Superman on Television
Superman: The Animated Series - Episode Reviews
Season 2 - Episode 5: "Livewire"
Original Air Date: September 13, 1997Reviewed by: Jeffrey Taylor
"WaaaAAAAKE UP METROPOLIS!!!"
Superman: The Animated Series never achieved the same near-universal acclaim by fandom as its predecessor, Batman: The Animated Series. While it was fun for fans of the Byrne era Superman to see those characters brought to cartoon life, sometimes an original villain was brought into the show who had never appeared in any other medium of Superman before. For some incarnations of Superman, certain original elements have become canon, such as Jimmy Olsen who first appeared in the 1940's radio series before an introduction to the comic book universe. Harley Quinn first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, but gained such popularity that she was soon paired with the Joker in the comics almost as though she'd always been a permanent fixture.
This episode introduced a new original villain named Livewire, who began as a Howard Stern-esque radio shock jock named Leslie Willis. Get it?
Leslie Willis
L.W.
LiveWire
At least she wasn't Leslie Lloyd. The last thing the Superman universe needs is another L.L.
As a shock jock, she would verbally slam Superman's character over and over again on the air. She claimed he's never around when you need him, everything's so darn easy for him and all he cares about is himself.
She insisted on taking the stage at a rally during a thunderstorm. When Superman dropped down to tell them it wasn't safe, he and Leslie were struck by lightning, which caused her to develop electricity-based powers. She could shoot lightning from her hands and travel through power lines, but eventually she would run out of juice and have to recharge, and much like the Wicked Witch of the West, she could be subdued with a splash of water.
There are fans who like Livewire and fans who hate her, but I've yet to meet a fellow Superman fan who has said, "yeah, Livewire is my favorite." Much of Livewire's appeal (or repulsion) comes from Lori Petty's (Tank Girl, Point Break) voice acting. Her voice is very distinctive and unfortunately grating at times, but that's just one opinion.
Livewire was the only original villain from this series to make it into the DC comic book universe, but it was almost a decade later and seemed more of an afterthought than a need within the DCU like Harley Quinn established years before.
Rating - 3 (out of 5): No matter how anyone feels about Livewire as a character, most of the episode itself worked. The act I sequence mixed humor with action in a great way. While Leslie Willis complained on the air about how Superman has it so easy and cares only for himself, Superman was rescuing people from a falling crane and having a tough time with it. There are a number of good rescues throughout the episode. Plus there's a wonderful moment when Clark lets a little bit of Superman shine through his normally shy exterior as he leaves the interview with Leslie to change into Superman.
The parts of the episode that didn't work usually involved Livewire. The moment of her transformation went on way too long. She began by hating Superman for no good reason, but that's forgiven because some people are just like that in real life. Her hatred grew because his presence was a contributing factor in her origin story. But that's as deep as this villain gets.
Since this is an origin story for Livewire, there's that ever-important crucial moment when the character discovers his or her new power and has to decide whether to use that power for the betterment of society, or to give in and take the easy way out for the sake of self interest. For Livewire, there was no decision making process, no good purpose or reason to destroy downtown Metropolis. Granted, there are only 20 minutes in the episode to tell the entire story, but when you're creating an all new, never before seen villain, there has to be some purpose behind it. Hating Superman isn't enough reason for killing innocent people. That doesn't make her a supervillain, that just makes her a b---h.
So why does obtaining powers IMMEDIATELY turn into, "Now I can cause lots of damage that will most likely kill many innocent people and I have no compassion whatsoever." A villain should believe what he or she is doing is right for whatever messed up reason. Sometimes those actions become obsessions that lead to evil. Or the villain can be evil to begin with and then gain power. Leslie Willis wasn't nice, but she wasn't a murderer either. There should be something, anything, even 5 seconds after an accidental killing while fighting Superman to feel remorse and have that turn to ambivalence and then more anger.
Once again in an ongoing theme for Superman: The Animated Series, the villain inadvertently causes her own destruction, this time by attacking Superman and accidentally blowing a hole in the dam, causing herself to get wet.
Lori Petty MADE this character. There simply is no Livewire without Lori Petty behind it. I honestly believe that a person's liking or hating of Livewire as a character is directly related to whether or not you can stand the sound of Lori Petty's voice.
If you've been following along with reruns or DVD's, you may notice that Livewire's theme music is the same as Lobo's back in season one. I found that music annoying the first time I had to suffer through it.
Despite Livewire's character issues, the rest of the episode was fun, which may have been a contributing factor in Livewire's return appearance later in the season and her misunderstood placement in the comic book universe.
The parts where Livewire keeps Superman busy saving planes and averting disasters, along with the crane sequence early on, brought the episode together nicely, or at least they're worth fast forwarding to.
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