Superman on Television
Superman: The Animated Series - Episode Reviews
Season 2 - Episode 10: "Double Dose"
Original Air Date: September 22, 1997Reviewed by: Jeffrey Taylor
"There's nothing like revenge for getting back at people." - Simpsons
Superman: The Animated Series was never known for its original villains in the same way as its predecessor, Batman: The Animated Series. The inclusion of the Joker's equally zany sidekick, Harley Quinn, became an immidate success, followed by appearances in Batman comic books. The only original villain from this series that broke into the comic universe was Livewire. Where Harley Quinn fit into that world as though she had always been a part of it, Livewire's first appearances in the comics came off as forced, to say the least.
To be fair, Livewire was arguably the best original character to come out of Superman: The Animated Series, and so a return appearance made perfect sense. Pairing her with co-villain, The Parasite was a great idea. They both wield energy-based powers. Livewire can control electricity and Parasite can suck the life energy out of people. It was an odd pairing for character and personality though, which is why they never seem to trust one another, and fight so much.
The biggest difference between these two villains is that Parasite has redeeming qualities and Livewire doesn't. Livewire wanted to kill people and get revenge on Superman. That was her m.o. from the moment she discovered her power. The animated version of Rudy Jones was duped when he gained his Parasite powers and wasn't just out to hurt people. His motives were anything but honorable, however he had the ability to drain people to the point of death in order to make himself stronger, but he never did in the series. Granted the comic book version was a serial murderer and this one came from a kids' show.
Rating - 4 (out of 5): Sometimes, the simple Superman stories are the best. The plot moved quickly from cause to effect to next effect in order for three fight scenes to take place. Trying to capture two super-villains at once allowed more opportunity for the creators to showcase Superman being super.
The worst moments occurred early in this episode. Livewire stole the electricity she needed from a janitor's walkman. She then used the energy to break the ELECTRIC LOCK on her cell door. Shouldn't she have been put in a plastic prison like Magneto's in X-Men 1 & 2?
Cue action sequence one: I mentioned three fight sequences, the first of those three between Superman and Livewire simply didn't work. Superman knew from past experience that Livewire was irredeemably evil, and could hurt him badly. Yet Superman's first attempt to apprehend her was to fly up, grab hold of her by the arms, and appeal to her better nature by asking her to give up. What happened to that super-intellect, Big Blue? Part of the reason many fans enjoy Superman's character is that he looks for the best in people, but this is just masochism.
Last time Superman fought Livewire, he beat her by dousing her in water, shorting out her electricity. He tried that again here, but unlike Superman, she had learned her lesson from past experience and avoided the spray.
Meanwhile, Rudy Jones, a.k.a. Parasite was still in Stryker's Island prison watching the cable TV he'd made a deal to have during his last appearance in Two's a Crowd. The only reason this team up worked was because they had conflicting motives. Livewire wanted Parasite's help in order to destroy Superman, while Rudy/Parasite saw an opportunity to steal powers and abilities of both Superman and Livewire.
Cue action sequence two: Parasite's escape from Stryker's Island. This time, Superman played it smart by lifting Parasite's boat out of the water from underneath, where Parasite couldn't touch him. Parasite jumped from the boat and drained a shark in the ocean below, gaining its strength and swimming ability. The underwater portion of the fight could have lasted a bit longer, preferably with the first Livewire battle taking less time.
The previous episode, Action Figures featured Metallo, so Superman wore a lead suit, which was then destroyed, exposing him to Metallo's Kryptonite heart. But Superman battled on and won the day. I explained in that review that this plot device was a cliché, but that I would forgive it because it was only formulaic within the confines of a Superman story. The series was still young enough for that to be fresh to a newer, younger audience. Keep in mind that this season came out very quickly if you look at the original air dates. Action Figures was broadcast just two days before this episode.
Cue action sequence three: Superman stole Lois' idea and covered himself in flexible plastic, which would negate both Parasite's and Livewire's powers. The villains manage to remove the plastic, leaving him vulnerable again. But Superman battles on to ...
wait a minute.
Didn't that just happen last episode?
But it's a platic suit instead of lead and it's frozen off this time instead of melted, so that's different.
Parasite finally managed to drain both Superman and Livewire, gaining both of their powers and leaving Superman completely vulnerable. So Parasite had Superman's powers, X-Ray vision, flight, speed, strength, plus Livewire's electricity. Superman was drained to the point of being approximately human. It was really intense because for a few seconds it was really unclear how Big Blue was going to get out of that one.
The animation was improved over the previous episode. The fights were mostly fantastic and the ocean water during Parasite's escape (moving water being one of the hardest things to animate) looked more natural than it had in other episodes including Action Figures.
Back to the "Superman: The Animated Series - Episode Reviews" Contents page.
Back to the main TELEVISION page.