Superman: The Animated Series: Difference between revisions

[[File:Supes.jpg|frame]]

 

 

Baby Kal-El, [[Last of His Kind]], is sent away from the dying planet Krypton and lands on Earth, where thanks to the bright yellow sun he develops [[Flying Brick|famous abilities]] far greater than a normal human. He grows up in Smallville, Kansas, where he was found and raised as a human ("Clark") by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who instill within him a powerful sense of right and wrong. As an adult he defends the city of Metropolis as an honest, virtuous hero christened "Superman" by its inhabitants. [[Batman: The Animated Series|Not like that nut in Gotham City.]]

** Mercy Graves does not get many opportunities to show them off, but she has an impressive array of martial skills.

* [[Acquitted Too Late]]: When Superman and Lois Lane have found the proof to exonerate a man on death-row, they find that the governor is not at home because he decided to attend the execution personally, and Lois laments that they barely had time for him to make the phone call stopping the execution. Kenny is already in the gas chamber and the switch had already been thrown. {{spoiler|[[Subverted Trope|It is a good thing Superman]] [[Big Damn Hero|was able to save him anyway]].}}

* [[Affably Evil]]:

** Lex Luthor, who hides his villainy beneath a thin veneer of courtesy and suave sophistication.

** Edward Lytener, who even when making declarations of absolute hatred and murderous intent is always so briskly, cheerfully polite. This continues after he becomes Luminus.

** Metallo is often friendly and grinning, but unlike most examples of the trope he is usually assuming the pleasant persona to mock and insult his foes.

* [[The Alcatraz]]: Stryker's Island. There there were only three known escapes from the island, the first involved a missile strike, the second involved an attack by [[Psycho Electro|Livewire]] and the third was part of a plan to ''blot out the sun''.

* [[All Amazons Want Hercules]]: Maxima will only mate with a man who can equal her in combat.

* [[All Girls Want Bad Boys]]: Lana Lang explains to Lex that she ''likes'' dangerous men, [[Subverted Trope|except it turns out she only likes dangerous men because she could never snag nice guy Clark Kent]].

* [[All the Myriad Ways]]: Brave New Metropolis

* [[Amnesiac Dissonance]]: When Metallo surfaces after being lost at sea in his premier episode he has forgotten who and what he is. He is christened "Steelman" by the pair of children who find him and is (briefly) a hero, rescuing a truck driver from a flaming wreck. However, he recovers his memory at the end of the day and resumes his vendetta against Superman.

* [[Amusing Alien]]: Mr. Mxyzptlk.

* [[For Want of a Nail]]: In "Brave New World," Jimmy explains that Superman was a split-second late when Intergang put a bomb in Lois Lane's car. Because of that Lois died and Superman decided to [[Knight Templar|take a more proactive role in running the city]].

* [[Free-Range Children]]: "Action Figures" features two children on a volcanic island, which is suffering from frequent earthquakes, running around with no more supervision than the admonition to return to the camp ''if the volcano erupts''.

* [[Frickin' Laser Beams]]: Most humans use traditional firearms, but as the series progresses energy weapons are gradually introduced being used by LexCorp and the Special Crimes Unit.

* [[From a Single Cell]]: Brainiac

** In "The Way of All Flesh," Metallo tells Lois about how he has been thinking about her a lot, [[A Date with Rosie Palms|especially in prison]].

* [[The Glasses Come Off]]

* [[Gone Horribly Wrong]]: The origin of maybe a quarter of Superman's enemies.

* [[Gosh Dang It to Heck]]: "Frag!"

* [[Ignore the Fanservice]]: Mr. Mxyzptlk's wife blatantly attempts to seduce him, magically changing into a dozen revealing outfits, but he does not even look up from the killer robot he is building. Eventually, she smashes a plate on his head and walks away.

* [[Inadvertent Entrance Cue]]: This exchange in "My Girl:"

'''Lois Lane:''' (yelling impatiently from across the room): Hey Smallville, get your tail in here! Perry's got an assignment for us! }}

* [[I Need to Go Iron My Dog]]: When Clark and Lois notice a breakout from Stryker's Island, Clark runs off to turn into Superman by telling Lois that he will find a phone to call this in. [[Reality Ensues|Lois pulls her cell-phone from her purse]], but Clark is already gone.

* [[Sarcastic Confession]]: "The Main Man" (watch it [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0QVvbhMm24&playnext=1&videos=4-hvtNwEmKA here]):

{{quote|'''Lois Lane:''' I'm confused, Kent. See, I've lived in Metropolis most of my life, and I can't figure out how some yokel from Smallville is suddenly getting every hot story in town.

'''Clark Kent:''' You asked. }}

* [[Second-Person Attack]]: Done frequently.

* [[Tank Goodness]]: Intergang commits its first on-screen crime by robbing a bank ''with a tank''.

* [[Tear Jerker]]: The ending to "Apokolips...Now!" has Superman crying within the episode.

* [[Teleporters and Transporters]]:

** Boom Tubes, the preferred method of transportation for the [[New Gods]], appear throughout the series used by Apokolips, New Genesis and Superman himself.

* [[Western Terrorists]]: John Corben and crew, Luthor's buyers in "My Girl", and the hijackers in "World's Finest, Part 1".

* [[What Have I Become?]]: John Corben finally realizes what a monster he has become [[Sense Loss Sadness|after he discovers he can not even feel a kiss]].

* [[What Measure Is a Non Unique]]

* [[When All You Have Is a Hammer]]: Averted, despite public perception of Superman as a character who simply uses his [[New Powers as the Plot Demands|ever-evolving powers to solve his current problems]]. Nowhere is this more apparent than in ''Mxyzpixilated'' where Superman not only continually tricks Mr. Mxyzptlk back to his own dimension, but successfully gambits him into staying there permanently. What is more, he convinces him that he was simply toying with the annoying imp the entire time (and very well might have been).

[[Category:Superman: The Animated Series]]

[[Category:Cartoon Network]]

[[Category:Superman]]