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Superman: The Animated Series

Season 2

Many thanks to Peter T. McDermott for writing up each summary for this Superman: The Animated Series Episode Guide! :)

Episode Guide

This guide does not list airdates for repeat showings.

Cast

Alfred: Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
Angela Chen: Lauren Tom
Ben Mardon: Lorin Dreyfuss
Bibbo: Brad Garret
Bizarro: Tim Daly
Bobby Felix: Hassan Nicholas
Brainiac: Corey Burton
Bruce Wayne/Batman: Kevin Conroy
Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim: Bruce Weitz
Camorite: Frank Welker
Clark Kent/Superman: Tim Daly
Commissioner Gordon: Bob Hastings
Creature: Frank Welker
Dan Turpin: Joe Bologna
Darkseid: Michael Ironside
De'Cine: Miguel Ferrer
Desaad: Robert Morse
Detective Bowman: Eddie Barth
Detective Bullock: Robert Costanzo
Detective Kurt Bowman: Eddie Barth
Dr. Cornell: Clyde Kusatso
Dr. Fate: George Del Hoyo
Dr. Teng: Robert Ito
Edward Lytener/Luminus: Robert Hays
Ernest Walker: Paul Colbert
Flash: Charlie Schlatter
Gsptisnz: Sarah Bernhard
General Hardcastle: Charles Napier
General Richter: Marion Ross
Granny Goodness: Edward Asner
Harley Quinn: Arleen Sorkin
Inza: Jennifer Lien
Jax-Ur: Ron Perlman
Jimmy Olsen: David Kaufman
John Henry Irons/Steel: Michael Dorn
Joker: Mark Hamill
Jonathan Kent: Mike Farrell
Julian Frey: Jonathan Harris
Kala In-Zee: Carolyn Seymour
Kalibak: Michael Dorn
Kara/Supergirl: Nicholle Tom

Karkull: Ted Levine
Lana Lang: Joely Fisher
Lashina: Diane Michelle
Lex Luthor: Clancy Brown
Livewire: Lori Petty
Lois Lane: Dana Delany
Lt. Maggie Sawyer: Joanna Cassidy
Mad Harriet: Andrea Martin
Mala: Leslie Easterbrook
Mark Mardon/Weather Wizard: Miguel Ferrer
Martha Kent: Shelley Fabares
Maxima: Sharon Lawrence
Mayor: Carl Lumbly
Mercy Graves: Lisa Edelstein
Metallo: Malcom McDowell
Mother Box: Barbara Perkins
Mr. Mxyzptlk: Gilbert Gottfried
Natasha: Cree Summer
Orion: Steve Sandor
Parasite: Brion James
Perry White: George Dzundza
Phantom Zone Beast: Jim Cummings
Professor Felix: Ernie Hudson
Professor Hamilton: Victor Brandy
Ron Troupe: Dorian Harewood
Sam Lane: Dean Jones
Sazu: Shannon Kenny
Sereta Felix: Lauren Robinson
Sgt. Corey Mills: Xander Berkely
Sid Melkin: Cam Clarke
SkySentry Operator: Michael Horse
Sonar Man: Marcelo Tubert
Steppenwolf: Sherman Howard
Stompa: Diane Delano
Toby Raynes: Laraine Newman
Trish Mills: Cynthia Gibb
Trouble: Scott Menville
Young Lois Lane: Mae Whitman
Young Lucy Lane: Aria Curion

Credits

Produced by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Bruce Timm
Associate Producer: Haven Alexander
Series Story Editors: Stan Berkowitz, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini
Series Writers: Bruce W. Timm, Hilary J. Bader, Stan Berkowwitz, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Robert Goodman, Mark Evanier, Rich Fogel, Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, Joe R. Lansdale, Steve Gerber
Series Directors: Hiroyuki Aoyama, Curt Geda, Kenji Hachizaki, Toshihiko Masuda, Dan Riba, Yuichiro Yano, Kazuhide Tomano
Superman Theme by Shirley Walker
Voice Director: Andrea Romano
Casting Director: Leslie Lamers
Production Management: Joe Reily
Executive Producer: Jean MacCurdy
Character Design: Sharon Bridgeman, Shane Glines, Dexter Smith, Jim Stenstrum, Tommy Tejeda, Bruce Timm, James Tucker
Teleplay By: Robert Goodman

Superman: The Animated Series

Episodes

Blasts From the Past (Part 1) - Summary
Blasts From the Past (Part 2) - Summary
The Prometheon - Summary
Speed Demons - Summary
Livewire - Summary
Identity Crisis - Summary
Target - Summary
Mxyzpixilated - Summary
Action Figures - Summary
Double Dose - Summary
Solar Power - Summary
Brave New Metropolis - Summary
Monkey Fun - Summary
Ghost in the Machine - Summary
Father's Day - Summary
World's Finest (Part 1) - Summary
World's Finest (Part 2) - Summary
World's Finest (Part 3) - Summary
Bizarro's World - Summary
The Hand of Fate - Summary
Prototype - Summary
The Late Mr. Kent - Summary
Heavy Metal - Summary
Warrior Queen - Summary
Apokolips...Now! (Part 1) - Summary
Apokolips...Now! (Part 2) - Summary
Little Girl Lost (Part 1) - Summary
Little Girl Lost (Part 2) - Summary

