<SUPERMAN>
LEGACY (Pt. 2)
Story by Paul Dini
Written by Paul Dini and Rich Fogel
Directed by Dan Riba
Animation by Dong Yang
Original Air Date: February 12, 2000
Rating: ***** out of 5
Manipulated by Darkseid into devastating the
Earth, Superman regains his memory and sets off to settle the score with his
ultimate nemesis once and for all.
HIGHS: Oustanding plot and characterization. The
fight scenes are much more intense that previous episodes. Many visuals kick
ass, in contrast to Part 1.
LOWS: This is the last Superman ep for the time being.
OVERALL: The best episode of Superman. Ever.
When I reviewed part one of Legacy, I stated that
I hoped that Part 2 would take this already great finale up another level.
Well, after seeing the oft-delayed end, I can say that it has done just that,
and then some. The makers of the series have delivered their most powerful
episode to date, and you can't truly call yourself a fan of the show until
you've seen it.
In Part 1, Darkseid brainwashed Superman and
adopted him as a son as part of a plot to take over Earth. Earth's defense
forces were nearly annihlated in the battle, but the U.S. military, with the
aid of Lex Luthor, managed to bring Supes and Supergirl down with a Kryptonite
projectile. Part 2 opens with the former hero under close guard with red sun
lamps to keep him weak. General Hardcastle interrogates him as to his
intentions, but to no avail since Supes was truly under someone else's
control. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor sees this as an opportunity to destroy the man
of steel for good, and has a special solution prepared for the job. I'm not
going to go into too much detail (except at the end perhaps) to synopsize the
story because quite frankly, my words wouldn't do it justice. However, I will
touch on some points in the episode that stood out to me.
-This episode is all about characterizations. In
powerful flashbacks we see how Superman was abducted and brainwashed by
Darkseid. Superman is now more sorry than ever for his actions, but they pale
in comparison to his hatred for Darkseid.
-Lois Lane's feelings for Superman are shown
explicitly through a daring attempt to rescue him, despite what he has done.
She may be the only person who is really able to trust that Supes is really a
good guy on the inside.
-Lex Luthor is also portrayed as a cold, cunning
villain who finds the prospect of examining Superman's carcass "a most
profitable endeavor". At one point, Superman (as a mortal) gives Luthor a
massive punch in the face. Now that is some built up aggression!
-Superman's relationship with Supergirl is quite
evident during his escape from the military base where they are being held
captive. She too is mortal after being under a red sun lamp. In a scene, she
is shot and badly injured by a group of soldiers. Even though we might not
always see it, Superman's caring for her is quite evident in the the look on
his face afterwards. In anger, he uses his eyebeams to destroy the troops'
weapons, causing an explosion that sends them flying.
-The general public is extremely distrustful of
Supes. He requests that Dr. Emil Hamilton of STAR Labs treat Supergirl's
injuries. The doctor refuses due to the risk of treason. In a violent moment,
Superman lifts his friend into the air, almost attacking him before regaining
control. After this, Supes realizes that he has now eliminated any trust the
doctor had.
Eventually, Superman comes to the conclusion that
in order compensate for the destruction of all he ever loved, he has to finish
his dispute with Darkseid forever. Lois asks him to wait just one moment and
touches his face before Supes uses a device to generate a portal to Apokolips.
"Heaven help you," she says quietly. No hatred of this degree has
been on a Superman show before. The vengeance in him puts Supes at the very
least on an equal level with Batman, and I'm tempted to say that he goes
beyond even that.
-The intensity of the fights on Apokolips are also
above the standard for this series. Lois's above quotes seem out of place
during the first few battles, as the villains are the ones to be worried about
Superman's wrath. An unlucky squad of parademons is completely wiped out by
Supes almost instantly. They're dead and gone, forever. Granny, the one who
carried out the brainwashing, is also disposed of in a satisfactory manner.
