Plot summary: STAS comes to an end as Superman is freed from his brainwashing but has lost the trust of humanity so decides to settle things with Darkseid once and for all.
Notes and Trivia
Episode: 53 (S3.E13)
Original Air Date: February 12th, 2000
Directed: Dan Riba (14)
Written: Paul Dini (15) (story & teleplay) and Rich Fogel (13) (teleplay)
Animation: Koko Enterprise Co., LTD & Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD. (34)
Music: Shirley Walker (7)
Generally DCAU two-parters aired on the same day but they made audiences wait a full week after the ostensible death of the protagonist!
The Mother Box Superman grabs from the STAR Labs vault is the one he used to transport himself and Supergirl home from Apokalips in ‘Little Girl Lost‘.
Bruce Timm personally storyboarded the final fight between Superman and Darkseid.
The events of this finale prove to be pivotal in the ongoing plot of Justice League and JLU.
This is Tim Daly’s final time voicing Superman in the DCAU as he’d be unavailable for Justice League and replaced by George Newbern.
Recap
In the aftermath of the missile attack, General Hardcastle places a gravely wounded Superman in a special cell fitted with Red Sun radiation, interrogating him about his crimes and believing none of his answers.
The media are told Superman died in the battle, but Lois knows better and later sneaks into the military base where she witnesses Superman fail to escape and get easily taken down.
Hardcastle and Lex Luthor prepare to inject Superman with liquid Kryptonite, but during the struggle the Red Sun lamp is destroyed. Lois pounces and uses a stun-gun to take them both down.
They rescue Kara during their daring escape, but she’s further injured by the soldiers’ gunfire, so Superman takes her to STAR Labs for treatment. Unfortunately Hamilton is reluctant to help due to recent events.
Seeing no other choice, Superman travels to Apokalips and begins an all-out assault. He cuts through Parademons, then takes down Granny Goodness, the Female Furies and Kalibak, bringing him face to face with Darkseid.
Darkseid mocks and beats the piss out of Superman, easily able to absorb and counter his blows, while his Omega Beams prove too much for even The Man of Steel.
Noting this, Clark turns the Omega Beams back on Darkseid, destroying his castle, and defeating the demonic despot, though the oppressed citizens of Apokalips elect to carry Darkseid to safety.
An injured Supergirl convinces Superman to return home, where most of Metropolis express negative sentiments about him on the news. Lois tells him to regain their trust one person at a time and they FINALLY kiss.
Best Performance
Charles Napier was great as an overconfident General Hardcastle in his first appearance, but he (and the script) really took things further here to great results. Napier is excellent as a dickish interrogator prattling on about national security and alien interlopers. I actually thought he might run away with this at the last moment despite all the heavy hitters he’s competing against.
Dana Delany is solid, driving through somber lines like “Heaven help you” and “One person at a time”, but perhaps not the one last ‘tour de force’ I was hoping for. She’s good! I enjoyed her turn as an action hero and everything, but she was just way better in the past.
I would really, really love to award Tim Daly in his final outing as Superman. He’s solid in the first half, pleading with his captors to believe him and then turning up his aggression when Kara’s life is in danger. But it was his delivery of the mid-point monologue, explaining the entire situation to Lois that really sold me on him. There’s a ‘calm before the storm’ mentality here as he knows he’s going after Darkseid and may not survive. Almost a quiet rage that he’s keeping at bay as a courtesy to the woman he loves. He’s also great with the resigned determination during his final assault, even trying to trade witticisms with Darkseid, as well as evoking Dan Turpin’s name.
But Michael Ironside makes it all seem so easy. Darkseid is this giant of a man, an all-powerful borderline god, yet by having him mostly calmly whisper-talk, it gives him even more menace. Cockily claiming Supes’ tiny brain could never comprehend his totality and then stating he will play the role of an executioner was good shit. He’s also asked to spell out the meaning of the episode title, taunting Superman about his legacy as a pariah, chasing the approval of humanity. By having him so sedate most of the time it hits harder when he loses his temper when the battle gets more physical. Then he wraps a bow on the whole thing with his final line, “I am many things, Kal-El. But here, I am God.” A final boast of power even in defeat.
