Superman The Animates Series coming to Blu Ray October 12 2021

[Kamdan]

Ever since I first saw these character designs in the Superman: The Complete History book, I marveled at how much more comparable the series could have been with the initial run of Batman: The Animated Series. I'm sure they would have gone fully with it if they were given high budgets like those episodes got. Everything was noticeably streamlined in the later seasons of Batman due to reduced budgets and Superman got no special treatment.

[The Joker]

I don't know if that's what underlies Timm's falling out with Ross. But it would explain quite a lot if it did.

Constructive criticism is one thing, but Ross using the word "despise" with regard to Timm's opinion of Ross' art, is a pretty barefaced choice of a word to use. Makes me wonder if the both of them got into some sort of (very) heated conversation about their respective art and some unkind things were said? That can easily happen during an argument, and it depends on the person just how long someone takes to get over having their feelings hurt (if at all in some cases evidently).     

[The Laughing Fish]

I found an interview of Tim Daly, and he talked about playing Superman and Bizarro in the show.

Something I know I loved about your work in the series is that you were only one of a handful of actors who got to play Superman and Bizarro. Looking back, exploring that duality, even in just a handful of episodes, must have been quite an experience?

Yeah, I really liked doing Bizarro. At the time, I was in the thrall of that darkness actors seem to love to delve into, me included. It's the dark side of humanity and I consider it my job to explore all the sides of humanity, good and bad, dark and light. It was fun to get away for a moment from the boy scout nature of Superman and really go into a dark place with Bizarro. I had a great deal of empathy for him because he is sort of misguided, misunderstood, and used. He wasn't innately evil I don't think. He was just manipulated in a way that made him seem so. Anyway, the short answer is, yes, I had a good time doing that.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230609121132/https://comicbookmovie.com/superman/superman-animated/superman-the-animated-series-interview-tim-daly-hopes-for-a-brighter-future-for-the-man-of-steel-exclusive-a189219

I rewatched the episode Identity Crisis and I forgot how much Bizarro was a healthy functional clone who was convinced he was the true Superman, until his body and speech began to deteriorate. A pretty solid - if simple - story about a well-meaning but confused character who was a victim of Lex Luthor playing God. I liked how he still had traces of Superman's personality and heroism to make him a tragic character, not just for comic relief.

From a geeky point of view, I wished this episode had Bizarro having the subconsciousness of dressing up like Clark Kent at work, as he did in the fifth chapter of John Byrne's Man of Steel mini-series. He already had inherited Superman's traits, so having a scene with him breaking into a store and dressed as Clark the reporter before he and Superman fight each other would've been a nice nod to the comic, even if it were obscure.

[The Laughing Fish]

Here is another interview, this time with Dana Delaney aka Lois Lane. These are some of my favourite answers from her:

When Superman: The Animated Series first aired, strong female characters weren't the norm in any genre, never mind animation, so how did you feel when you were approached with this layered version of Lois Lane?

It's funny because I grew up reading Lois Lane comic books. When I was a kid, she actually had her own comic book. I had also watched the TV series when it was on, if you can believe it, in the 1950s [Laughs]. So, my image of Lois Lane was always a strong career woman and that's how I found her. I was really happy when I saw the writing as that matched my image of her and when I auditioned for it, I was just thrilled. Lois had been an icon for me my whole childhood and my whole life and I saw that they had a period feel to it. I immediately pictured Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday. In the movies from that time and when Superman was introduced, women were really strong. They've just backslid since then.

You've been able to return as Lois since the conclusion of the series on multiple occasions; what has it meant to you to have this character follow you throughout your acting career?

I'm a fan of Superman and that world myself. Like I said, I grew up reading those comics, so that makes sense to me. Also, I feel like what Superman represents - not in a cheesy way - but the original people who drew him, Shuster and Siegel, were doing it in response to Nazis, World War II, and Anti-Semitism. It's always been a world with a political statement rather than just, 'Rah, rah, America!' I was really happy that those guys continued that in our series.

What interested and excited you most about exploring Lois' dynamic in the series both with Clark Kent and Superman?