Summaries

Blasts From the Past (Part 1 of 2) [September 8, 1997]
Directed by: Dan Riba
Professor Hamilton and Superman find a strange device in the spaceship that bought Superman to Earth upon Krypton's destruction. Superman explains that the orb he got from Brainiac containing all knowledge of Krypton showed him that this device is a "Phantom Zone Projector". The Phantom Zone is another dimension that Krypton sent criminals and dangerous aliens into to contain them. It was Krypton's version of prison as anyone sent there is rendered into an immaterial "phantom", unable to do anything but float helplessly until their sentence is up. Professor Hamilton accidentally releases a beast from the Zone and after he and Superman team up to return it to the Zone, they hear a plaintive cry for help from a women trapped in the Phantom Zone. Her name is Mala, and she pleads, via the projector's viewfinder, to Superman to release her as she has served her sentence!
Superman goes to his Fortress of Solitude to consult the orb of Krypton on Mala's case. The orb, with Brainiac's voice no less, explains that Mala was second-in-command to Jax-Ur, a military leader of Krypton whose attempted coup of the Kryptonian council was defeated by none other then Jor-El, Superman's father! It seems that Jax-Ur was sentenced to the Phantom Zone for eternity, but Mala was given only 20 years as she was deemed as having only been "following orders". After considering her case, Superman decides the only fair thing to do is to release Mala from the Zone! He does just that, and after breaking the news about Krypton's destruction to Mala, he takes her to a Star Lab retreat to teach her about her developing powers. Mala proves to be a quick study, if not a bit too aggressive. After some training, he takes Mala on patrol where she subdues some bank robbers in a dangerously harsh manner. As Lois Lane and the police arrive, Superman reproaches her for overstepping her bounds with the robbers. Mala responds by publicly stating that she will follow his example and be a responsible Super-being.
Next we see Mala watching Lex Luthor on TV, ranting that Superman and Mala are bent on taking Earth over, and that Mala is a criminal who should be returned to the Phantom Zone. Mala bridles at this, and destroys the TV with a blast of heat vision! She then flies to Star Labs and hears Superman telling the Professor that if Mala doesn't get her aggression under control, he may have to return her to the Zone. Mala's anger grows greater at that. Later, Lois Lane is interviewing Mala and Superman, and when Superman denies that he and Mala are an "item", Mala goes bezerk and attacks Lois! Superman stops Mala, but in the process, Mala purposely topples a skyscraper's rotating restaurant, forcing Superman to rescue the diners while she races off. Superman barely saves the restaurant, and flies off to Star Labs, where he finds a battered Professor Hamilton, who tells him Mala has taken the Phantom Zone projector! The scene changes to Mala using the projector to release Jax-Ur from his imprisonment. As he appears on Earth, she tells him, "Hello Darling. You're going to love it here!" And as the episode ends, we realize that for Superman and Earth, the worst is yet to come!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Blasts From the Past (Part 2 of 2) [September 9, 1997]
Directed By: Dan Riba
When a super-powered renegade named Mala escapes from the Phantom Zone, Krypton's other-dimensional prison, she manages to use the Phantom Zone Projector to free her fellow Kryptonian tyrant Jax-Ur! Superman flies Professor Hamilton to his northern retreat in the Arctic Ice that the Professor immediately names as Superman's "Fortress of Solitude". There, he and the Professor use the Krytonian orb that has a Brainiac interface to obtain plans for a Phantom Zone projector that they can use against the evil duo. Back in Metropolis the pair terrorize the citizens, with Superman arriving just in time to stop the pair before someone gets killed. But they team up on Superman and gain the upper hand, with Jax-Ur ordering Mala to kill Superman by crushing his skull in her bare hands!
Using his heat vision to break a nearby light pole, Superman uses it to knock Mala away from him. Then he wraps up Jax-Ur in a building's flagpole, as Jax-Ur hasn't yet gained full super-powers due to less time in Earth's yellow sun. But Mala makes up for that with a vicious counter-attack on Superman with all her super-powered might, proving her martial background on Krypton as Jax-Ur's second-in-command. She endangers Lois with falling debris and grabs Jax-Ur and escapes while Superman saves Lois. Later, the evil pair smash into the Daily Planet newsroom and grab Lois as a hostage to lure Superman to them. Superman shows up with Kryptonite and stops Mala, but Jax-ur flees in to the forest upon his arrival. Then Jax-Ur attacks Superman using the Phantom Zone projector to send Superman and the Kryptonite into the Phantom Zone. Then he destroys the Phantom Zone projector, marooning Superman in the Zone forever!
With Superman gone the devilish duo waste no time, attacking the United Nations, stampeding herds of beasts in Africa, and causing killer sandstorms in the Sahara. Anything to cower the human race into surrendering to them. But Professor Hamilton and Lois use their newly constructed projector to bring Superman back to our dimension! He flies to the U.N. just as the Secretary-General is about to sign humankind's surrender, and he challenges Jax-Ur and Mala to combat. They attack him intent upon his death, throwing him into a bridge stunning him. But Superman uses his heat-vision to ignite a nearby gas truck, blowing Mala and Jax-Ur into the sky. Now Superman leads the pair on a high-speed chase through Metropolis as he flies in between buildings as if he were threading a needle. In contrast, Mala and Jax-Ur smash through the buildings with no regard for the lives they endanger while doing so. But suddenly Superman leads them to the Daily Planet where Professor Hamilton awaits with his own projector. Lois pushes its button, and with a blinding flash she sends the Kryptonian criminals back to the prison dimension ending their threat to humanity. Superman places the projector in the Fortress for safekeeping, and muses that for now it's better for Earth if he is its only resident Kryptonian.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
The Prometheon [September 12, 1997]
Directed by: Nobuo Tomizawa
Professor Hamilton and General Hardcastle are both working from a space shuttle to intercept and destroy a meteor that's threatening Metropolis' safety. The General makes no secret of his dislike for Superman, and calls him "alien" constantly. He's quite upset when Superman shows up and starts to plant explosives on the meteorite as he was counting on his own troops to do the job without "alien" interference. Superman calls the Professor and tells him to move the space shuttle to see something he's discovered. The shuttle moves to the meteor's other side, and we're amazed to see what appears to be a giant sized rocky statue the size of a mountain bound to the meteor as though imprisoned on it! The Professor tells Superman to move it into orbit over the General's objections. As the creature moves into the Sun's path, it suddenly comes alive! The General blows the explosives on the meteor and the creature now plummets down out of orbit straight towards Metropolis!
Superman manages to push the creature into the ocean, but now a giant tidal wave has resulted from the creature's splashdown. Superman barely saves a cruise ship in the wave's path, but in the meantime the creature walks the ocean floor towards the city. The giant attacks a nuclear sub, and amazingly starts to absorb the sub reactor's heat! Superman again is distracted by having to save the sub. Professor Hamilton has deciphered a transmitter's code that was found on the meteor with the creature. He says this great beast is a synthetic being constructed by an alien race for labor, with the theory being that the creature would be fueled by the sun's rays. But the creature's energy needs were so vast, it ran amok absorbing heat from any and all sources. The aliens managed to imprison the creature on the meteor along with the warning transmitter. As Superman learns this, the news reaches him that the huge creature has finally reached land!
General Hardcastle's troops are fervently attacking the creature with all their military might. The General thinks that because the beast hasn't moved, he's winning the battle. Superman arrives and tells the General that he's feeding the giant with the heat from all the firepower. The General then orders the launch of super-strength napalm. This feeds the titan and off he goes, crushing tanks like toys. A helicopter gets too close, and a massive fist sends it careening towards the General who's barely saved from death by Superman. The General now believes Superman and orders a cease-fire. But the titan has spotted Metropolis!
Superman tells Professor Hamilton to get freezing chemicals sent to the reservoir and to turn the city's power off. Just in time, the power dies, and the massive being's footsteps echo through an oddly quiet city. Then Superman uses an I-beam heated by his heat vision to lure the mammoth being to the reservoir, where the General's troops drop the chemicals into the water, freezing the creature once and for all!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Speed Demons [September 13, 1997]
Directed By: Toshihiko Masuda
The Fastest Man Alive Race today for charity, the banner reads. And the participants are Superman and the Flash, hero of Central City. Superman arrives by air, and a red streaking blur announces the Flash's arrival. The Flash is all motion and bragging, never at rest. He jibes Superman and tells Lois he'll give her his exclusive interview after his victory. The Mayor puts armbands on the two, which he says will track their progress as they race 100 laps around the world. And with a shot, the race is on! The two race at fantastic speeds, the sight of them merely a red and blue streak for Flash and Superman respectively.
But unknown to either of them, a man calling himself the Weather Wizard is using the armbands to gather what his inventor brother has termed "high velocity ionic energy" with which he will use a control wand to manipulate weather! He gives officials an ultimatum of 1 Billion dollars ransom, or he'll start using the weather to destroy select targets. He demonstrates by creating an instant gale force storm at sea near Australia. While crossing the ocean, great water contrails whipping up behind them, Superman spots a ship in distress from the powerful storm. It's an oil tanker that's washed up on some reefs, and her hull has just split open, threatening the sea with thousands of gallons of oil!
Superman and the Flash suspend their race to help the crippled tanker. They tear up the water heading to the ship. Superman uses his great strength to pull the hull back together and then he seals the hull with heat vision. Then the Flash whips the oil into a spout and back into the tanker! They learn about the Weather Wizard and head back to the race. While they streak cross-country, the Wizard attacks the heroes directly with a killer ice storm which freezes them in their tracks, encased in feet of deadly ice. Superman uses his heat vision to thaw his way out, and finds the Flash waiting for him as he's already vibrated out of the ice at super-speed. The Flash is hot to go after the Weather Wizard, but Superman questions just how he knew where they were so he could attack them. They both instantly conclude it's the armbands. Superman finds the tracking devices with his x-ray vision, and they destroy the armbands. Then they find out that the Wizard has threatened to destroy Metropolis with a killer hurricane if his demands aren't met!
The Weather Wizard's brother meanwhile, objects to his brother's intentions for the technology he worked so hard to perfect. The Wizard tells him he won't be stopped, but he'll allow him to leave. The inventor drives off for a few miles and suddenly is assaulted by a killer hailstorm, which eventually drives him off a cliff. Just as he's about to crash, the Flash grabs him and Superman grabs his jeep. He tells him where his brother is holed up, and off the Flash goes to the house. Unfortunately, he's stopped by a dangerous field of lightning the Wizard's put up as a shield around the house. As he recuperates, Superman drills under the ground and into the house. The Wizard throws Superman back with the great energy of his wand, but the Flash streaks into the room, knocking the wand from his hand. The room erupts into a maelstrom of violent weather, threatening to destroy them all! But Superman grabs the Flash and the Weather Wizard and zooms from the house, just before it's destroyed in a giant explosion of power.
