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This series is what made me a big time Supes fan. When it comes to DC animation, everyone always talks about and praises Batman, and for good reason. That show was incredible. But Superman deserves a lot more praise and recognition. This show did so many awesome things with the character and his mythos. Michael Ironside and Darkseid was peak. Thanks for covering this underappreciated series.

Finally, more people talking about this gem of a series💙❤️

While Superman: The Movie is my favorite version of the Man of Steel, The Animated Series was my first version and one of the versions I was, and still am, fondest of.

So happy to see The Late Mr. Kent get some attention. It is a top tier Superman story and that ending is super haunting even years later.

This show deserves just as much love as BTAS gets. Thanks Matt for shining a well deserved light on this beautiful and awesome show

I'm glad to see this series get some genuine love, personally I've always enjoyed it a little bit more than BTAS due to its sheer consistency, and I've always felt a little bit alone in that.

A lot of people seem to be watching STAS for the first time right now (likely related to My Adventures with Superman). Great to see it still relevant, despite being overshadowed in its time.

Great show. The usages of Lex, Darkseid, Brainiac (the "rogue A.I from Krypton" backstory is still my favorite) and particularly Professor Hamilton with Superman were probably my favorite versions of the characters. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

This show deserves much more love than it gets. “New Kids in Town” is my personal favorite episode (I’m a big Legion fan), so I’m glad to see it made it to 13.

I still think this show is one of the greatest comic adaptations brought to animation, with this version of Superman being my all time favorite version of the character. He has everything, the strength, the imagery, compassion, while also adding in a few touches that makes him unique like a bit of dry sarcasm and his genuinely relatable human experiences. I still find it endlessly precious that he still believes in Santa Claus.

I feel so lucky growing up with all the great marvel and DC 90s and 2000's cartoons. Inspired my creativity and love for these types of stories for sure.

Super underrated show, and one of the definitive adaptations of Superman along side the Christopher Reeve films + the Fleischer shorts, I love the world building in this series + it’s a great showcase for Supes’ underrated rogues gallery beyond Lex Luthor & General Zod, with Darkseid being an exceptional highlight in this series

About freaking time this show was given love. Superman TAS i think is awesome and doesn’t get enough flowers. So this is nice to see.

I can't see Superman at Turpins grave without crying. ....that quote hits too hard 😭

How funny, I was just rewatching some episodes yesterday and thought “more people should talk about this awesome show”… Matt Draper has my back again lol

Love Kyle Reynor GL. His constructs and ideas were always more fun and imaginative than the other GLs.

I watched all of superman the animated series about a year ago....maybe it was early this year? Anyway it was fantastic and it was so gratifying to finally get this show I've always wanted to see more of under my belt and it wonderfully proved what I've known for many years now. That Superman is a fantastic character that is so much more interesting than the public believes.

While the Fleischer superman was my introduction to the character, this series was the adaptation that made me a superman fan, having a more serious tone compare to Reeves films, but still being able to capture the core of Superman as character. The only negative point (and it's more nitpick) is the show also having original villainsl like Livewire, Volcana and Luminus and yet only Livewire got the "Harley Quinn treatment" and was brought to the comics later. I feel Luminus and Volcana are very underrated and have the potential for more stories in comics and other adaptations.

Dan Turpin’s death by Darkseid was so sad man! Superman TAS and the entire DCAU was so beautiful and dynamic. Other than Batman TAS , JLU was my favourite series, such an eclectic mix of many genres that suit many league members.

Something I love about Matt Draper is his videos can be about anything, from animation, comic books, horror, and more. The channel is so personalised and gives insight not only to the topic at hand, but the individuality of the creator.

When I think of Superman,THIS show ALWAYS comes to mind. George Newbern(JL TAS) & Tim Daly are my Christopher Reeve-s. I just ADORE this depiction of Clark and his world. It's so refreshing to see more channels talk about Superman TAS. It's so underrated!

I kind of jumped when I heard Evan Dorkin and wife Sarah Dyer. His comics “Dork” and “The Eltingville Club” are some of the best satires of nerd culture out there. Also an incredibly detailed artist who drew the first Bill and Ted comic for Marvel. Had no idea they created Livewire

I always thought Dan Turpin was teleported to the space pits rather then out right killed. But that was just my hopeful innocence I guess.

