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Superman: The Animated Series

Season 3

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

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Episode Guide

This guide does not list airdates for repeat showings.

Cast

Agent #1: Dennis Haysbert Agent #2: Gregg Berger Agent #3: John Mariano Alfred Pennyworth: Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Alterus: Carl Lumbly Angela Chen: Lauren Tom Aquagirl: Jodi Benson Aquaman: Miguel Ferrer Bane: Henry Silva Barda: Farah Forke Batgirl/Barbara Gordon: Tara Charendoff Batman/Bruce Wayne: Kevin Conroy Batman (Beyond)/Terry McGinnis: Will Friedle Bibbo: Brad Garrett Billy: Debi Mae West Brainiac: Corey Burton Captain Croissant: Dave Walsh Cetea: Jennifer Jason Leigh Chameleon Boy/Reep Daggle: Jason Priestly Clark Kent/Superman/Bizarro: Tim Daly College Girl: Melissa Disney Commissioner James Gordon: Bob Hastings Cosmic Boy/Rokk Krinn: Chad Love Darci Mason: Nancy Travis Darkseid: Michael Ironside Death Fist Ninja: Townsend Coleman Detective Harvey Bullock: Robert Costanzo Director: William H. Macy Doctor Cardy: Staurt Pankin Eugene: Brian George Expensive Women: Tress MacNeille General Hardcastle: Charles Napier Granny Goodness: Ed Asner Gsplisnz: Jennifer Hale Guardian #1: Peter Mark Richman Guardian #2: Pat Musick Harley Quinn: Arleen Sorkin Houston Control: John Rubano Jax-Ur: Ron Perlman Jimmy Olsen: David Kaufman Jonathan Kent: Mike Farrell Kalibak: Michael Dorn Kenny Braverman: Scott Menville Kurt: Peter Gallagher Krypto: Frank Welker

Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern: Michael P. Greco Green Lantern (Batman Beyond): Lauren Tom Lana Lang: Kelly Schmidt/Joely Fisher Lashina: Diane Michelle Lexie#1: John Rubano Lexie#2: Billy West Lex Luthor: Clancy Brown Livewire: Lori Petty Lois Lane: Dana Delany Mad Hatter: Roddy McDowall Mad Harriet: Andrea Martin Maggie Sawyer: Joanna Cassidy Mala: Sarah Douglas Martha Kent: Shelly Fabares Mercy Graves: Lisa Edelstein Metallo: Malcom McDowell Micron: Wayne Brady Mxyzptlk: Gilbert Godfried Owen: Jason Marsden Penguin: Paul Williams Perry White: George Dzundza Pioson Ivy: Diane Pershing Professor Hamilton: Victor Brandt Ra's Al Ghul: David Warner Reporter: Robert David Hall Restaurant Owner: Larry Cedar Reverend Howell/Unity: Stephan Root Riddler: John Clover Robin/Tim Drake: Mathew Valencia Saturn Girl/Irma Ardeen: Melissa Joan Hart Scientist: Tony Pope Short Order Cook: John Mariano Sinestro: Ted Levine Stompa: Diane Delano Stormtrooper Guard: Steve McGowan Supergirl/Kara: Nicholle Tom Superman (Batman Beyond): Christopher McDonald Talia: Olivia Hussey Tina: Dina Sherman Toyman: Bud Cort Ubu: Michael Horse Used Car Salesman: Charlie Rocket Volcana: Peri Gilpin Warhawk: Peter Onorati Young Clark Kent: Jason Marsden

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, Andrew Donkin and Ron Fogelman
Series Directors: Hiroyuki Aoyama, Curt Geda, Kenji Hachizaki, Toshihiko Masuda, Dan Riba, Yuichiro Yano, Kazuhide Tomano, Butch Lukic, Shin-Ichi Tsuji, Kazumi Fukushima
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

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Episodes

1. Where There's Smoke - Summary
2. Knight Time - Summary
3. Girl's Night Out (Batman Episode) - Summary
4. New Kids in Town - Summary
5. Obsession - Summary
6. Little Big Head Man - Summary
7. Absolute Power - Summary
8. In Brightest Day... - Summary
9. Superman's Pal - Summary
10. A Fish Story - Summary
11. Unity - Summary
12. The Demon Reborn - Summary
13. Legacy (Part 1 of 2) - Summary
14. Legacy (Part 2 of 2) - Summary
15. The Call [Batman Beyond] (Part 1 of 2) - Summary
16. The Call [Batman Beyond] (Part 2 of 2) - Summary

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Summaries

• Where There's Smoke [September 19, 1998]
  Directed by: Dan Riba

  Clark and Jimmy are covering an exhibit of rare marine antiques at the Metropolis Yacht Club during its annual regatta. A mysterious and alluring redheaded woman manages to finesse her way in past security, and once inside she enters the ladies room and doffs her hat and glasses to reveal wildly long hair and red-hot eyes. Then she points her hands at the ceiling and blasts flame from her hands into the air duct system, setting the entire building ablaze! Clark changes to Superman and saves the occupants while the redhead steals the marine antiques. Mistaking her for a potential victim, Superman tries to save her and she hurls him from the building with her powerful flame blasts. She escapes while Superman douses the fire and later that night Clark returns to the scene, only to be chased from the site by someone claiming to work there. Clark follows the man to Metropolis Federal headquarters where the man is really employed. Meanwhile the fiery woman named Volcana is trying to pawn the stolen antiques, but her fence tells her to steal something else of value and to meet her later. As the fence hangs up, he's abducted by more mysterious agents who want to catch Volcana themselves!
  Clark investigates a school for paranormal children he suspects is run by the government, and finds that Volcana was a student there until she was kidnapped and taken by federal agents for training as a paranormal assassin. Clark catches up to Volcana at her next robbery and tries to convince her to forsake crime and trust him to help her. She pummels him with her incredible flame powers as she tells Superman she's been betrayed by everyone in her life, so why should she ever trust again? The battles grows more intense, until Volcana uses her powers to create a flame decoy to lure Superman away. She goes to meet her fence, but the agents are waiting for her instead, lead by a man with an eye patch named Kurt who's obviously the one commanding them. Before Volcana can react, the men take her prisoner using huge fire-foam guns!
  Following a tip, Superman shows up at the apartment Volcana's been abducted from before all the agents leave, and forces one of them to tell him where she's been taken. Meanwhile, we see Volcana is being held in a tank of liquid while air is pumped into a facemask keeping her alive, but unable to use her formidable powers. Superman bursts in and confronts Kurt, telling him he's learned this isn't a sanctioned government operation after all, as Kurt's been running it illegally as a rogue agent. At that, Kurt orders his men to open fire on Superman. Their energy rifles keep Superman off-balance for a while, but collateral damage from the battle breaks Volcana's cage and she enters the fray with powerful blasts, which start destroying the complex itself. She follows Kurt to destroy him once and for all, but is caught up in a great explosion. The scene fades, and next we see Volcana lying on a tropical beach sunning herself. Superman arrives with supplies to keep her living comfortably there, far away from any governments interested in using her for evil. Her safety and anonymity are assured as she's finally found someone she can trust in Superman.

  Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".

• Knight Time [October 10, 1998]
  Directed by: Curt Geda

  Roxy Rocket is on the loose in Metropolis, and Superman is hot on her trail until he finally grabs Roxy right off her rocket in a head-on showdown. When asked why she's in Metropolis instead of her usual Gotham City, Roxy informs Superman that the crooks are overrunning Gotham since Batman has disappeared! We next see Gotham City itself where the Gotham Experience exhibit is being robbed by two crooks who're suddenly interrupted by Robin, Batman's younger partner. Robin's got them on the run when two more show up and get the drop on him. Just before they can hurt Robin, Superman shows up and stops the crooks. Superman reveals he knows Batman is Bruce Wayne, Robin tells him that Bruce sent word he was going away without explanation. Since Batman's gone, the crooks are having a holiday with Robin trying to keep up. Just then the pair see the Bat-signal lighting up the sky. Next we see Commissioner Gordon about to give up and turn the signal off, when who should show up but Batman and Robin!
  Commissioner Gordon shows Batman a picture of Bane arriving in town and he warns hin to be cautious as Bane's supposedly improved his Venom formula making him twice as strong. After Batman and Robin leave, they stop to talk and we find out that it's Superman under Batman's cowl imitating him! The dynamic duo head to Wayne Enterprises and find miniature robots called Nanites all over Bruce Wayne's desk and a needle in his phone's earpiece. Someone has been controlling Bruce Wayne's mind and that sends them to the Mad Hatter who just happens to be in a meeting with Bane and the Riddler where the three are about to team up. Bane attacks, but is defeated and the trio is captured. But when the Mad Hatter inspects the nanites he's shown, he proclaims that not only are they not his work, they are alien in origin!
  Back in the Batcave, Superman and Robin are examining the video-mail Bruce left saying he was leaving when Superman's incredible hearing picks up the sound of rocket exhaust in the background and that sends them to a Wayne Aerospace division that supposedly was shut down long ago. When they arrive as Batman and Robin, they see Bruce Wayne leading a team that's preparing a spacecraft for launch. Suddenly Bruce dismisses all the technicians, telling them to leave everything on automatic for the launch. After everyone's gone, out of a hidden closet who should appear but Brainiac, the insane living computer from Krypton! It seems he invaded Waynetech's computers during the brief business alliance between Lexcorp and Wayne Enterprises (see World's Finest episode.) When Batman attacks to stop Brainiac from killing Bruce, Brainiac blasts at Batman in a fiery display of power, but it is Superman who emerges from the flames! Brainiac then blasts the complex into destruction to distract Superman while he rockets away from Earth. But Superman chases him into the stratosphere and disables the ship causing it to explode, seemingly destroying the mechanical menace! Later on, as Bruce thanks Superman for saving him, Superman tells Bruce he never could have done it without Batman's greatest asset, his partner Robin!

  Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".

• Girl's Night Out (Batman Episode) [October 17, 1998]
  Directed by: Curt Geda

  The electric villainess Livewire is being transported to GothCorp in Gotham City for treatment of her bizarre powers, when downed power lines supply her with voltage for an escape. Batgirl is out on patrol and calls Batman who tells her he's heading out of town for 48 hours, but he'll call someone in Metropolis for some "special" help. But Kara, a.k.a. Supergirl, is apartment sitting for an out of town Clark Kent and takes the call, which sends her flying off to Gotham. Back in Gotham, Batgirl and Livewire have run into each other and though she fights bravely, Batgirl is no match for the high powered Livewire. Livewire is about to zap Batgirl badly, when Supergirl arrives in the nick of time to save her. Batgirl and Supergirl manage to hold off Livewire until she must run away to recharge her powers. The bad news is she runs into none other then Poison Ivy and Harly Quinn, and the three decide to go into the crime business together!
  Next we see the terrible trio breaking into a nearby mall to ransack the money machines. Livewire's starting to get on Poison Ivy and Harley's nerves with her bossy attitude, but they tolerate her for her powers. Supergirl and Batgirl show up and spray Livewire with silicon dust to negate her powers, but then Harley and Ivy jump in to help by trapping Supergirl with killer vines while Harley sucker punches Batgirl. Supergirl spins around at super-speed to toss the vines away and gives chase, but Ivy shoots killer spores at Batgirl which release deadly fumes that surround her with lethal speed!
  Supergirl grabs Batgirl and blasts out of the building away from the toxic gas, but the trio has used the diversion to make good their escape. Back at Batgirl's apartment, the two heroines compare their respective lifestyles and get to know each other. Their foes have chosen the Penguin's Iceberg Lounge for a rest stop, but when the Penguin asks them to leave, they bust the place up. This draws the attention of Batgirl and Supergirl while the Penguin is happy to inform on the trio as they wrecked his place. When the dynamic duo show up at the hideout, a battle royale ensues with Supergirl against Poison Ivy using killer plant life and Livewire trying her best to kill Batgirl, while Harley is knocked out early on. When one of Livewire's sparks starts a fire, the flames start to comsume Ivy's "pets", and Ivy looses water to douse the fire. But the water short-circuits Livewire, and an errant bolt from her knocks out Ivy! Later, Batgirl and Supergirl celebrate their team victory with a little ice cream back at Batgirl's place, as the young women finally relax and forge their newfound friendship.