After jailing the Wizard, Superman kids Flash about how they never settled who was fastest. They both chose a starting line, and with a hastily yelled, "GO!" they resume their friendly competition, streaking off into the sunset, like the heroes we know them to be.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Livewire [September 13, 1997]
Directed By: Curt Geda
She's Livewire! That's what they're calling the hottest new "shock-jock" disc jockey in Metropolis.
Everyone's listening to her it seems. And what they're hearing is that Livewire has a great big hate for Superman! She constantly puts him down on her show in any way she can, despite his heroic standing in the town. Lois and Clark are supposed to interview her, but she has them come in during her broadcast so she can put them on the spot. During the interview, Clark's super-hearing picks up a crane collapsing off of the top of a mid-town skyscraper under construction. Using his none too faked dislike of Livewire to walk out of the show, he rushes off as Superman and grabs the crane and it's operator in mid-air, all while Livewire's cutting him up on the air as someone who doesn't care. At her anniversary special in the park, Livewire refuses to let the rock concert be stopped in spite of a dangerous storm that's just broken out.
As Superman comes by to help restore order, he's suddenly struck by violent lightning which arcs off his body into Livewire!
We now see Livewire hooked up to several emergency room monitors. She has now obtained a ghostly pallor to her skin, and her hair sticks straight up like someone being jolted with electricity. The Doctor tells Superman she shouldn't even be alive after the severe shock, much less have these bizarre looks. Later, she wakens in her room and sees Superman being interviewed on TV about her. She gets mad and suddenly blows up all the monitors attached to her! Somehow she has become living electricity, able to manipulate electric power, and pass through wiring like a current. She blasts out of her hospital room and heads to Metropolis Square where she goes on a rampage, blowing up signs in a blazing display of her newfound abilities. Superman arrives and tries to reason with her, but she blasts him with high voltage electricity, and then completely blacks out Metropolis in a mad frenzy of power!
Later on, Livewire restores partial power to the city, and informs its people through her complete control of the airwaves, that they are now her hostages and all now subject to her whims. Meanwhile, chaos has ensued, as the air traffic controllers are out of power, and planes are heading for collisions with each other without their instrumentation. Superman is kept too busy averting disasters to chase Livewire down. She suddenly disappears, and Superman reasons that she must need to recharge her power. He heads for the hydroelectric dam outside Metropolis where he finds Livewire draining off the power plant's energy. Superman tries to stop her, but she escapes into the wall's circuitry. She re-emerges behind him, and blasts him with high voltage. She then starts draining the plant's energy again, but Superman pushes her out of the building in front of the massive dam. She again blasts at him with her powers, but he ducks and her blast blows a hole in the dam's wall. Now Livewire is blown away by tons of water, causing her to massively short-circuit. Later, we see her in a hospital room, now comatose. Her care being paid for by Lex Luthor of all people. But a spark of current in her eyes lets us know we haven't seen the last of Livewire!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Identity Crisis [September 15, 1997]
Directed By: Curt Geda
A boy named Tommy has foolishly climbed up on an electrical tower and is now frozen with fear. But Superman flies onto the scene, and grabs the boy bringing him safely to the ground. He delivers a firm but gentle lecture to Tommy and his friends on the danger involved in taking dares from your friends, and flies off to right more wrongs. Just then, he spies some crooks involved in a high-speed chase with the police and Lois Lane, hot on this latest scoop's trail. They head into high cliffs outside Metropolis, and Superman finally halts the chase by becoming a super-human roadblock. But Lois rounds the curve and can't brake in time, skidding towards the cliff's edge throwing Clark Kent out of her car! After Superman saves Clark, he talks with them, and suddenly makes a date with Lois for 8PM atop the Daily Planet. Clark sneaks off to trail this other Superman. After his new twin saves a crashing helicopter, Superman confronts him to ask just who he is. The ersatz Superman reacts badly to meeting the real item, and they struggle until suddenly the twin starts to develop large white blotches all over his body. He falls to the ground, and when he rises, his skin is now completely white, and his face and body are now deformed into a Frankenstein's Monster version of Superman! He flees into the mountains where he lands at a remote laboratory, and is greeted by Lex Luthor!
Lex has had Dr. Teng making clones of Superman in this lab, but the alien DNA is causing the clone's structure to break down. Mercy cruelly names the creature Bizarro, but he insists he is Superman and he crashes out of the lab to go save something to prove it. His mind degraded as badly now as his body, he throws away a wrecking ball and its crane to "save" the building that was being demolished. Then he seals a drawbridge together, thinking it was breaking when it opened for an approaching ship. Superman follows close behind Bizarro, undoing all his "good" deeds. Then Bizarro flies off and keeps the date he made earlier with Lois. As Superman tries to come between him and Lois, he becomes enraged and breaks off the huge Daily Planet globe, forcing Superman to retrieve it while Bizarro files away with Lois!
Lois manages to communicate with Bizarro and he recalls his "home", the lab were he was created. He takes Lois there where Lex and Dr. Teng appear. Lex explains that when he weakened Superman with Kryptonite and forced him to battle a robot dinosaur, he obtained blood from Superman's minor wounds. He's been using that blood for the cloning process. (This occurred in the first season episode: "A Little Piece of Home".) He then shoots Bizarro with a high powered weapon and has Dr. Teng set a two minute fused self-destruct device to blow up the lab. But Bizarro shakes off the weapon's effects, and traps them all in the lab as the countdown to doom continues. Suddenly Superman bursts into the room, and fights to subdue Bizarro. He manages to open the lab's door, and Luthor and Teng escape. But falling debris traps Lois and Superman until Bizarro literally holds up the ceiling telling them to flee to safety. They make it out of the lab just as it blows sky-high, with no sign of Bizarro to be found. As Superman flies Lois home, they ponder how the creature was noble in the end, staying true to his heroic origins.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Target [September 19, 1997]
Directed By: Curt Geda
It's the Excalibur Awards for Journalism banquet, and naturally Lois is a nominee for her "Lexscam" story. As her fellow nominees are named, the tension builds, especially for Lois who's discovered, "You win..You die!" scrawled on her dinner napkin! And as fate would have it, Lois indeed wins. She goes to the podium to accept her well-deserved award, but as she begins her acceptance speech, Clark spots the giant sword hanging over Lois is rigged to fall and kill her! The cable holding it snaps and death plummets towards Lois. But Superman streaks in and shelters Lois with his body, the sword shattering on his mighty frame. After the banquet, Lois and Clark are riding home in her car, when it suddenly runs out of control, booby-trapped for Lois' death! Clark gets thrown out, and then the car runs off the skyway, falling towards disaster. But again, Superman appears and saves the day by catching the car, and saying he already "caught" Clark when he fell. As they examine the car, a technical gadget is found under it, the culprit of this latest attempt on Lois' life!
They go to an acquaintance of Lois' named Eddie Lytener, who Lois explains was her informant on the Lexscam story. He examines the device and tells Lois this is definitely Lextech equipment that tried to kill her, and she better watch her back. Lois goes to Lex and confronts him with the device and her knowledge that it came from his firm. He acknowledges it is Lextech, but he is not responsible for the attacks. While he's upset with the Lexscam story, he respects her, and would not behave that way. He further promises to look into this himself. Lois goes away somewhat convinced by Lex, although Clark is naturally skeptical. Later, she enters an elevator at the Daily Planet, which suddenly sprouts rockets and flies straight up out of the building! It collides with a helicopter and its passengers fall out. Superman must catch them, and break Lois out of the careening elevator too! It's definitely a bad day for Lois, and a busy one for Superman.
The next day, Lois calls Clark and tells him she's laying low so her assailant can't get to her, but she then sneaks out of her apartment to go see Eddie again. While she's talking to him, Eddie realizes Lois has deduced that he is the person trying to kill her! He traps her in an ever-tightening circle of deadly lasers, telling her that he lost everything after informing on Lexcorp. Her continued success made him crazy enough to try to kill her. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor calls Clark and tells him Lytener is the one behind the attacks on Lois, and as Superman, he flies to save her, crashing into Eddies lab. But Lytener dons a vest that affects Superman with red-sun energy. He beats Superman around the room, as the lasers draw tighter and tighter around Lois! Superman shoves Eddie and his vest into the lasers that threaten Lois, and the resulting short circuit saves Lois just as the lasers start to burn her. Afterwards, Lois asks if she and Superman could get together under more sociable conditions then recent ones. Superman smiles and answers, "Someday, Lois."
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Mxyzpixilated [September 20, 1997]
Directed By: Dan Riba
Superman is flying on patrol when he notices a strange little man with a derby hat who's standing in traffic yelling for a "Mr. McGurk." When he stops the near accident, Superman is shocked to see the little fellow has literally disappeared into thin air! Later, Clark's sees the odd little man again in a comic strip. He sticks his head and then his body right out of the newspaper, yells again for McGurk, and again vanishes in a wink of the eye. Lois and Clark then go to cover an exhibition of Rodin's famed sculpture, The Thinker. The little man pops in, exclaims the famous work as being McGurk, and at that the sculpture comes alive and starts to leave with the tiny rogue! Clark goes home to discuss all this madness with Ma and Pa Kent, and is totally shocked to see his parents turn into chickens! Then the mysterious imp appears and turns them into alien beasts that suddenly charge at Clark!
The odd sprite then turns his parents into a painting, and explains he's Mr. Mxyzptlk (Mix-yiz-pital-ick is my best guess), a "superior being from the fifth dimension". He's been the basis for all of the Genie, imp, and Leprechaun legends throughout history, and he's come to pit his inter-dimensional magic against Superman. All Superman has to do to get rid of him is make him say, spell, or reveal his name backwards! He'll then be banished back to his home dimension for 90 days. Superman wastes no time and immediately tricks him back to his home for 3 months. But the plucky little guy is back in 90 days, and he's banished home just as fast with another ruse of Clark's. This goes on and on, with the magical mite tricked every time before Mxyzptlk spends his time back home building a huge killer robot designed to rend Superman limb from limb! It takes 5 seconds for him to lose. Something's got to give.