Matt Draper is in my brain and I love it

Great video mate. Superman the animated series definitely doesn't get the love it deserves when it comes to appreciating the DCAU. So many of the ideas introduced and established in STAS would go on to be foundational for the later major DCAU projects like Justice League and Justice League Unlimited from establishing the 4th world and Apokolips to setting up Emil Hamilton and his eventual betrayal in JLU to even smaller things like the Legion of Superheroes. This has definitely inspired me to revisit the show. So much nostalgia and happy memories of buying the VHS collections of the episode as a kid. George Newburn does a fantastic job in Justice League and JLU, but Tim Daly is often forgotten about which is a shame considering his ability to portray the compassion, optimism and quiet humility of Superman so well. He does a great job in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies itself a love letter to the early DCAU with Daly and Conroy reprising their roles. Hope to see you make a similar video for Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

While not every episode of the DCAU was gold. The voice cast were all legendary. Clancy Brown or Michael Ironside were just as inspired choices to Luthor and Darkside as Conroy, Hamill or Daly.

Nice. I laughed at the Kyle Rainer burn.

Matt, you should just do the entire DCAU as a retrospective or something. It's like you said, some of the best superhero stuff ever made and in my opinion the best representations of their respective characters.

It really laid the groundwork for Justice League

Hindsight is 20/20 and BTAS preceded STAS, but I think Riddler was largely misused in BTAS, as he became just another toy-themed villain. I wish the stories used for Riddler in BTAS were instead used for Toyman in STAS (especially "What is REality" as it would help de-power Superman in the episode). I actually love "Fun and Games" though and would rank it much higher. "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy"on the other hand seemed like a perfect Riddler story.

He is many things Kal-El, but here, Matt is your reviewer.

Great video. I love your pronunciation of Kyle Rayner 😅 whether this was a bit or not - I enjoyed it! Really loved your attention to detail on Parasite too.

the thing about Kyle Rayner being chosen for the Green Lantern character here is it's the same reason Wally West was chosen to be The Flash, which is that he was the then-most recent person to use that name, but Kyle's backstory is much more convoluted and most likely would not have been able to make work so they just slotted him into Hal's origin story

Ngl i did miss superhero content. Specially if it’s good

I love Superman TAS and the 4:3 aspect ratio. ❤

The STAS theme kicking in over the ending narration. *goosebumps*. Love this Matt.

"raised by a flock of penguins in the sewers" is that a reference to something?

😊 I really enjoy this so this made me love Superman.

Legion of Superheroes cartoon and Green Lantern show deserve some love.

Fun fact: Dan Turpin was based on legendary artist Jack Kirby.

45: Monkey Fun 44: Where There’s Smoke 43: Prototype 42: Superman’s Pal 41: Obsession 40: Tools of the Trade 39: Warrior Queen 38: Solar Power 37: Prometheon 36: A Fish Story 35: In Brightest Day 34: Action Figure 33: Unity 32: The Hands of Fate 31: Absolute Power 30: Double Dose 29: Heavy Metal 28: Little Big Head Man 27: My Girl 26: New Kids In Town 25: Fun and Games 24: A Little Peice of Home 23: Livewire 22: Target 21: The Main Man 20: The Way of All Flesh 19: The Last Son of Krypton 18: Bizzaro’s World 17: Father’s Day 16: Blasts From the Past 15: Two’s A Crowd 14: Feeding Time 13: Identity Crisis 12: Stolen Memories 11: The Demon Reborn 10: Brave New Metropolis 9: Speed Demons 8: Little Girl Lost 7: Knight Time 6: The Ghost In the Machine 5: Legacy 4: Myxzpixelated 3: The Late Mr. Kent 2: World’s Finest 1: Apokolips…Now!

This was always my ideal version of superman. Even all these years later. Such a great show and thank you for making a video about it matt.

I liked this series when I was a boy, but I have to rewatch it all again. PD: My favourite Matt Draper is the one who talks about superheroes and comics, even though I know he'll never be back.

I’m just hoping that someday soon this, JL and JLU get full soundtrack releases on digital. They’ve already done this for BTAS, and those 6 volumes are amazing to listen to. Favorite tracks are the ones for the episode “Almost Got Him.”

Love that you came back to the DCAU, would love to hear your thoughts on Justice League, unlimited, static, and beyond

Certainly one of the Best Superhero animated series. The TV Serie who describe the Superman mythology and those episodes defines his Heroic Soul.

Just dawned on me that Turpin was designed to act and look like Jack Kirby

I really loved the kind of dark end-stingers the first epidsodes had. Oooh brainiac lives and slaughters aliens! Metallo walking on the seafloor. Toymans… mask is there? Okay maybe not that last one but you know.

11:00 ooo Matt. I loved that this show did feature my favourite GL though. Its part of why I loved this show as I really loved the various DC character featurettes and cameos. Knight Time honestly makes me laugh and I love it lol because he tries to act like Batman 😂

It would be awesome to get a ranking of every DCAU series! Would love to see the JL and JLU shows especially!

Thanks for this Matt a very underrated series, you must do your favorite version of Superman video. This Superman is my favorite.

