Disclaimer
This review is about the Superman animated series popularly connected to the Batman animated series and the Justice League animated series that was so popular in the 90s and came off the Tim Burton Batman movies. If you are rather young and do not know about the series, this review is as unbias as possible, reviewing the first part of the series. I base animated reviews off of plot, characterization, emotional pull, episode quality, and creativity. I will not let my personal feelings of Superman, or the Superman fanbase that I argue with often to affect the outcome of this review. Also for those expecting a Kingdom Hearts review, tune in this Friday, 10/23/2015. Thanks for reading.
WARNING possible spoilers WARNING
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So the plot is that a boy, from an alien world, was saved by being sent to Earth. Clark as he is named by his human parents, begins developing powers later on, and eventually moves to the city to use his powers to help people, with the request of his parents that he doesn't become like that weirdo in Gotham. Clark ends up as Superman in Metropolis working mostly against Lex Luthor, a business tycoon with an obsession for power. There are other things happening in the show as well, Brainiac a robotic program from Krypton, the lost world of Superman, typically blows up planets after stealing mass amounts of data pays Earth a visit, Lobo a bounty hunter from space attacks Superman and captures him, a Star Labs, a laboratory that Superman aids in research has weird things happening every other day. Despite having a villain a day, there is actually a certain sense of progression, as unlike other series, people don't just reappear randomly. Parasite for example is placed in jail one episode, and the next time we see him, he is still in jail. The man who is to become Metallo is put in jail by Superman where Lex Luthor can toy with him and eventually turn him into the super villain he was meant to play. While it isn't focused on, it is nice to see some type of connection with past episodes at times, especially marathoning the show.
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While this is a show meant for children, there are a few adult themes in the show, like Metallo's mental breakdown, or Lobo flirting with Ms. Lane. Metallo is easily one of the best characters on the show, but he is also the most mature as he gets mad not being able to feel anything like a kiss. Still, all the other characters are pretty decent, with Superman actually being the most boring, and even then he is pretty decent in his own right. Most of the villains are actually memorable with their own personalities and issues, and not all of them are as insane as Batman's villains, but for character studies they are still pretty good.
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Lobo is straight up funny. There are a few moments of humor and action in the animation, but feeling emotions and having characters that are relatable is the key of this show. Lobo is a biker who likes the ladies, Parasite just wanted cable TV, and Metallo can't feel or taste anything. Even Luthor has his fair share of human traits, like caring about a specific girl but she likes Superman, and he also seems more about winning a game then actually being evil. Not all the characters are relatable, like Superman or Brainiac, but Superman does have struggles so in some ways he can be related to as well. Not bad for a kids show.
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Because most of the drama in Superman's life takes place during a single episode, it is kind of downplayed a bit. The fight with Brainiac is a single episode long despite Brainiac being one of the most dangerous foes for Superman, and Lex Luthor's episodes can be slightly more on the boring side as it is normally Superman fighting a giant robot that doesn't really get much of anywhere with the man in the cape. There was another episode where an old female friend of Clark shows up dating Lex, and in the end Superman put her in one of the most dangerous rooms to keep her "safe" so yeah. There are a large amount of episodes in this volume, but some of them aren't as good as the others, just because of overall presentation and how quickly everything needs to be wrapped up. I understand it is a children TV show, but since I'm rating this as an adult for an adult, I have to point it out. The best example I can give is the Livewire episode near the end of the volume. You really don't get to know Livewire all that well, and her development doesn't make as much sense as other characters, due to her being both introduced and created in one episode. It isn't all that bad, there are a large amount of good episodes in the series so far, but there are plenty of episodes that don't meet the mark do to overall presentation and how quick the conflict is wrapped up often times, and long winded when it comes to the Lex Luthor episodes.
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Parasite looks okay, Lobo looks like Lobo, and Brainiac has a design that makes his original comic version look kind of silly. The designs of the characters are pretty well done, and the creativity of some of their origins is pretty good as well. The show is a creative romp based on the comic books, and had some originality to it, like the creation of Livewire. It is pretty good in a creative sense.
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The Superman animated series is a nice animated series that has great characters, a decent plot for a villain of the week format despite most issues wrapping up in about a half an hour, and pretty relatable characters that can tug at your emotions, as well as come creative quirks for the viewer to enjoy. The only real issue is some of the episodes wrap up too fast, while others can drag on.
If you are a fan of Superman or the Batman Animated Series then I'd recommend giving this a go. If you dislike Superman because you feel he is overpowered, then maybe this is your cup of tea still, as Superman is more grounded in this series. This isn't a bad series so far, and with nods to the eventual Justice League show like a reference to Batman or Wonder Woman, and the Flash literally guest starring in a fun episode, this series is pointing towards a connected and shared universe which is kind of a cool thing my review doesn't mention. If you like the Justice League or Batman series, this isn't a bad series either and is the beginning of the interconnections. I recommend giving it a try, but beware of some episodes that may wane your interest.