Episode Ranking
I expected this entire episode to be Superman fighting Darkseid, so was surprised to find the first half entirely about Clark vs the US Military. Not necessary a bad surprise, but it didn’t fit whatever mental picture I had for this finale. It also muddies the waters on my assessment that it should have been three parts, with the set-up as Part I, Superman’s invasion and his various allies trying to snap him out of it in the middle, and then a final fight with Darkseid at the end. I would now argue maybe it should have been a four parter, with his time as a military prisoner taking up full episode as Part III. But I think what they did here worked better than how much the actual Part I had to try and juggle, and despite how much time they devote to the prison break it doesn’t feel like the final battle with Darkseid is robbed of space to breathe. They could maybe have done even more with the public reacting to Superman at the end, perhaps a heart-to-heart between Clark and The Kents or something, but I’m just spitballing here. As I say, what they delivered was excellent. It was two episodes in one, with one being good and the other tremendous.
Let’s start with that first half. I’ll talk about it more below but it’s a bit of a head scratcher why they didn’t go with the distrustful military as antagonists before now, because it’s a bit of a cheat code towards sympathy. Lois using her father’s credentials and dressing as a soldier to infiltrate Hardcastle’s base was a lot of fun and literally the only time they’ve taken advantage of what should have been a very helpful piece of her character to play with! That does mean it’s perhaps a little jarring when she takes down so many soldiers during the daring escape, but I suppose she has done some degree of ‘rough and tumble’ up to now. I liked their handling of Superman’s powers slowly coming back after the Red Sun radiation is removed. He gets stronger but is still far from the borderline-invincible hero we’ve followed throughout the series, able to absorb the laser fire without serious damage, but knocked further back by it than normal. But when he gets into direct yellow sunlight he’s almost instantly restored, breathing deep and smiling as the music matches his mood. It’s just a nice little moment.
I don’t know if the intention with Clark’s ‘final request’ in prison was because he was simply trying to escape, that he wanted to take one last swing at Lex before he died, or that without his powers he felt no guilt about punching him. No matter how you slice it, it’s a tremendous moment given the two have never properly laid hands on each other throughout the series. Also Clark’s brief fever dream of Lois morphing into Granny was creepy in a good way. They kept it very brief but I don’t think we needed the brief flashback of Superman being lured in by a fake distress beacon and then being captured and his brainwashing beginning. No explanation as to how they pulled it off was necessary in my opinion, especially given what they went with was extremely lacklustre.
Not to spoil anything for those that don’t know, but Professor Hamilton is going to take a bit of a heel turn in the future, and the seeds for that are planted here. He starts out reluctant to help Superman due to a potential treason charge, which Clark makes way worse by physically threatening him. You actually can kind of understand him holding a grudge given we’ve seldom seen Superman so aggressive, but they really drive the point home by framing him superbly in the aftermath of the moment. Lois looks at him somewhat pitiably, his shadow his huge behind him, and he cowers and looks up from under his glasses in a manner befitting such a tease of what’s to come. The two events would be years apart, but they did recycle some abandoned plans for the season (where Superman is distrusted by the public and especially the military) for Justice League and JLU, so some of this was on the table from the start. Not sure Kara needed to be naked during her treatment at STAR Labs though!
Now turning to the second half, I’ve talked about this a lot, but you can get so much mileage out of having a character overcome odds they’d struggled with previously. Superman was absolutely overrun by Parademons when Darkseid invaded last season, so when he Boom-Tubes his way to Apokalips only to be greeted by a swarm of them you expect a big struggle. Instead he just casually heat-vision’s his way through them like they’re nothing. It communicates to us that he is always holding back to some degree but here he is at his wit’s end, accepting this could be a suicide mission, and he simply does not care anymore so unleashes the fury. Plus no innocent bystanders to worry about! They did some of this in Part I when you saw how effortlessly Clark could conquer an alien world if he so chose, so turning that destructive power back on the people who forced him to do it is delicious. Plus I love a gradual progression in these kinds of scenes, moving from the footsoldiers to a key general in Granny Goodness (again, turning her treatment of him against her), then the trio of heavy hitters in the Female Furies, and finally Kalibak, who he beats in 3 punches after previously getting into an extended brawl for a full episode. This is exactly how you do a ‘raid on the boss’ scene.