Three months later, a penguin strolls by Clark in the Daily Planet newsroom. He turns to consult Lois, and she turns into a horse. Then the whole place goes barnyard in a big way, with everyone except Clark becoming a farm animal. It's Mr. Mxyzptlk back for a rematch, except he tells Clark that this time he's upped the ante. If he can be tricked into using his name backwards twice, he'll then vanish for good, their contest complete. At this Superman says, "No, I quit." And with that he flies from the building, leading the other-dimensional magician on a merry chase. Mxyzptlk changes into a Kryptonite cruise missile, his exhaust leaving a smoky contrail in the sky. Superman weaves his foe in a pattern which causes his exhaust to spell his name backwards twice in the skies over Metropolis. With an anguished cry of defeat, he pops out of our dimension, back to his girlfriend's arms for consolation. But he swears to return someday and have his revenge on Superman, no matter what!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Action Figures [September 20, 1997]
Directed By: Kenji Hachizaki
Where is Metallo now? It's been a year since the cybernetic maniac tangled with Superman on Luthor's yacht far out in the ocean, and was presumed lost at sea. Now we see a remote island in the ocean with an active volcano being watched over by a research team waiting for it's imminent eruption. Professor Felix runs the show here, and his son Bobby and daughter Sereta are out playing on the island. Bobby's got action figures to play with, but he won't share them with Sereta, so she goes off towards the shore to play. Suddenly the volcano causes a strong earth tremor and dislodges a boulder which falls towards Sereta! But out the ocean, rising like a steel specter, comes Metallo! He shelters the little girl with his incredibly strong robotic body, saving her life. Bobby and Sereta then ask him who he is, but Metallo doesn't know. He's developed amnesia! When Metallo later saves a local trucker from dying in a fiery crash, word gets back to the States, and Perry sends Lois to cover the story. Superman goes to Star Labs and gets his lead-lined Kryptonite proof suit from Professor Hamilton, determined to trail Lois to what he believes is a Metallo sighting. What neither of them knows is Metallo has regained his memory, and the steel plated killer's ready for them!
Back on the island, Professor Felix warns his children to stay close and be ready to evacuate, as the volcano's threatening to blow any minute. Lois has arrived on the island, and following local tips, has searched out Bobby for questioning. He denies any knowledge of the mysterious "Steelman" who saved the trucker, and runs to meet Sereta. Lois trails him to see the children meet with Metallo. Suddenly a massive pre-shock rocks the island, the volcano spewing lava towards the research team! Superman arrives in time to divert the lava into the sea, and the evacuation is on. The children tell Metallo that a lady was looking for him, and suddenly his uncanny cybernetic senses spot Lois spying on them. He reaches her with a mighty leap of his metal legs and seizes her as his hostage!
Now sirens erupt all over the island, signaling the call to evacuate. But Bobby and Sereta can't be found! Superman finds a drawing Sereta made of her new hero, Steelman. Superman recognizes the drawing as Metallo, and begins a high-speed flying search for the kids. Metallo ties up Lois over the kids' protests, but suddenly Superman is there in his protective suit. Metallo tries to poison Superman with his Kryptonite heart, but the suit works. Then, the volcano blows sky-high, making the island a death trap for all! Lois and the children try to flee to safety, while Metallo and Superman fight on. Now, his suit begins to rip and tear, and finally burns right off Superman from the sea of lava surrounding them. Just as the Kryptonite starts to take deadly effect, Superman grabs the lethal rock from Metallo and throws it onto the lava floe. Metallo jumps for his precious power source, the red-hot liquid carrying him away. He cannot be found and is once again given up for lost. But we see him trapped in the dark, frozen in the now cooled lava with only his thoughts to keep him company. A chilling fate for the man of metal.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Double Dose [September 22, 1997]
Directed By: Yuichiro Yano
A Janitor foolishly brings his headset stereo into the forbidden zone around Livewire's high security cell. When she cajoles him out of the stereo, she drains the electricity out of it and then bypasses her cell's lock. She then blows lights and circuits all the way out of the prison while making her escape.
Later, at an SCU (Special Crimes Unit) press conference with Superman attending, she shows up and blows Lt. Dan Turpin away with a "shocking" kiss. She then attacks Superman, and is zapping him badly with her powers of electricity, when the battle is taken outside. Superman uses the spray from a fire hydrant to drive Livewire away, but she swears to return. She uses her powers to travel into Parasite's cell on Stryker's Island, spelling double trouble for Superman!
Livewire proposes a deal with the Parasite. If she breaks him out of prison, he must then use his powers to drain Superman until she can deliver the killing blow. He agrees, and they then break out with no problem due to their respective powers. The Parasite heads off in a boat, while Livewire leaves via electrical cabling. But Superman catches up to the Parasite, picking the boat clear up out of the water. But the Parasite jumps in the water, and absorbing a passing shark's abilities, swims away eluding capture. Later, he meets with Livewire and they plan their attack on Superman, but the Parasite gets greedy and tries to take Livewire's power. She blasts him away from her, telling him to save it for Superman.
They later break into a nearby power plant, so Livewire can charge up and also lure Superman there. Superman does appear, but clad in a clear polymer suit which Livewire and Parasite find blocks Superman from the effects of their powers. Livewire has Parasite toss some tanks of liquid nitrogen at Superman, and she then blasts them, causing them to rupture all over Superman. The sub-zero nitrogen freezes Superman's suit, and the Parasite shatters it with a mighty blow. Now they double-team Superman and have him on the ropes, when Parasite double-crosses Livewire by draining her as well as Superman! He explains he intended from the start to keep both Livewire and Superman as living batteries he would use for his power needs. He then notices Superman has slipped away, and uses Superman's own stolen powers to track him down. Just as he's about to catch up to our hero, Superman wisely sets off the fire alarm, drenching the Parasite with water. The water and Livewire's high voltage energy erupt in a massive short circuit, which puts Parasite into a coma, ending the terror team-up!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Solar Power [September 26, 1997]
Directed By: Kazuhide Tomano
It's a cloudy day in Metropolis, and at Stryker's Island the prisoner known as Edward Lytener produces a device that renders him invisible! Then, he easily makes his escape. (Lytener was last seen in the episode "Target", where he tried to kill Lois). Later, we look in on Clark Kent at the Daily Planet, who's just lost his pen under his desk. Making sure no one's looking, he lifts his desk to retrieve the pen, but he actually struggles a little with the desk's weight! Lois calls and tells Clark she's on the tram, and won't hide from Lytener as it's not her style. Suddenly a laser beam flashes down through the clouds, and it starts burning the tram's support struts! Clark wastes no time, and showing up as Superman, he catches the tram just as it falls. But he finds he cannot hold it, and it starts slipping from his grasp. Lytener shows up in a high-tech suit calling himself Luminus and claiming this is just the beginning. He disappears just as Lois grabs Superman's hand and the tram crashes into the river. Then the clouds overhead part, and we see the sun has somehow turned red!
Later, a NASA spokesperson explains that a ring of satellites is only letting red light filter through from the sun. As Krypton had a red sun, this spectrum of light will eventually render him powerless! It's found that they're Lexcorp satellites, but when Lois confronts Lex he claims Lytener has hijacked his satellites and he's not involved. Then Luminus confronts Superman, telling him he's going to kill him for sending him to prison. Multiple images of Luminus appear and fire lasers at Superman. As this is happening, Lois and Jimmy head to Lexcorp's satellite control building but are captured. When Superman eludes the laser trap, he trails Lois and Jimmy to the satellite building, but as he reaches it, the red sun finally renders him powerless. He enters the building and Luminus appears as a solidified hologram, beating up Superman mercilessly. He explains he's rigged the entire building as a holographic deathtrap, and suddenly the dazed and powerless Superman find himself on railroad tracks with a train speeding towards him!
Superman leaps clear in the nick of time, but then the scene is changed to a sailing ship at sea, and Luminus appears as a pirate. He slashes at Superman with a laser cutlass, coming so close as to cut his cape. Luminus forces him onto the gangplank with sharks in the water waiting for Superman to fall. But Superman bravely wrests the laser cutlass from Luminus using it to cut through the hologram wall into the control room where Lois and Jimmy are being held. As Luminus fires lasers at him, Superman manages to reflect the laser in to the controls for the satellites. As Luminus continues to beat up Superman, the sun is returned to yellow and Superman manages to reach a sunbeam. With his powers now returning, he fights off Lytener just as the building starts to explode. Superman grabs Lois and Jimmy and leaps out the building just as it blows up, seemingly taking Luminus with it. His powers restored and the menace ended, Superman then flies away, as only the Man of Tomorrow can do!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Brave New Metropolis [September 27, 1997]
Directed By: Curt Geda
Lois and Jimmy visit Professor Hamilton who's working on a device that is able to view other dimensions. But things go awry, and Lois is pulled into an alternate dimension with another very different Metropolis. Lois walks deserted streets where large screens proclaim curfews in Superman's name! Then she spots a statue of both Superman and Luthor, proclaiming them the saviors of this dark, forbidding Metropolis! This dimension's Lt. Dan Turpin stops Lois demanding identification papers, and then arrests her claiming she's out after curfew. But an explosion at Lexcorp distracts him, and it turns out to be Jimmy Olsen leading a band of rebels who are against the tyrannical rule of Luthor and Superman. Jimmy is hurt, but Lois helps him to escape. Meanwhile, the rest of the rebels are stopped by Lex's chief enforcer. A black garbed, grim faced Superman!
Jimmy takes Lois to a rebel hideout, explaining what's happened here. It seems Intergang killed this dimension's Lois, and Superman joined Luthor to halt all crime at any cost. The results are this warped version of Metropolis, where citizens live under Luthor's thumb. There is no crime, but at the terrible cost of personal freedom. But the raid that Lois saw has netted an equalizer for the rebels, a piece of Kryptonite! Suddenly there's a raid by Luthor's fascistic troops, and Lois and Jimmy are captured. Lois is taken to Luthor, who knows that this dimension's Superman must never know she's alive. He orders Lois killed but she escapes, leading troops on a wild chase which leads to the top of huge dual monument to Luthor and Superman. As a dark figure nears her, she threatens to shoot. But it's Superman, who's shocked to see Lois alive. He scoops her up, and flies away with her.
Lois tells Superman that she isn't the Lois he knew, and why did he ever go along with Luthor after his Lois' death? He confesses he had always cared deeply for her and her death was more then he could bear. He needed Luthor's resources to help him halt crime once and for all. At this Lois slaps Superman, telling him that he should have never concealed his feelings for his Lois. And Superman must never do anything at the cost of people's freedom! He pleads ignorance of the fascist rule she claims, until Lois takes him to the cells where rebels and anyone else the state doesn't like are kept. He breaks into Luthor's office demanding an explanation. Luthor is ready for Superman with Kryptonite, and tells him he'll convince the people it was Superman who was evil and he'll then be hailed as their liberator. But Lois has freed the rebels, and they overrun the building. Luthor flees, but Superman chases him with the race ending in Luthor's death, though by accident and not by Superman's hand. Lois returns to her own dimension, with this one's Superman promising to undo the damage he's caused. Superman has now lost his beloved Lois twice, and to honor her he will never waver in his duty to the people again.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Monkey Fun [September 27, 1997]
