| Superman: The Animated Series | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Based on | |
| Developed by | |
| Written by |
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| Directed by | Andrea Romano (voice director) |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Shirley Walker |
| Composers | Kristopher Carter Michael McCuistion Lolita Ritmanis Shirley Walker Harvey Cohen |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 54(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Jean MacCurdy |
| Producers | Alan Burnett Paul Dini Bruce Timm |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company | Warner Bros. Television Animation |
| Original release | |
| Network | Kids' WB |
| Release | September 6, 1996 (1996-09-06) – February 12, 2000 (2000-02-12) |
| Related | |
Superman: The Animated Series is an Americananimatedsuperhero television series based on theDC Comics characterSuperman.[1] It was produced byWarner Bros. Television Animation and originally aired onKids' WB from September 6, 1996, to February 12, 2000. It was the second series in theDC Animated Universe afterBatman: The Animated Series, and like its predecessor, it has been acclaimed for its writing, voice acting, maturity, and modernization of the title character's comic-book mythos.[2][3]
Premiering ten years after the 1986reboot of the Superman comic-book character, the animated series paid tribute to both the classic Superman of old and the newer "modern" Superman.[4] For instance, the depiction ofKrypton reflects the older idealized version in theSilver Age of Comic Books. The scope of Superman's powers reflects the more restrained contemporary concept as developed byJohn Byrne, in that the superhero has to struggle to perform spectacular feats. However, Clark Kent is shown to be open, if quietly, self-confident, without jeopardizing his secrets. This is similar to the depiction ofBatman's alter-ego, Bruce Wayne, inBatman: The Animated Series.
Midway through the series' run, it was combined withThe New Batman Adventures to become the package seriesThe New Batman/Superman Adventures. The characters of Superman and Batman were then spun off into a new animated series,Justice League. This series also featured other popular DC Comics characters, includingWonder Woman,The Flash,Green Lantern,Martian Manhunter, andHawkgirl. It spawned a sequel series entitledJustice League Unlimited.
Several episodes involve Superman encountering other superheroes in the DC universe. Batman appears the most often, along with several of his allies and antagonists fromThe New Batman Adventures, including theJoker,Robin,Alfred Pennyworth,Harley Quinn,Bane,Commissioner Gordon, andRa's al Ghul, among others. In addition, other episodes featureThe Flash (alongsideWeather Wizard),Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) (withSinestro and theGreen Lantern Corps),Aquaman, andDoctor Fate (along with his wifeInza andKarkull).
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 13 | September 6, 1996 (1996-09-06) | February 15, 1997 (1997-02-15) | |
| 2 | 28 | September 8, 1997 (1997-09-08) | May 2, 1998 (1998-05-02) | |
| 3 | 10 | September 19, 1998 (1998-09-19) | May 15, 1999 (1999-05-15) | |
| 4 | 3 | September 18, 1999 (1999-09-18) | February 12, 2000 (2000-02-12) | |
In the time between the initial end ofBatman,Steven Spielberg approachedBruce Timm about his admiration for his previous show while being curious about an adventure cartoon. Spielberg asked Timm and his crew to come up with concepts for him to look at (one of these ideas eventually sprung intoFreakazoid!, which involved a crazed superhero, although Timm had aimed for a straightforward hero show rather than overt comedy). At any rate,Warner Bros was anticipating a feature film ofSuperman and thus wanted to make a television series to go alongside it, which ledJean MacCurdy to approach Timm about the idea of doing a series on Superman, which he agreed to.[5][6] Initially, Timm struggled with finding the visual style, to the point where he thought of trying to aim for a retro feel similar to theFleischer StudiosSuperman cartoons. An original character design sheet showed the characters in a stylized 1940s/1950s style (not unlike that of the live-actionAdventures of Superman TV series); however, Timm decided that he could not compete against the "perfection" of the past, although he would utilize influence from classic deco, which he described as "bright, futuristic, optimistic, ocean liner art deco...much more in line with Superman's character."[7][8] As with the first season ofBatman, the opening theme sequence ofSuperman lacked an on-screen title. Also likeBatman, the opening theme forSuperman lacked any lyrics, instead of being an instrumental piece played over various scenes from the series. The character design for the title character was inspired not by one of the comics but insteadThe Mighty Hercules (1963) with the design of the title character.[9] DC asked Timm to give Superman amullet, but he refused.[10]
Koko Enterprise Co., LTD.,Kyokuchi Tokyo Movie,Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD andGroup TAC contributed some of the animation for this series. Like the previous shows, the animation on the series was done intraditional cels.