Which of course brings us to the final showdown with Darkseid. Excellent, quite frankly. Having them face off on a bridge over lava is pretty metal, and their castle-shaking brawl rocks. There’s more of that progression I talked about, as they move from the Omega Beams to punches. Then of course Superman wins by using Darkseid’s power against him, just as he’d done to the others, before yeeting him off the fucking battlements to land broken at his subjects’ feet. Even that triumphant victory is subverted into an even cooler moment, as the peasants of Apokalips instead delicately carry their master away to tend to his wounds rather than finishing him off as Clark expected. Are they not as oppressed as he imagines? Or are they so fearful of him that they daren’t take any chances. The dialogue suggests the latter but both are interesting.
I also love that Superman wasn’t just going to let that happen and intended to follow and end things for good, but it was the arrival of Kara that brought him back from his bloodlust and convinced him it wasn’t worth it. The ending in general is nice and sentimental, with Clark genuinely depressed that so many people think ill of him, and while the headline is he and Lois finally kiss, her advice to win them back one person at a time is sincerely excellent. That’s Superman 101. He has infinite patience and capacity for good. One day at a time. One person at a time. And he will happily do that forever.
So where does that leave us with the final ranking? My gut instinct is it isn’t quite number one overall. But I’m also very aware that ‘Obsession‘ is a mightily controversial pick on my part. I never want to make my decisions based on general consensus, but there is something that has eaten at me during the time it’s been in the top spot.
‘Legacy’ isn’t just two episodes, it’s also the finale for the entire series, which needs to be considered. Endings are really difficult but I think this is as good a way to land the plane after 50+ episodes as possible. It teases what might have been, as well as setting up Justice League. But even if we never saw Superman in the DCAU again, it’s a perfect hopeful note to end on. Clark hit his lowest moment, having been brainwashed by his nemesis into almost destroying his adopted home, then was rendered powerless and almost executed behind closed doors by the military, and then after his triumphant jailbreak he thinks his ‘cousin’ may not make it and alienates one of his friends in Hamilton. All of that leaves him so numb that he decides ‘fuck it’ and goes on a suicide mission that gives us one of the best prolonged fight scenes in the DCAU. It’s not just ‘le epic’, it’s a genuinely good fight. It has weight and build. It’s well animated and subversive. And then we end with a tonne of heart. He hugs Kara, finally kisses Lois, and we have him remaining hopeful in the wake of being slated by the vox populi.
FINE! It’s number one!
- Legacy (↑)
- Obsession
- The Late Mr. Kent
- Brave New Metropolis
- Apokalips… Now!
- Unity
- World’s Finest
- Livewire
- Double Dose
- Fun and Games
- Warrior Queen
- Knight Time
- Father’s Day
- Little Girl Lost
- The Hand of Fate
- The Last Son of Krypton
- Ghost in the Machine
- Stolen Memories
- Action Figures
- The Prometheon
- In Brightest Day…
- Tools of the Trade
- The Demon Reborn
- The Main Man
- Mxzypixilated
- Blasts from the Past
- Target
- The Way of All Flesh
- Solar Power
- Where There’s Smoke
- Protoype
- My Girl
- A Little Piece of Home
- Feeding Time
- New Kids in Town
- Superman’s Pal
- Little Big Head Man
- A Fish Story
- Speed Demons
- Two’s a Crowd
- Absolute Power
- Identity Crisis
- Heavy Metal
- Monkey Fun
- Bizarro’s World
Rogues Roundup
Darkseid (Michael Ironside) (seventh appearance)
There’s so much power in having Darkseid constantly smirk and never break a sweat. Knowing Superman is coming after him full guns blazing and not only not panicking but actively encouraging it is simply badass. Even when Superman dispatches Kalibak, he just quips about how shitty his son is and then banters a bit. He seems weary to even stand up from his throne, an annoyed tedium rather than emotional outburst.
It helps that the Omega Beams are a very passive superpower, allowing him to floor Superman repeatedly without ever changing his posture. He’s still a hulking brute of a physical specimen, but when you can win most battles without throwing a punch that’s true terror. Of course when Superman is able to close the gap and start swinging wild they get to have their cake and eat it too by having him do the cliched ‘catch the punch’ thing, as he’s offended our hero would even try.