Directed By: Curt Geda
It's twenty years ago, and an eight year old Lois Lane is playing with her sister Lucy and their pet chimpanzee, Titano. Their dad, Lt. Sam Lane, is involved with the fledgling space program and Titano's slated for the next mission. The boosters on the rocket misfire, causing it and Titano to be lost in space. Now we move forward in time to today, and Superman's in earth orbit knocking meteors away from a space station. The meteors are glowing oddly, and stranger yet, Superman spots something lodged in one of the larger meteors. It's Titano's capsule, and impossibly the little chimp is still alive! Titano is tested and found fine, if not lethargic with no interest in food or anything else. Until Lois comes into the room and they recognize each other. After prodding from the Professor and Superman, Lois agrees to take Titano home to help him recover from his ordeal. However, what no one has noticed is that the little chimp occasionally glows just like the meteors did!
Titano is driving Lois crazy tearing up her apartment as any chimp would. She asks Jimmy to chimp-sit the little guy, and eagerly rushes out. But things get strange for Jimmy when he turns around and in scant seconds Titano grows to ten feet tall right in front of him! Now Jimmy's got a ten-foot tall hungry ape with an attitude on his hands, and Titano kicks it up a notch by tossing the refrigerator at Jimmy. Superman and the Professor discover the meteors cause biological creatures to grow, and Superman takes off for Lois'. Titano has grown to the point of bursting Lois' ceilings causing Jimmy to fall out the window! Superman catches Jimmy, but Titano is gone. Titano's about thirty feet tall now and liberating his little chimpanzee siblings down at the zoo. One chimp decides to let all the animals out, including the predators, and Titano grows to 50 feet to make the panicking zoo visitor's day a little brighter too. Then things turn deadly, as two scared, angry Lions rush a group of children!
The Lions leap for the children, but Superman is there in a flash, dropping a cage over them! He then rounds up more loose animals, but again Titano gets away, grown now to King Kong proportions. He stops at the docks for lunch and finds just the thing, a cargo boat full of bananas. That old salt, Bibbo, takes note of this as the docks are his milieu, and walks up to Titano to berate him for his behavior with cries of, "Bad chimp! Bad, bad, chimp!" Titano resents this, and throws Bibbo out into a passing garbage scow. Superman arrives and Titano throws him into the river! Titano heads for Connie Island amusement park, and there he fights with Superman until Lois shows up with his old toy chimp Beppo. Titano sees Beppo and calms down, acting like the loveable chimp he's always been, if not this tall. After Star Labs stabilizes his growth, Titano is transported to a remote island. There he'll live out a normal life span. At least as normal as it gets for a hundred foot tall ape these days.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Ghost in the Machine [September 29, 1997]
Directed By: Hiroyuki Aoyama
Lex Luthor is showing the press his latest Lexcorp invention, SkySentry. It's a huge cannon-like machine that uses high-energy magnetic fields to repel missiles. But it breaks down when Lex has missiles launched in a test, and it takes Superman to stop them. Lex is looking into what went wrong when he gets a mysterious call to come down to Section 6 of Lexcorp. But, when he arrives he's immediately taken prisoner by robotic arms! He's brought before a computer monitor that has the face of Brainiac, the evil computer intelligence from Krypton! Brainiac hid his program inside Lexcorp's computers after both Superman and Lex defeated him last year. Impersonating Luthor on a viewer, Brainiac tells Lex's bodyguard Mercy Graves that he's not to be disturbed. He then tells Luthor he needs his keen mind and human dexterity to finish constructing his new body, and won't take "No" for an answer!
It's been days, and Lex has been kept working on Brainiac's new body until he's exhausted and near starving. Upstairs at Lexcorp, Clark Kent's come to talk to Luthor and the Lex simulation is on the viewer saying he's too busy. Clark's x-ray vision sees an empty office so he side-steps Mercy and enters Lex's office to prove to Mercy its empty. He leaves Mercy confused and worried about Lex. Later at his apartment, Clark gets an odd caller asking if it's him, and suddenly a missile comes flying in through the window! He manages to get the missile outside, but it detonates and sends tons of debris raining down towards a passing train. As Superman, he barely saves the day with his great strength, managing to divert the wreckage into the river. Meanwhile back at Lexcorp, Mercy has just traced Lex's last known whereabouts to Section 6; when from behind her appear killer robots of Brainiac's!
Mercy turns and fights off the robots, managing to make it to the door. But behind it lie dozens more of the metal assassins! She gamely defends herself until she's about to fall to her foes, when Superman crashes into the room! He quickly evens the odds with blazing heat-vision and strength, tearing into the killer droids alongside Mercy. They dispatch them quickly and both set off together for Section 6. Superman asks why Mercy risks so much for Luthor, and she tells him she was just a stray on the streets until she met Luthor and she owes him everything. They break into the lab and find a battered Lex, but Brainiac has finished his new body and attacks them, intent on killing them all!
But Superman sees the SkySentry in the lab, and manages to use it's magnetic power to trap Brainiac in an avalanche of metal from all corners of the room, his threat hopefully ended. Later, Superman sees Mercy taking Luthor away in a limousine. Their eyes meet for a moment, trading newfound respect for each other. Then each goes where their duty in life has taken them, for better or worse.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Father's Day [October 3, 1997]
Directed By: Dan Riba
Our tale begins on that angry red planet of firepits, machinery, and despair, Apokolips. This is where the evil tyrant Darkseid reigns supreme. (First seen in the episode: Tools of the Trade). But it is Darkseid's sinister aide Desaad we see today, and he's sent a 10 foot high metal ball of destruction called a "Scream Machine" right into Metropolis' Crestview Park! Lois is jogging and calls the story in on her cell phone, but the machine grabs Lois and it's Superman to the rescue! The machine is fought back by Superman until back on Apokolips, Darkseid enters Desaad's den ordering its destruction. Then, his huge misshapen son Kalibak enters the room begging to be allowed to destroy Superman, but Darkseid refuses him and leaves. But after he goes, Desaad convinces Kalibak that Darkseid will accept him as his son only if he does destroy Superman for him. With that, he creates a glowing corridor of energy in the room called a "Boom Tube". Kalibak enters the tube and vanishes in a flash, heading for Earth and Superman's death!
Ma and Pa Kent have come to see their son Clark in the big city, and after meeting Lois they head for lunch together. But who shows up too but Kalibak! He tears the restaurant apart trapping Pa Kent in the wreckage, and Superman goes to pull Pa out. But Kalibak strikes Superman from behind, starting a slugfest! The battle is intense, with Kalibak showing no mercy. As the battle is carried out into the street, Ma Kent yells "Lookout, Clark!" to Superman right in front of Lois! Lois takes notice of this, but the intense battle has reached fever pitch, with Kalibak grabbing Superman in a death grip about to snap his neck! Superman flips Kalibak in front of him and the battle rages on. Back on Apokolips, Darkseid has now discovered that Kalibak is on Earth while Desaad tells him it was all Kalibak's idea.
Back on Earth, the battle grows more intense as Kalibak smashes Superman down into a subway tunnel with a train approaching. Superman shoves Kalibak into the third rail, managing to stun the brute momentarily and scoops him up and flies back to the street. In the restaurant, the ceiling is about to collapse on Pa Kent who's still pinned in wreckage. But Kalibak wakens and strikes at Superman delaying him until finally Superman has had enough. With a mighty swing of his arms, he throws Kalibak miles away into the sky! After saving Pa Kent, he follows Kalibak to his landing point in time to see Darkseid disintegrating Kalibak with Omega beams from his eyes. Superman challenges Darkseid and now he becomes the target of Darkseid's fiery gaze! The withering beams drive Superman to the ground and then the evil God turns to depart in a Boom Tube. Before he leaves however, he tells Superman that in time he will enslave the Earth, or destroy it!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
World's Finest [October 4, 1997]
Directed By: Toshihiko Masuda
In Gotham City, the Joker steals a statue called the Jade Dragon, but when Batman investigates he discovers that the statue is not really jade, but a substance that is low-level radioactive! He decides a trip to Metropolis is in order, but the Joker has already arrived there and managed to get Lex Luthor to agree to a fee of 1 billion dollars to kill Superman. Joker will use the Jade Dragon that is in reality made of Kryptonite, the remains of Superman's planet of origin, which is fatal to him! Bruce Wayne arrives in Metropolis to the press corps attention, as he's come to seal a deal with none other then Lex Luthor. He meets Lois Lane and Clark Kent, but to Clark's chagrin, Bruce and Lois are attracted to each other. Next we see Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne observing a successful test of their new WayneLex T7, a spider-like robot that Lex wants to develop for warfare. But Bruce refuses the use of the robots for war, citing a personal hatred for guns.
Later that night, Bruce and Lois go on a date and find their feelings for each other growing, and Clark is not happy about that. Later, when Batman is roughly questioning a local hood as to the Joker's whereabouts, Superman intervenes telling Batman to back off. Batman turns Superman's grip on him into a judo throw that tosses Superman across the room! But Superman then throws a body block at Batman and looks through Batman's cowl with x-ray vision to discover he's really Bruce Wayne! Batman shows Superman his sample of Kryptonite and tells him the Joker's got twenty pounds of the deadly stuff and has come to town to kill him. They part and Superman flies back to his apartment to prepare for bed, when he notices a tiny bat-tracer on his cape. He scans the buildings outside his apartment with telescopic vision to find that Batman has watched him change into Clark Kent, and now knows his secret identity too! (End of Part One)
The next day, Bruce sees Lois at the Daily Planet to arrange another date. When Clark asks his intentions for Lois, Bruce tells him he already had his chance with her, and now it's his turn. On their date that night, it's obvious the two are growing closer to each other, when suddenly the Joker shows up to kidnap Lois, and nearly kill Bruce with his goon's help! The Joker shows Lois the Jade Dragon, and tells her she's in for the scoop of the century when he kills Superman! The Joker then contacts Superman and tells him to come and get Lois if he wants her. And when Superman flies off, Batman trails him in the Batjet. But the Joker manages to trap Superman with the Kryptonite. And with Batman and Lois in the room too, he's pumping poisonous Joker venom into it to take care of them! But Batman uses acid to dissolve the Kryptonite, and with Superman revived they barely escape the deadly trap. Lex tells the Joker to get the job done with the last half of the statue that Joker had held back. But later at a press conference, Clark's super-hearing picks up Lex mentioning the Joker to Mercy, and he tells Lois and Bruce he's learned that Luthor is working with the Joker. But when Superman is called off to help a ship in distress that the Joker's booby-trapped, the Joker uses Superman's absence to send one of the T7 robots Lex built for battle to kill Batman! (End of Part Two)
