Forgive me if this has already been covered, but I just got through this latest volume this morning.

I enjoyed the first two volumes of Superman TAS even though I don't feel they were quite as good as the earlier Batman TAS. Now I'd have to rank Superman Vol. 3 a tad lower than Vol. 1 and 2.

I didn't mind the slightly darker tone and the series still looked good, but my two biggest criticisms I cited in the first two volumes are more apparent here, at least for me. Firstly, Supes abilities are just not consistent enough and he doesn't even seem to recall what he's capable of until late in a crises. Either be powered down or just-not-quite-godlike, but don't try to be both. Secondly, for a series that has some elements of an arc (and even if it didn't) why oh why can't Supes learn from his past experiences, particularly when he faces familiar foes? It often comes accross that the villians keep taking another crack at Supes because he doesn't come accross as all that bright. Candidly I find writing the character this way really frustrating because it hurts his credibility. And often I found myself thinking that in almost any given similar situation Batman would be all over this.

Of course this brings me to my real complaint: the writing and more particularly the stories. Having a Superman that can't learn from prior experience allows you to set up stories as excuses for prolonged and redundant slugfests. I don't mind the super battles in themselves, but when they're practically half the damned episode then it's really tiresome. The essential problem here is that too often enough there simply isn't enough story even for the half hour episode and thus the slugfests are basically meaningless filler. The main upside was that I hadn't seen any of these Vol. 3 episodes before. Basically it seems these writers simply have a better handle on writing Batman than Superman, at least that's how it appears to me.

It's a shame this series didn't continue because ending it with many people on Earth unsure whether Supes could be trusted anymore is one hell of a cliffhanger. Supes is left essentially in a similar status that Batman (and Spidey in the Marvel universe) is stuck with almost daily--a rather novel situation for the man of steel.

Even with my disappointments this volume still had an overall sense of genuine enthusiasm to it and appreciated moments of humour in the right places.

I enjoyed the Batman/Superman crossover in this volume. Hmm, funny how Batman still comes off better overall even in a Superman series. Hell, I was energized with Bats' appearance thinking, "Christ, now somebody with a brain!" I also liked seeing Supes impersonating Batman--that was fun, and seeing Bane handed his ass was fun too.

Now I'm debating whether to move on to the JLA episodes.

I just ordered (they are on their way) the 3 Superman TAS DVDs sets and the 2 Justice League DVDs sets. Hopefully they will be here next week.

I will get the Batman TAS ones next month. That is the first 3 sets. From what I could read on the internet the 4th Batman TAS series set was done after the first three by different writers, animators, etc... and is not as good as the first 3. Actually, not all that good at all.

Now I seem to recall (can't remember where) that I read something that the 3rd set of Superman TAS was done by the same new writers, animators, etc... that did the 4th Batman ones so maybe that has something to do with the Superman Vol. 3 not being as good as the first 2.

Yes? No?

James :)

^^ I don't know about the details about the creative teams, but I have also heard that 4th season Batman isn't as good as the previous three seasons. I already have Batman Vol. 1 and have definite plans to get pick up Vol's. 2 and 3. I'm still undecided about Vol. 4.

I've also got Vol's. 1 and 2 of the George Reeves' Adventures Of Superman with plans to soon pick up Vol. 3.

One thing I rather like about the animated Superman is that it feels somewhat like an updated version of the George Reeves' series in general tone. Certainly the animated version of Clark is a lot closer to GR's portrayal than Christopher Reeve's. And Dana Delaney's Lois reminds me of Phyllis Coates' portrayal (not exactly but in overall sensibility). Sadly, though,the animated Supes isn't written as smart as the GR portrayal.

I personally thought 3 wasnt all that good, and 4 was rediculous. I liked one and two as classics. Superman returns is awesome, but I think in all the movies its kinda unrealistic because they give him to much power and then they power him down too much.

I like superman better than Batman, cause I just think that batman is some dude in armor that swings around. Thats my opinion anyway.

I like superman better than Batman, cause I just think that batman is some dude in armor that swings around. Thats my opinion anyway.
Well, everyone's entitled.

http://www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/niven/142/img/pr0806.jpg


- GJS

Well, in some ways Superman makes more sense than Batman. Even though we can perhaps understand Batman's motivation in a more personal way, in the real world we know that Batman wouldn't last long. The idea that Batman has no superpowers is a bit of a farce -- the one power he has is "super-luck." If he goes over the edge of a building, there's always a conveniently located flag pole or gargoyle or whatever within reach of his athleticism or his toys. But in reality, even if Batman really were so lucky 90 percent of the time, how long before he'd hit that other 10 percent, and how long before doing so would be fatal?

Superman, however, has the goods all around. He's incredibly strong, he can fly, he can hear and see things we can't ... heck, most criminals he might face in the real world could be defeated by him using nothing more than his heat vision. On the other hand, of course, in reality the whole Clark Kent thing ... well, I can just imagine Clark Kent showing up in a newsroom. The first person to see him would do a double-take and say, "Hey Superman! What's up with the suit and glasses?"

In the end, though, both appeal to different aspects of who we are, and the world is certainly more than big enough for us to enjoy both.

Qapla'

SSB

How many of us could do Olympic level gymnastics without breaking our necks? Or arrest big drugged up dudes without being beaten up? Real people can do it because they train for it.
I worked as a bouncer once at college. Everyone was suddenly afraid of me, because I had a t-shirt with SECURITY on it. If the comic batman didn't exist, and you dressed like a giant bat, you would freak people out.

I admire Bruce Wayne because it is all dedication. Everyone else was just given their powers. Superman, Spiderman, Captain America, the Hulk, and virtually everyone else. It's a nerds fantasy of beating up the bullies.