And THEN when Superman is smart and redirects the Omega Beams to obliterate the castle, Darkseid still calmly emerges from the steaming rubble, glowing red eyes, giant silhouette, every bit the Final Boss… until he collapses. It appears the beams exploded inside his own skull and left him with glowing yellow ‘brain marks’, which is gnarly. THEN his subjects come to his aid rather than mercy-killing him, which is an unexpected wrinkle. As he says, on Apokalips he is God, and that moment says so much while also keeping him in play for later.
That he doesn’t even know who Dan Turpin is, while Superman has used it as fuel for his vengeance is great, because why would he remember everybody he’s murdered?
So there you have it. He debuted in last place (on the technicality of him only appearing for like 10 seconds) and has finally climbed all the way to number one, dethroning Livewire at the last possible moment. Inspirational stuff.
Granny Goodness (Ed Asner) (fourth appearance)
It’s a much smaller role this time, but it’s fun seeing Granny get her last licks in on Superman before he takes her out, briefly stunning him with her cosmic rod. Once again, Ed Asner adds a little sauce to even the simplest lines, so it’s great to see her go from begging for forgiveness to threatening to leave him catatonic, only to suffer the same fate herself.
What if I did something insane and bumped her up way too many spots to push Karkull out of the Top 10? I liked that character a lot, but acknowledge the list just looks wrong, and while Granny’s role here wouldn’t normally merit a 3 spot bump, if I reflect on the totality of her appearances… she might actually be in my Top 10.
The Female Furies (Diane Michelle/Andrea Martin/Diane Delano) (fourth appearance)
They didn’t really do much in Part I so I didn’t write about them, but they get a short fight scene with Superman here. They do a decent job despite him being in god-mode, getting in a number of hits and utilising strong teamwork… but our hero is able to win by just grabbing them all and flying straight into a statue of Darkseid.
Also Lashina totally confirms she and Clark were boning during his time as a villain.
Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown) (eighteenth appearance)
I love the idea that Lex hard-sold Hardcastle on the Kryptonite missile only for Superman to survive it… but he’s still allowed to present new ‘foolproof’ plans. Very true to life for tech billionaires who aren’t as smart as they think they are!
It’s a pretty grim plan too, forgoing to weapons-based delivery of Kryptonite and moving instead to injecting it directly into the two superheroes’ veins. Fucked up, man!
It’s soooort of a shame his final appearance is just talking shit about Superman on the news, even if it’s funny to see him with a comical amount of medical apparatus on while doing it. On the one hand I’ve spent my entire life thinking he is Superman’s main villain, so it feels a bit disappointing that they so rarely directly tangled, and he’s rendered a punchline at the end. But on the other, I’ve praised their decision to make him more a recurring character in this show, and in that respect it’s a fitting end. He just doesn’t like Superman and will never stop badmouthing him, but he’s also not going anywhere himself as he’s extremely wealthy and has a decent public image. An entirely different kind of villain to say… The Joker.
General Hardcastle/The US Military (Charles Napier) (third appearance)
I haven’t ranked Hardcastle up to now as his appearances have been rather brief and you could charitably say he acted as a neutral or misguided party. But when you toss Superman in prison, make him stand for a secret military trial and tell the media he’s dead, you’ve crossed into villain territory. And that’s before he attempts to quietly execute Clark and Kara.
Similar to Detective Bowman, it’s as much about what he represents as it is the character himself. Scarier because it’s closer to real life than the wacky super-powered aliens; the nefarious machinations of the American Military Industrial Complex is a great villain to have looming, and it’s a shame they only went to it at the very end. Still, a whole new show to come!
- Darkseid (↑)
- Livewire
- Toyman
- Lex Luthor (–)
- Unity
- The Joker
- Queen Maxima
- Parasite
- Metallo
- Granny Goodness (↑)
- Karkull
- Brainiac
- Mr. Mxyzptlk
- General Hardcastle/The US Military (NEW ENTRY)
- Talia al Ghul
- Harley Quinn
- Kalibak
- Volcana
- Ra’s al Ghul
- The Gotham Rogues
- Lobo
- Luminus
- Sinestro
- Project Firestorm
- The Female Furies (–)
- DeSaad
- Detective Bowman
- Bruno Mannheim (and Intergang!)
- Steppenwolf
- The Preserver
- Bizarro
- Kanto
- Mercy Graves
- The Prometheon
- De’Cine
- Mala & Jax-Ur
- Corey Mills
- Earl Garver
- Titano
- Weather Wizard
The Matt Signal 
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