The deadly robot tracks Batman to the Daily Planet where Batman finds Lois and he must now save her also. During the battle, the Batman's cape and cowl are torn off him, and Lois sees that the Batman is secretly Bruce Wayne whom she's been falling for! But now the robot has them cornered, and it's about to kill them both! Just as the robot is about to strike, Superman crashes into the room and crushes the robot beneath him as he lands. They adjourn to Bruce's hotel room where Bruce tells Lois he's going to go help Superman to try and find Lex over her objections of concern for his safety. She also is frustrated that she knows he's secretly Batman, and her affections for him won't allow her to utilize this fantastic scoop on her hands! Back at Lexcorp, the Joker and Luthor have fallen out, with Joker kidnapping Lex and tying Mercy to a killer robot for when their respective foes arrive. He takes off with Lex and Harley in Luthor's giant Lexwing aircraft, intent on bombing Metropolis into rubble to get back at Lex. When Superman and Batman arrive killer robots keep them occupied, with each hero defeating robots in their distinctive styles. They manage to free Mercy from the robots and she tells them of Joker's plan, when suddenly the biggest war robot of all drops into the room in front of them!
Superman tells Batman to go after the Joker and he'll handle this robot, but as soon as he leaves, we see the Joker has tied the last of the Kryptonite onto this robot and Superman is now in great peril! The Joker has reached Metropolis now, and he's bombing every building that has Lex's name on it. In Metropolis that's half the town, so he's doing a lot of damage! Batman catches up to the Lexwing, damaging it with missiles. But the Joker uses the Lexwing's air-to-air missiles to damage Batman's craft with Batman bailing out on to the Lexwing. He manages to break into it, reaching the cockpit to grapple with the Joker. Meanwhile, Superman is taking a terrible beating from the robot as the Kryptonite is weakening him badly. The robot picks up a giant door, using it to crush Superman beneath it. But Lex has had all his buildings lined with lead to frustrate Superman's x-ray vision powers! Staying behind the lead-lined door, Superman is protected from the Kryptonite's rays! He uses the door as a battering ram to push the robot outside against a cliff crushing it, with the deadly Kryptonite falling into a river far below.
Back aboard the Lexwing, Batman and the Joker are struggling with each other, and the damage from Batman's missiles is taking its toll on the aircraft. With Harley at the controls things get even worse, as she goes into a dive with a tall building straight ahead! But Superman arrives in the nick of time to push the aircraft from the building's path and out towards the ocean. He breaks into the cockpit just as the Joker's bag of marble/grenades breaks loose setting off a string of explosions. Superman grabs Lex, and Batman grabs Harley, as they dive from the plummeting aircraft leaving the Joker to fend for himself. But he can't get to the door in time, and as the aircraft dives into the water below, it seems to take the Joker to a fiery death once and for all! The next day, we see Lex is being hounded by the authorities in regard to his involvement with the Joker in this whole affair. Also, Bruce Wayne has officially dissolved any contracts with Lexcorp, and he's going home to Gotham City. But Lois tells him she cannot reconcile his identity as Batman with her feelings for him, and she's staying in Metropolis. Then Clark says his good-byes, and the two new allies part as friends, having fought together as the world's finest team!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Bizarro's World [October 10, 1997]
Directed By: Hiroyuki Aoyama
Lois Lane has driven to the mountain lab where the strange, imperfect duplicate of Superman called Bizarro was "born" to verify his death (as seen in the episode: Identity Crisis). The flawed clone of Superman that Luthor had created for his own evil purposes was supposedly destroyed when the lab was blown up. But a guard refuses her entry and Superman arrives to assure her that his x-ray vision has seen nothing inside. But Bizarro lives! He fled deeper into the mountains and now has burst into a ski lodge, causing the occupants to flee in terror. The TV is on, and Bizarro hears a news story about Superman supposedly having a secret home somewhere near the North Pole. Though his mind is confused, he nonetheless possesses Superman's fantastic abilities. He flies far North, and shortly finds the Fortress of Solitude, breaking in and freeing a small alien creature he immediately names his new dog, Krypto. Then the Orb of Krypton in the Fortress, thinking he is Superman, tells him the story of Krypton and it's destruction. He then flies to Metropolis and starts to destroy a large theater, determined to mold it into a proper Kryptonian home of his own!
Bizarro next grabs a doorman in a long red coat who he mistakes for his father Jor-El, and then he also takes Lois into the building to show off his new house! Superman having discovered what has happened, shows up in his lead-fiber suit with a piece of Kryptonite to subdue Bizarro. But the creature is unaffected by the substance, and then his "dog" Krypto tears a hole in Superman's suit exposing him to the deadly remains of Krypton! Superman collapses as Bizarro flies straight through the ceiling talking about how Krypton must now be destroyed. But the building's structural damage is too great, for now it begins to fall apart threatening to kill Lois and the doorman, plus the weakened Superman!
Superman manages to push the Kryptonite away from him as the building literally falls apart around the trio. He grabs Lois and the doorman, flying them out of the theater as it collapses into a pile of rubble. Meanwhile, Bizarro has flown to a nearby missile base, and now he throws a cruise missile at Metropolis so it may be destroyed as Krypton once was! Superman speeds through the skies, finally intercepting the missile which Bizarro is escorting.
But Bizarro has hopelessly confused Metropolis with Krypton and is determined that its destiny of destruction must be realized! He fights Superman and keeps him from stopping the missile, until Superman reminds him that Lois will be killed too, and the creature flies off to save her. He then diverts the missile to a harmless detonation far up in the stratosphere. But what will he do with Bizarro? Superman decides to uses the Kryptonian spacecraft he came to Earth in to take Bizarro and his faithful Krypto to a distant planet, where the powerful but befuddled being may hopefully find the peace Earth never gave him.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
The Hand of Fate [October 11, 1997]
Directed By: Dan Riba
There's a robbery at the Metropolis University's department of archaeology, and the thief finds a tablet that promises "power beyond all dreams". He reads the tablet's incantation, and immediately he begins to be possessed by a being that finally fully transforms the man into a demon called Karkull. Karkull then proceeds to terrorize people on the streets of town until Superman sees the disturbance and flies down to help. But the demon fights off Superman with green eldritch blasts that hurt Superman! Then the creature proves just how vulnerable Superman is to magic by slashing him with his claws right across Superman's red "S", wounding him! But even while hurt, Superman fights the demon right into the Daily Planet lobby, where the evil creature blasts Superman out of the building. Karkull then seals the building in a magical force field that can't be broken!
Inside the Planet, Karkull has begun to summon demons from a vast pit he has opened in the lobby, and they're possessing the people trapped inside including Lois and Jimmy! Superman seeks mystical aid by going to a faraway tall, slender tower and calling for a Dr. Fate. The tower's side opens magically, and a woman named Inza calls Superman inside, where we see the tower inside is huge compared to the outside. She heals Superman's wound and slashed costume with a minor spell, then takes Superman to Dr. Fate. But Fate has given up the battle against evil claiming it to be endless and useless, that evil will always return. Inza gives Superman a talisman which will help him, and he returns to the Daily Planet, using the bauble to pass through the magic barrier where Karkull's demons wait to kill him!
Superman fights off the demons, though he must be careful of hurting them as they're possessed humans. But the tide turns for the worse when he drops the talisman during his struggles, and Karkull closes in for the kill! But with a blast of magical energy, Dr. Fate arrives driving the demon back. Dr. Fate has bought a tablet like the one the thief found and he tells Superman it's the key to sending Karkull back to his dark dimension. But Karkull knocks the tablet into the giant chasm he's opened, and Superman chases it down into the depths as Dr. Fate battles on with Karkull. As Superman catches up to the falling tablet, a huge beast from the depths grabs for him, but with a burst of speed he flies up out of the chasm to see Dr. Fate has been hurt and Karkull's closing in for the kill! But the tablet does its work with Fate weaving a spell using it to pull the demons from their human hosts, including Karkull, inside it. Later, Dr. Fate tells Superman he will heal from his wounds, and he thanks Superman for reminding him that although evil always returns, good must also always return to fight against it!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Prototype [October 11, 1997]
Directed By: Curt Geda
Lex Luthor's Lexcorp has developed battle armor for police to use that has fantastic capabilities. It has black light lasers, grenade launchers, jet boots, infrared lenses in the helmet, and it gives the wearer the strength of twenty! But its maker, John Henry Irons, tells Lex he has misgivings about using the armor this soon after its development. Lex ignores him and then Sgt. Mills of the S.C.U. (Special Crimes Unit), demonstrates the armor. During the demonstration a fire breaks out in a nearby high-rise building, and Superman is helped by Sgt. Mills in the rescue of the tenants showcasing the suit's abilities. But John Henry Irons tells Lex afterwards that because the suit integrates with the wearer's nervous system, that more tests are needed. Lex tells him that he works for him and to do what he's told, but Irons tells him, "Not anymore!", and quits on the spot!
Sgt. Mills grows more proficient in using the suit, but when his wife sees him being over aggressive on TV with some bank robbers he catches, she becomes concerned. Then he shaves his head so the suit can make better contact with his head, and cancels his vacation telling his wife he must stay in the suit. Now things worsen, with Mills nearly killing some car thieves until Superman intervenes. He's placed on medical leave and it's found that the suit and its powers have become addictive through using it, and the armor is locked up until further tests. But Mills cannot take being separated from the suit, and steals it to prevent anyone from ever taking it from him again!
Superman confers with John Henry Irons who tells him of a jamming device for the suit that only Luthor has. And Luthor has need of it when Mills breaks into his office ranting and raving. Luthor gets behind Mills and sticks the jamming device into a port in the suit, incapacitating him. But when he falls he crushes the device under him, and then Mills goes wild breaking Luthor's giant office shark tank open, spilling the shark right in front of Luthor! Superman arrives and barely saves Luthor, but then Mills attacks him with his lasers right in Superman's eyes, temporarily blinding him! Mills is beating Superman badly, until his vision slowly returns and he spots massive power cables nearby. He rips the cables from the wall and rams them into the suit's port for the jamming device, causing a massive overload and finally dropping Mills. Later, Mills is being weaned from the suit and is headed for a full recovery. And Superman tells John Henry Irons that the suit was a good idea, as he can always use help in his never-ending battle. With a thoughtful look from Irons, we can tell that we haven't seen the last of him, or his armor!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
The Late Mr. Kent [November 1, 1997]
Directed By: Curt Geda
