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Superman: The Complete Animated Series [Blu-ray]
(Tim Daly, Joseph Bologna, Dana Delany, et al / 6-Disc Blu-ray + Digital / NR / 2021 / Warner Bros.)

Overview: The creative team behind the Emmy® Award-winning Batman: The Animated Series chronicles the adventures of Superman, the legendary Super Hero.

As the planet Krypton is destroyed, its leader, Jor-El, secures his infant son, Kal-El, in a rocket that will transport him to Earth. There, a young Clark Kent (voiced by TIM DALY) discovers the truth about his interplanetary heritage.

Upon reaching adulthood, he assumes the identity of Superman, the Man of Steel, in the city of Metropolis, battling the forces of villainy and continuing his quest for Truth, Justice and the American way.

Fly with Superman in this complete collection of adventures.

Blu-ray Verdict: I am totally convinced that Bruce Timm and company at WB Animation have a true Midas touch when it comes to animating DC Super Heroes!

While I am a Batman fan first and foremost and love the animated series, I also love Superman quite a bit. I have seen every animated series of Superman (before this box-set arrived, and have since sat and rewatched all 54 episodes back-to-back) and as far as I am concerned, this one is the best of all of them - even though the classic Fleisher cartoons of the 40’s give it some competition, of course.

Superman: The Animated Series is a more modern looking show than Batman is judging by the cars in the city as well as the technology. Other than that, the characters, and especially Superman himself have a look that is timeless.

Modern, yet reminiscent of the way people looked in the old classic movies. Superman himself and his alter ego of Clark Kent captures that feel more than anybody and I personally enjoyed his vocal performances by Tim Daly and was saddened he was unavailable for Justice League.

Lois Lane has never been hotter in any other interpretation plus Dana Delaney was perfect casting voice over wise. Lex Luthor is a suave, rich, billionaire business tycoon who was voiced over superbly by Clancy Brown.

This Luthor is what I feel the movie version should have been and amazingly, he reminded me of Telly Savalas, even before I knew that was the animators’ intentions with the character.

From other shows, I enjoyed the newest interpretations of Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and villains like the Toyman, Kalibak, and Desaad and others as well as supportive players like Lana Lang and Jonathan and Martha Kent, who oddly enough, were voiced over by real life married couple, Mike Farrell and Shelley Fabares.

Other than Lex Luthor, my favorite Superman villains were: Brainiac, who in this series is from Krypton, Mr Mxyptlk, who voiced over by Gilbert Gottfried, was so damn funny, that I bust a gut laughing at his episodes. Also for entertainment, I like Bizarro. And for a dangerous, undefeatable villain, I choose Darkseid, voiced brilliantly by Michael Ironside.

Since I did not read Superman comics like I did Batman, I got familiar with characters in the animated series like: Anchorwoman Angela Chen, Detectives Maggie Sawyer, and Dan Turpin of the Metropolis SCU.

Also, Professor Emil Hamilton and villains like Metallo, the Parasite, Maxima, and new villains like Livewire, Luminus, Volcanna, and Apokolips villains like Granny Goodness , Steppenwolf, and the Parademons. And I must not forget the likes of Kryptonian villains like Jax ur nd Mala, and for good laughs, the bounty hunter Lobo.

My favorite episodes (of which I can recall also being the same ones I would have chosen back a couple of decades ago too) include, The Bizarro and Mr. Mxyzptlk stories for the sake of laughter and for drama, I would recommend the pilot movie, The Last Son of Krypton, Apokolips ... NOW!, episodes with Supergirl, the final two-part episode, Legacy, and I especially love teams ups with Batman, like World’s Finest, Knight Time, and the Demon Reborn.

Oh, and I also found a lot of love for the team ups with the Flash, the Kyle Raynor Green Lantern, Doctor Fate, and the Silver Age version of Aquaman.

In fact, as I hope you can tell from this review, I love everything about the series: the animation quality, the voice over cast, and the great music by Shirley Walker.

In closing, and not to give away any specific spoilers, but the show ends at its prime. After a certain cast member dies you start to actually feel worried and to be frank, after that point, Darkseid could do anything!

