Superman: The Animated Series Vol 1 : 4 of 5

I decided I couldn't collect the Batman Animated Series DVD sets without also getting the fantastic Superman series by the same talented creators, and watching this actually had some nice synchronicity with seeing Space Ghost, since Alex Toth and Bruce Timm ended up in a huge fight over Superman's design! I've always loved the look of this show, keeping the same feel as Batman, but adding a much brighter, science fiction palette, and every character looks great (except for Jimmy Olsen, with his mini-mullet!). The series had the guts to begin with a three-part retelling of Superman's origin called The Last Son of Krypton, and they really did an incredible job of making the classic tale fresh and exciting. I especially enjoyed the Jack Kirby influences in the design of Krypton, as well as in the episode The Prometheon, which features a huge monster right out of Kirby's brain. Superman's regular villains are nicely done, such as Brainiac and Parasite (even though they aren't as cool as Batman's bad guys), along with new characters like Lex Luthor's S&M bodyguard Mercy. There are a few nice commentaries on this set, as well as two 10-minute documentaries, which should be much longer of course! I've been a huge fan of this series for a long time, and it was great to watch these episodes again and remember my favorite moments. I'll never forget when I first saw Lois looking at Superman's photo and exclaiming "Nice S!" - one of the boldest lines in Saturday morning cartoon history! It's going to be fun collecting the next DVD sets of this series.