Plot summary: Queen Maxima will only marry a man that can best her in combat, so is naturally smitten when she learns of Superman’s exploits.
Notes and Trivia
Episode: 37 (S2.E24)
Original Air Date: November 22nd, 1997
Directed: Curt Geda (11)
Written: Hilary J Bader (9)
Animation: Koko Enterprise Co., LTD & Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD. (21)
Music: Kristopher Carter (9)
The footage Maxima watches of Superman in action is of course from ‘The Last Son of Krypton: Part III‘
It may be a coincidence but several of Maxima’s servants are dressed almost exactly like Big Barda’s casual attire, as seen in ‘The Call‘.
Walk with me for a moment. Queen Maxima’s characterisation may be slightly inspired by the horny busybody mother of Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Both introduce themselves with lengthy honourifics and are extremely aggressive in their search for a husband. Episode scribe Hilary Bader wrote two episodes featuring Lwaxana Troi around this era. Bizarrely though, Maxima’s powers in the comics are explicitly telepath/psionic in nature, which would be yet another connection between the two characters… but that aspect is completely missing here for some reason.
Recap
On the distant planet of Almerac, Queen Maxima defeats De’Cine, a would-be suitor, in a duel for her hand in marriage, and then implores the crowd for a worthy challenger.
Her servants bring her footage of Superman’s exploits, which is sufficient to convince her to head to earth to find him, unaware De’Cine is conspiring with her assistant, Sazu.
Arriving in Metropolis, Maxima kicks the asses of some gropey punks and then storms into a TV studio to declare herself Superman’s betrothed.
Superman arrives on the scene to halt her rampage. He refuses her ‘offer’ to rule Almerac at her side, so she starts trying to kick his ass while he just wants to keep bystanders safe.
Maxima decides the increasingly frustrated Superman has bested her in combat so will be her husband, but when he again refuses she just knocks him out with a laser and drags him through a portal.
However upon arriving back in Almerac she’s immediately arrested, with De’Cine having seized the throne in her absence.
Joining forces, Superman, Maxima (and Sazu!) defeat the monstrous Carnorite, escape the dungeon and fight their way back to the throne room to defeat De’Cine.
Maxima reluctantly releases Superman from their ‘bond’ and returns him to Earth. He advises there’s someone for everyone… and then Lobo bursts in to collect the bounty on De’Cine. Maxima swoons. Gross.
Best Performance
Sharon Lawrence understood her assignment perfectly. Maxima oozes with charisma, lust and rage. She’s bratty but powerful and regal. It was probably kind of a dream role for an actress. Her “Yow!” made me laugh a fair bit. Likewise “Congratulate me! I’m getting married!” while Maxima drags Superman unconscious through the streets. She crushed every line read in my opinion. No notes.
I actually quite liked Shannon ‘Inque’ Kenny as Sazu the downtrodden assistant to Maxima. There’s apathy, there’s a crushed spirit, there’s frustration, and that’s before we learn she’s scheming behind her Queen’s back. It’s pretty fun. I enjoyed the laid back venom of her talking shit to Maxima once the plot has been revealed, and it was honestly hard to not feel sorry for her when she was betrayed by De’Cine too.
You know what? Really great outing for Tim Daly too! Trying to reason with Maxima and seemingly succeeding in teaching her to be a slightly better person was solid stuff. Miguel Ferrer is always decent even when his characters are generic (like this) or bad (like Weather Wizard).
Episode Ranking
I was kind of dreading this episode knowing Lobo was in it, but I had a really fun time with it. It’s some good campy fun with a compelling set of guest characters. And Lobo.
Above all else there’s just so many outlandish lines of dialogue that had me pausing to do an ugly laugh, mostly from Queen “No one has ever lasted this long with me” Maxima. The entire thing is so tongue in cheek, including multiple cutaways to a nosy neighbour being told off by her husband as she provides horny running commentary on Superman & Maxima’s fight. The old lady asking what planet Superman is from when he describes a marriage based on equality and respect slayed me. Not because it’s terribly inventive writing, but more how ballsy it is to deploy that brand of sitcom writing in the middle of what’s ostensibly a space opera episode of Superman. I also really enjoyed Maxima solving Angela Chen’s worries about needing to fill time on her segment and am left wondering why Angela hasn’t been a bigger part of the show. That also applies to the Daily Planet crew. Hell, even Superman sarcastically asking if Maxima is sure she’s a Queen when they get arrested by her own guards got a chuckle from me. Is this the funniest episode in the DCAU? Maybe!