Our tale opens somberly as we see we're watching a funeral for someone familiar as Lois, Jimmy, Perry and the rest of the Daily Planet gang are there. All except the deceased, who in this case is supposed to be Clark Kent! It began when Clark Kent investigated a murder case that the convicted killer is about to be put to death in the gas chamber for. Ernest Walker's steady pulse and honest demeanor convince Clark that Walker's story of being framed might have credence. But Detective Bowman, who worked the burglary turned murder, tells Clark he's wasting his time as he's completely convinced of Walker's guilt. But Clark cleverly finds truth to Walker's alibi via a Pizza chain's delivery records proving Walker was home the night of the murder! He's on his way to the Governor with the proof of Walker's innocence when a bomb planted in Clark's car blows the vehicle into the ocean right in front of a witness, thus preventing Clark from emerging unharmed without his secret identity being exposed. As far as the world knows, Clark Kent is dead and Walker is still scheduled to die soon!
Lois Lane is on the case to find Clark's killer, and she and Detective Bowman are arguing about the case's lack of evidence. Then Bowman calls Ma Kent who's not extremely bereaved at the news of her son's death as Clark's sitting in the kitchen when Ma takes the call. But Clark is upset over the loss of his secret identity as he's Clark first and foremost, and being Superman 24 hours a day just wouldn't be any kind of real life. And he vows that to clear Walker and save his life, he will reveal he's really Clark and testify of the evidence he found clearing the condemned man. He flies to his apartment and finds Lois searching for clues and she admits how much she cared for Clark. But then a bomb planted in the apartment explodes with Superman barely saving Lois and putting out the fire. And as he finishes his work, Superman's keen vision spots none other then Detective Bowman furtively sneaking away from the crowd watching the fire!
Lois goes to Bowman and confronts him with the mounting evidence that he is the real killer and Bowman framed Walker. As she follows Bowman down the Police Headquarter stairs, Bowman realizes Lois knows too much and pushes her over the railing to certain death! But Superman blasts through the ceiling, streaking down to catch Lois. He trails Bowman to the roof where the desperate cop turned killer commandeers a Police attack helicopter. But Superman proves too powerful for even the formidable firepower of the chopper, and Bowman is captured. But the execution is about to be carried out, and Superman flies to the prison at super-speed to prevent a tragic mistake! He stops the gas from killing Walker and gets Lana Lang, who knows of Clark's life as Superman, to cover for him saying Clark was hiding out with her thus preserving his dual identity. Later, we see Detective Bowman in the gas chamber about to pay for his crime. Bowman suddenly realizes that Clark is really Superman as that's the only way he could have lived through the car bomb he'd planted. But the knowledge comes too late, as Bowman takes the secret with him to the grave.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Heavy Metal [November 8, 1997]
Directed By: Curt Geda
Made of steel, a helmet for a suit of armor appears from a forge's fiery cauldron. It's being built by John Henry Irons, the incredible engineer we first met in the episode: Prototype. He's persisting in his personal vision of a suit of technologically advanced battle armor to fight crime. John and his niece Natasha, Nate for short, see on TV that a bank robber with Superman-like strength has been reported. Not only that, the fleeing bandits head right into their neighborhood, prompting John to don a gauntlet for his armor that fires a laser beam to confront the robbers. He flattens the crook's tires, but they get the drop on John and are about to shoot him, when Superman arrives saving John. But the mysterious strongman flattens Superman with incredible strength, and we then see it's none other then the cybernetic madman with the Kryptonite heart, Metallo!
Metallo opens his chest to expose Superman to his deadly heart, weakening him badly. He explains that Intergang found him trapped in the cooled lava flow we saw in the episode: Action Figures. They not only repaired him, but they gave him deadly Kryptonite vision, which he uses to bring Superman down when he attempts to distance himself from Metallo. Superman is fast being poisoned to death by the lethal Kryptonite, when John and Nate crash into Metallo with his van, barely managing to rescue Superman. Then they all flee for their lives with Metallo chasing them. They elude him long enough to reach Iron's lab where he places Superman under powerful sunlamps hoping to revive him. He then dons his battle armor for the first time, and will test it in the field of battle against Metallo!
Steel uses his jet boots to rocket into the air and land in front of Metallo and his Intergang cohorts. He says his name is "Steel", and he obviously has come to challenge these men of evil. He uses a huge hammer he carries to divert the deadly laser beams of Intergang's men, and then seals them in a garbage dumpster with his laser gauntlet. But when a car slams into him, he sees that Metallo will be a lot tougher to take down. Steel takes Metallo into the air, but Metallo wriggles free and they fall right into Iron's lab! Metallo knocks Steel away intent on finishing off Superman, and beams deadly Kryptonite at him with terrible effect. It seems as if nothing can stop the metal madman when Steel throws his hammer right into Metallo's Kryptonite heart shattering it! The mighty blow sends Metallo crashing straight through the lab wall to the street below, the danger finally ended. Superman revives and thanks Steel with a handshake, and we can see that not only has armor been made this day, but a new hero!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Warrior Queen [November 22, 1997]
Directed By: Curt Geda
Our story opens on a planet with obvious advances in science, but then we see an arena where a man and a woman are battling with long-handled axe and sword! What few spectators there are seem bored by the mortal combat, and their boredom becomes clear when the woman rallies against the man and defeats him proclaiming that once again, their warrior queen Maxima has bested all fighters. It seems that this red-haired firebrand cannot find a man anywhere to stand as her equal for a mate. She rules harshly also, with a bored indifference to her people. But when her defeated combatant De'Cine and her assistant Sazu show her films of Superman in action, she immediately teleports to Earth using a wristband she wears and calls Superman to a TV studio she's barged into. He appears and she tells him that he is being considered for her royal husband. But when Superman naturally tells her that Earth's his home and he's staying, she knocks him off his feet with a mighty blow!
Maxima's bruised ego is causing bruises for Superman as she goes on a royal tantrum fighting him out of the studio into a nearby construction site. There, Superman finally gets the upper hand by wrapping Maxima in an I-beam he's twisted around her. She then makes it disappear in a telekinetic flash, and jumps to her feet and happily tells Superman that he is her long sought after equal, and now he simply has to marry her. He again tries to gently decline, but Maxima's response is to knock Superman out with a force beam from her wristband device and teleport back to her home planet Almerac with him in tow! When she arrives, she sees her defeated foe De'Cine now sitting on her throne beside her once trusted aide Sazu. Sazu tells Maxima the people couldn't stand her tyrannical rule any longer, and gladly accepted De'Cine as their new King. Then she takes Maxima's wristband weapon and teleporter from her, and gives it to De'Cine. He then betrays Sazu as he had intended all along, and uses it to send Superman, Maxima, and Sazu away in a flash!
The trio appear miles underground in catacombs that Maxima explains she uses as prisons for malcontents. When Superman tries to fly out, he is blasted back to the ground by powerful force shields meant to prevent escapes. Then things actually get worse when giant red tentacles surround them. Maxima tells Superman this is the Camorite and it likes prisoners for lunch, namely them. But Superman and Maxima team up and best the monster by forcing its tentacles into the shielded ceiling, shorting out the power. Superman flies them back up to the throne room where they confront De'Cine. After Superman takes care of the rebellious guards and then stops Maxima from killing De'Cine, he tells her the tyranny must end. She jails De'Cine and then laments that she'll never find a man. Superman tells her there's someone for everyone and then she teleports him back to Earth. Suddenly, Lobo blasts into the room declaring he's there for the traitorous De'Cine. And with an adoring glance at Lobo from Maxima, we see Superman just might have been right!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Apokolips...Now! (Part 1 of 2) [February 7, 1998]
Directed By: Dan Riba
The Special Crimes Unit (S.C.U.) is delivering laundered cash taken from Intergang in a raid to the bank for safekeeping, when they're attacked by a high-tech hover-tank! The alien armament blasts into the bank injuring Lt. Maggie Sawyer and escaping with the cash-laden armored car, when Superman shows up. The tank uses a powerful sonic device that nearly stops Superman until he blasts it with his heat-vision, but the robbers escape and they return to the boss of Intergang, Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim, last seen in the episode: "Tools of the Trade." He gloats over the stolen $20 million until an odd wrist device he wears projects the image of the cruel ruler of Apokolips, Darkseid. He tells Mannheim that they are playing for bigger stakes than stolen money, and he'll make Mannheim a king soon. Meanwhile, at an S.C.U. press conference concerning the tank attack, a glowing energy corridor called a "Boom Tube" appears in the room depositing a red clad figure with a pointed-eared silver helmet in front of Clark Kent. He collapses in Clark's arms saying he's here to warn Superman of a great danger that's coming!
The man is named Orion, and he has a living computer called a "Mother Box", which he lets tell his tale. Eons ago, a great planet was split asunder when the old gods died in their final battle. The molten remains of their world eventually formed two new worlds. Their names are New Genesis, where kindly Highfather rules over a golden society of New Gods, and Apokolips, where evil Darkseid rules with an iron fist while he psychically feeds off the despair of his subjects. But these two worlds also were at war; a war with no seeming end. So Highfather and Darkseid exchanged their infant sons as hostages to each other, and an uneasy truce was struck. But Darkseid, while leaving New Genesis alone, went on to subjugate countless other worlds and now he has set his sights on Earth. Orion explains he's here to offer his services in the coming battle, and just then an alarm comes in telling of an Air Force base under attack. The battle for Earth has begun! Superman rushes off to the base where several hover-tanks are wreaking havoc, and he's suddenly grabbed by one and the tank then blasts Superman with Apokoliptian energies, threatening to kill him!
Orion arrives blasting at the hover-tank, which frees Superman. Orion then relentlessly tears into the tanks with no mercy, tearing then apart with blasts from the golden flying harness he wears. Mannheim is watching the battle on a monitor when Darkseid appears. Darkseid recognizes Orion, but then teleports himself and Mannheim to the nuclear power plant in the bay. There, Parademons of Darkseid's have brought a huge bomb to destroy the plant! Back at the Air Force base, the fight is over. Orion tells Superman this was no setback for Darkseid, and he knows how Darkseid feels because he is his son! He was the infant son Darkseid surrendered to Highfather years ago when the pact was formed between the warring planets. He tells Superman he's returning to New Genesis to report what has happened, but he gives Superman a device to signal for help he will surely need in the days to come. He then "Boom Tubes" away. Back at the power plant, Mannheim has started the bomb, when Darkseid tells him he's leaving him there to die. He has kept his promise to make Mannheim a king, but he has made him the king of fools. Darkseid teleports away and Mannheim flees on a boat he finds. But then he's blasted off screen as the otherworldly bomb detonates the power plant in a mushroom cloud of nuclear destruction! Superman and Dan Turpin see the blast from the shattered Air Force base, and know this is another deadly move in Darkseid's total war on humanity!