It's funny because I watched some of the episodes in preparation and I was laughing out loud because I forget about some of the great dialogue in it. I'd forgotten that Lois was the one that names him Superman [Laughs]. What a great honour to have, you know? I think it was the triple episode where Lois was dating Batman and we had the crossover. That was so much fun to make Superman jealous and have Clark not be able to say anything. It makes me laugh when Lois finally realises Batman is Bruce Wayne and says, 'So, when were you going to tell me? The honeymoon?' [Laughs] It was such a great line to say and she really got to say some great stuff. Another thing that I noticed was, yes, Superman saved her a lot, but not until she'd kicked ass herself. They'd let Lois go as far as she could in defending herself until it was a matter of life and death and she was falling out of a building and he had to swoop in and catch her. They really let her fight her own fights that I really appreciated.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230320085503/https://comicbookmovie.com/superman/superman-animated/superman-the-animated-series-interview-dana-delany-on-lois-lanes-legacy-and-a-possible-return-exclusive-a189467#gs.7qkpau

[The Laughing Fish]

Interesting (if somewhat a little conflicting) comments from Bruce Timm about Superman in the Justice League animated series, I found these from archive.org.

Bruce Timm on Superman #2:  "People who want him to be more of a bad-ass are missing the point.  He was raised in the heartland of America by two wonderful, loving parents who instilled in him a powerful sense of 'right' and 'wrong.'  So, for all that everyone complains about Superman's 'boy scout' qualities, that's exactly what he is:  he's not just super-strong, super-fast, etc...he's super-good, too.  He's the ultimate man.  [As a result, his morality forces him to] live his entire life under strict self-control; otherwise the results could be catastrophic (courtesy of Toon Zone)."

Bruce Timm on Superman #3:  "It astonishes me somewhat that anyone could actually think that I could 'hate Superman outright.'  I mean, no offense, but...sorry, I'm kind of at a loss for words.  I couldn't possibly produce fifty-two episodes of a series starring a character [that] I flat-out hated, or had disdain or contempt for...life's too short!  Sure, I've worked on shows in the past whose lead characters I had no love or respect for, but to put in the kind of man-hours that I did as producer / designer / what-have-you on STAS, my commitment to the character was absolute.  My comments (from Comicology, right?) were, I thought, pretty clear on the matter:  I've loved, respected, and admired Superman since I was a kid—I even dressed up as him for Halloween and brought my lunch to school in my beloved Superman lunch-box.  It's just that, by modern standards, he can come off as quaint or corny or out-dated, if not handled properly.  Batman, by contrast, is much easier to 'get right' with that outfit, the attitude, the whole mystique...he's automatically 'cooler.'  If I had to choose one over the other, sure, I'd pick Batman in a heartbeat, [but] that doesn't mean [that] I don't like Superman too.  I just like Batman better.

"I've admitted elsewhere that we dropped the ball with Superman's portrayal in Season One of Justice League, not out of malice, but merely inattention; thus we did end up temporarily with the slightly daft, bland, cornball boy scout, [but] when we all realized what was happening, we took steps to re-vitalize him in Season Two.  I, personally, may have gone a little overboard in that area, as I wrote the entire Superman / Darkseid verbal thrown-down scene in 'Twilight' myself—including the notoriously over-the-top 'greasy smear on my fist' line—I even wrote his, 'Y'know, Bruce, you're not always right,' line, allowing him to one-up Batman (my 'favorite' character, remember), in one of the rarest instances in the entire DCAU canon.  I wouldn't have gone to the trouble for a character I hated.  Anyhow, I hope this clears that up (courtesy of Toon Zone)."

https://web.archive.org/web/20190423180546/http://jl.toonzone.net/superman/superman.htm

I don't quite remember Superman in STAS being a complete boy scout. He was definitely responsible with his abilities and approachable after rescuing people, but not he wasn't corny either. I do understand where Timm was coming from with his regrets of handling George Newbern's Superman in JL seasone one, however. For example, I remember Tim Daly's Superman was completely stern and highly suspicious of Lex Luthor. In constrast, when Lex was diagnosed with cancer due to exposure to Kryptonite in JL season one, Newbern's Superman was empathetic, much to Lex's contempt. That alone showed a significant contrast between the two versions of Superman.