Even if the comedy doesn’t work for you I actually think it’s an incredibly solid basic Superman story. Exotic alien planet with a nice, distinct aesthetic and multiple characters with their own wants, motivations and conflicts. Powerful alien wreaks havoc and fights Superman relatively evenly. Betrayal and imprisonment. Giant unknowable tentacled monster. Reluctant team-up for a jail break and final battle. Everybody parts ways amicably. And Lobo’s only in it for 20 seconds so even he can’t ruin it! (This is also why he isn’t ranked in the villains below.)
I actually think the Carnorite sequence is among the better looking and more exciting giant monster scenes in the series, with tentacles emerging from every opening, making it impossible to comprehend what the beast even looks like, before revealing these were all coming from its mouth and it’s more of a colossal leech than a squid. The tunnels they run through are gorgeous, it inflicts heavy damage on Superman, and their plan to defeat it is a clever one. This is how you do the whole ‘trapped in a labyrinth with a deadly creature’ thing.
While I do generally prefer to see Superman struggling to save people from natural disasters and more intimate and emotional stories, I do think it pays dividends to occasionally send him to a whacky alien planet for some sword & sorcery nonsense.
- The Late Mr. Kent
- Brave New Metropolis
- World’s Finest
- Livewire
- Double Dose
- Fun and Games
- Warrior Queen (NEW ENTRY)
- Father’s Day
- The Hand of Fate
- The Last Son of Krypton
- Ghost in the Machine
- Stolen Memories
- Action Figures
- The Prometheon
- Tools of the Trade
- The Main Man
- Mxzypixilated
- Blasts from the Past
- Target
- The Way of All Flesh
- Solar Power
- Protoype
- My Girl
- A Little Piece of Home
- Feeding Time
- Speed Demons
- Two’s a Crowd
- Identity Crisis
- Heavy Metal
- Monkey Fun
- Bizarro’s World
Rogues Roundup
Queen Maxima (Sharon Lawrence) (first appearance)
I could see this being the type of character certain fans dislike but I’m sorry, I love her.
I just have to respect a woman who has such high standards in the face of being so horny she’s at risk of exploding. Seriously, De’Cine and Sazu’s plan is explicitly built around her being easily led by her loins. They go with “hormonal” but what they mean is she’s so desperate to fuck she will go anywhere for the promise of a worthy husband. Honestly nobody has been happier than when she decides Superman has bested her and she can finally get laid.
They balance this with her warrior fury; She’s extremely quick to anger, to the point the very first thing she does when she’s imprisoned is fashion a sword to murder Sazu for betraying her. But Superman is able to make her see some sense of reason, so she’s not a ball of pure rage.
The end result is an extremely feisty, ass-kicking character who takes absolutely no shit from anyone. A Queen in every sense. She’s excellent and you can argue with a wall. My only knock is she’s into Lobo.
De’Cine (Miguel Ferrer) (first appearance)
I was torn about even talking about him as he feels like a plot accessory more than a character… but then he betrayed Sazu after she helped him seize the throne, and even went as far as to force a kiss on her before tossing her in jail. What an unrepentant asshole.
He sells the revolution to the guards and populace as being for the good of the planet as Maxima prioritises her thirst-quest over her duties as head of state… and then immediately abuses his power. And while Lobo may suck it does seem most of his bounties are legit criminals, so there’s that.
As one-note, single appearance scumbags go he’s not that bad!
- Livewire
- Darkseid
- Lex Luthor
- The Joker
- Toyman
- Queen Maxima (NEW ENTRY)
- Metallo
- Parasite
- Karkull
- Brainiac
- Mr. Mxyzptlk
- Kalibak
- Harley Quinn
- Lobo
- Luminus
- DeSaad
- Detective Bowman
- The Preserver
- Bruno Mannheim (and Intergang!)
- Kanto
- Mala & Jax-Ur
- Mercy Graves
- The Prometheon
- De’Cine (NEW ENTRY)
- Corey Mills
- Earl Garver
- Titano
- Bizarro
- Weather Wizard
The Matt Signal 
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