Superman: The Animated Series
Episode 15 & 16
Blasts From the Past Part I & Part II
The creators did their Zod episode without actually calling the big bad Zod. Zod’s origin traces back to the comic but became popular via his portrayal in the films by Terrance Stamp. For unknown reasons the creators chose to use the comic character Jax-Ur who was a mad scientist but give him a Zod backstory. Before we even see Zod we get Mala.
Superman is hanging out with his buddy Professor Emil Hamilton and they are fiddling with Superman’s spaceship. Hamilton discovers the Phantom Zone projector and a monster is accidentally unleashed. After an action sequence Superman puts the monster back in the Phantom Zone and hears Mala complain she should be paroled. Since Krypton was destroyed no one has been monitoring the Kryptonian prison and there’s a backlog on prison releases.
Superman investigates her history via the Brainiac orb (that somehow doesn’t contain Brainiac’s essence) and learns she’s not lying. He sets her free. He teaches her about earth and how to use her powers. He hopes to have an alley in is fight to make a world a safer place. She turns out to be a war mongering nut job. When she realizes Superman is not her kind of guy she decides to free her old boss Jax-Ur.
Jax-Ur and Mala plan to conquer Earth. Superman can’t let that happen. In his efforts to stop them, he whips out the Kryptonite while in his led toy selling suit and it totally messes them up but they are still able to zap him into the Phantom Zone along with the eradiated rock. They proceed to destroy the projector but Professor Hamilton is able to make a new one and set Superman free. He then confronts the bad guys and puts them back in the Phantom Zone.
It’s not a bad episode but Jax-Ur and Mala are poor substitutes for Zod and Ursa. The characters are almost identical in attitude but they never pack the punch that should come along with militant Kryptonians. Perhaps it’s the lack of fighting which diminishes their impact. Superman doesn’t beat them through brute strength but more through trickery. The day is saved but they were two characters Superman could have beaten to a pulp but instead just blasts them back to the Phantom Zone.
Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com