This show is the standard for me on how to portray Superman I haven’t seen a better version of the character in tv or film since

8:15 Mxyie only had two appearances throughout the entire DCAU. "Little Big Head Man" was his second and last appearance.

Man I just finished binging the series idk what's number 1 yet but my pick is the detective episode with Clark Kent's death at the start of the episode. Just finished the video. YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS! I LOVE THIS EPISODE

"It almost feels like a backdoor pilot for a JLA show" Actually it was. From what I heard, originally the creators wanted to introduce JL in the STAS, with Clark meeting each member in a team-up episode before they all reunite in one big finale. They were even planning a episode to introduce Wonder Woman, but, because 4kids, at the time were more invested in anime and cartoons with young protagonists, the series got cancelled and we got shows like Batman Beyond and Static Shock before they finally made Justice League Unlimited

It was this show that made me want to see metallo as a main villain in a superman movie. Also, rating "the main man" so low should be a crime, those episodes were hilarious.

This show was really great. I didn’t grow up with it, but on my first watch I really enjoyed it. It did justice to so many of the existing characters and introduced some great new ones that have become iconic. The tone of the show is great for Superman and fits my preferences. No offense to My Adventures with Superman, but I find that show quite corny

Excellent video as always Matt! If all Superman Media was as excellent as The Animated Series, I would love the character instead of being largely disappointed with his stories. Does that speak to a tremendous disservice done to the property over the years by derivative and bland productions? or to the immense talent working behind the animated series? Maybe both. Maybe I'm not familiar enough with the Superman comics to speak definitely on the subject. Thanks for the vid Matt.

I love The Late Mr. Kent, but holy smokes what a wild ending. It's hard to reconcile the strange tacit approval of the death penalty. For years in BTAS and in STAS we saw super villains guilty of heinous crimes and no doubt multiple deaths, simply get locked up in jail or Arkham asylum. A crooked cop frames a guy for murder and that's enough to get him executed. It kinda begs the question of why none of the big super villains have earned that sentence. Feels kinda out of character for Clark to be okay with the death penalty too, considering that Krypton didn't have one.

I love batman, but this is probably my favorite DCAU show next to Batman Beyond.

Tony Jay Born: February 2, 1933 Passed away:August 13, 2006 Voiced Sul-Van Superman Who Also Voiced Judge Frollo in Disney's The Hunchback Of Notre Dame

The world's finest crossover was one of the first box sets I ever bought with my own money. How I wish I still had that😢

For me my favorite villain of the series was Parasite! I don't know, he was awesome for me. I even loved that he betrayed Livewire and messed up her "almost victory". I was like "dumb Parasite, stupid greedy hungry Parasite, I don't know why I love him!" So every episode of him are higher than in this list. And I don't disagree with the list, I think the top 4 in the list are the best of the best. Here are my top 7: 1. Apokolips Now 2. World's Finest 3. Legacy 4. Father's Day 5. Stolen Memories 6. The Late Mister Kent 7. A Little Piece of Home

37:06 womp womp wooomp..... ( I like to think his final words were him shouting, "Clark Kent is Superman ,Superman's Clark Kent!!!" And the victims only think "just die already, you bastard.") Lol

Kyle Rayner is the Green Lantern I grew up with; but he only had about a 10 year run between when Hal Jordan went insane and destroyed the Green Lantern Corps in 1994 and when Jordan and the GLC were brought back by Geoff Johns in 2004.

I loved the Green Lantern guest shot. Kyle Rayner was the 90s comic Green Lantern and my favorite!

This video made me realise we need more Flash videos from you, Matt! He’s a fantastic character worth diving into.

Feeling a bit low today, so some Matt Draper to cheer me up sounds like some good medicine.

I suspect that Lytener's tech, which utilized special holograms to hurt Superman, were sublicensed by Toyman for his fighting game. Also, Toyman's hideout, with its changing identity as Arcade and Rec Center, also served as the Hob's Bay hideout for Granny Goodness's Intergang.

Never really checked it out. But I've been really enjoying My Adventures with Superman. Might get into this when the season is over

Love this series sm,spent an entire summer rewatching all of it last year

I really enjoy STAS, but I always felt like it never got the same recognition that BTAS did or even show that came after like Batman Beyond or JL/JLU.

I was going to bicker with your list (a few of my faves are at the bottom, that toy man ball scene is some of the best animation of the series) but honestly this was such a wonderful trip down memory lane and it was a blast to watch. I just bought the first season for the DVD player I still somehow have.

I feel an "Every JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE ANIMATED SERIES Episode Ranked" coming up ...

Love your choices. The Late Mr.Kent and Apokolips... Now are my favorite ones as well. I was shocked when I found out the show was finished. I wanted to see where the story was going go after that but I gotta hand it to them for ending the show on a high note like that.