• New Kids in Town [October 31, 1998]
  Directed by: Butch Lukic

  In the year 2979 we see none other then Brainiac, the insane living computer who also survived Krypton's explosion, attacking a building to use the machinery within to build a time portal. The Legion of Super Heroes is called for help and Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, and Chameleon Boy decide to follow Brainiac to wherever the portal leads. It leads to Smallville where we see a young Clark Kent who has not yet learned his fantastic origins and destiny. The three teens run into a local farmer who threatens them with a gun and we see the trio's powers are Saturn Girl's telepathy, Cosmic Boy's magnetic abilities, and Chameleon Boy's shape shifting into any creature. They use their powers to elude the farmer, and to look for Clark. And find him they must, for Brainiac has found Clark first, and is using his power blasts to destroy him!
  Brainiac has Clark running for his life, and only his awakening powers have kept him alive up to now. Just as Brainiac's blasts grow more intense, the Legionnaires attack Brainiac and divert his attention from Clark. They drive Brainiac away and explain to Clark that they've come to save his life, as his fate is to become not only Superman, but also the inspiration for their Legion of Super Heroes in the 30th Century. This news is all too much for the young teen, and he does what any of us would do; he runs home to seek the safety of his family. When he gets there, Lana Lang is waiting to talk to Clark about all the changes Clark's going through and to assure him she's his friend and will be there for him. But outside the house we see Brainiac's killer drones have found Clark and under Brainiac's command are heading into the house for the kill!
  Clark, Ma, Pa, and Lana all hide in the basement while the drones float around the house upstairs looking for Clark. But Clark decides to take the fight to them and goes after the drones. This draws Brainiac into the fray and the battle moves outside. There, Brainiac uses drones to run the farm machinery to attack Clark. Only his burdgeoning powers are keeping him alive, while even Ma and Pa Kent help by blasting at Brainiac with shotguns to defend their beloved son. This distracts Brainiac long enough for Clark to gather himself, and as the three teens from the future finally arrive at the Kent farm, Clark attacks Brainiac with ever more powerful blows. Clark knocks Brainiac into the barn and the Legionnaires take over. Chameleon Boy mauls Brainiac as a beast, then Cosmic Boy begins a magnetic assault with anvils and anything else metal. Brainiac is being damaged and blasts the barn into toothpicks in retaliation. But Clark attacks Brainiac again, and using mental knowledge sent to him telepathically by Saturn Girl, manages to reach Brainiac's belt and open up a new portal. This one sucks Brainiac away and he emerges from it at the heart of the sun, melting the digital demon into oblivion hopefully once and for all. Later Saturn Girl uses her mental powers to erase the incident from the town's minds and that includes Clark also. As the young heroes of tomorrow leave for the year 2979, they see Lana join Clark as his life resumes peacefully. The young teen of steel will now find his rightful place in history as the one and only Superman!

  Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".

• Obsession [November 14, 1998]
  Directed by: Dan Riba

  Clark and Jimmy are covering the summer fashion show being hosted by Clark's childhood friend and confidant Lana Lang, whose LL line of fashions are very big this year. But not as big as the new supermodel, Darci Mason. As Darci moves up and down the runway, the show's mood is exciting. But things get even more exciting when a boat pulls up at the nearby dock and robotic versions of an astronaut, a cowboy, and a knight all disembark and attempt to kidnap Darci! Clark changes to Superman and beats them off, but Darci is oddly quiet about the whole affair. What's left of the cowboy robot returns to the lair of the Toyman, Superman's child-sized foe with a penchant for deadly toys, where we see him paying homage to a room full of Darci's pictures. It seems Toyman's hooked on Darci and will get her one way or the other. When Clark Kent shows up to try and get Darci to open up to him, the Toyman strikes in the form of a giant killer kangaroo that throws Clark off the balcony and then turns on Darci!
  Darci's already sustained a cut to her famous face in the melee, and just before the Kangaroo grabs her, Superman flies through the doors and the fight is on! The Toyman's killer robot has an arsenal of deadly tricks and uses them all on Superman, holding him at bay until he drops the Kangaroo twenty stories or so and smashes it to pieces. Later, Lana is working late and discovers Darci fixing the cut on her face... with a blowtorch! It seems Darci was a robot made by the Toyman for companionship. But he built her so well she eventually became sentient and reacted to the Toyman's reclusive and obsessively child-like lifestyle with revilement. She then escaped to establish a life of her own; not a life as some toy doll made to order for the Toyman. Darci swears to kill the Toyman, and Lana tries to reason with her. Darci then turns on Lana, and in the struggle the torch Darci had been using starts a fire which quickly spreads as Darci leaves Lana to a fiery death!
  Superman suddenly arrives looking for Darci but instead finds his friend in deadly peril. He quickly claps his hands together with concussive force and literally blows the fire out, saving Lana. She tells him that Darci is headed for the Toyman's lair down by the piers and off he goes. Darci has arrived first and tries to kill the Toyman, but finds her programming forbids her to harm him in any way and he takes her captive. When Superman comes in, the Toyman traps him in a deadly video game that's surrounded by a high-voltage energy cage and has an electronic ninja with lethal skills. Superman uses his head and figures out the ninja's programmed moves, and ends up pushing the ninja into the energy grid shorting out the game. But the Toyman has escaped in his helicopter with Darci who suddenly realizes she can't hurt the Toyman, but she can smash his copter! The copter spirals into the sea in a ball of fire, and no bodies are ever found. But later we see Darci has survived the crash and is sneaking out of Metropolis on a train. If she lived through the wreck, the Toyman may return too!

  Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".

