Also I love how they powered down Superman, removing his god-like abilities of spinning around the world and turning back time and making it so he can get killed.

#20-The Prometheon (Episode 16)

  Back in the ye olde days of Superman comics there were stories that involved Superman doing nothing but kicking the shit out of giant monsters. This is one of those stories. All this episode involves is Superman fighting a giant monster. It's intense, it's suspensful and it's mind numbing. What else can I say?

19-Fun and Games (Episode 4)

  Meet Toyman. He's a creepy little man with a creepy little mask. This guy is more of a Batman villain, but he works surprisingly well as a Superman villain. The basic gist of this episode involves the Toyman exacting revenge on a mob boss: Bruno Manheim. Why? Because Manheim played Toyman's dad for a patsy and landed the old man in prision. Pushed from foster family to foster family Toyman went psycho. The ending is also extremley creepy when the find the Toymans cracked mask, but no body...

18-Feeding Time (Episode 6)

  Meet Rudy Jones. He's a janitor working at S.T.A.R. (Damn, do I have to type it out like that everytime?) Labs and he needs cash as he's hit hard times. So he does what anyone would do. Helps someone rob the lab, but when this dude takes things too far Rudy tries to stop him. After a rocky drive on the highway with some chemicals Rudy is turned into...  The Parasite. Rudy discovers he likes being able to absorb peoples energy and soon tries it on Superman. Holding Superman hostage he returns for feeding time every now and again. Now I love Parasite, and I felt that he was never properly used in this series, but Feeding Time is the best of the three Parasite episodes. I especially liked the ending where Parasite absorbs the Kryptonite, making him sick.

17-Target (Episode 20)

  Somebody has a vendetta against Lois Lane and seems to know everything about her. This is an interesting episode, because as Bruce Timm described it, it's somewhat of a murder would be story. It's a nice break from the usual Superman slug fests. We're also shown more of the Lois and Clark dynamic and I liked that, because as the series progressed we didn't get to see much of their relationship. Overall this is a tense, exciting episode that should not be overlooked.

16-Identity Crisis (Episode 19)

  Lex Luthor has decided he wants to create a clone of Superman. Using some of Superman's blood left over from "A Little Piece of Home", Luthor does just that. However things don't work out quite as he had planned and the clone begins to break down and turn into a confused shell of itself: Bizarro. Bizarro starts trying to act like Superman, but always gets himself into trouble. Then he meets Lois... I enjoy this episode because it provides us with a sympathetic look at the villain. This is something we saw a lot of in Batman, but we didn't see as much of in this series. Plus how can you not love Bizarro?

15-The Last Son of Krypton (Episodes 1, 2, and 3)

  Superman's orgin story. Everyone knows it and Timm and co. did a wonderful job of updating the classic story for modern times. I want to spotlight Part I especially here. The entire episode takes place on Krypton and introduces us to Jor-El and Lara, Krypton's all knowing, yet twisted computer Brainiac (I love how they had Brainiac come from Krypton), and of course baby Kal-El. This episode was wonderfully paced and I especially enjoyed the team's rendition of Krypton. Parts II and III are equally impressive, but it's Part I that takes the cake here.

14-Stolen Memories (Episode 8)

  First true Brainiac episode and the first episode to have a truly groundbreaking story. Lex Luthor has been working behind the scenes making contact with none other than Brainiac. In return for Earth's information Brainiac is willing to share his immense knowledge of the cosmos with Luthor, or so Luthor thinks. Superman visits Brainiac's ship and Brainiac promises Kal-El the universe if he works with him. After touching the information orb of Krypton Superman goes home to mull it over. After having a very surreal dream showing the truth of Brainiac and how he was responsible for not saving the people of Krypton Superman returns to Brainiac's ship to check out the other orbs... This is an excellent episode that's wonderfully crafted with a top notch story and some nice action.

13-Blasts from the Past (Episodes 14 and 15)

  This seems to be a love/hate episode with most people. Personally I love it. It's pretty much Superman II in animated form. When Superman and Prof. Hamilton discover a Phantom Zone projector in Superman's ship they discover a prisoner Mala is due to be set free. Mala was once second in command of Krypton's army and was scentenced to twenty years after she and her commanding officer/love boat Jax-Ur led a revolt against Krypton. They were quickly stopped by Jor-El before anything big could happen. Mala tries helping Superman at first, but after she finds out Superman likes Lois rather than her she decides to free Jax-Ur. The two lead a revolt against Earth, but Superman eventually traps them back in the Phantom Zone. Story-wise this is an excellent episode, but the animation is very off at times sadly.

12-The Main Man (Episodes 9 and 10)

  Frag that! Meet intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo. He's been hired by the Preserver (Some weird penis (he really looks like an egg, but it's sort of an egg penis) dude who collects rare near, if not extinct species) to capture the last Kryptonian. However once catching Superman turns out Lobo is the last Zarnian and just what the Preserver needs for his collection. This is easily once of the series best episodes because it's got a nice balance of story, comedy, and action. There's also some really twisted, disturbing scenes to be had here.

11-Ghost in the Machine (Episode 15)

  The second Brainiac episode of the series. Brainiac has somehow managed to survive within Luthor's computer system and is now holding Luthor hostage and forcing him to complete him a new body. This episode is great on so many levels. One it shows us a broken down Luthor, a very human Luthor. It shows us a little of Luthor's relationship with his bodyguard Mercy Graves, and it's fucking Brainiac! Overall a great episode!

  Be on the look out for Part 2 of my Top 20 list sometime over the week. Chicken Run Review later today!

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written by Raeseti , September 07, 2008

A very good list, and I agree with most of it.

You're right on with the stories, they have potential but they just kind of fizzle out. Most of it probably comes from the fact that Bruce Timm isn't a big Superman fan. Couple that with the fact that midway through the series they started Gotham Knights (which hurt both series, in my not so humble opinion), and you get a lot of average episodes.

Speaking of average, The Prometheon fills the bill there. But I can't argue with the selection, as it's a better grade of average than a lot of other episodes, and I can't think of any better to fill that slot that won't be mentioned in 10-1.

Poor Rudy. The guy could have been a great character for Supes to fight, but instead he gets the Killer Croc roll of never having a firm characterization.

I hated Blast from the Past, but at least you acknowledge that it gets hate and why. To me, Superman acted like an idiot throughout and Jax-Ur and Mala are poor imitations of Zod and Ursa. Plus, how in the blue hell did they learn English so quickly?

Looking forward to 10-1. By the way, are you counting "World's Finest" as a part of the Superman series or it's own mini-movie?

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