Superman: The Animated Series

[Commode]

Yeah, in late 1992/early 1993.  I have an ad for it on my copy of the TTA Christmas Special(which aired on December 6th 1992).

[talonmalon333]

So my friends and I started this series, and got through 5 episodes. So far, I think it's solid. Might not be BTAS quality, but then again, I didn't go in expecting that.

[Avaitor]

The pilot movie is a classic, but the first handful of episodes of the show are a little slow IMO. A shitload of origin stories thrown right at you over the first season or two.

It became more comfortable when we got more acquainted with the villains, and evolved into a more fun villain of the weak show. By the time Darkseid came on, it really became something special, which is a shame since that's near the end of its run.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, it's a slow-roller, but I really dig it. Of all the DCAU shows, it might not have the most highs, but I think it stays the most consistent in quality with few outright bad episodes.

As I've said many times, 'The Late Mr. Kent' is one of my favorite DCAU episodes.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, you never hear it talked about as much because... it's Superman. And Supes just isn't as popular as he used to be.

I'm not his biggest fan either, but he can be a great character when given the right creative staff. And while S:TAS doesn't have as much atmosphere as Batman, isn't as dark or stylized as Beyond, and doesn't get as epic as Justice League, it has some ace stories, incredible action, a beautiful-looking Metropolis, and all of the usual great voice acting and dialogue that you'd expect from Timm, Dini and crew.

Even Greg likes it, right?

[Dr. Insomniac]

Yeah, Superman's actually become underrated in a way. My main issue is that almost every single iteration in the last few decades tries to make him human when he is anything but.

[Avaitor]

WalMart has all of the DVDs for $10 a piece. They also have the first couple of Justice League sets for $15, but I already own all of those.

I don't have much cash, but I  had enough to finally score volume 3, which I'll get to soon. IIRC, this is when the show got really good, too.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

I've been watching this show while waiting for MoS, and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. It's slow at first with all the origin stories, but it picks up pretty fast. I really liked the Metallo episode.

[Avaitor]

A few notes about the last volume of S:TAS-

-I know that they tried to save the Darkseid episodes for special occasions, but part of me wishes that they did more of them. While I appreciate how the show as a whole was able to tell a lot of great little sci-fi stories and didn't need to go into the wider scope Justice League did on a regular basis, when Timm and crew went to Apokolips, they really proved that the show was able to handle so much.
-It's stupid as hell that Kids WB! forced Supergirl to come from a sister planet of Krypton. I know, I know, "Last Son of Krypton", but does Kara look like a son to you? It does seem like when they started putting her into JLU, that Timm swept this bit under the rug, and for good reason.
-There are some weaker episodes on here, but I don't think that they are really that bad. "Superman's Pal" and "Where There's Smoke" aren't classics, but they aren't on the level of "I've Got Batman in My Basement" or "Kids Stuff".
-And I like the Aquaman and Green Lantern episodes. You can tell that it's the 90's because they used Rayner instead of Jordan, but that is not a bad thing at all.

[talonmalon333]

A few notes about the last volume of S:TAS-

-I know that they tried to save the Darkseid episodes for special occasions, but part of me wishes that they did more of them. While I appreciate how the show as a whole was able to tell a lot of great little sci-fi stories and didn't need to go into the wider scope Justice League did on a regular basis, when Timm and crew went to Apokolips, they really proved that the show was able to handle so much.
-It's stupid as hell that Kids WB! forced Supergirl to come from a sister planet of Krypton. I know, I know, "Last Son of Krypton", but does Kara look like a son to you? It does seem like when they started putting her into JLU, that Timm swept this bit under the rug, and for good reason.
-There are some weaker episodes on here, but I don't think that they are really that bad. "Superman's Pal" and "Where There's Smoke" aren't classics, but they aren't on the level of "I've Got Batman in My Basement" or "Kids Stuff".
-And I like the Aquaman and Green Lantern episodes. You can tell that it's the 90's because they used Rayner instead of Jordan, but that is not a bad thing at all.

I really enjoyed Superman: TAS. I don't think it's up there on the same level as Batman or Justice League, but it's great and probably my 3rd DCAU favorite. Aquaman was cool, but I really think he was cooler in JL... Was he a different character in that show, or did he just get a redesign?

[Avaitor]

As far as I know, it's pretty much the same character, since the DCAU guys are pretty sharp with keeping up with their show's histories, with Warner insisting on them using the modern-day redesign for Aquaman. But, I haven't looked that up, so I could be wrong.

[Avaitor]

Ah, what the hell, I'll do Supes as well. I'll be sticking to the DVD volumes though, since even though S:TAS had more consistent season orders in comparison to Batman (no way I would try to rank a 65 episode season, not no how), but this is what I'm familiar with. If you want to go by season, that's a-okay!

Volume 1
7/10

Not too bad, really, but watching it all in marathon shows the earlier episode's flaws. While the opening movie was a great start for the show, it quickly turns into a villain of the week show, one that spends a little too much time explaining too much or too little of the villains' origins. I like B:TAS's way of introducing most of his rogue gallery by either incorporating the villain in question to Bruce or Batman's life as we see them transform, or are already expecting Bats to know him. It's a little hard to explain how Batman did it better than superman, but I stand by my point.

But honestly, there isn't really that much wrong with what we get here. I don't recall Parasite or Livewire's episodes doing much for me, and I'd also argue that Flash's episode wasn't that memorable, but I don't think there's anything on the level of "I've Got Batman in My Basement" or "War World" on here. There's more than enough promise here to make a person stick around, I'd reckon.

And the Main Man, c'mon. Lobo needs more love.

Volume 2
8/10

Not a massive step up, like season 2 of both Justice League shows were, but I do think that Timm and crew were finding their groove around this point. As Supes was getting used to the villains, their actions and dynamics were becoming more fully fleshed-out, as were the other characters in Clark's life. You also get the classic "World's Finest" mini-arc, a bit of a teaser of what to expect later on from Warner's DC shows. I honestly watch those episodes more than any other S:TAS ep, but by that alone, this does end up being my most used set as of now.

Volume 3
9/10

The first episode's fun, but hardly a slayer, at least until that ending. But right after, we get 4 classics in a row! Darkseid wasn't necessarily a Superman villain in the comics, but he worked as a fantastic arch rival for Supes. The last batch of episodes had the best balance of villain action, character stories, and fanboy teasing of the whole series. Even some of the less-popular eps, like "Superman's Pal", doesn't bug me that much. The Mxyzptlk episode isn't as fun as the first one, but it's still nice to see him again, with Bizarro, no less! Not to mention that killer finale.

Superman: TAS isn't talked about as much as the other DCAU shows since it isn't as much of an innovator as Batman, as uniquely successful as Beyond, or as epic as Justice League, but compared to the other shows, there aren't nearly as many stinkers, and the show succeeds at telling great sci-fi stories, as well as keep the heart in Metropolis where it belonged. If you're a fan of Superman, you have no excuse to not own the whole series. Even if you're not, you really should check it out.

[Grave]

I'm definitely gonna have to buy Supes next. I'm probably one of the only odd ones that actually like S:TAS over B:TAS, but at the moment I just don't remember much of what happened in Superman. I just remember Superman having a lot more action than Batman, and I'm an action kind of guy. I remember Darkseid taking over at one point and that's it. Work interfered when I was actually watching it on Toon Disney, and haven't been able to watch it on Hub (work as well).

[Avaitor]

So this happened, heh

[talonmalon333]

I remember, the last time I watched it, I though that Superman: The Animated Series had more of those types of jokes than Batman: The Animated Series.