• Little Big Head Man [November 21, 1998]
  Directed by: Shin-Ichi Tsuji

  Our story opens on Bizarro's world where we see the imperfect copy of Superman created by Lex Luthor's scientists living a parody of Superman's life as he flies around pretending to save piles of rocks he's dressed up like people. Superman had left him here where he could live out a life without endangering humans as he still has all of Superman's powers! All's well with Bizarro until one day that magical imp from the 5th dimension, Mr. Mxyzptlk shows up and conjures up a false image of Superman making fun of Bizarro while Lois and Jimmy stand by and laugh about him. This enrages the poor muddled creature and then Mr. Mxypzptlk magically transports Bizarro to Metropolis where the now maddened Bizarro wreaks havoc until he enters the Daily Planet in search of Lois Lane. There he finds Clark Kent and Lois talking, so he calmly throws Clark out the window and picks Lois up like a toy with hands that can bend steel!
  Clark changes to Superman and flies in to snatch Lois from Bizarro before he hurts her inadvertently in his very bad mood. But Bizarro doesn't like that one bit and attacks Superman with all his mighty strength, and the two are suddenly in a super-brawl! In the midst of the fight, Mxyzptlk shows up to taunt Superman and now Superman knows exactly who got Bizarro so mad. But there's no time to ponder that as Bizarro knocks Superman into a nearby museum and the struggle continues. Suddenly Gsplisnz, Mxyzptlk's 5th dimensional girlfriend, shows up to let him know the Tribunal of the 5th dimension is mad at Mxyzptlk for breaking inter-dimensional laws again. But before he can react to that, the mystical council zaps the imp back to their dimension for a quick trial where Mxyzptlk is found guilty and sentenced to 90 days in our dimension without his vaunted powers where he must do a good deed!
  The council sends Mxyzptlk back to the fight in the museum, but without his powers he finds himself in the same deadly peril he's always placing humans in, and he doesn't like it one bit. The super-struggle builds in intensity, with the museum and it's exhibits being smashed to pieces. Then the S.C.U. (Special Crimes Unit) of the Metropolis Police department shows up with intrepid Commander Maggie Sawyer in charge. She orders her officers to deploy a powerful sonic weapon on Bizarro, and it's incredible force staggers Bizarro. He tries to flee, but the S.C.U. is relentless. They keep hitting Bizarro with the high-power sonics until one more blast may kill him! But just in time, Superman leaps in front of Bizarro and takes the shot for him. This convinces Bizarro that Superman is indeed his true friend, and he is taken back to his own world again. But this time he's got company in the form of Mxyzptlk, whom Superman has put on the planet for him to spend the next 90 days doing good deeds for Bizarro. An all too fitting punishment for the magical troublemaker!

  Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".

• Absolute Power [January 16, 1999]
  Directed by: Butch Lukic

  Superman has once again used the spaceship that brought him to Earth to travel far into space. This time he's six light-years away, sending a probe into a Black Hole to hopefully discern the secrets of this cosmic phenomenon for Star Labs. Just after launching the probe a huge starship nearly pushes Superman's ship out of the way as it's drawn inexorably toward the hole, it's greater mass caught in the gravity well. Superman's x-ray vision sees people on board and flies out to use his great powers to push the ship to safety. His fantastic vision sees the vapor trail the ship left and he takes the stricken ship back to it's departure point, a planet not far away. But when he opens the ship's door, the occupants greet Superman with great fear, and as they flee at the sight of him flying ships suddenly attack Superman. And when he's surrounded by military forces, the greatest shock of all comes when the troops are told to stand at ease by none other then Mala, the Kryptonian super-criminal!
  It seems that a year ago, the scientists of this world were investigating a collision between two meteors at the very mouth of the Black Hole. The forces at work tore open a rift in the Phantom Zone and Mala and Jax-Ur, her military tyrant partner, both escaped the Zone. But they were suffocating in the vacumn of space and the scientists saved them by bringing them on board their ship. And with that action, they condemned their world to an immediate takeover by the evil pair. But in the last year they'd been there, as Hitler showed on Earth, with an iron fist they bought order to this once chaotic society. Jax-Ur tells Superman not to interfere with he and Mala as not only are they too powerful for him, but he has no right to destroy the order they've bought to this society.
  He gives him back his ship and tells him to leave. Before he can go, one of the rebels of the planet knocks out a guard and shows Superman that the evil super-pair is using the people of the planet to build a robotic space-armada to invade Earth. But Mala suddenly attacks them, and using a magnetic ring weapon she traps Superman! Jax-Ur and Mala fly a spaceship to the edge of the nearby Black Hole and they shackle Superman and the rebel Cetea to a huge probe. They are going to send it into the hole were nothing escapes it's cosmic power. But the ship suddenly lurches and a soldier named Alterus informs them that navigation is offline. They go to investigate, and the soldier suddenly frees Superman and Cetea and explains it was he who sabotaged the ship. Superman places the two in an escape pod and they blast off to safety. He then confronts Jax-Ur and Mala, and as he and Mala fight with super-fury, their battle damages the ship even further. Now the Black Hole's power also tears the ship apart, and Jax-Ur and Mala grab oxygen masks and fly away. But Superman has no mask, and he must head for another escape pod that's broken away from the ship. They try to stop Superman, but as they fight the two criminals are suddenly pulled into the hole to an unknown fate! Superman uses the pod and returns to the planet where a grateful populace thanks him for his help. As he leaves for Earth, Superman remembers wise words he once read. "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing."

  Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".