She is electrocuted by one of her own devices, leaving her virtually
brain-dead. >From his castle, Darkseid watches. "Let him come,"
he says.
-The battle against the Female Furies is equally
impressive. Lashina says a few quotes that follow up on the suspected sexual
innuendoes in the first part. All that is behind him though, and Superman
carries them into a tower of flame and drops them from the sky, ending that
threat.
-After a great scene with Supes knocking down the
doors to Darkseid's fortress, Kalibak attacks. True to his reputation, he
affects the Man of Steel about as much as a mosquito bite.
A few quick punches send Kalibak into a pit below, out of commision. "I
can't believe he's blood," a slightly embarassed Darkseid mumbles.
-The fight scene with Darkseid is undoubtedly
awesome. It is said that Bruce Timm personally storyboarded this battle
himself to make sure that it rocked, and indeed it does! Watching Darkseid's
reaction after Superman landed him one in the face was a pretty good
indication that the rest of the fight would be much more intense. "YOU
DARE STRIKE ME?" he yells. He catches one of Supes' punches in midair and
presses it back into him, almost bringing the hero to his knees. Combined with
his Omega eyebeams, Darkseid leaves Supes battered and bloody. Supes fights
on, but he is definitely losing. In one moment, Supes hits the tyrant, and the
following conversation ensues.
"That was for Dan Turpin."
"Who?"
"The good man you murdered."
"Had I known one human's death would pain you so, I would have killed
more. And kill more I shall."
The ending is equally impressive. Darkseid is
about to finish Supes off with his eyes, but... (you've probably heard this
many times until now)...Superman clasps his hands over his foe's eyes, and all
the built up energy explodes inside his head. I personally thought the blast
would have killed Darkseid (it certainly would've darkened the ep even more),
but surprisingly he is still alive. His face is badly injured, and he
collapses at Superman's feet. Supes throws Darkseid's body from the tower to
the ground, and announces to the slaves below that they are free.
Surprisingly, they aid their fallen ruler and take him away. Supes is about to
follow them, but is stopped just in time by Supergirl. She says if he fights
by Darkseid's rules, he would end up killing someone. Guess the parademons
didn't count.
The series (for now) ends with Supes standing on
top of the Daily Planet building staring into the sunset. All over, people
express their fear and distrust of him. Their words repeat in his mind again
and again. Jimmy Olsen thinks he deserves a second chance, but he's in the
minority. Lois comes up and tells Superman that he can win back the people,
one at a time.
Wow. This is the best episode by all means. The
animation during the end fights rocked, in sharp contrast to what I saw in the
first one. The cast of characters is great, and the events here will certainly
change the life of Supes forever. The finale is left fairly open-ended as
well, since there was another season originally planned in which the public
distrusted Superman. Perhaps we'll see more on that when he appears in Batman
Beyond. I'm sorry that the Superman Animated series is drawing to a close, but
this superb episode ensures that the series goes out in style.
-Justin Chen, aka The Overseer
___________________________
GUEST EDITORIAL
(by "Ranger")
The following info can be found on my message
board at ISN. I put the call out to every Ranger
I have for any info on what is up with BB. I am getting scattered reports in
now. Here is one
of them from the boards from a very reliable source who goes by the screen
name of "SavantB5".
Savant has access to ratings info and gave this report.
According to ratings I have for Feb 5th,
"Batman Beyond" got a 4.8 rating for K2-11, but its
lead-in Pokemon2 got a 7.9 rating. So, it loses 40% of its lead-ins kid
viewers. Men in Black,
which followed the first Pokemon1, got a 5.2 rating to its lead-in 6.3 (an 18%
drop). The
ratings for BB's competition: Digimon 5.1 (Fox); Sabrina 3.1 (ABC) (I don't
know much about
Saturday morning, but I always have an inquiring mind). I wonder if this is a
situation akin to
what NBC goes through with the sitcoms that run at 8:30 or 9:30P on Thursday.
