Superman – The Complete Animated Series DVD Review

Written on December 2, 2009 by Marc Eastman in Television

Following the surprising success of the animated Batman series, Superman got his shot at the screen, and the 54-episode series is a real treat for fans of the Man of Steel. Like the previous Bruce Timm effort, and his Justice League which followed, Superman is a solid mix of adventure, storytelling, and plain old superhero fun.

With a somewhat more serious twist than many might expect, this Superman series opened the universe fairly early in its run, as opposed to having Superman fight the same villains in the same city episode after episode. Thus, it wasn’t long before Darkseid hit the scene, and the trials Superman faces move to a galactic realm and the door is open for just about anything.

With Tim Daly providing excellent voice work for Superman, writers who clearly are huge fans of not only Superman in general, but also the work they are creating, the series was equal parts honoring the subject and pushing through to new possibilities.

As you might expect, the complete series release brings together the initial single-season releases, but puts things together in a great package, and includes a bonus disc with the feature – The Despot Darkseid: A Villain Worthy of Superman. That feature will please fans, but they’ll want it to be longer. It’s a good look at the general plans for the show’s dynamic, and shows the long road to putting together the pieces of how a villain and the plots will play out.

You also get the original bonuses from the season releases, and there are a lot of them. Commentary tracks, Making-Of featurettes, an incredibly cool pop-up trivia track, and a lot more.

As with all the shows in the general world of Bruce Timm, this one is definitely worth owning. What kid doesn’t like Superman? Superman done really well makes it an easy choice.