Superman on Television
Superman: The Animated Series - Episode Reviews
Season 2 - Episode 1: "Blasts From the Past (Part 1)"
Original Air Date: September 8, 1997Reviewed by: Jeffrey Taylor
The Phantom Zone Menace
Previously on Superman: The Animated Series...
Krypton blew up. And it was all downhill from there. I really enjoyed most of season one. It gave a great introduction to the character of Superman, the world of Metropolis and a slew of some of his most well-known villains. The odd bit about season two is its airing schedule. The premiere played on a Saturday morning in the fall, with part two going on the next day. A week later, fans were treated to three new episodes in a weekend, plus another one just a couple of days later. Most of season two passed by at an extraordinarily fast pace. It was often hard to know when new episodes would be on, and unlike the 13 episodes of season one, two boasts a more impressive 26 shows and 22 of those episodes were on the TV within about two and a half months. I can't say for sure how that was managed, but unfortunately, certain episodes may have suffered from the rushing.
Rating - 4 (out of 5): "Blasts From the Past" was the story of Jax-Ur and Mala from Krypton who were exiled to the Phantom Zone soon before Krypton was destroyed. Many assumed they were simple rip offs of General Zod, Ursa and Non who had similar stories and appeared in Superman II. Jax-Ur and Mala were actually from the comics of the 50's and 60's, however Mala made the biggest shift in character by becoming a woman for Superman: The Animated Series. Way back in Superman #65 (1950), in a story called "The Three Supermen From Krypton," Mala and his brothers U-Ban and Kizo had been exiled from Krypton by Jor-El and sent into space in suspended animation. Arriving on Earth, the three attempt to take over the planet and destroy Superman. As far as I can tell, Mala never appeared in a story with Jax-Ur, but their origin stories are similar. Jax-Ur barely appeared in this episode, so stay tuned for more on his comic book origins in the review for part 2 of this story.
One constant staple of the Superman mythos that ends up altered in every incarnation of the story is how Superman learned about his Kryptonian heritage in such a complete way. In the movies, he spent years in the Fortress learning. In TV's Smallville, Clark put the Kryptonian key into the cave wall and was downloaded with the information. Here in Superman: The Animated Series, he learned much of his heritage from a box his parents presented to him in part 2 of the Pilot. He learned the rest from Brainiac's orb back in "Stolen Memories." As an added device in this episode, Superman managed to use both devices together to learn about Mala's history before releasing her from the Phantom Zone.
Apparently Jax-Ur was described as a Kryptonian version of Hitler and given a forever sentence in the Phantom Zone, while Mala, as his second in command, was an unwilling participant and sentenced to only 20 years in the Zone. Once Krypton was destroyed, no one was left alive to release her, except for Superman. He promptly allowed her out, which proved to be a bad idea, especially when she excitedly asked Professor Hamilton, "You're defenseless against us?" and when she announced to the world, "I will follow in Superman's tradition of just rule with a fair hand."
From that point on, it was clear she was less than a savory character, but Superman definitely jumped the gun when Mala overheard him considering putting her back in the Phantom Zone. Remember that the Phantom Zone is a place for genocidal-level criminals. Sure there's the better safe than sorry argument, but I don't believe that Superman is of that school of thought. So Mala stole the projector and freed Jax-Ur. To be continued...
This episode had a large aerial fight between Superman and a Phantom Zone beast with mandibles that were far too large to actually aid in eating. That's part of the aesthetic appeal of this entire show. If you can't deal with visual appeal over practicality, you won't even like the city of Metropolis. The fight showcased the city including the super-raised street levels that go through the whole city, and restaurants 500 feet in the air ala space needle. The creators, according to DVD commentary and special features, explained that the city of Metropolis was originally intended to be seen primarily in the daytime to juxtapose the many night scenes from Batman: The Animated Series. Toward the end of season one, Bruce Timm and others discovered that Metropolis simply looked better at night and more importantly, Superman's costume looked better with darker hues. Superman's fight with Mala took place in the evening and you can expect more night scenes from here on out.
The animation took a dip from last season's finale to this season's opener. The characters were even more static and awkward than usual and their body movements just didn't flow properly. For instance there was a scene where Mala tested her super strength by lifting Professor Hamilton over her head by his foot, then letting him down by single handedly catching him by the butt. That moment in particular seemed more like South Park animation (which is fine when you're South Park). Fans of the show have to be used to simple animation, but this one was particularly badly done. Jax-Ur and Mala's costumes were also pretty awful.
The guest cast members were right up there as usual. Mala was voiced by Leslie Easterbrook (The Heartbreak Kid, Police Academy 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 *snicker*). Jax-Ur was Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Police Academy 7 *double snicker*). The growls of the Phantom Zone beast with the oversize mandibles came from Jim Cummings (A lot of video games and cartoons from my youth. Look him up).
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