Plot summary: Superman must protect mobster Bruno Mannheim from the sinister Toyman and his bizarre creations.
Notes and Trivia
Episode: 4 (S1.E4)
Original Air Date: September 7th, 1996
Directed: Kazuhide Tomonaga (1)
Written: Robert N. Skir (1) & Marty Isenberg (1)
Animation: TMS-Kyokuichi Corporation (1)
Music: Kristopher Carter (1)
Bruce Weitz played a member of Intergang in an episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman the year before this episode, where he makes his debut as their leader, Bruno Mannheim.
The opening chase mentions “3rd & Shuster”, a reference to Joe Shuster, co-creator of Superman.
Superman would use the same human tornado trick on Inque in an episode of Batman Beyond.
Recap
A group of criminals in an armoured truck give Metropolis PD the slip with the aid of machine gun fire and a smoke bomb, attracting Superman’s attention.
Before our hero can take action against them they’re set upon by the incredibly creepy Toyman, forcing Superman to save them before taking them to the police.
Lois Lane tries to prove the crooks work for notorious mobster Bruno Mannheim. While we know that’s true as Toyman threatened their boss in the opening, they stay tight-lipped when asked.
She interrogates Mannheim at a public event, but they’re interrupted by a squadron of toy planes… with real guns! Everybody runs for cover and Clark subtly uses his heat vision to disable to planes.
Toyman strikes again this time sending a giant toy duck to sink Mannheim’s private yacht. Superman intervenes and battles the ridiculous robot.
Unfortunately this leaves Mannheim a sitting duck unattended, and Toyman – who Mannheim seems to recognise – takes advantage, rendering him unconscious and kidnapping him.
Deciding he’s on a roll, Toyman abducts Lois too for writing a scathing article about him based on a police psychologist profile.
Lois awakes in a giant dollhouse, dressed the part for extra creep factor. Toyman insists she write a new article, telling her about Mannheim bankrolling a toy factory for poor toymaker Winslow Schott, which he used for his criminal enterprises.
Clark and Jimmy Olsen learn through research that Schott died in prison and his son bounced between foster homes before seeking revenge as an adult.
Thus Superman flies to the rescue moments after Lois prevents Mannheim’s execution. Toyman uses an expanding play-doh-like substance, but Supes spins at superhuman speed like a human cyclone to free himself.
Furious that his schemes have failed, Toyman drops hundreds of bombs from the roof, so Superman grabs Lois and Manheim and flies them to safety amidst a giant explosion.
In the aftermath, Clark comforts Lois who says she couldn’t help but feel sorry for Toyman, whose body wasn’t found, but broken pieces of his head were…
Best Performance
Can there be any doubt it’s Bud Cort? He pulled off the perfect off-putting voice to pair with their delightfully disconcerting visual design. Combining that grim rictus with soft, almost lilting vocals gives Toyman a unique vibe that works instantly. It also makes sense to make him a little chatty, as is creates this juxtaposition of a friendly façade with more sinister undertones. He just wants to play (with your corpse after he murders you!) I don’t really know what else to say. Very few DCAU voice actors have been better cast or more completely understood their assignment.
Bruce Weitz had plenty of fun yucking it up as mobster Bruno Mannheim, and it is a fun little performance, but nobody but Cort stood a chance here.
Episode Ranking
Our first ‘normal’ episode after the ambitious three-part opener was wholly successful in establishing what a self-contained Superman story from the BTAS team looks like. There’s no doubt in my mind it’s better than all three individual parts of ‘Last Son of Krypton’, but even when ranking them as a collective (as I have tentatively pledged to do going forward), I think there’s an elegant simplicity to this episode.
First and foremost, the main villain is sublimely good, facilitating multiple unique action sequences that provide both variety for the audience compared to typical Superman capers, and let the writers and animators flex their creative muscles, all while still being believable challenges for the Man of Steel. Sure, he’s able to overcome them all, but they give him more trouble than you’d expect. LOVED the Superman vs Mecha Duck brawl, as well as their choice of fake duck sound when it’s doing an attempted murder on Mannheim and his cronies.
Speaking of Mannheim, using him to create a hate-triangle was a great way to give the episode more juice compared to a typical villain spotlight. Superman being forced to defend a villain under active investigation from a murderous living doll made for some interesting stakes. I’ll say it a lot throughout these reviews, but the true sauce for Superman isn’t ‘Can he be killed?’ (obviously not), it’s ‘Can he save everyone in time?’, and the answer to that isn’t as easy to predict. You’d suspect ‘yes’, but it’s by no means a sure thing compared to his own safety. The interplay between them also sets up a slick back and forth sequence where Toyman tells Lois his backstory via a cute pop-up book, while Clark and Jimmy do some investigative journalism. It keeps all the key players on screen, and provides some variety while delivering the exact same exposition. Delivering vital info in an interesting way is key to storytelling.
Truly, I’m not sure what more I could ask from an episode of this show, and it’s only the fourth episode. Cool villain. Cool action. Cool structure. Uncertain ending. Good stuff.
- Fun and Games (NEW ENTRY)
- The Last Son of Krypton
Rogues Roundup
The Toyman (Bud Cort) (first appearance)
Oh he’s creeeeepy. This is one of the best character redesigns I’ve ever seen, forgoing the kind of… whacky professor look from most comics for this simple but chillingly effective living doll aesthetic. Ostensibly it’s little more than a giant ceramic head on top of an otherwise normal dude’s body, but it’s pretty unsettling to hear speech coming from an unmoving, permanently smiling face. Plus who isn’t creeped out by dolls/kids?
He maintains the character’s traditional arsenal of weaponised toys, and they made some great choices there, from a demented bouncy ball capable of denting steel, to the insane duck kaiju, to the toy soldier firing squad. There were many more, but you get the idea. I dug the creativity, and it all bolstered the villain’s gimmick nicely.
Capping all that off with a somewhat sympathetic backstory with a mobster exploiting Shott Sr. and orphaning Schott Jr., and you have yourself one heck of a BTAS-style villain. Honestly right now I’m willing to put him ahead of Lex, though I have no doubt Luthor will pull it back in the future.
Bruno Mannheim (Bruce Weitz) (first appearance)
On the one hand, Mannheim has more personality than John Corben, albeit that of a generic mobster. On the other hand, he sure doesn’t don an advanced battle suit and engage Superman in a shockingly violent battle. He’s not boring by any means, but he’s not on the level of his BTAS equivalents yet.
- Toyman (NEW ENTRY)
- Lex Luthor
- Brainiac
- John Corben
- Bruno Mannheim (NEW ENTRY)
The Matt Signal 
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