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

Superman: The Animated Series

Episode 44

New Kids in Town

 

Two Brainiac episodes in a row, that can be redundant and boring but not in this case.  This episode is another great story.  Brainiac from the 30^th century travels back in time to John Connor (T2) a young Clark Kent (kill him before he becomes Superman).  The Legion of Super-Heroes follow Brainiac in an effort to stop time from unraveling.  The legion members we are treated to are Cosmic Boy (Chad Lowe), Saturn Girl (Melissa Joan Hart), and Chameleon Boy (Jason Priestley).   That is some star power line-up for a standalone Superman episode. 

 

Young Clark Kent already has some powers that he’s showing off like an arrogant teenager might.  Lana Lang isn’t cool with his behavior.  Brainiac shows up and tries to kill Kent.  The Legion of Super-Heroes shows up and save Clark, Brainiac takes off.  The Legion provides insight into Clark’s future. Clark freaks out and runs away, he heads to his home and explains to his parents what’s happening.  Lana is there too.  Brainiac shows up and tries to kill everyone.  He makes the farm machinery attack everyone.  Which doesn’t really make sense because this is the 1970s or 1980s and that type of tech wasn’t in automobiles then.  Brainiac might have been able to take over the radio or lights on a car but to control a machine which has no microchips makes no sense.  Vehicles didn’t start getting computer stuff until maybe the 1990s.  Really expensive vehicles might have had them in the 1980s but that’s nothing the Kent’s could afford.  Perhaps he used nanites or something…

 

With the help of the Legionnaires, Clark destroys Brainiac by pressing his teleporter belt and zapping him into the sun.  He dies a horrible robot death in classic DCAU fashion.  Saturn Girl mind whammy’s the entire town so they think it was a storm.  It’s like it never happens, not as terrible as an “it was all a dream” trope.  But it’s close.  

 

The episode and Terminator 2 plot work so well, none of the other tropes matter.  It’s exciting, has action, you get to see a young Clark Kent, you get to see the Legion of Super-Heroes!  It’s episodes like this that make Superman on par and almost (I stress almost) beat Batman: the Animated Series.  

 

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

Red Hot Chilli Poppers 4

Another Cuculi sponsored show. The sound and lights are bad because the venue was horrible. Don’t blame the band.

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

 Superman: The Animated Series

Episode 43

Knight Time

 

A crossover episode that rivals World’s Finest and told in only one episode.  Batman is missing and Superman goes to investigate.  He comes across Robin (Tim Drake) and agrees to pretend to be Batman to assist in quelling a crime spree which cropped up from Batman’s absence.  The brilliance of the story is Superman getting a view on how Batman operates is.  Through the episode we see Robin talk Superman through Batman’s methods.  His stealth, intimidation, overall persona.  

 

While questioning the Penguin, Robin coaches Superman on how to scare the answers out of the villain. Superman’s appeal to common decency doesn’t work on villains like the Penguin but he does respond to fear. Through their investigation they learn Batman’s rogues are trying to capitalize on his absence.  Super-Bat shows up and makes easy work of the rogues.  He seems to have a little trouble with Bane but that’s only because Superman is careful not hurt people, so finding the right amount of force to use takes precision and Bane has some heft to him.  If Superman goes to hard he can kill someone.  Punching someone weak like The Riddler is a light tap, finding the right balance for Bane needs adjusting.  

 

Super-Bat and Robin question the Mad Hatter and trace a bunch of nanites (microscopic robots) to a Wayne Tech facility.  The duo head there and discover Bruce but he’s under a mind whammy.  It’s then discovered Brainiac is the villain behind everything.  He got onto the Wayne Enterprises computer system after the Wayne Enterprises/Lex Corp attempted team-up in World’s Finest.  Brainiac has been floating around the Lex Corp system since Stolen Memories and Ghost in the Machine.  Luckily this is the last time Brainiac is regurgitated as hiding in a computer system to cause the head of billion dollar corporation problems.  

 

Brainiac is building a rocket to get off the planet and resume his destroy all life in the universe plan.  Super-Bat confronts Brainiac and Brainiac blows him up.  He’s then revealed to really be Superman which Brainiac is confused about.  They have an all out fight.  Brainiac is annihilated in the worst way possible because they love to kill robots in the most graphic ways in the DCAU.  The nanites all die and Bruce Wayne’s mind whammy goes away.  Superman warns Wayne that Brainiac might have back-up files and Wayne promises to make certain everything is purged.  

 

As Superman leaves he compliments Bruce on having an amazing partner which is surprising since he’s such a loner.  This episode is as much a Superman episode as it is a Tim Drake - Robin episode.  Robin coaches Superman on all of Batman’s methods.  He’s a solid balance to the sulky Batman.  Robin can easily make the more optimistic Super-Bat smile, to the confusion of Batman’s rogues.  Batman would never smile.  

 

The brilliance in character interactions in this episode are interstellar! It’s an episode that explores Superman, Batman, Robin’s characters in such small runtime.  Batman’s rogues are the perfect characters to play off all these personalities.  An absolute can’t miss.

 

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

Red Hot Chilli Poppers 5

Another Cuculi sponsored show. The sound and lights are bad because the venue was horrible. Don’t blame the band.

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

Superman: The Animated Series

Episode 42

Where There's Smoke

It’s back to basics in this episode.  After following Apokolips…Now! and Little Girl Lost it’s tough to get back to regular episodes.  Volcana is a run of the mill villain with a tragic backstory. Superman convinces her to turn away from her life of crime and saves her from rogue government agents who want to exploit her firepower. No complaints, it’s a fine episode, Volcana is not a particularly tough adversary for Superman though.  He’s impervious to fire.  Making it a personal story about her was a smart idea. 

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

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The DCAU Weekly Review – The New Batman Adventures

 The New Batman Adventures

Episode 19

Legends of the Dark Knight

 

Might receive some hate for this opinion but this episode is just okay.  It tells three different versions of Batman via kid’s imaginations and even takes a deserved potshot and Joel Schumaker.  There were only so many episodes in the order number and they wasted a story which could have been devoted to something else.  Each sub-story is enjoyable enough.  

 

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

The New Batman Adventures

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The DCAU Weekly Review – The New Batman Adventures

 The New Batman Adventures

Episode 18

The Demons Within

 

Etrigan appears, quite an odd selection for a crossover.  Bruce Wayne takes Tim Drake to an art auction and sees Jason Blood get into a bidding war with Klarion over a branding iron.  Bruce Wayne steps in and over bids for it to win the auction and gives it to Jason Blood.  

 

Jason Blood is a former knight of King Arthur who is immortal and cursed with the demon Etrigan.  Jason Blood turns into Etrigan and together they fight mystic baddies.  They are separate personalities sharing the same body or something.  At some point he befriended Batman.  

 

Klarion is demon who’s eternally a child.  He’s a spoiled brat who uses his magic cat to steal the branding iron then uses its magic to separate Etrigan from Jason Blood.  As Jason Blood is gradually aging Klarion is using Etrigan to do lame boring stuff.  

 

Batman steps in and fights Kalrion and the cat Teekl.  He gets the iron back and returns Etrigan and Jason Blood as one.  Etrigan then roughs up Klarion and sends him away.  

 

Etrigan pops up again as a main player in a Justice League episode while they are fighting Morgan Le Fay.  He is shown in Justice League Unlimited but not focused on.  A solid introduction to the character.  

 

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

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