Brainiac Attacks ( really disappointed)

[SteamTeck]

I was expecting a story in the TASverse but what I get is a simplified storyline in a different continuety with none of the depth or history of the TASverse. The characters are in the TAS style but everything is different. Luther is not the same great character and not voiced by Clancy Brown. Brainiac isn't even Kryptonian!  The phantom zone has lava plans! None of the TAS history  from the Superman series happened. In fact, It directly violates TASverse every few minutes in big ways. I won't be buying this of DVD! If they had done it in a different style, I would be much more tolerant but I feel like I was baited and switched. End Rant.

[ShinDangaioh]

Ah.  So it must be a showcase of what the upocming Superman cartoon is going to be like.

[SteamTeck]

Actually thats supposed to be more in the style of  " the Batman" as I understand it. I guess we'll see.

[Kuuga]

THE GOOD: Tim Daly is back as the voice of Superman. Not having this guy around was just one of the Justice League series many crimes against the character, so it was darn good to hear the voice of the true STAS Superman once more.

Also equal props to one of, if not the best Lois ever Dany Delaney. Kudos also to putting Superman back in his STAS design (Bruce Timm, what the hell were you thinking on JL?!)and the other characters as well. This also has the Superman/Clark/Lois traingle at the heart of it which was fun to see. At least it was for me because the series often shyed away from it so as not to get bogged down by it, and also to avoid comparrisons to the Lois and Clark tv series which had only just wrapped up when the animated series came to be if I recall correctly.

I also liked that Jimmy had the same look but minus his mullet. Jimmy was also with his original voice actor who as always brought the character to life really well.

Some great action sequences as Superman battles robots in downtown Metropolis. Actually, animation wise the whole production was pretty  good.



THE BAD: The painfully goofy expressions on Luthor’s face alone are a insult to the character as layed down by the team who created this version in the first place (and is absent this go round) It's not just that Clancy Brown isn't doing the voice, and not just the character being off-kilter from his STAS self like in Justice League. To give you an idea of how jarringly bad the difference was: When I first saw the film I caught it halfway through so I didn't know the begining. I REALLY thought Luthor was under some sort of mind-control or maybe Kryptonite poisoning was screwing with him so I was waiting for the movie to get to that. It never did. This, was Lex Luthor?

Now I don't mind a humorous Lex. Heck, the "Otisburg" bit from Gene Hackmans Luthor remains one of my favorite moments in Superman The Movie. But this feels even less like a homage to Hackman or Spaceys Luthor, and more that Luthor has been relegated to being a one-man Bulk and Skull.  STAS took it's cue on Luthor from the cold-hearted CEO version in the modern comics (and did it 100% better). If they wanted to be this different with it, they really should have just created a new version of Superman with it's own rules on the characters, rather than having this buffoon cosplaying as STAS Lex.

Brainiac, who's STAS actor was also absent faired mariginally better but still came off more like a Teen Titans villan than the souless machine of death he was in the series.

All in all, this really did have some good points but was a wasted opportunity and a sad way to bring Tim Daly back to the character he brought to life so well.

I'm dissapointed that this all happened under Curt Gedas watch. I don't know if there was somekind of WB mandate to make certain characters more like SR and they just failed at it or maybe CN demanded something that was tone-wise closer to Krypto? I don't know. Personally, I can think of only a few times or episodes in the STAS that could ever be considered too rough for kids. I always felt the show had a pretty good balance. A parent and a kid could watch it together and enjoy it on different levels. As the same kid got older he could go back and discover things he didn't notice when he was younger.

[Uncle Mxy]

I just saw this tonight.  Hoo boy...

Tim and Dana were back, but they (and other S:TAS regulars)  suffered from poor voice choreography at times, not having quite the right tone for the scene.  

Sometimes, the animation of Superman has an almost Steve Rude feel to it, which I consider a real compliment.  Sometimes, the animation is just lousy.  You can tell it was a rush job in spots.  

Imagine Pauly Shore playing Luthor...  it's THAT jarring!  I think Kuuga understates how bad it is!  And no, Braniac wasn't even as good as most Teen Titans villains.  Brainiac got his metaphorical emotion chip turned on and it was a scary character-draining thing.  Tara Strong manages to pull off a bad voice job (for Mercy Graves only, Jimmy's would-be gf was fine), which I didn't think was possible.  

The music was generic hero music.  It wasn't bad, but wasn't great, and you couldn't sing "Superman" to it.