Daily Dose of Awesome: Superman the Animated Series

With the success of Batman: The Animated Series, it was only natural for WB and DC to want to expand that into another series.  What better way to do that with than DC's other big name character, Superman?  Much like how B:TAS offered kids a newer, fresher take on the characters while still being true to their roots, Superman: The Animated Series did so by using the same strategy of streamlining characters to their core essences.

Interestingly, where Batman really thrived in those early episodes where the origins of the rogues gallery were explored, Superman started off a bit slow, but really picked up as the series progressed.

Just like its predecessor, this series thrived on great voice acting.  Tim Daly did a great job as the man of steel, and while he hasn't reached the fangod level that Conroy has for Batman, he is still highly regarded.  Dana Delaney also did a great job as Lois.

The two real standouts, for me anyway, are Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor and Corey Burton's Brainiac.  Those two really stole the show with their performances for me.  Special mention also goes to Gilbert Gottfried as ol' Mxy.  My roommate cringes at it, but I think it's brilliant.  Yes, Gottfried's voice is annoying, but that's exactly the point.  Michael Ironside's turn as Darkseid is also spoken highly of. Oh, and Brad Garrett as Lobo was also inspired (oddly enough, Garrett appeared in more episodes voicing Bibbo).

While the DCAU as a whole is highly regarded, this is seen as one of the weaker entries.  It's not bad, not by a long shot, but it did have big shoes to fill, having to follow up Batman: The Animated Series.
I did like the nod to Batman in the pilot, when Martha tells Clark that he doesn't want people associating him with that nut who dresses like a bat over in Gotham.

This show was also notable for really bringing the DC Animated Universe to life.  Batman had a couple of team up episodes with characters like Zatanna and Etrigan, but Superman brought Aquaman, Flash, and Green Lantern to the forefront.  Granted, Justice League ended up using a different Green Lantern and drastically changed their portrayal of Aquaman, but it still introduced them and allowed viewers to get introduced to them and their backgrounds.

We also got a 3 part "movie" where Batman and Superman team up for the first time.  They would team up again in a later episode, before the transition to Justice League.

The score was decent enough, but really, nothing can compare to John Williams' Superman theme.

All in all though, this was a solid, and often overlooked entry in the DC Animated Universe.  It may not have reached the same heights as Batman: The Animated Series did, but it did its job well and gave Superman fans a chance to enjoy seeing their favorite characters brought to new life.