Superman: The Animated Series debuted in the fall of 1996 on Kids’ WB with the first three episodes airing as a primetime movie ahead of the show’s proper launch. This was the second installment of what would become known as The DC Animated Universe, following Batman: The Animated Series. Why didn’t I start with that program? Because it originally aired on weekday afternoons, and this is Saturday Morning Superstars.
Like Batman: TAS, Superman: TAS was created by Alan Burnett and Bruce Timm. This was the fourth solo Superman animated project, following the 1940s Fleischer Studios theatrical shorts, the 1960s Filmation series (The New Adventures of Superman), and the 1988 Ruby-Spears show. The Man of Steel was also arguably the main star of Hanna-Barbera/ABC’s long-running Super Friends.
In addition to excellent animation, Superman: TAS was acclaimed for its first-rate voice casting. Tim Daly, who had starred on the hit sitcom Wings, provided the voice for Superman/Clark Kent. He also appropriately voiced Superman’s imperfect duplicate, Bizarro. Dana Delany, who won two Primetime Emmys for starring on the drama China Beach, voiced Lois Lane. The cast also included David Kaufman as Jimmy Olsen, Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor, Corey Burton as Brainiac, Michael Ironside as Darkseid, Joseph Bologna as SCU Lt. Dan Turpin, George Dzundza as Perry White, Lisa Edelstein as Mercy Graves, Lauren Tom as Angela Chen, Mike Farrell as Jonathan Kent, Shelley Fabares as Martha Kent, Joely Fisher as Lana Lang, Victor Brandt as Professor Emil Hamilton, and Joanna Cassidy as Inspector Maggie Sawyer.
Those were just the regular recurring characters. Guest voices included Ron Perlman as Jax-Ur, Christopher McDonald as Jor-El, Gilbert Gottfried as Mister Mxyzptlk, Malcolm McDowell as John Corben/Metallo, Michael Dorn as Kalibak and John Henry Irons/Steel, Ed Asner as Granny Goodness (GENIUS!), Michael York as Kanto, Lori Petty as Livewire, Brad Garrett as Lobo and Bibbo, Melissa Joan Hart as Saturn Girl, Nicole Tom as Supergirl, Frank Welker as Titano, and Jason Priestley as Chameleon Boy, just to name a few.
The cast of Batman: TAS crossed over, including Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as Joker, Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn, Paul Williams as The Penguin, Bob Hastings as Commissioner James Gordon, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth.
Superman: TAS corrected a longstanding mistake– the pronunciation of “Mister Mxyzptlk.” It’s “Mix-yez-pittle-ick.” It had been mispronounced as “Mix-el-plick” on Super Friends and in other ways on various projects. But “Mix-yez-pittle-ick” is the way it’s supposed to be pronounced according to the comics and this show.
Superman: TAS also further expanded the DC Animated Universe by introducing characters like Aquaman (Miguel Ferrer), Doctor Fate (George Del Hoyo), The Flash/Wally West (Charlie Schlatter), and Green Lantern/Kyle Rayner (Michael P. Greco), as well as Jack Kirby’s Fourth World roster.
Of course, a lot of changes were made as the DC Animated Universe expanded with Justice League. The Aquaman on Superman: TAS was the more “classic” clean-cut, orange shirt version, but on Justice League, they used the then-current long-haired version. Kyle Rayner was replaced by John Stewart.
Overall, Superman: TAS drew heavily from the late 80s reboot of the character after Crisis on Infinite Earths, with the “businessman” Lex Luthor, for example, although there were a lot of more “classic” elements, like the depiction of Mxyzptlk in a purple suit, a look the character sported in the 1940s but had long abandoned by the time this show was created. For whatever reason, Brainiac was colored blue, not green as he is normally rendered.
There were also many original elements added to this series. The characters Mercy Graves (Lex Luthor’s assistant), Metropolis police detective Maggie Sawyer, and supervillain Livewire were created for the show but have since been transferred to the comics and have even been adapted into live-action. Tao Okamoto portrayed Mercy Graves in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, while Rhona Mitra played her on Supergirl, and Natalie Gumede played her on Titans.
Jill Teed played Maggie Sawyer on Smallville, while Floriana Lima played her on Supergirl. Anna Mae Routledge played Livewire on Smallville, and Brit Morgan played her on Supergirl. Roxy Rocket was also created for Superman: TAS and was adapted to the comics, but has not appeared in live-action yet.
The Season 2 episode, “Apokolips Now – Part 2” featured the death of the character Dan Turpin who was drawn to resemble comics creator Jack Kirby. Originally, his funeral scene featured cameos by some of Kirby’s creations, including Marvel characters Nick Fury and the Fantastic Four, as well as real-life fans and collaborators like Mark Evanier, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alex Ross, his father Norman Ross, and Stan Lee, but these cameos only appeared in the initial airing. New anonymous characters were edited in for subsequent reruns and the home video release.
Overall, Superman: TAS lasted for three seasons and 54 episodes. Kal-El’s story carried on to the primetime series Justice League and later, Justice League: Unlimited. Superman: TAS won two Daytime Emmy Awards during its run.
The entire series was released on DVD and is available to stream on HBO Max.
Were you a fan of Superman: The Animated Series? Let me know in the comments below!
