points out that Nora Fries is alive and needs to be saved.  So Batman and her run through the entire compound while everything is blowing up in order to save her.  They all get to the Batwing safely but Batman and Mr. Freeze are staggering behind because of  “reasons.” Mr. Freeze falls to his fake death and Batman uses his grappling hook to attach to the plane as Robin, Barbara Gordon, some Eskimo kid, and Nora Fries fly away safely in a two passenger jet.  It’s the worst animated sequences in the film.  Batman is attached to a jet by a rope as it flies at Mach 1.  Even if Batman has super strong ropes, how is he able to hold on?  Not very believable but neither is a guy who can only live in sub arctic temperatures and has a special suit that makes him extra strong. 

 

The film closes out with Mr. Freeze in the Arctic looking through a window at what is likely the only bar to exist in the arctic.  He sees on a television that the world thinks he’s dead, his wife was saved after an organ transplant funded by Wayne Enterprises.  But plot hole, it wasn’t lack of money stopping her transplant.  It was lack of donors.  Freeze swiped Barbara because she was a match who just happened to be alive.  Did a donor match die in Gotham while Batman was busy saving Barbara?  That’s the only logical conclusion.  One could postulate that Freeze’s plan worked in a way.  He was able to save his wife because Batman was too busy dealing with him to be out there rescuing someone poor woman that was donor match for Nora Fries.

 

The animation is stellar and a nice farewell to a style that got revamped into something that was easier to animate but visually less stunning.  It’s also a nice send off to the old series.  Story-wise viewing this as a movie or even an extended episode in the BtAS world, it’s not that good.  Mr. Freeze is an inconsistent character in the story and the series as a whole.  He’s thoroughly corrected in his next two DCAU follow-ups but this film, while enjoyable, could have been better.  It was a quick cash grab aimed at kids who might have been fans of the Batman & Robin film.  Are there any fans of Batman & Robin film?  It proudly can claim to be best Batman movie featuring Mr. Freeze. 

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com