Superman: The Animated Series: Difference between revisions

* [[Boring but Practical]]: When Lois Lane needs to go out in a heavy storm she dresses in an unflattering plain yellow rain poncho, [[Lampshade Hanging|pointing out]] that even if it is not particularly attractive or special it will keep her dry.

* [[Bouncer]]: The Metropolis Yacht Club had a bouncer outside its exclusive gala who refused to allow even people who bribed him to gain entry. Of course, [[Distracted by the Sexy|Volcana got in anyway]].

'''Bouncer:''' "Thank you." }}

* [[Brainwashed]]: In the [[Grand Finale]] "Legacy"

* [[Briar Patching]]: When Superman [[Brought Down to Normal|has lost his powers after being brought to an alien habitat that simulates Krypton's environment]], he explains to his assailants that they really do not want to throw him into the other habitat that he was trying to break into. It happens to be an ''Earth'' habitat, complete with yellow-sun projector. [[Oh Crap|The villains realize their mistake pretty quickly]].

* [[Bring It]]:

* [[Broken Pedestal]]: The writers explained that they wanted Jimmy Olsen to be a member of the resistance in "Brave New World," and explicitly wanted it to be ''him'' who began throwing rocks at Superman, because they felt that nothing would better demonstrate Superman's fall from grace than losing the adoration of his biggest fan.

* [[Brought Down to Normal]]: Several episodes revolve around Superman losing his powers, either through the lack of a yellow sun or [[Powers as Programs|when they are stolen]].

* [[Disney Villain Death]]: The Preserver, assuming he ''is'' dead.

* [[Distracted by the Sexy]]: Volcana gains entry to a private party, and draws the eye of on-duty photographer Jimmy Olsen, through raw sex appeal.

'''Bouncer:''' "''Everything.''" }}

* [[Distressed Damsel]]: Lois Lane is the traditional damsel, frequently being rescued by Superman, but the trope is discussed in the episode "Target." Despite a madman consistently attempting to murder her she remains unconcerned and defiant, continuing her own invesitgation against the advice of others. She points out that she remains in control of her life despite the danger she is in and, even if she needs Superman to physically save her, [[Will Not Be a Victim|she will never]] ''[[Will Not Be a Victim|let]]'' [[Will Not Be a Victim|herself become a damsel]].

** Kanto, even though [[Human Aliens|he is not actually human]].

* [[Evil Gloating]]: Lampshaded and averted in "In Brightest Day":

'''Sinestro''': "No." }}

* [[Eviler Than Thou]]: When [[The Joker]] goes to Metropolis, [[Lex Luthor]] at first considers him beneath his notice due to his inability to destroy his "[[Batman|mere mortal in Gotham]]". Eventually, they strike up a partnership and the entire time, Lex believes that he's got the Joker's strings. After the Joker fails to kill Superman (though he came DAMN close), Lex decides to betray the Joker. [[Not So Harmless|The Joker anticipates this and turns it right back on him, taking a bomber Lex was building and nearly kills Lex and nearly levels all of the buildings he built in Metropolis (half of the city).]] He's only stopped by the timely intervention of Batman and Superman.

* [[Genre Savvy]]: The Joker, bizarrely enough. When he guest stars and tosses Bruce Wayne off a Metropolis roof he instructs his men to go make sure that Bruce is really dead, since in this town it is far too likely that somebody could actually catch him in mid-air. When it turns out Bruce is alive (He landed on a scaffold) his men decide to stop trying to knock him off the building [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?|and instead just try to shoot him]] ([[A-Team Firing|not that that helps]]).

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]

'''Lois''': Right here. (Points at the "S" symbol on Superman's chest) }}

** In the episode "Double Dose" with Parasite and Livewire there are a lot of sex references, especially rape innuendos as Parasite continually tries to, uh, feed off of her.

** This exchange in "My Girl":

'''Reporters''': <collective ooohs> }}

** In "The Main Man," the bar Lobo is introduced in is called 'The Steaming Load.'

* [[Hometown Nickname]]: Lois calls Clark "Smallville".

* [[How Do I Shot Web?]]: Parasite figures out his ability to drain energy rather quickly, but was confused when he began to lose what he had gained after a few hours. It took him a while to recognize the time limit and need to re-drain people.

* [[Human Aliens]]: Kryptonians, of course, as well as the [[New Gods]] (Apart from the Parademons and a few of the ruling class).

* [[Humongous Mecha]]: Superman's first battle is against the Lexo-Suit 5000, a combat machine which, at this point, is regarded as the most powerful weapon on the planet.

* [[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:"

'''Lana Lang:''' So will you. [[I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy|You deserve it.]] Someone quiet, understanding, patient...<br />

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

* [[I Never Said It Was Poison]]: In "Target", Lois finds out it was her acquaintance Edward Lytener who is trying to kill her when he says he watched Lois's award on the TV while in his workshop. But he does not ''have'' a TV on his workshop.

* [[In-Series Nickname]]: In "Identity Crisis":

'''Mercy Graves:''' Bizarro is what you am? }}

* [[In Spite of a Nail]]: In the [[Alternate Universe]] of "Brave New Metropolis" the city and people in it have all been transformed since Lois Lane died, except for Lex Luthor. When Lois is transported there from the primary universe, she explains that he is the one person who is ''exactly'' the same.

* [[The Lancer]]: Inspector Dan "Terrible" Turpin of the Special Crimes Unit serves as the lancer to Capain Maggie Sawyer, Superman's [[The Commissioner Gordon|contact on the police force]], and occasionally to Superman himself.

* [[Last of His Kind]]: It's revealed that Lobo is one of these, and seems at first that this would be a point that reveals why Lobo's as psychotic as he is...until he nostalgically reflects on how he destroyed his entire planet for a school science project.

