Plot summary: Metropolis gets to know Superman, while Lois & Clark try to prove Lex Luthor is involved in a secret arms deal with Kaznia.

1. Notes and Trivia
2. Recap
3. Best Performance
4. Episode Ranking
5. Rogues Roundup

Notes and Trivia

Episode: 3 (S1.E3)

Original Air Date: September 6th, 1996

Directed: Dan Riba (2) & Bruce Timm (1)

Written: Alan Burnett (3) & Paul Dini (3)

Animation: Koko Enterprise Co., LTD & Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD. (3)

Music: Harvey Cohen (1)

Lois says “Nice S” when examining a picture of Superman. This was removed from certain airings as it was an obvious play on ‘nice ass’.

A rare instance in a DC continuity of Batman being active as a hero before Superman.

First mention of Kaznia, a recurring fictional country in the DCAU and obvious stand-in for former Soviet Eastern European nations with evil intentions for the good old U-S-of-A. They stockpile secret weapons, they plot assassinations. All that stuff.

Recap

Superman narrowly manages to prevent a disaster, steering the crashing plane away from Metropolis and slowing its impact enough to bring it to a halt without any casualties.

Later at the Daily Planet, Perry White demands to know more about the mysterious superhero, at which point Lois Lane coins the ‘Superman’ name for him based on an S on his chest. White makes stories about Superman a top priority.

Inspired by a pep talk from Ma and Pa Kent, Superman approaches Lois Lane and offers some information about himself, emphasising that he’s here to help. Lois is a little incredulous and wants to know more about his personal life.

During an interview with Lex Luthor, Clark points out Luthor’s loss of the battle suit from last episode could actually benefit him financially as the government will demand he build a more advanced one to protect them from “terrorists.”

Lois is dubious of Clark’s theory despite further evidence tying Luthor to the nation of Kaznia, an enemy of the US. She approaches Bibbo, a dock worker who helps her with tips on smuggling, and she takes particular interest in a Kaznian tanker.

John Corben welcomes Lois aboard and tries to smooth-talk her, but she catches sight of the stolen battle suit so he pulls a gun on her instead.

Superman arrives just in time to save her from execution by firing squad, but Corben proves a challenge thanks to the battle suit and its heavy artillery.

They brawl into a construction site and take turns kicking the absolute snot out of each other, but Superman eventually gets the better of Corben and rips the suit’s limbs off one at a time.

A representative of Kaznia demands a full refund from Luthor for the battle suit, and then exits stage left when he sees Superman floating outside Lex’s window. Clark infuriates the billionaire and then warns he’ll be watching him.

In deep space some aliens bring a strange satellite aboard their ship… where it promptly murders them and uploads Brainiac’s programming into their computer!

Best Performance

Ooo boy, we have some choices to work through!

Dana Delany was still a lot of fun, nailing the delivery of the joke about Superman’s ‘S’, continuing to have a great rapport with Tim Daly, and revelling in the gossip that she used to date Lex Luthor. She’s just a little less of a tour de force compared to her debut, and has much stiffer competition.

Clancy Brown rules. He’s also really good as Lex Luthor. Brown oozes with arrogance and affectations of sophistication. He smugly admits to his guilt at the end, but points out Superman can’t prove anything, and he has a stranglehold on Metropolis through his legitimate businesses. But it’s the way Brown is able to switch back and forth between this calm, cool and collected villainy, and the rampant fury that lurks just under the surface. Having him driven mad by Superman refusing to speak works so well because of Brown making Lex a bit of a Chatty Cathy.

I’ll never not be shocked they were not only able to get Malcolm McDowell, but get him for multiple episodes. John Corben is a pretty generic character (for now), but is bolstered by the vocal performance. He’s smooth in way that’s unsettling rather than suave.

Finally, I find Brad Garrett mildly annoying to tolerable depending on the project. He seemed to be enjoying himself doing a crotchety knockoff Popeye for Bibbo, muttering to himself under his breath and whatnot. It’s… sort of charming?

Episode Ranking

In the first episode review I mentioned that one of the biggest influences on the show was John Byrne’s 1986 reboot comic. The opening scene here with Superman barely preventing a disaster was a perfect example of that; Byrne decided that Superman had become far too powerful over the decades so brought his abilities right back to basics. STAS doesn’t rob him of flight, obviously, but a recurring theme is that Superman’s feats of Herculean strength require a considerable amount of effort, and while he’s mostly invulnerable, he can be knocked down with heavy weapons and whatnot.

Some might object to a ‘weaker’ Superman, but it’s honestly far more compelling to watch him succeed by the smallest of margins. His first attempt to slow the plane resulted in ripping the tail off and scolding himself for it. Then adjusting his positioning works better, but the plane is still only just avoiding smashing into buildings. He only manages to make it pull up when it’s right at the ground. A young couple only just leap out of the way when it hits the lake. He has to dig his heels into the earth as hard as he can and it still only just comes to a halt before running people over. It was thrilling, not because it was easy, but because it was hard. This is a vision for Superman I can get behind far easier than watching him mop the floor with every challenge without breaking a sweat.

I have similar feelings about the final battle, as Corben and the cool battle suit inflict shocking amounts of destruction on The Man of Steel. Him getting back up and winning in the end anyway is still fun given it was a struggle to begin with. The battle suit made for a fun first true adventure, both because of its dope design (the animation on the fight scene is excellent) and the tangled little conspiracy between Luthor and Kaznia. Clark and Lois working the case as journalists and then Superman capping the whole thing off with his heroics made for a fun multi-act structure, and it was all against a backdrop of our hero properly introducing himself to the world… and his nemesis to boot.

Truly, I thought this was great, starting and finishing with exciting action sequences, establishing the dynamics between Lois, Clark and Lex (the juicy detail that Lois and Lex used to date was fun), and then slapping a Brainiac tease on the end for good measure. Where the second episode dragged down the average for this three-parter, I think this episode raised it above where it was with the first. If you watched all three in a row as a feature-length opener, it’s wholly successful, with the cliffhanger in the middle immediately paid off, and a clear structure of ‘flashback origins’, ‘formative years’ and ‘coming out party.’ The Last Son of Krypton ends up being more than the sum of its parts.

1. The Last Son of Krypton

Rogues Roundup

Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown) (second appearance)

This was far more what I was expecting for his debut appearance. Clancy Brown elevates already great material, and you can already see how this iteration becomes one of the most popular versions of Lex Luthor. His shady business dealings, playing both Kaznia and America against each other in an effort to get paid by both sides, and casual arrogance over how much power he wields in Metropolis were delightful. He’s cocky, he knows how to be smooth, and he barely conceals his simmering rage.

We’re obviously still very much in first gear, but it’s a really strong second showing that’s basically his real debut.

John Corben (Malcolm McDowall) (second appearance)

While his role is expanded and his voice actor is a damn legend, Corben is still fundamentally just some shady guy who dons an advanced battle suit. It’s a very cool advanced battle suit, but I don’t think it should count towards Corben’s ranking, even if it’s him piloting it into acts of rampant violence. He’s a suave mercenary and he gets his licks in against Supes, but he’s nothing special… for now.

Brainiac (Corey Burton) (second appearance)

It’s only the briefest of appearances, but reminding the audience that an evil tie to our hero’s past still looms large in deep space was a smart decision to cap off the opening three-parter. Is Brainiac going to show up in the very next episode? Does he await at the end of the first season as the final boss? What a fun thing for viewers to wonder!

1. Lex Luthor (↑)
2. Brainiac (↓)
3. John Corben (-)