This show, just like Batman: The Animated Series, will always have a special place in my nostalgic heart.

Interesting that Steppenwolf’s human form kinda resembles Xanatos from Gargoyles. (Correction: Turns out I was wrong, that was Kanto, not Steppenwolf, my mistake.)

Thank you for talking about this brilliant show. Must watch seasons 3 and 4 but still one of my fav animated series of all time

Yay, more cape stuff from Matt!

World's Finest kicked all the ass. My favorite VHS when I was a kid

My top 3 will be Identity Crisis, The Way Of All Flesh and The Late Mr. Kent.

I know it's ...a take for a lot of people that Superman is boring. But that was never the case for me and this show was a huge reason why. I always thought Superman was one of the best characters

Amazing work as always. We need a Batman Beyond/JL episode ranking video now

So when are we going to get your long awaited Kyle Rayner episode?

25:30 Unless it was the CW Flash in which case Superman would win the race because CW Barry Allen just stands there confused until someone on his team says "I believe in you. Run Barry run."

I love this series one of my favorites of the DCAU along with BTAS JL JLU AND STATIC SHOCK ALSO matt you should cover JL JLU AND STATIC SHOCK TOO. This along with 1978 Superman Lois and Clark all star Superman Superman for all seasons and Superman and Lois made me love superman

Absolutely loved the Superman Animated Series. Like the Batman Animated Series defined Batman, and Bruce Wayne, this show defined Superman, and Clark Kent.

11:00 oooooh, thems fighting words Draper

Late to the party, but I’d love to see more stuff from you about the DCAU. While Batman of course is the standout character of this universe, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how it handles others like Hawkgirl, The Flash, Amanda Waller, and especially Terry McGinnis. Even more than Harley Quinn, I think Terry was the best addition to the Batman mythos that the DCAU ever made.

Hell yeah I was hoping for this!

Huh, funny I rewatched your top 35 BTAS episodes video not too long ago

the late Mr Kent is my personal favourite episode it shows for me proof that the theory that many fans (and Bill) have is actually false, that superman is the true identity and Clark Kent is the disguise when in fact it's the other way around, Clark was Clark long before he was superman he adopted the guise of superman specifically so that people wouldn't figure out that he was Clark Kent. Another is that helping Walker is something that Clark does deserve credit for as tracking down the pizza place and spending hours trolling through the computer records isn't something that his superpowers would make any easier, Clark wanted it to be Clark Kent's victory and rightly so. If I have one nitpick about this episode (and it's only a little one) it's the way Clark brought himself back from the dead, simply saying he survived the bomb that blew his car to pieces with injuries that only required bandages and bed rest raises the obvious question, how? the killer spends his entire time on death row mulling it over and with his last thoughts figures it out. A better way might have been to simply be thus Lois "CLARK? how on earth did you survive that car bomb?" Clark "superman heard the car ticking, x-rayed it and saw a bomb under the seat and pulled me out before it blew, he then advised me to lay low with someone I trust absolutely (old childhood sweetheart Lana who's known him since kindergarten) for a while as if the bomber knew I'd survived he might try again and if you, Jimmy or Perry knew you all could be in danger too but no one would think to look for me at Lana's place" I doubt anyone would question that explanation as that's just the sort of thing superman would do, save people in danger and because in identity crisis Lois had seen what she thought was Clark and superman (actually bizarro)side by side (and supposedly rescuing Clark) she certainly wouldn't question it but again it doesn't bother me that much just enough that I could think of an alternative.

My dad had recorded the episode Apokolips now on his DVR and we would watch it non stop. Of course now we can just watch it on Max lol

Thanks for the amazing video Matt ❤

I was in Bangladesh when I was used to watch this cartoon everyday on CNN. Thank you for this video.

Superman is still #1 to me, he is the foundation of DC.

This is probably the only time we’ll ever see Matt talk about Lobo…which on the one hand is a little sad, since I would love to hear his thoughts on the character in general and what makes or breaks parody characters. On the other hand; I can understand why he wouldn’t do it because a lot of writers kinda missed the point of Lobo and thus a lot of his later stories are kinda bad.

My opinion, this series wrecked Darkseid. The way Darkseid was originally done by Jack Kirby, he was a corrupter and tempter above all else. He wanted humankind to give up on decency and hope, so that when Darkseid came, we would WELCOME him. So, Darkseid was all about schemes to bring out the worst in people. Reducing Darkseid to another Mongul -- powerful alien warlord who is a physical match for Superman -- is a massive step down for what Darkseid should be. (Which is ironic, since Mongul is a clone of Thanos, who in turn was a clone of Darkseid.)

Great review