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(More customer reviews)Superman's most recent animated series could have been a great show, but it never quite made it. Part of the problem was an unfair comparison to the Batman series, which had just finished production (though it would be renewed briefly for the Superman/Batman hour). While Batman immediately had a sense of theme and mood--dark, gothic, and occasionally morbid--Superman suffered from being pushed into the daylight. It's easier to believe that criminals in a city of perpetual night would look and act like maniacs, but in sunny Metropolis it's often difficult to get beyond the silliness of the supervillains. The show's creators made a good decision by incorporating elements of Kirby's Fourth World (e.g., Darkseid's invasion of Earth) into the show, thereby placing Superman in a universe of super-powered beings even more larger-than-life than himself.
Unfortunately, the show did not last long enough to do a great job with the Fourth World, and it wasted too much time on trivial villains like Toyman, Parasite, Livewire and Bizarro. Meanwhile, promising villains like Brainiac (inventively rethought for the show), Metallo and two Kryptonian criminals showed up only rarely and might as well have been tossed altogether. After a fun beginning, where old and new characters were creatively introduced, the show tapered off into mediocrity, and ended with a handful of overly-preachy episodes that couldn't be saved, even by an excellent finale (once again utilizing the Fourth World).
Still, the show has some glorious highlights. The episode "Mxzpixilated" is one of the funniest things ever to hit television, and is one of the few Mxyzptlk stories I enjoy. Brainiac recreated as Krypton's artificial intelligence was a stroke of genius, and provided a new context for his previous "shrunken cities" shtick. Lana Lang as a fashion designer was a great idea that wasn't used often enough, but when it was it worked (especially in "The Late Mr. Kent"). The concept of Supergirl as a native of Krypton's sister planet was also well done, and she was a great, cheery character.
It's unfortunate that the show's creators never quite found the same groove that they found for Batman, but this series was still a valiant attempt at recreating the Superman mythos. Maybe the "Superman Curse" spreads into all attempts to tell Superman stories; very few of the shows and movies manage to do it well. Still, this is one of the best.
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