• In Brightest Day... [February 6, 1999]
  Directed by: Butch Lukic

  Superman saves the space shuttle from a near miss with a U.F.O., but as he does the strange craft crashes in the mountains outside Metropolis. Aboard the ship is an alien in a green and black uniform who is hurt badly. He takes a green ring off his finger and commands it to find someone "worthy." With that the ring glows and flies out the wrecked craft with a green contrail of energy trailing behind it. It flies to Metropolis; to the Daily Planet building where it hits art department employee Kyle Rayner right in the head. Kyle curiously dons the ring and his clothing is transformed into a duplicate of the alien's uniform of green and black with a green lantern in the middle of the tunic. Meanwhile Superman has found the ship and the alien who tells Superman he's dying, and would he please help the "Green Lantern." With that he fades away leaving a puzzled Superman. Suddenly a red faced, pointy-eared alien shows up and attacks Superman with a yellow energy ring demanding the green ring that flew away!
  The angry alien calls himself Sinestro, and he pummels Superman until he's convinced he doesn't have the ring and flies off to look for it. After he leaves, a Green Lantern that had been invisible until then appears calling to Superman. He touches the lantern and is suddenly standing on a far-away world called Oa, surrounded by little blue aliens dressed in robes that also bear the green lantern sigil. The aliens explain they are the Guardians of the Universe, and they run a corps of integalactic peacekeepers called Green Lanterns. The dead alien was named Abin Sur and he was the Green Lantern for sector 2814. It seems whatever the wearer of the ring imagines can manifest itself physically with the ring's power, and that the Green Lantern is the "battery" of power for the ring. They ask Superman to help the new Green Lantern who at this moment is being attacked in Metropolis by the evil Sinestro, the only Green Lantern candidate to ever turn renegade. After he was ousted fron the Green Lantern Corps Sinestro obtained a yellow ring of power, which he's using at that monent to try and kill Kyle Rayner!
  Back in Metropolis the new Green Lantern is holding his own against Sinestro in a battle of rings and wills that manifested in whatever forms the combatants imagine. Green energy fields stop yellow missiles, while giant bludgeons of emerald and yellow energy fly through the air. Kyle's doing well for a novice, until his ring suddenly stops working! Just before Sinestro can kill Kyle, Superman arrives and whisks him safely away to a nearby mountain range. Superman gives Kyle the lantern and tells him it's a battery for the ring and he has to figure out how to charge it as the murderous Sinestro has found them! Superman holds Sinestro off, but he's losing before the ring's incredible power. Kyle grabs the lantern, holds the ring to its lens, and suddenly the ring begins to charge as Kyle hears an oath being recited. And as he hears it, he joins in as the words somehow come to him.
  "In brightest day,
  In blackest night,
  No evil shall escape my sight.
  Let those who worship evil's might,
  Beware my power, Green Lanterns light!"
  With that, the recharged Green lantern attacks the evil Sinestro with emerald power and plenty of will power to back it up. He fools Sinestro into thinking he's surrendering to him, and then beats Sinestro using a giant Green Lantern he manifests to short-circuit his power. Superman takes Sinestro's ring and crushes it. When he does, Kyle and he are suddenly back on Oa and the Guardians tell Kyle there is much work for him on Earth as a young man with a great imagination and his courage was born to be a Green Lantern. As they head back to Earth using a green energy field to protect them from space, it's clear that we have a new protector named Green Lantern!

  Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".

• Superman's Pal [February 20, 1999]
  Directed by: Kazumi Fukushima

  Jimmy tells Clark he's just crazy about the Daily Planet's new intern Tina, but she's already turned him down twice for a date. Just then a car chase is heading by the Planet and Jimmy runs to take pictures, while Clark changes to Superman and is heading off the truck driver who won't pull over. As Jimmy arrives on the scene a news copter gets too close to wires, and even as Superman stops the truck, the copter's crashing! Superman saves the copter and Jimmy helps the crew escape the wreckage. Angela Chen, a reporter who was on the chopper, suddenly asks why Jimmy's helping out Superman; are they pals or what? Though Jimmy denies all, Angela edits his answers to make it sound like Superman and Jimmy are fast friends. After the story airs, Jimmy attains instant celebrity status around town. Free meals, taxi rides, and best of all, Tina is now dating him. But one night while they're out on a date, a gang of toughs looking to beat up Superman's pal confronts Jimmy and Tina!
  Just before Jimmy and Tina can get hurt, who shows up to save them but Superman! The toughs take off, and Superman tells Jimmy he better straighten out this whole "pal" thing. Jimmy tries to get Angela to retract the story but she refuses. Now Jimmy discovers the down side of celebrity. Everyone Jimmy meets seems to want him to ask Superman for a favor. He can't escape it. No matter where he goes he's recognized and harassed for "Super" perks. People want access to Superman, and they think Jimmy has it. Tina suggests they get away so Jimmy can get a welcome break, and off she drives of all places to a junkyard. Tina takes him into a trailer where she introduces Jimmy to someone she thinks will like meeting him. But the problem is its Metallo, the cybernetic enemy of Superman who's powered by a Kryptonite heart!
  It seems Tina was in league with Metallo the whole time and lured Jimmy to him figuring Superman would soon follow. Jimmy runs outside and heads for Tina's car but she took the keys. Suddenly Tina uses the junkyard's giant crane magnet to pick up the car and drop it in the car compactor! Then she calls Lois at the Planet and pretends that she and Jimmy were kidnapped. Clark overhears and speeds to the junkyard as Superman, but upon arriving he's immediately overcome by Metallo's deadly Kryptonite. Meanwhile Jimmy escapes the compactor and locks Tina in a closet in the trailer. Then he uses the giant magnet to drop Metallo in the compactor and piles on one junkheap after another. Just as Superman starts to recover, Metallo breaks free to threaten him again. But this time Jimmy grabs a nearby bucket of battery acid and hurls it onto Metallo, melting his connections to the Kryptonite in his chest! He falls back in the trash, this time for good. Superman thanks Jimmy for saving his life, and later he meets him with a unique gift. It's a watch with an "S" logo on it. Superman tells Jimmy that now it's for real, they are friends. And in real trouble from now on, Jimmy just has to touch the button on the watch and Superman will come racing to save his pal!

  Read our review of this episode in the "STAS: Episode Reviews".