Season two was originally scheduled to run 26 episodes, but it was extended to 28 episodes to accommodate a two-part story introducingSupergirl.[11]
While the series adapts many villains from Superman'srogues gallery in the comics, the primaryantagonists that he faces throughout the show and the DCAU continuity as a whole areLex Luthor,Brainiac andDarkseid. Luthor's design was based on actorTelly Savalas.[12]
In the series, the writers decided to alter Brainiac's origin by making him a Kryptonianartificial intelligence instead of an alien to give him a more personal rivalry with Superman. While the producers of the show found Brainiac's character and abilities interesting in the comics, they disliked his original design so they drastically altered his appearance; his green skin was replaced with an icy-blue coloration, and the rest of his outfit became a mix of purple and grey rather than pink and black.Corey Burton's vocal performance as Brainiac was done in a cold,low-affect style similar toHAL 9000 in theSpace Odyssey films and the 'Control Voice' heard during the opening narration ofThe Outer Limits.[13] Before being cast as Brainiac, Burton also read for the parts of Superman and Lex Luthor.[14] Clancy Brown also read for Superman before being cast as Luthor.[15]
To pay tribute toJack Kirby's Fourth World creations, the show introduced theNew God Darkseid as Superman's archenemy. In contrast to the character's less faithful adaptations inSuper Friends,Superman: The Animated Series portrays Darkseid as the evil dictator originally envisioned by Kirby in the comics.Michael Ironside's vocal performance was initially lowered for Darkseid's first two appearances in the series, though this modulation was later dropped in favor of Ironside's natural voice.
As with the majority of shows in theDC Animated Universe,Superman: The Animated Series received acomic adaptation taking place in the same universe, that ran from 1996 to 2002, with 68 issues, an annual and a special issue featuring Lobo. Paul Dini wrote the first issue of the series, followed byScott McCloud,Mark Millar andEvan Dorkin. Among the artists that contributed to the series areTy Templeton,Rick Burchett,Mike Manley, Aluir Amancio, Min S.Ku and Neil Vokes.
A DVD titledSuperman: The Last Son Of Krypton, compiling the first 3 episodes of the series was released on February 3, 2004. Much likeBatman: The Animated Series and other Warner Bros. cartoons adapted from popular DC Comic books,Superman: The Animated Series was released on DVD January 25, 2005, though it did not receive the same disc transfer asBatman did (the second disc of each volume was given the Side A/B treatment). The DVDs present the series' episodes in their airing order along with special features. Volume Two was released on December 6, 2005, and Volume Three was released on June 20, 2006. On November 24, 2009,Warner Home Video releasedSuperman: The Complete Animated Series, a 7-disc boxed set that includes all 54 episodes of the series as well as extensive bonus features.[16][17][18] On October 26, 2021, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releasedSuperman: The Complete Animated Series on Blu-ray, also including all 54 episodes and bonus materials.[19][20]
A direct-to-DVD feature,Superman: Brainiac Attacks was released in 2006, although it is not considered to be part of DCAU continuity, despite featuring the same character designs asSuperman: The Animated Series, as well as bothTim Daly andDana Delany reprising their voice roles as Superman and Lois Lane, respectively.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superman: The Animated Series – Volume 1 | 18 | January 25, 2005 |
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| Superman: The Animated Series – Volume 2 from The New Superman Adventures | 18 | December 6, 2005 |
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| Superman: The Animated Series – Volume 3 | 18 | June 20, 2006 |
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| Superman: The Complete Animated Series | 54 | November 24, 2009 |
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"Apokolips...Now!" was later altered from its original airing on February 7, 1998. Originally,Dan Turpin's funeral was a homage toJack Kirby and featured several of his comic creations as attendees to the funeral includingNick Fury, theFantastic Four,Big Barda,Scott Free,Orion and others, alongside Kirby's friends and fansMark Evanier,Bruce Timm,Paul Dini,Alex Ross, his father Norman Ross, andStan Lee. These characters were later removed and the scene pacing was re-edited for subsequent airings and its DVD release onSuperman: The Animated Series Volume 3 Disc 3. Neither DC nor Warner ever commented on the decision to alter this particular scene, but it has been speculated that copyright issues regarding the use of the likenesses ofMarvel Comics characters and the long-time rivalry between the two companies might have motivated the deletion. WhenSuperman: The Animated Series was released onHBO Max andBlu-ray in 2021, the original version was used.
