It's All Been Done - How SUPERMAN: The Animated Series Found Its Face

Surrounded by a sea of other Men of Steel in media, the team on "Superman: The Animated Series" struggled endlessly to find a unique approach. From a Fleischer clone to a prototype Justice League, this is the story of how Warner Bros. Animation defined Superman for a new generation.

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The Watchtower Database and its creators are unaffiliated with Warner Bros., DC Entertainment, or any other official DC Animated Universe producer or source. WDb is a fan-run, non-profit website and does not claim to own any of its presented properties. "Batman: the Animated Series," "The Adventures of Batman & Robin," "The New Batman Adventures," "Superman: the Animated Series," "The New Batman/Superman Adventures," "Batman Beyond," "The Zeta Project," "Static Shock," "Justice League," "Justice League Unlimited," and all related names, logos, and indicia are trademark and ©1992-2006 DC Comics and Warner Bros. All rights reserved.

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Extra tags:
dcau, dc animated universe, superman, superman the animated series, superman dcau, justice league, justice league unlimited, fleischer superman, fleischer cartoon, dc comics, darkseid, jack kirby, lex luthor, dan riba, bruce timm, paul dini, alan burnett, bob goodman, jla, superman justice league, superman mullet, batman, batman the animated series, superman batman, world's finest, the new batman adventures, star trek ruk, superman lives, superman cartoon, pre-production, hercules

[comixproviderftw_]

In a fanbase that completely gushes about BTAS, Batman Beyond, both JL Shows being legendary and Static Shock being an overlooked gem, it’s nice to see STAS get some love. Especially when it’s being seen as the middle child of the DCAU for years.

[SHK]

I personally believed that the over-abundance of robots in the 90's (and 80's) was the fact that the hero could get away with a higher degree of "animated violence" as opposed to attacking a person.. They still found ways around it (like the "flashing punch" in the Batman Animated Series)

[CasuallyComics]

It all came together so well! So happy to have been a part of it :)

[BenjaminSteber]

I only just noticed that Lois has violet eyes and almost always wears purple.

Supermans’ most prominent colors are red and blue. Mix them and you get purple.

I think the designers made this color choice to communicate that while Superman wants to have a relationship with Lois, while he wants to be human, while he wants to blend in, Superman is stuck in the red and blue, kryptonian and human, Kalel and Clark Kent identity crisis. But, as Lois is always there for him, his hope of becoming part of humanity is always nearby, even if just out of reach.

[ISBuckley]

While I generally liked Batman the Animated Series and Justice League better, this is still a solid show. I love their handling of Clark (he’s awkward but confident and very good at his job) and ESPECIALLY the castings (Michael Ironside and Clancy Brown in particular will always be Darkseid and Luthor to me). Overall a really great show!

[Kopie]

The schuster fleischter style was so iconic, my grandfather (God bless soul), watched Batman TAS and Superman TAS and acted like a kid before he passed. He was so glad the style was adopted and as a comic and animation fan, he felt like he went back to his childhood.

[IN-tmmw]

This version of Superman was always the peek for me. Powerful but not overpowered. A simple farm boy trying to do good.

[GodzillaMendoza]

This was such a well crafted video! I am so honored to have contributed this. Fantastic work, and much love to everyone involved!

[Longshanks]

There’s always going to be a part of me that’s perpetually angry that STAS didn’t get to have a season redeeming Superman and instead basically ended with Darkseid’s ideological victory over Superman.

He got to explore that more in JL/JLU, but it really needed to be in the formal show.

[madsgrams]

Michael Ironside's performance as Darkseid is the most amazing thing in this show. It's almost on par with Hamill's performance as Joker. Just wish we had seen more of him.

[hermionescranny]

This version of Superman has inspired the way I draw my own superheroes. I loved the Shuster and the Fleischer styles but neither of them have made a huge impact on me as the current version did. This style of Superman will always have a place in my heart.

[steelydyl]

Dan Riba just seems to be the coolest dude. I feel like there could be a never ending interview with him that would still be watchable

[Pinkomy]

While everyone else is all like “Batman this, Batman that…” I always was the biggest Superman fan. And I love references from the Iron Giant. 😭

[yourlittlebrotherGabrielReview]

This is peak Superman for me. It’s the reason I love the character so much. It’s so classic and the show has aged like fine wine and even stood out from its predecessors because a lot of audiences haven’t watched most of it.

[killermoth]

Man a 90s Superman equivalent of Brave and the Bold is something I never knew I wanted until now.

[AussieDragoon]

I'm glad that we got this video on STAS, I feel between BTAS and the JL era, it tends to be underappreciated, despite how much of the DCAU it defined with its designs, crossovers, and tones. Frankly to answer your question I'm glad this is the version of STAS that we got. Modernizing everything from the 40s by way of 60s by way of 80s aesthetic if BTAS helped make things more consistent and honestly more grounded moving forward, I'm glad we lost the black backgrounds that tended to make things blend into each other.

Though with this video, I'm curious if this is the start of seeing more STAS content on the channel. Cause even though Zeta project is the meme, its the show I've wanted to see you guys talk about the most.

[georgiawilksch]

Gotta say, part of the reason I love these cartoons is that I love Art Deco architecture, just gives such good vibes. I prefer my Batman and superman with art-deco in any format.

[Mr_J]

One thing that gets lost in discussions of STAS is the absolutely AMAZING voice cast for this show. Michael Ironside and Clancy Brown are THE definitive versions of the characters for me and millions of others.

[rorylumley]

A viedo on the werid justice leauge marketing pre justice leauge would be neat.

[mabelpines]

A viedo on the 90's dcau style justice leaugue marketing.