• A Fish Story [May 8, 1999]
  Directed by: Shin-Ichi Tsuji

  Lois and Jimmy accompany Bibbo on his fishing boat to find out the truth concerning reports of fish attacks on humans. They find out the stories are true enough when Whales attack and start to sink the boat! Jimmy's signal watch gets Superman to the site in time to save the trio, and Lois goes to see Dr. Cardy at the Aquarium to find out more. He downplays the issue and leaves Lois to meet up with none other then Lex Luthor. Lex tells Cardy to get rid of the cause of all these attacks despite the Doctor's protests. Meanwhile Lois has followed the sound of deep banging ringing throughout the lower levels of the Aquarium. She finally locates the source of the noises. It's a blond haired man dressed in an orange shirt with green pants being held captive in a clear tube in the room Lois finds. The odd part is the man is completely submerged in water in the tube, and he's not drowning!
  Dr. Cardy and a huge goon catch Lois and take her captive. When Lex hears of this he tells Cardy to get rid of both Lois and the "fishman" at once before Superman shows up looking for Lois. While being driven away in a truck for disposal, Lois finds out the blond man is Aquaman who until now had only been considered an urban legend. He tells Lois that he's been sent by his people to stop Lexcorp explosives from damaging his underwater city of Atlantis. The people there are prepared to go to war if the explosions do not stop. And worse yet, the greatest explosives are about to be detonated and the loss of life will be great for the Atlanteans. Before the two can be shot, seagulls attack Dr. Cardy and the goons and the duo escape on a motorcycle with Lex's men in chase. They drive right off a cliff into the ocean where the goons see a Great White Shark grab Lois and disappear underwater with her in his mouth!
  The shark takes Lois to Aquaman who explains he can communicate with all creatures of the sea telepathically! Just then Superman shows up and Aquaman leaves on a shark's back to confront the Lexcorp ship doing all the damage. As Lex's divers plant the last of the lethal charges, Aquaman attacks them swimming at fantastic speeds and using strength gained from long years in the ocean depths. Aquaman suddenly gets caught by a Lexcorp probe's robotic arm, but Superman arrives to help him fight off the underwater threat. While Superman disarms the explosives, Aquaman confronts Lex and his ship on the surface with a giant Atlantean Warship that rises from the deep and dwarfs Lex's vessel. The Atlantean warriors address Aquaman as "your Majesty", and we learn that Aquaman is the sovereign King of Atlantis! One of Lex's men fires first and the Atlantean warriors destroy the ship while Lex escapes. Aquaman tells Superman and Lois if the people of the surface world do not respect the oceans, they will return to finish what they started this day. As he sinks beneath the water, he reminds them that he will be watching!

• Unity [May 15, 1999]
  Directed by: Shin-Ichi Tsuji

  It's Spring break from school and Kara, also known to us as Supergirl, can't wait to escape the boredom of Smallville for the big city, Metropolis. As she prepares to get on the bus she notices a tall strange looking man get off the bus, but pays him no mind. Then it's off to Metropolis where Clark shows her a good time and she even finds time as Supergirl to put the fiery super-criminal Volcana back in jail while in the city. Then its back home all too soon as Kara finds that riding two days on a bus takes super-human endurance. When Kara gets home, Ma and Pa Kent take her for a ride to a huge tent erected outside of town. The mysterious man from the bus appears, introduces hinself as Reverend Howell and tells her to come inside and become part of "Unity". When she does, she's horrified to see the entire town population is inside the tent and they all have tentacles emerging from either their heads or mouths, and all are part of a huge tentacled jellyfish-like alien creature in the tent's center!
  Rapidly changing to Supergirl, she is then attacked by none other then Ma and Pa Kent who are in the strange creature's power. When she hits one of the townspeople in defense from their writhing tentacles, they all react in pain. Supergirl burns the tentacle from Ma Kent and flies off to Metropolis to seek help. Upon examination, Doctors determine that there is a mysterious parasite wrapped around Ma's brain stem which cannot be removed. While Superman examines a piece of tentacle, Ma Kent awakens and alien tentacles from her grab the two Doctors for enslavement. Meanwhile Superman discovers that his x-ray vision cause the alien parasites to die. He'll need that information as Supergirl has gone back to Ma's room, and is being attacked by Ma and the two Doctors!
  Supergirl is nearly under the alien's power when Superman bursts in firing blasts of his x-ray vision. The alien tentacles fall off the three and wither and die. Now Superman and Supergirl fly back to Smallville to confront the alien invader. They arrive just as the town population is getting ready to spread out over the countryside enslaving the rest of our world. Superman attacks the huge alien creature but it gets him down and suddenly Reverend Howell bursts apart to reveal he is another of the aliens! The two creatures begin to take over Superman, but Supergirl beats one of them off and Superman stops the other. Then they use well-placed bursts off their x-ray vision to finish the creatures once and for all. When the townspeople awaken, they are fine and all return home. And Supergirl will no longer lament about how dull Smallville is ever again!

• The Demon Reborn [September 18, 1999]
  Directed by: Dan Riba

  A speeding train heading towards Metropolis is carrying precious Native American artifacts for a rare public showing. As Clark Kent and Lois Lane await its arrival, radios blare that men on hovercraft are robbing the train! Changing to Superman, Clark speeds to the car where the artifacts are held and quickly subdues the robbers. But before he can react, a woman amongst the robbers tells him she's blown the trestle ahead and he must choose between stopping her and saving the train as she's already disabled the train's brakes! Superman flies to the train's engine and is fighting to halt the speeding juggernaut when none other then Batman shows up and diverts the train to a sidetrack where Superman finally stops it. Batman explains that Superman has encountered the Shadow Society warriors of a criminal mastermind he's battled before named Ra's Al Ghul, whose daughter Talia was the woman he met. Later, the same Talia kidnaps Lois Lane and tricks Superman into rescuing her while she's dressed as Lois. She then takes the only item stolen from the artifacts, the Shaman's staff, and suddenly projects blue mystic bolts from it to knock Superman out and kidnap him!
  Superman wakes to meet the infamous Ra's Al Ghul, but he's now a dying old man! Ra's explains that for centuries he's used the mysterious properties of a chemical stew he calls "Lazurus Pits" to rejuvenate himself and stave off death for several lifetimes. But the pits no longer work and he must resort to other means to continue his prolonged lifespan. Meanwhile, back in Metropolis, Batman finds Lois Lane and revives her from her attack by Talia. They exchange information and Batman heads off to find Ra's and the now missing Superman. Batman finds Ra's men at the airport preparing to leave. Four of the Shadow Society warriors attack Batman and he handily beats them all, proving his unmatched prowess at hand to hand combat once again. He finds out that Ra's has taken Superman to Mesa de Oro, the original home of the Native American artifacts. We see Superman being readied for a ceremony where the ancient Shamans Staff, when used with Ra's Al Ghuls scientific machinery, will drain all of Superman's life energy and transfer it to Ra's Al Ghul!
  The unearthly rite begins and Superman is being slowly killed by the energies of the staff while his life force is rejuvenating Ra's Al Ghul and making him incredibly strong! Then the Batman arrives and attacks Ra's men while disrupting the ceremony. But Ra's attacks Batman, and the power he's stolen from Superman is too much and Batman's taking a terrible beating. Suddenly Superman revives and destroys the staff, which starts a tremendous chain reaction that shakes the mesa to pieces! Ra's daughter in endangered and though Ra's wants to attack Superman, Superman tells him he has no choice if he wants to save Talia. Ra's leaps to Talia aid, but they are swept away in an underground river. With his power slowly returning, Superman flies Batman away from the breakup of the mesa. He can't find either Ra's or Talia, but Batman assures Superman that Ra's always manages to return somehow. But Superman using Talia to distract Ra's Al Ghul from the battle shows that he's learned a trick or two from Batman, and they really do deserve the title of the "World's Finest" team!