As withBatman: The Animated Series,Shirley Walker was in charge of the series' music. Walker wrote the series theme and composed themes for various characters, as well as scoring six episodes herself – "Father's Day," "The Hand of Fate," "Obsession," "Absolute Power" and the two-parter "Legacy." Unlike the previous series, only four other composers worked on the series –Kristopher Carter, Harvey R. Cohen, Michael McCuistion, andLolita Ritmanis. Almost every episode had a completely original score; very few reused music from previous shows, and only one episode ("Superman's Pal," credited to Carter, McCuistion, Ritmanis, and Walker) was entirely "scored" with tracked material.[21] On January 28, 2014, La-La Land Records released a 4-disc compilation of music from the series, collecting 20 complete episode scores, including those of the "World's Finest" three-parter, the "Apokolips... Now!" two-parter, the "Little Girl Lost" two-parter and "In Brightest Day...". It is a limited edition release of 3000 units and can be purchased through the label's website.[22] If sales of this release improve significantly, La-La Land Records will produce a second volume.[23] Track listing[edit]Disc One (Total Time 78:59)
Disc Two (Total Time 78:59)
Disc Three (Total Time 78:36)
Disc Four (Total Time 79:00)
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Superman 64, released for theNintendo 64 console in 1999, was the first video game to be produced based upon the series, however it is considered to be one of the worst Superman video games andworst games of all time.[24] A second video game,Superman: Shadow of Apokolips was released in 2002 for thePlayStation 2 andGameCube consoles. It was produced by a different company, and was described as "a respectable but average superhero game".[25]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Annie Awards | Best Individual Achievement: Music in a TV Production | Shirley Walker(for main title theme) | Nominated | |
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | Jean MacCurdy,Alan Burnett,Paul Dini,Bruce Timm, Dan Riba, Andrea Romano, Stan Berkowitz,Hilary J. Bader, and Bob Goodman | Nominated | ||
| 1998 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Jean MacCurdy, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Hilary Bader, Stan Berkowitz,Rich Fogel,Steve Gerber, Bob Goodman, Hiroyuki Aoyama, Curt Geda, Kenji Hachizaki, Butch Lukic, Toshihiko Masuda, Dan Riba, Andrea Romano, and Yûichirô Yano[a] | Won | ||
| Outstanding Music Direction and Composition | Shirley Walker[b] | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Sound Editing – Special Class | Robert Hargreaves, John Hegedes, George Brooks, Gregory Beaumont, Kelly Ann Foley, and Diane Griffen[c] | Nominated | |||
| 1999 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | Jean MacCurdy, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini,Glen Murakami, Bruce Timm, Hilary Bader, Stan Berkowitz, Rich Fogel, Bob Goodman, Hiroyuki Aoyama, Curt Geda, Kenji Hachizaki, Butch Lukic, Toshihiko Masuda, Dan Riba, Andrea Romano, and Yûichirô Yano[d] | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Music Direction and Composition | Lolita Ritmanis(for "Little Girl Lost: Part 1") | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Sound Mixing – Special Class | Tom Maydeck, Robert Hargreaves, Patrick Rodman, and John Hegedes[e] | Won | |||
| 2000 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Children's Animated Program | Jean MacCurdy, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, Bruce Timm, Hilary Bader, Stan Berkowitz, Rich Fogel, Bob Goodman, Curt Geda, Butch Lukic, Dan Riba, Andrea Romano, and Shin'ichi Tsuji[f] | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Music Direction and Composition | Michael McCuistion(for "In Brightest Day...") | Nominated | |||
| Lolita Ritmanis(for "Fish Story") | Nominated | ||||
| Outstanding Sound Editing – Special Class | Robert Hargreaves, George Brooks, Gregory Beaumont, Mark Keatts, John Hegedes, Linda Di Franco, Kelly Ann Foley and Diane Griffen[g] | Nominated |
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