Timm may have reasoned that every attempt to harden Superman up was a challenge to escape from the cheesy stereotype, but the changes are quite natural, in my opinion. You look at how Superman grieved over Dan Turpin's murder at the hands of Darkseid, to Darkseid brainwashing to become his puppet in an attempt to conquer Earth, it makes sense why Superman would cut loose and unleash his rage and full power on Darkseid in both JL and JLU cartoons. Depicting him as a forgiving boy scout wouldn't be as palatable for the general audience.

The late Dwayne McDuffie reasoned the desire for Superman to be less than perfect compared to the purists' idea of the character:

Dwayne McDuffie on Superman:  "Superman constantly learns from his mistakes and, when it comes down to it, takes appropriate actions (even when they make him look bad, as in many of the situations that Luthor has engineered to that purpose).  He does what's right, not what's easiest.  Consider:  Superman is powerful enough to end Cadmus right now.  Why doesn't he?  He tells Huntress why in 'Question Authority.'  Later, in 'Panic in the Sky,' despite his understandable anger and frustration, rather than going after Cadmus he talks about it with the rest of the Justice League, who he knows will disagree with attacking.  As J'onn points out, Superman came there to be talked down.

"Our version of Superman is far from perfect.  He makes mistakes but, eventually, gets the right answer.  He might walk right up to the precipice, but he'll never fall in.  [...] I like for my heroes to be tempted, and I tend to forgive them for their mistakes, just like I do my real-life friends.  Some people see Superman as absolutely incorruptible and incapable of human foibles.  That's a reasonable way to go with him, there have been lots of terrific stories over the years that treat him that way, but we're more interested in showing him struggle to overcome his weaknesses, as opposed to not having any other than kryptonite (courtesy of Television Without Pity)."

[The Laughing Fish]

Back in 2021, Clancy Brown did a small interview about what inspired him to play Lex Luthor, and his assessment of the character in general.

We're going to talk about the 25 year anniversary of  'Superman: The Animated Series' where you play Lex Luther. At the time there weren't a lot of voice actors that had played him. We had Jason Beck in the 'New Adventures of Superman', Michael Bell and Stan Jones on 'Super Friends'. 25 years ago. What were you tapping into or who did you base your performance on?

Clancy Brown: Mine was definitely Stan Jones and then Michael Bell. I guess I didn't realize Michael Bell had done it, he's a friend. Stan Jones was kind of the big voice that I remember. And it was mostly the look with the voice. That's what I recall. I wasn't really thinking about Gene Hackman. I'm not as good an actor as Gene Hackman. I was new to voiceover and I really wanted to do the discipline of voiceover. Then (Superman: TAS) happened along,  they were casting outside the box, trying to get some non-voiceover actors to act. I was a non-voiceover actor and happy to do it, and now they've completely sucked me in and taken over my brain, the Voiceover world.

...

Lex is the most dangerously intelligent man on the planet. So why does he hate Superman so much?

CB: It's a different answer from now than it was back then. You know, in the first episode, he tried to convince Superman to join him. I think there's something missing in Lex, something that drives him. Something has occurred that has caused him to make those compromises. I also think he thinks that he's the solution to all the problems somehow. This alien shows up from another planet, who just follows the straight and narrow path and doesn't have any time for any compromise or nuance or anything about that is either good or bad. He does, but not the way Lex thinks about it. It's an interesting character, Lex Luthor, over the years he started out just as a crime boss, and now he becomes like Mark Zuckerberg, or whatever for Facebook, he's become CEO. This subtle, manipulator of capitalism. The king of peak capitalism.

https://web.archive.org/web/20211029154828/https://bleedingcool.com/tv/superman-the-animated-series-clancy-brown-reflects-on-lex-luthor-run/

Power-hungry and egoism are words that I'd describe Lex Luthor, and Brown's suave voice portrays those characteristics so well. He played it with this arrogance, yet still sounded dignified in his own twisted way. In contrast, when Powers Boothe mimicked that voice with Gene Hackman-like playfulness in Superman: Brainiac Attacks, it was out of place. Entertaining, but out of place.