Superman on Television
Superman: The Animated Series - Episode Reviews
Season 2 - Episode 9: "Action Figures"
Original Air Date: September 20, 1997Reviewed by: Jeffrey Taylor
"Ms. Lane, please, such cliché's. How did you ever win that Pulitzer?"
Rating - 2 (out of 5): This would be a 1 out of 5 except for the inclusion of Metallo, voiced once again by Malcolm McDowell. It's fair to overlook the formulaic plot in this case because the devices are only cliché for a Superman story, and this series was still early enough in its storytelling to appear fresh to a new audience.
For instance:
Since Superman suspected Metallo's involvement, and Kryptonite heart, he protected himself with a lead suit. Metallo broke the suit, so Superman became vulnerable to the Kryptonite and found the strength to battle on and win anyway. It's a cliché, but for Superman fans only.
The opening "Profiles in Infamy" sequence with news anchor Angela Chen was a nice touch. Including many of the villains at once gave a more solidified sense of continuity within the series. Think of it as a "Where Are They Now: Superman Villains Edition." It also gave the audience who hadn't seen Metallo's first appearances a chance to catch up.
The inclusion of Metallo was awesome. He is one of Superman's cooler villains, especially when McDowell voices him. This was his triumphant return from when he fell and sank into the ocean last season. He reappeared on a volcanic island and befriended two young children, Bobby and Sarita, whose father was conducting experiments concerning the volcano's imminent eruption.
Back up and re-read that.
A scientist...
Brought his kids with him...
To a small rocky island where a volcano was about to erupt...
And let them go off and play on their own...
...
BAD PARENTING.
BAD BAD BAD BAD.
How did Superman not throw this guy in jail for reckless behavior with his children?
This time, Metallo had no skin left at all. There was nothing to link the machine with man who was John Corben except for his voice. If Dini, Timm and the whole gang went off and made a terminator cartoon, this is what the Terminator would look like, except for the green eyes glowing from his Kryptonite heart instead of red.
There was a cute little sidebar within this story about prejudice. The adults immediately feared Metallo because of his appearance, as most people would. The children gave him a chance to prove himself. Since they were all next to a volcano that was about to erupt, it offered Metallo, or "Steel Man" as the children called him, several opportunities to save the kids from mortal peril and gain their trust.
Once the children mentioned Superman, Metallo's memory began to return. He lied to them, saying he was from another planet to deliver an important message to the leaders of Earth and that the fate of the whole galaxy was at stake. It was quite amusing, especially if you can imagine what your reaction would be if you were 8 years old and a robot told you that.
During the eruption, Superman helped two of the scientists get clear - by punching the giant boulders falling toward them, creating hundreds of smaller ones. Picking up the people and flying them to safety would not have been as action packed, but this just didn't make any sense. He then dug a trench to redirect the lava as it flowed down the side of the mountain and away from the people, and that was pretty cool to watch.
And it was at that point that the scientist FIRST expressed any serious concern for his children, who were being babysat by a homicidal cyborg under an erupting volcano.
Sorry. I'll stop harping on that point.
The animation was lacking this time around. The final fight between the men of steel where it came down to fisticuffs didn't appear natural at all. The movements were just too clunky.
Water is difficult to animate, but the ocean surrounding the island had no natural looking movement. The water back in the episode, "Speed Demons," guest starring The Flash was only slightly better, but not by much.
The denouement was painfully fast, consisting of just a few lines where the kids worried about their "Steel Man" friend and Lois replied, "Whatever goodness he had though, got buried along with the rest of him." It's a 20 minute Superman story, so there's a lot that I can forgive when it comes to the slower moments of an episode. The ending of this installment just didn't give the audience a moment to draw breath before the credits rolled.
Metallo's limited reserve power allowed him to keep his mind together for at least a little while, until he is found and returns to give Superman problems again.
Other than McDowell, the only notable guest star was Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters, The Crow and yet another Desperate Housewives/Superman connection). He played Professor Felix, the father who let his kids play, knowing that the volcano was going to erupt soon.
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