Superman (DC animated universe)

Superman is a fictional character in the DC animated universe.

Superman: The Animated Series was produced by Warner Bros. and ran from 1996 until 2000 on The WB Television Network. Tim Daly provided Superman/Clark Kent's voice with George Newbern taking over on Justice League, Justice League Unlimited and Static Shock.

Basic overview

The Superman of the DC animated universe is a synthesis of Superman's 60-plus year history. At first glance, it appears to be an adaptation of The Man of Steel, but also took many aspects of the Silver Age and modernized them.

In this continuity, Superman was believed to be the only Kryptonian survivor; except for Kara In-Ze (Supergirl) from Krypton's "sister" planet, Argo and the artificial intelligence of Brainiac) until Professor Hamilton found a device with access to the Phantom Zone where two other Kryptonians were found. His arch-enemy is the "wealthy business tycoon" version of Lex Luthor (though he displays mad-scientist-like genius in some episodes, such as in his interactions with Brainiac). His parents are still alive, and this Superman was never Superboy.

The Superman on Justice League Unlimited is portrayed as slightly older and has a different actor Providing the voice (although cast members such as Dana Delany and Clancy Brown re-appeared in guest appearances), but is much the same and the show is usually considered a continuation of it, as well as the various Batman cartoons that preceded it.

Clark Kent

In the Superman: The Animated Series of the late 1990s, Kent is based on John Byrne's version of him, becoming more assertive and intelligent. He is also considered to be the real person, with Superman the "alter ego", though Kent often appears less in most episodes.

Origin of Superman

Superman: The Animated Series premiered with a three-part episode titled "The Last Son of Krypton." The series creators felt that focusing on the alien civilization of Krypton in the premiere episode would help differentiate the series from their earlier work Batman: The Animated Series. They intended to mirror the structure of the origin presented in the 1978 film, but they felt that it would seem stale unless they added some new dimension to it.

This version's major difference is Brainiac's role in Krypton's destruction. Brainiac is portrayed as the supercomputer that monitors Krypton and advises the planetary council on scientific matters. He senses the imminent destruction of the planet, but denies this fact so he can avoid the council's order to organize the planet's evacuation and instead focus on saving himself. Brainiac reasons that the loss of the planet itself and all its living inhabitants is part of the NATURAL order, but his own survival would ensure the preservation of Krypton's history and achievements. Because he goes against Brainiac and the Kryptonian Council, Jor-El becomes an outlaw in their eyes as he works to save his son. After the destruction of Krypton and Kal-El's arrival on Earth, Brainiac eventually becomes an enemy of Superman.

Powers and abilities of Superman

In the animated series Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League and its sequel Justice League Unlimited, Superman is depicted with power levels similar to those he possessed immediately following his 1986 reboot in the comics, though the writers had admitted to what extent does vary depending on plot requirements. Superman possesses the powers of flight, superhuman strength, x-Ray Vision, heat vision, cold breath, super-speed, enhanced hearing, and INCredible resistance to harm, though he Seldom uses his heat vision, freeze breath or hearing. While Superman is immensely strong both in terms of muscle power and ability to take physical punishment, he is not all-powerful.

Superman derives his power from the yellow sun of Earth. Forced under a red sun akin to the red sun of his homeworld, Krypton, or exposed to red sun radiation, Superman rapidly loses his powers, reverting to the stature of a normal human. This version of Superman also needs to breathe, taking a deep breath in "Apokalips Now... Part 2" before plunging into the ocean, and having a special suit for when he needs to operate in outer space.

However, in the Justice League Unlimited finale, "Destroyer", Superman says that he hasn't shown his full power because, in his own words, "I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard," and as such he is fearful of utilizing the full extent of his strength and powers, because of The Risk that he might inadvertently kill someone. Darkseid, as a formidable and lethal villain, (a literal alien god) forces Superman to "cut loose", fighting Darkseid at full strength, without pulling his punches or limiting himself. At full power, Superman was shown to be either on even terms with Darkseid, or better.

The episode "The Late Mr. Kent" reveals that Superman doesn't need to eat, though he does out of habit.

In the Batman Beyond episode "The Call" set fifty years in the future of the DCAU, Superman is shown to have aged far slower than the average human, looking somewhere in his late forties to early fifties as opposed to Bruce Wayne's late seventies or early eighties. This prompts Bruce to mention that he "Could use some of that Kryptonian DNA." Superman retains all of his previously shown powers at the same level despite his age. He is said to be still ACTIVE fifteen years later in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue".

Kryptonite

In the 1990s series, Superman: The Animated Series, one explanation offered for the science of kryptonite is that Superman feels the detrimental effects of kryptonite radiation quicker than normal humans because his body absorbs it more readily, as a result of sharing a common point of origin with the element. The effect is so potent that even a tiny shard is enough to painfully affect Superman at a short distance. This makes it impossible for Superman to even touch the substance, as it would be the equivalent of a normal man touching radioactive rods from a nuclear reactor with his bare skin. Only the element lead can block the radiation, and it is therefore Superman's only protection. Fortunately, Professor Hamilton supplies Superman with a distinctive and durable lead protection suit for such Situations.

Kryptonite, in the animated series, still has effects on normal humans as well. Two moments are evidence of this. First, the "Jade Dragon" from The Batman/Superman Movie (a crossover between The New Batman Adventures and Superman: The Animated Series) is a statue of kryptonite carved in the form of a Chinese dragon, said to be cursed because all of its owners all died within a few years of acquiring the piece. Second is Lex Luthor's kryptonite poisoning/cancer as seen in Justice League, attributed to Lex's admitted habit of keeping a fist-sized chunk of kryptonite in his pocket for years. This does bring up the question of Batman's habit of also carrying a piece of kryptonite in his own belt; however, since Batman has seen what the kryptonite did to Luthor, the famed methodicality of Batman may mean that he likely has the pouch lined with lead. The lead pouch theory seems to be confirmed by the fact that Superman can stand near Batman without being affected by the piece. In Batman Beyond, it was revealed in the two part episode "The Call" that Bruce Wayne kept the kryptonite for the rest of his life, and kept the needle of kryptonite locked up very securely in the Bat Cave. The Justice League series also reveals how Batman obtained the kryptonite.

Green kryptonite remains the only variety of the substance ever seen in the DC animated universe.