• Legacy (Part 1 of 2) [February 5, 2000]
  Directed by: Curt Geda

  An alien world is under attack from a vast army with huge machines of war crushing all opposition. The main wall of the defender's fortress disintegrates under force beams we see fired from the eyes of an invader wearing battle armor; his face hidden by a war helm he wears. He beats off the last opposition single handedly and then accepts the alien ruler's sceptre of power and surrender. On the flagship of the attacking fleet we see none other then Darkseid, the mad God of conquest from the planet Apokolips, commanding it. He welcomes the leader of the attack and addresses him as "son". The attacker removes his helmet calling Darkseid "Father", and we are shocked to see the leader of the attack is Superman! Later, Superman awakens from a nightmare and is taken to Granny Goodness who uses a machine to reinforce a false origin that Superman was raised on Apokolips by Darkseid and is helping to bring "order" to a chaotic universe. And the next phase of the plan is to have Superman attack Earth, where Darkseid will have Superman killed by the military. Then Darkseid will easily conquer Earth without Superman to oppose him!
  Supergirl has been using robot versions of Clark Kent and Superman to keep people from realizing that Superman has been gone for a month. Lex Luthor, realizing the deception, uses a transmitter to make the Superman robot fly into buildings. Supergirl chases the robot into Lex's office where he confronts Supergirl who denies the Man of Steel is missing. Then Lex goes to General Hardcastle where we learn he's been funding a project to take care of Superman, who Lex and the General consider an "alien" menace. Their paranoia is rewarded when troops appears through "Boom Tubes", glowing transportation tubes from Apokolips, leading an attack on Earth. And Ma Kent calls Supergirl at the Fortress of Solitude to inform her that Superman is leading the attack under a flag with his red "S" sigil!
  As the attack continues, Earth's forces are losing to the superior weaponry of the Apokoliptian troops who are lead by a ruthless Superman who's destroying all opposition without mercy. Lois and Jimmy are covering one of the attacks on a military base when Lois decides to risk her life and confront Superman on the battlefield to try and reason with him. Supergirl gets to Superman first and tries to stop him, but Superman fights Supergirl beating her badly. About to kill Supergirl, Lois reaches Superman and begs him to stop. He begins to recognize Lois and hesitates, when suddenly Lex and the General fire a Kryptonite missile at Superman. Superman pushes Lois to safety just before the missile explodes at point blank range. And Lois awakens to see Superman and Supergirl lying there with a deadly green pallor, appearing to have been killed by the missile!

• Legacy (Part 2 of 2) [February 12, 2000]
  Directed by: Dan Riba

  Superman has been brainwashed by Darkseid into attacking Earth so he'll be killed, and then Darkseid will conquer Earth unopposed. After Lex Luthor and General Hardcastle fire a Kryptonite missile at Superman and Supergirl, the army takes them into custody. Superman weakly calls for Lois as he's taken away, so we see that the missile merely weakened Superman instead of killing him. Superman passes out and dreams back to a mission he had flown into space, where a trap by Darkseid blasted him unconscious and he was taken to Granny Goodness for brainwashing. He awakens in a cell with a Red sun lamp in it that renders him powerless. Later, as Lois breaks into the base where Superman's being held, Lex and the General enter Supermans cell with a Kryptonite needle to execute him as he is now considered an alien menace!
  Superman punches Lex and struggles with the General just as Lois arrives and tazers them, allowing Superman to escape his cell. They free Supergirl also, but she is badly wounded in the escape. Superman reaches the outdoors where the sun quickly restores his powers and he and Lois take Supergirl to Star Labs for treatment. Once there he dons a spare Superman outfit and then gets a Boom Tube device captured previously from Darkseid. He tells Lois he's going to use the device to travel to Apokolips and make Darkseid pay for all he's done to Earth, and to Superman!
  Superman arrives on Apokolips and fights his way to Granny Goodness who brainwashed him for Darkseid. She pull a power truncheon and blasts Superman, but he grabs the device and causes a blast that knocks Granny into her brainwashing machine which works all to well, leaving her mind destroyed. Then he meets Granny's Female Furies who fall like straw before his attack. Superman goes straight through the doors of Darkseid's palace where he meets Kalibak, one of Darkseids sons, whom he beats away with powerful blows. Now Darkseid and Superman stand face to face, as Darkseid proclaims he will now kill Superman. Superman and Darkseid rain blows on each other, the battle taking its toll on each of them. Darkseid then tells Superman he'll kill millions on Earth after he first kills Superman. Just as he fires the lethal Omega rays from his eyes, Superman jams both his hands over Darkseid's eyes causing a massive power feedback that destroys the palace in a terrible explosion. As the people of Apokolips look up at the palaces remains, they see Superman hurl a broken and badly injured Darkseid to their feet, his threat ended. Superman later asks Lois how he'll ever regain the peoples trust after all that's happened. She kisses him, and as they embrace she answers, "One person at a time". They hold each other under the Daily Planet ball atop the building. And with a smile, Superman shows Lois he'll never stop trying. His, after all, is a never-ending battle!
  Episode Two, and our series, Ends.

