Superman is the most all-American, iconic, and genre-defining superhero there ever was and this was the most iconic adaptation he ever got (in my humble opinion). Superman: The Animated Series aired for 4 seasons from 1996 to 2000. If you know the episode count, you'll know it had more seasons but less episodes than Batman:TAS; before you ask that was due to Batman:TAS having an extremely long first season. On the topic of Batman:TAS it had a sort of circular relationship with this show; it inspired this show to even exist in the first place, while this show inspired Batman:TAS to be revived. Together, with their 3-part crossover episode "World's Finest" they inspired the entire shared continuity (and production team) of the DCAU, which produced great shows that I won't be getting to until later such as "Static Shock" and "Batman Beyond" and also the only ever Justice League adapation (where the team is the main focus). They also even inspired their rivals at Marvel Comics to (less successfully) try their hand at the same thing.
The series was a very dramatic outlook on the Superman mythos, their 3-part series premiere "the Last Son of Krypton" was an especially unique twist on the usual Superman origin story and if you see nothing else of the series, you've gotta see that. Animation wise, it was the first Superman animated adaptation to surpass the quality of the amazing Fleischer & Famous short films of the 1940s, which is a spectacular feat, in and of itself.
The storytelling was unique, mature, and detailed. The action was entertaining, fun, and spectacular. It had a little something for everyone and it's held up well with time. Even without my bias to Batman I wouldn't put it as an equal to Batman:TAS, but Superman:TAS is still damn good. 88/100
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Next week is the last in Superhero September and we'll be tackling the big one, Justice League Unlimited! Stay tuned!
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