Superman: The Animated Series – 10 Things Fans Never Knew About The Cartoon

The 90s was a golden age for superhero TV, with Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and X-Men all debuting during the decade. However, one of the more underrated superhero shows to debut during this era was Superman: The Animated Series. Despite being an incredible show, it never reached the heights of Batman: The Animated Series.

While the show may not have as wide a fanbase as BTAS, it still has a cult following. As with any show, Superman: The Animated Series has its own behind the scenes stories and quirks that this dedicated fan base will certainly want to know about.

10 Dan Turpin And Jack Kirby

Dan Turpin was one of the ever-present characters throughout the series, with the bushy-eyebrowed detective appearing very often throughout the series. While the character does appear in the comics, his appearance is vastly different, with the animated version basing the character design on comics legend Jack Kirby.

Fans will know that Dan Turpin died during the series, with a funeral even being held for him. This episode was dedicated to Jack Kirby and, in the original release of the episode, the Fantastic Four could be seen attending the funeral.

9 First Animated Metallo

Metallo is one of the most iconic Superman villains. At first, Metallo may appear to only be a cyborg man, but the character has a heart of kryptonite, making him a very tricky enemy for Superman to fight. Due to the character’s long history in the comics, it may come as a surprise to learn that this was the character’s first animated appearance.

In the show, Lex Luthor says he can cure John Corben of a rare disease, offering to transfer his brain into a metal body to save his life. However, Corben doesn’t anticipate the consequences of this procedure.

8 Shazam Was Supposed To Appear

Superman: The Animated Series was known for introducing other comic book heroes into its episodes, with Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern all appearing during the show’s run, setting up a wider universe that would eventually mature into the DC Animated Universe in the process.

However, plans were in place to introduce Captain Marvel/ Shazam into the show though issues with rights and licensing prevented this at the time.

7 Zod Was Absent

General Zod is one of the most famous Superman villains, with the character being played in live-action form by both Michael Shannon and Terrence Stamp. However, despite being a popular Superman villain, Zod never actually appeared in the series.

Instead of Zod, the creators had a character named Jax-Ur who acted as a ‘General Zod’ style villain in every way except name.

6 Lex Luthor And Blofeld

Clancy Brown’s performance as Lex Luthor deserves to be considered on the same level as Kevin Conroy’s Batman and Mark Hamill’s Joker, with Brown perfectly capturing the voice of the character and continuing to portray Luthor brilliantly throughout the DCAU.

The design of Lex Luthor in the show was heavily inspired by Telly Savalas’ Ernst Stavro Blofeld from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, giving the character a more Bond-villain look.

5 Flash’s Identity

Long before the Flash and Superman would formally join forces in Justice League, the Man of Steel and the Scarlet Speedster would appear together in Superman: The Animated Series, with the two racing against one another to determine who is truly faster.

While the Flash did indeed appear in the series, his identity wasn’t revealed as the creators hadn’t yet decided which Flash they wanted to introduce.

4 Opening Credits

One of the most iconic elements of the DCAU was the intro from Batman: The Animated Series, with the opening perfectly capturing the style and tone of the series. With this in mind, the creators of Superman: The Animated Series also hoped to have a similar opening.

However, animators didn’t have time to finish the opening and so a montage was made instead. That being said, some elements of the intended opening did make it into the final product.

3 T Rex Was Going To Be Given To Batman

Batman is known for collecting trinkets from his escapades as a crime fighter and storing them in the Batcave, with the Caped Crusader famously having a giant penny and joker card. However, one of the strangest trinkets Batman possesses is a giant T Rex.

In Superman: The Animated Series, Lex Luthor tries to kill Superman using a giant robot T Rex and, originally, the plan was to have Superman give the dinosaur to Batman, but this never materialized.

2 Superman’s Cape

The Superman costume has had very few changes over the years, with the red and blue staying consistent throughout the adaptations. However, the animated series did change one iconic element of the Superman costume – the ‘S’ on the cape.

The reasoning behind the cape’s design change was practical, as animators would have struggled to animated the cape if the S had remained.

1 Jonathan And Martha Kent’s Marriage

Jonathan and Martha Kent are, arguably, the most important people in the DC universe. The married couple adopted one of the most powerful beings in the universe and raised him to become a hero. If they didn’t raise him correctly, Superman could’ve easily turned into the kid from Brightburn. 

One of the more interesting behind the scenes features of Superman: The Animated Series is that the voice actors behind the Kents, Mike Farrell and Shelley Fabares were married in real life.

About The Author

Sam Hutchinson
(374 Articles Published)

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Writer living in Adelaide, Australia. Long-suffering post-graduate student and lover of pop culture from Game of Thrones to DC.
Twitter: @samchinson

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