  

• The Call [Batman Beyond] (Part 1 of 2) [November 11, 2000]
  Written by: Rich Fogel and Hilary J. Bader
  Directed by: Butch Lukic

  It is decades in the future, and Metropolis is where the JLU, Justice League Unlimited, maintains its huge spired headquarters called the Watchtower. Suddenly an unidentified alarm comes in telling of a runaway freight monorail about to crash head-on into a passenger train. Micron, the JLU's size-shifter, manages to steer the freight monorail off the track avoiding the trains hitting each other, but it proves to be a trap! As Micron tries to fly off the hurtling train, a force field appears over the door trapping the hero inside, and he is injured badly in the ensuing crash! Next we see the Gotham City of the future, where Batman is now a young man named Terry McGinnis who is mentored by the original retired Batman, Bruce Wayne. Batman is chasing down a villain named Inque who suddenly wraps her malleable body around an innocent bystander. Suddenly the victim spins at incredible speed, disabling Inque and allowing Batman to capture her. With his coat torn off by the speed, we see the stranger is none other then the now older but still formidable Superman! Even with greyed hair and a costume of all black with a huge white shield at its top, the Man of Steel is unmistakable. And he's come to ask this new Batman to join the Justice League Unlimited! With Bruce Wayne's blessing, Terry accompanies Superman to Metropolis!
  The current Justice League consists of Superman, the now injured Micron, Barda the warrior woman of Apokolips, Aquagirl, Warhawk the armored winged fighter, and a Green Lantern who, though fully mature, looks like a bald ten-year old girl! The other members all object to Superman's insistence that Batman join the Justice League without a vote, but allow it with misgivings. Superman explains to Batman that a traitor within the League trapped Micron on that train, and he needs someone he can trust. Later, Aquagirl is trapped in her practice tank and nearly killed, but Batman saves her. But a deliberately fused micro-controller on Aquagirl's tank is found, and it confirms Superman's claim that there's a traitor in the Justice League!
  Days pass with Batman watching his fellow League members to try and find the traitor. Then suddenly Metropolis is rocked by multiple explosions all over the city, and buildings everywhere start to collapse! The Justice League responds and helps the victims while stopping any further damage. Eventually things calm down until suddenly Warhawk flies off to answer an emergency call that only he receives, but Batman follows him. It seems a missile is headed right for the city, and Warhawk's battle armor forms over him as he flies towards it. He manages to turn the missile, when suddenly it explodes, killing him and causing the Batmobile to crash land! Later, in the Batcave, Bruce and Terry are studying tapes the Batmobile filmed during the emergency. They see that is was Superman who detonated the missile with his heat vision, and he is the traitor in the League! With this knowledge, Bruce takes out a piece of Kryptonite he's kept all these years and gives it to Terry. He tells him to do whatever it takes to stop Superman, even if it means killing him!

• The Call [Batman Beyond] (Part 2 of 2) [November 18, 2000]
  Story by: Alan Burnett and Paul Dini
  Teleplay by: Stan Berkowitz
  Directed by: Butch Lukic

  Batman shows Barda, Green Lantern, and Aquagirl the tapes proving that Superman detonated the missile that killed Warhawk (See: The Call "Part 1"). They still are skeptical until, of all people, Warhawk walks into the room to confirm Batman's story. He explains he was suspicious when he was the only JLU member to get the alert. So he ran his winged armor by remote control and it was the armor that blew up, not him. Meanwhile, Superman is making adjustments to Micron's healing tube that seem to be hurting Micron when the League confronts him about their suspicions. Aquagirl touches Superman's chest to try and get a telepathic reading from him, when something slithers around under his uniform and he suddenly attacks them with heat vision! Batman hesitates using the Kryptonite, and Superman is able to flee from the League's attack. They reason he's headed for his Fortress of Solitude, and Batman tells them he knows someone, the first Batman, who knows its location so they can follow Superman!
  A Boom Tube, a glowing energy tube provided by Barda for transportation, opens with a bang in the Fortress of Solitude. Batman, Warhawk, Barda, Green Lantern, and Aquagirl step out of it and begin the search for Superman. They find a strange zoo with intergalactic creatures in it, and one seems to have escaped. Suddenly Superman attacks them and Batman uses the Kryptonite to knock him out. They rip open his uniform to see what looks to be a giant starfish with a single eye grafted to his chest. Aquagirl's telepathy tells them the creature was indeed in the Fortress' zoo, and had attacked Superman and took him over years ago! He has created thousands more like himself and has them in a tank in the Fortress to release them into the Earth's oceans. World domination by the starfish creatures would quickly follow. The League is about to Boom Tube the creatures away when several of them attack the League and all are possessed by the starfish creatures except Batman. The enslaved Barda crushes the Kryptonite that was keeping Superman subdued. He revives and with the other enslaved Justice League members advances on Batman for the kill!
  Batman uses a flashbomb to temporarily blind the creatures controlling the Justice League and breaks out of the Fortress into the Antarctic wasteland. Bruce Wayne has sent the Batmobile there for him and Batman jumps in with Superman hot on his trail! Even at Mach 3 Superman overtakes the Batmobile, and severs it's wing with heat vision, causing it to crash. But Batman fires the Batmobile's electro-grapple at the creature on Superman's chest, and manages to shock it free of Superman! Batman and Superman return to the Fortress, and fighting as the World's Finest Team, they both manage to free the rest of the League from the creatures' thrall. The creatures are Boom-tubed back to their planet of origin where they can live in peace. And the Justice League members now openly ask Batman to stay as a full-time member. But like his mentor before him, he tells them he's a loner too. And for now he'll stay in Gotham City, as its guardian Dark Knight!