* [[Left Hanging]]: The episode "The Prometheon." It ends with Superman and Dr. Hamilton subduing the eponymous creature, a heat-absorbing android the size of a skyscraper, by freezing the entire Metropolis Reservoir. And that is it. Fade to black. What do they do with it? They do not say. How do they keep it from waking back up when the water melts? They do not say. And how do they deal with the fact that, until they do figure out a solution, they have frozen ''the entire Metropolis water supply''? Again, they do not say.

* [[Les Collaborateurs]]: Bruno Mannheim.

* [[Lesser of Two Evils]]: During the events of "The Main Man," both Superman and the psychotic bounty hunter Lobo are imprisoned, on account of both being the [[Last of His Kind]]. Superman breaks out of his cell, and Lobo pleads for Superman to release him, too. Superman initially refuses, thinking that his imprisonment is a fitting punishment. Lobo, understandably enraged, vows that..

** In the short time that Lobo was on Earth, he ''built a small nuke'' when simple wanton destruction wasn't summoning Superman quickly enough. And, both from Lobo's canon and his status as a famed bounty hunter, he's a man of his word. It also helps that he's the [[Last of His Kind]] because he created a doomsday device that wiped out his entire planet...for a highschool science project. Needless to say, Superman thinks that allowing the [[Chaotic Neutral]] Lobo roam the galaxy is a preferable alternative to the prospect of a fully [[Chaotic Evil]] Lobo gunning for Earth's destruction, and lets him go after making him swear to leave the Earth and its people in peace.

** This even gets carried over into the [[Justice League]] animated series: after Superman is apparently killed, Lobo shows up at the League watchtower, and the heroes initially believe him there to wreak vengeance for Superman having defeated him. Turns out he thought Superman's departure [[Token Evil Teammate|left a job opening]] for a [[Flying Brick]].

** In ''Last Son of Krypton, Part 3'' Lois tells Bibbo to have Clark call "Commissioner Henderson" if she is not heard from soon. Inspector William Henderson was a character originally introduced in [[The Adventures of Superman (radio)|the 1940's radio series]] as [[The Commissioner Gordon|Superman's contact on the police force]]; he was later adapted into the television series and, eventually, the comics. His role was eventually supplanted by Daniel Turpin and Maggie Sawyer, two characters who would become important recurring characters within this series, and he is currently Metropolis's Police Commissioner. He is given a small role in ''Feeding Time'' and appears in the background in ''Apokolips...Now!''

** In "New Kids in Town", Brainiac has one to ''[[Superman (film)|Superman II]]''

** In "Target," when Lois Lane is trapped in the [[Death Trap|elevator]] Superman rescues her and says that "I believe this is your floor," the same line he spoke to Lois when rescuing her from an elevator in ''[[Superman II]]''.

** The comet that Darkseid will use to destroy the Earth in "Little Girl Lost" is [[Fleischer Studios|Fleischer's Comet]].

* [[Noir Episode]]: "The Late Mr. Kent".

* [[Nosy Neighbor]]: A 50-year-old wife is watching Superman and Maxima fight at a construction site. Her husband, newspaper blocking his view, tells her to stop spying on the neighbors.

'''Husband''': Don't get any ideas! }}

* [[Not Me This Time]]:

* [[Ruritania]]: Kaznia (which plays a larger role in ''[[Justice League]]'').

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

'''Clark Kent:''' Well Lois, the truth is I'm actually [[Clark Kenting|Superman in disguise]], and I only pretend to be a journalist in order to hear about disasters as they happen and then squeeze you out of the by-line.<br />

'''Lois Lane:''' ...you're a sick man, Kent.<br />

* [[Time Travel]]: In the third season, Brainiac [[Legion of Super-Heroes|from the thirty-first century]] goes back in time to Smallville to kill Clark Kent before he can become Superman. Three Legionaires travel back as well [[Terminator Twosome|to make sure he does not succeed]].

* [[Too Kinky to Torture]]:

* [[Turn in Your Badge]]: Inverted. Maggie Sawyer remarks that if she had a nickel for every time Dan Turpin turned in his badge of his own volition, she would be richer than Luthor.

* [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]]: Mr. Mxyzptlk, a man approximately three feet tall with half his height occupied by his head, is married to the [[Statuesque Stunner|tall]], [[She's Got Legs|leggy]] Gsptlsnz.

* [[Undying Loyalty]]: The end of the series has probably the darkest version of this trope imaginable. Darkseid is about as evil as you can get and treats his slaves horribly. Yet even after Superman beats him and throws him down to the slaves' mercy, they pick him up to treat him. Why?

* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: Shoot my monkey.

* [[Up, Up, and Away]]: Superman's classic pose, and a line Chameleon boy [[I Always Wanted to Say That|always wanted to say]].

* [[We Can Rule Together]]: Luthor, Brainiac and Darkseid all give this speech to Superman in separate episodes.

* [[Weirdness Magnet]]: Superman brings out all the aliens, demons, and mad scientists. Lois Lane seems to attract more than her share of freaks and killers, too, as lampshaded by Dan Turpin:

'''Dan Turpin:''' You know this guy? Figures. All the whackos come to you. }}

* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: Kalibak's original reason for attacking Supes was that he wanted to please Darkseid.

* [[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]].

** "Your usefulness to me has ended." -- Brainiac to his brainwashed victim, {{spoiler|[[Batman]]}}, in "Knight Time."

** Darkseid does not say the actual line, but when Bruno Mannheim has served his purpose in "Apokolips...Now!" he is left to die on an island about to be destroyed by a nuclear explosion.

'''Darkseid''': And so you are. King of FOOLS! * teleports* }}

*** The DVD commentary suggests "king of Hell" as an alternative.