In the final, very epic, two episodes of Superman, Superman’s mind is taken over by Darksied and forced to invade earth. The series began on a happy note and ended on a sad one leaving Superman to earn Earths trust back.

These are excellent shows and I really recommend them for anybody, for the series was just superb, all ends up and this if you have not seen them, I highly suggest you purchase this brand new box-set now!

The remarkable Superman: The Complete Animated Series box-set features nearly 21 hours of entertainment spread over six Blu-ray™ discs, including all 54 exciting episodes, an all-new series-defining featurette entitled Superman: Timeless Icon, a special video commentary episode and three specially selected episodes with audio commentaries by the showrunners.

All 54 episodes have been remastered from the original 35mm Interpositive sources, giving special attention to extensive color correction, dirt and scratch clean up, and adding a grain reduction pass to create a pristine picture, all while making sure not to affect the original lines in the artwork of the animation.

Also, as part of the Special Features, the one that stands out to me the most is Building the Mythology: Superman’s Supporting Cast (Featurette). Here the characters around Superman get the spotlight in this in-depth look at everyone from Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White to Maggie Sawyer, Lana Lang, and Ma & Pa Kent.

Producers Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, art director/producer Glen Murakami and directors Dan Riba and James Tucker give viewers the inside scoop.

Another is The Despot Darkseid: A Villain Worthy of Superman (Featurette) where Darkseid takes center stage in this examination of one of The Man of Steel’s most vicious adversaries, plus other Fourth World characters that appear in Superman: The Animated Series.

The featurette includes producers Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, art director/producer Glen Murakami, writers Rich Fogel and Stan Berkowitz, director James Tucker and Charles Hatfield (Department of English, Cal State Northridge).

The audio was retransferred from the original audio masters, and the series is presented in its original aspect ratio (4x3).This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Revealing commentaries on four episodes
Five featurettes, including the all-new Superman: Timeless Icon, which explores the creation of the series

Audio Commentaries:
• Stolen Memories – producers Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, director Curt Geda and art director/producer Glen Murakami.
• The Last Son of Krypton - Part 1 – producers Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, director Dan Riba and art director/producer Glen Murakami.
• The Main Man - Part 2 – producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, director Dan Riba and art director/producer Glen Murakami.

Video Commentary:
• Mxyzpixilated – producer Bruce Timm, producer/writer Paul Dini, director Dan Riba and moderator Jason Hillhouse.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Superman: The Animated Series with a fully remastered Blu-rayTM box set. Superman: The Complete Animated Series, which includes several hours of bonus features headlined by an all-new documentary detailing the creation of one of the most beloved animated Super Hero cartoons in history, will be available starting October 12, 2021.

Superman: The Complete Animated Series featured: Tim Daly (Madame Secretary, Private Practice, Wings) as Clark Kent and Superman alongside Dana Delany (Body of Proof, Desperate Housewives, China Beach) as Lois Lane, David Kaufman (Danny Phantom, Stuart Little) as Jimmy Olsen and Clancy Brown (Dexter, The Shawshank Redemption, SpongeBob SquarePants) as Lex Luthor. The star-studded cast included series regulars – and their characters – Lauren Tom (Angela Chen), Victor Brandt (Professor Hamilton), Corey Burton (Brainiac), Joseph Bologna (Dan Turpin), George Dzundza (Perry White), Brad Garrett (Bibbo Bibbowski), Shelley Fabares (Martha Kent), Joanna Cassidy (Maggie Sawyer), Lisa Edelstein (Mercy Graves), Mike Farrell (Jonathan Kent) and Michael Ironside (Darkseid).

Notable series guest stars featured: Mark Hamill, Ed Asner, Dean Jones, Melissa Joan Hart, Robert Morse, Al Roker, Brian Cox, Jason Priestley, Peter Gallagher, David Warner, Michael Dorn, Christopher McDonald, Bruce Weitz, Andrea Martin, Miguel Ferrer, Ron Perlman, Bud Cort, Gilbert Gottfried, Robert Hays, Dennis Haysbert, Laraine Newman, Nancy Travis, Xander Berkeley, Jonathan Harris, John Glover, Sandra Bernhard, Jack Carter, Ernie Hudson, Henry Silva, and Robert Patrick.

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