Yes, It's Been 25 Years Since Superman: The Animated Series

Perhaps one is officially old when the best versions of their favorite things date back beyond twenty years. I was pleased to find that Superman: The Animated Series was getting a Blu-ray collection of all three seasons. But I did blink at the fact that it had been twenty-five years -- a whole quarter-century -- since the show had debuted on television. And while Superman hasn't really been away from the animated theater, this particular incarnation, a by-product of the success of Batman: The Animated Series, was a show that understood the character, what he was about, and was able to tell engrossing stories that challenged the hero.

Tim Daly (Wings) gave voice to Smallville's Clark Kent, and gave him the perfect midwestern, small-town appeal. The series begins with the three part origin that finds baby Kal-El rocketed from Krypton to Earth, where he is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent (M*A*S*H's Mike Farrell and Coach's Shelly Fabares). Upon moving to Metropolis, he soon encounters Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane (Dana Delany) and billionaire tycoon Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown), setting up two different kinds of rivalries.

The animated series did not play into the Clark/Lois romance angle too hard; not to the point where they even dated, let alone married. But there were definite feelings Lois had for Superman, best explored in the three-part episode "World's Finest" which saw the first meeting between Superman and Batman, a story that saw a team-up between Luthor and the Joker and had Lois falling hard for Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy). In a twist from the comics, Lois discovers Bruce's secret before she ever discovers Clark's.

The series had a wonderful array of villains, each expertly cast: Metallo (Malcolm McDowell), Darkseid (Michael Ironside), Brainiac (Corey Burton), and Mxyzptlk (Gilbert Godfried), just to name a few. And there was a particularly inspired bit of casting in having Ed Asner play the gravel-voiced Granny Goodness.

The show ended on a rather serious storyline, in which Superman had been brainwashed by Darkseid into attacking the Earth. In the battle, Superman's friend Dan Turpin (Joseph Bologna) is killed, and most of the world's trust in Superman is eroded. It was going to be a long, uphill battle for Superman to get back to where he used to be. Unfortunately, that's where this series ended. But we would still get this particular brand of Superman in the fantastic follow-up shows Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

Disc One	Disc Two	Disc Three
01. The Last Son of Krypton (Part I)  --- commentary 02. The Last Son of Krypton (Part II) 03. The Last Son of Krypton (Part III) 04. Fun and Games 05. A Little Piece of Home 06. Feeding Time 07. The Way of All Flesh 08. Stolen Memories  --- commentary	09. The Main Man (Part I) 10. The Main Man (Part II)  --- commentary 11. My Girl 12. Tools of the Trade 13. Two's a Crowd 14. Blasts from the Past (Part I) 15. Blasts from the Past (Part II) 16. The Prometheon 17. Speed Demons 18. Livewire	19. Identity Crisis 20. Target 21. Mxyzpixilated  --- commentary 22. Action Figures 23. Double Dose 24. Solar Power 25. Brave New Metropolis 26. Monkey Fun 27. Ghost in the Machine
Disc Four	Disc Five	Disc Six
28. Father's Day 29. World's Finest (Part I) 30. World's Finest (Part II) 31. World's Finest (Part III) 32. The Hand of Fate 33. Bizarro's World 34. Prototype 35. The Late Mr. Kent	36. Heavy Metal 37. Warrior Queen 38. Apokolips...Now! (Part I) 39. Apokolips...Now! (Part II) 40. Little Girl Lost (Part I) 41. Little Girl Lost (Part II) 42. Where There's Smoke 43. Knight Time	44. New Kids in Town 45. Obsession 46. Little Big Head Man 47. Absolute Power 48. In Brightest Day... 49. Superman's Pal 50. A Fish Story 51. Unity 52. The Demon Reborn 53. Legacy (Part I) 54. Legacy (Part II) Special Features: Superman: Timeless Icon Menaces of Metropolis Building the Mythology Superman: Learning to Fly A Little Piece of Trivia The Despot Darkseid