End of Part One.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Apokolips...Now! (Part 2 of 2) [February 14, 1998]
Directed By: Dan Riba
Orion warned Superman that Darkseid threatened all of Earth, and it's all come true. Sinnot Air Force Base lies in ruins and now a nuclear reactor in the harbor has been blown sky-high! Professor Hamilton discovers that the subsequent meltdown is burning through the Earth heading right for the core of our planet. There, it will multiply many times, turning Earth into a duplicate of Apokolips with mile-high fiery pits bursting all over our planet; the maniacal plan of Darkseid, master of evil! Superman tries to call Orion on the signal device he was given by the warrior New God, but it's been damaged and is useless. Then, the war heats up even more with Darkseid sending the evil New God Steppenwolf to hunt Superman with hundreds of Parademons to help him. Steppenwolf attacks Superman using an Apokoliptian bomb, which snares him in an energy net. Then the Parademons swarm over him in countless numbers, overwhelming him!
With a powerful right hand from Superman, a Parademon flies off of him. Then another joins him as Superman fights on! Then the Parademons regroup and threaten Superman again until with guns blazing, an S.C.U. chopper with Dan Turpin in it attacks the Parademons. They engage the Parademons allowing Superman to take off for the meltdown site. There, he uses his fantastic speed and strength to drill hundreds of holes into the meltdown's shaft, allowing the harbor water to rush in, extinguishing the terrible fire and saving his adopted planet. But the effort exhausts him and he lands nearby. At this moment of weakness, Darkseid attacks Superman personally, using withering Omega Beams from his eyes! He stops for a moment, and offers Superman one last chance to survive by becoming his slave. Superman refuses, and Darkseid attacks again with more killing beams. Back in Metropolis, the Special Crimes Unit and the rest of the Police force fight the battle for the city, as the Parademons assault them in the thousands! The valiant defenders of Earth fight for their planet block by block, with damage and casualties mounting on both sides. Dan "Terrible" Turpin is an inspiration to them all, as he rushes into the heat of battle again and again, with no regard for his own safety. Then the tide turns for the worse, as a mammoth battle tank three stories high rumbles down the street, crushing everything in its path as the people and fighters both flee from its huge crushing treads. Dan and Lois meet up as it reaches them, and both gasp in horror as they see atop the tank a triumphant Darkseid with Superman chained in a huge circular ring as his captive!
The massive tank halts and Darkseid announces himself. He tells them all, "Here is your saviour, crushed and broken." And it's seems true as we see that Superman has been badly hurt, his uniform ripped and tattered and his body wracked with pain from Darkseid's brutal assault. He tells the people that they will be his slaves, or he will surely destroy them all. Dan Turpin roars his defiant answer back at Darkseid for all of Earth, telling Darkseid that the people of Earth will die before they'll surrender to him. The crowd on the street cheers along with Dan, showing Darkseid the truth of his words. Then Dan attacks a nearby Parademon and subdues the fearsome creature with powerful blows, wresting the creature's battle lance from it. He throws it like a spear at the mechanism holding Superman, and it's powerful energies blast Superman free!
Kalibak attacks Superman, but Superman bests him even in his weakened state. Superman then flies up to confront Darkseid, telling him, "Let's finish it." But suddenly in the skies above them all, multiple Boom Tubes erupt in their telltale corriders of energy, teleporting Orion and the battle troops of New Genesis with him onto the scene in a tremendous display of power and weaponry! Orion informs Darkseid that Highfather, the leader of New Genesis, has proclaimed Earth under their protection, and any further agression against Earth will be considered a violation of their centuries old pact and all out war between them will ensue. For a moment all is still. Then, Darkseid smiles as only an evil being can, and tells him that he wouldn't dream of spoiling this reunion with his son by spilling blood. He then tells Superman not to savor this seeming triumph, as victory always comes at a price. Before he and his troops vanish in Boom Tubes of their own, he proves his words by ruthlessly blasting Dan Turpin into oblivion with his Omega Beams! The shocked crowd stands in disbelief, while Superman destroys the massive battle tank that was left behind in a rare display of superhuman rage, his screams of pain echoing the loss they all feel at Dan's brutal death at Darkseid's hands. Later, Dan's funeral is being held, and we hear a Rabbi singing a song of death, sorrow, redemption, and hope in honor of Dan and the beliefs he died protecting. As the crowd leaves, Superman remains behind to bid his old friend goodbye, tears streaming from his eyes. We see the inscription on the gravestone, simple but profoundly true.
Daniel Turpin
Earth's Greatest
Hero
The scene fades and these words appear on the screen:
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Jack Kirby
Long Live The King
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Little Girl Lost (Part 1 of 2) [May 2, 1998]
Directed By: Curt Geda
Using the spaceship that originally brought him to Earth, Superman has taken the long journey back to Krypton. He uses the craft's sensors to probe for any signs of life, until suddenly a lifeform is detected somewhere on the outer regions of this solar system! Superman flies to the icy planet where he lands and enters a lab where a holographic message tells him that he is on what is left of Argo, Krypton's sister planet. When Krypton exploded, the resulting shock wave laid waste to Argo and threw it into this remote orbit far from the red sun of this system. This family put themselves into cryogenic freeze in the hopes that someday they'd be found. But after the message ends, Superman discovers all but one of the chambers have been destroyed by the encroaching ice, and in that container is a teenage girl! The scene changes to a beautiful day on Earth, and some time has passed for now we see that same young lady flying through the sky like she was born to it! Clark Kent shows up and we see that we are at the Kent's farm and Kara, the girl's name, is being admonished by Clark for flying around in public. Clark wants Kara to acclimate to Earth for a while before openly displaying her powers. Clark leaves citing the recent return of Intergang to Metropolis, which interests Kara. Back in Metropolis, Lois and Jimmy are at an electronic trade show when suddenly two teens with high-tech weapons break in to steal equipment in the name of Intergang!
The teens are riding some sort of hoverpads, and the girl has a fire-shooting gauntlet while the boy has an ice-firing one. They fly down to use two smaller anti-gravity disks to pick up a huge crate and are flying out of the hall when they run into Superman! They hold off Superman enough to get away and we see them go to a hideout where there are several teens. An older woman wearing a green cape who calls herself Granny Goodness is recruiting them for crimes. But she is anything but good as she is openly cruel to her young charges. Back at the Daily Planet, Clark gets a surprise when Kara drops in! He gives her his apartment keys and tells her to stay there until he can meet her. Then we see Jimmy trying to convince Lois to let him help with the story on Intergang as Jimmy's anxious for his first byline on a story. But Lois turns Jimmy down citing the danger. He vows to go off on his own and enters the elevator, when Kara jumps into the car asking how would he like some company!
The duo heads to the video arcades as Jimmy found a game token dropped by one of the teen robbers. They eventually find the right one as the two teens are there and Jimmy and Kara follow them back to their hideout. Following them inside, they are quickly caught and try to bluff Granny Goodness claiming to want to join the gang, but Granny is not convinced and tells her teen robbers to attack the pair. Kara throws two attackers off like rag dolls and suddenly rips off her outer garment to expose a short blue skirt, a red cape, and on a white t-shirt she wears the famous red "S" of Superman! Jimmy is astounded to see this Supergirl face down Granny's blasts from her power baton and force her back!
Then Granny takes out a small device and with a bang, the inter-dimensional transport corridor known as a Boom Tube appears, for Granny is from Apokolips, the planet of evil ruled by the terrible being Darkseid! Three lethal looking women appear, and Granny tells them to kill the interlopers at once!
End of Part One.
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".
Little Girl Lost (Part 2 of 2) [May 2, 1998]
Directed By: Curt Geda
Granny Goodness' Female Furies surround Supergirl and Jimmy. Between Lashina and her shock whip, Mad Harriet and her killer fist spikes, and Stompa and her deadly super-powered legs, the intrepid young heroes are in big trouble! Jimmy dives for cover while Supergirl bravely fights off the fearsome trio, proving her mettle in the clash of high-powered women. The three are furious with Supergirl's determination and powers. Meanwhile, Granny's teen recruits all run for the hills in the face of the combat. The battle draws Superman who is sneak-attacked by Lashina, her Apokolips-powered whip knocking out the Man of Steel while Stompa drops wreckage on Supergirl stunning her. Granny and the Furies Boom-Tube back to Apokolips with Superman as their prisoner just as Supergirl struggles from the debris. She finds a Boom Tube device that was dropped by Granny in the fight, and with Jimmy wishing her luck she disappears into the tube as it vanishes with the characteristic boom.
Supergirl is transported to Apokolips; the concrete and machine covered planet with mile high firepits that is ruled by Darkseid the evil god. She immediately must dodge the huge battle dog patrols prowling the surface until finally she is spotted by Parademons and they give chase! She manages to beat them, but in the fight she has lost the Boom Tube device and is now stranded on this evil planet. Back on Earth, Jimmy has unexpected help in Amy, the teen who originally robbed the show Jimmy was at with Lois. Amy has seen how totally evil Granny is and she now wants to help make amends. The pair find a huge cannon-like device that Granny has built in the back of the hideout and they watch helplessly as it turns itself on and shocks them away when they try to stop it. Back on Apokolips, Supergirl has found Granny and the Furies as they drag Superman before Darkseid. Granny tells Superman the device she left behind is a huge magnetic cannon meant to draw a passing comet into Earth destroying it. Darkseid brags of how it will look like a natural disaster and will not break his tenuous pact with the world and gods on New Genesis, the good counterpart to this world of evil. Just then Supergirl flies in and tells Darkseid she won't allow him to carry out his plan, but his only response is to blast her with powerful omega beams from his eyes!
Darksied tells the Furies to finish Supergirl, but once more she lives up to her name by not only beating them off, but she also frees Superman and now they proceed to best them all including Granny. Now Darkseid turns his deadly attention to the Super-pair ready to destroy them. But Superman quickly grabs Granny's Boom Tube device and uses it to carry them safely back to Earth where Supergirl wrecks the cannon before Superman can use it to repel the oncoming comet. Now he flies into the outer reaches of the atmosphere where he manages to slowly push it from its intercept course. But as he does so, a huge section breaks free and hurls straight for Metropolis! Supergirl sees it coming and knows she's the city's only hope now. She steels herself, and then flies at the comet section at tremendous speed until the two meet in a massive explosion that vaporizes the killer rock and Superman catches her as her battered form falls. Later we see Jimmy celebrating his first byline and it's a great one. The banner headline proclaims Supergirl as the heroine of Metropolis, for she's beaten Intergang and saved them all literally. She has shown she truly deserves the name Supergirl!
Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".

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