The show can be
highly rated, but they judge it by how much it holds the lead-in.
The ratings mentioned are those of the overall US
Neilson Households and are used by the TV
industry to set the prices of TV advertising. So.. the way that the numbers
read so far is that
BB is popular but it is not hitting the younger audience that the WB is trying
to target to get
the most out of their commercial asking price. It's not that the show isn't
popular...it's
that it is not hitting the 7 year olds who bug their parents to buy stuff. Say
like Burger King
toys, games and other Pikachu related garbage. Sure Batman is a bigger name.
Sure Batman can
run longer than any *fad* show. Sure you can say that older people are tuning
in but the meat
of it is that TV execs have very short memories and attention spans. It must
do well now
because their cushy jobs are riding on it. That means that if they can get
better ratings by
moving the Bat so they can have a two hour block of "Pieka Piieka"
then you can bet your sweet
bat'o'rang that they will do it in a Gotham City Second.
The real problem is that there might be even more
to this than what's on the surface. There
might be some internal moves reguarding the Bat franchise. If there is another
push for a fifth
film then that conflicts with the live action "Bruce Wayne" series
which also happens to
intrude on BB. I know you are thinking "Hey...if they can ram Pikachu
into the ground then why
not the Bat?"... Well, they kinda already did that in the days of
"Batman Forever" and "Batman
and Robin" in the Joel Screwmocker era. They burnt the candle on both
ends then and they aren't
likely to tamper with fire again, a.k.a. the Superman movie shuffle.
So...there might be a
higher power deciding just what gets the green light as far as the entire Bat
franchise goes.
Just a speculation on my part but like I said before I don't trust
coincidences of any kind.
Lastly, and this is the kicker, Pokemon costs
almost nothing to produce. Since they are being
made for two markets by one company then all the WB has to do is dub and
promote the shows
purchased. An amazing profit is derived from this. In the case of BB the show
must be
originally produced by the WB for the WB and it's outside distribution. So the
money or profit
is not as large or it takes longer for the WB to get the desired results. It
doesn't matter
that Pikachu won't be a household word in five years because it makes money
NOW! And that is
what counts in a 500 channel univers. "Get them while you can before some
other bright shinny
object does" is the perfect but simplified way of describing this
mentality. The thing that
confuses me is that the WB is still spending a ton on new programs... that
cost more than BB.
Look at the CGI stuff in that new series for crying out loud.
___________________________
AND THAT'S THE FACTS
(by "Reliable Source")
And yet another week rolls by with no sign of our
RELIABLE source. RELIABLE. RELIABLE. Grrrrr.
;-Y
___________________________
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED TRIVIA
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
This is one of my favourite sections, where
I get to boggle the minds of all our readers!
*EVIL LAUGH* This trivia is all animated-related in some form, and can deal
with ANY aspect of
the show or comics based on the show. Remember, answer the questions WITHIN
THE CONTEXT OF THE
ANIMATED CONTINUITY. Now have fun - let's see how well you do! Answers are
provided below.
Correction: In the previous issue, Question #264
read, "Whose 'ALMOST GOT 'IM' tale involved nearly getting Batman via a
kiss?" I knew the answer was CATWOMAN (D), but accidentally put the
letter C in the answer key - sorry about the confusion, everyone!
OK, well, I know I jumped the gun with a
Valentine's Day quiz in the last issue, so I decided
to dedicate five more questions to the subject of love - if I can think of
any. Bear with me,
OK? It's been a looooooong week...
266. What was the name of Derek Powers' secretary?
(She seemed to have some affection towards
him, didn't she? Right?)
A: Anne Turpin
B: Loreina Tehry
C: Miss Winston
D: Alice (last name not given)
E: Corrina Kyle
267. In the BATMAN BEYOND continuity, Max Gibson
has been shown on one official date. Which
articles of clothing was this individual NOT wearing (as shown onscreen OR on
the comic book
page)?
A: Brasierre
B: Turtle-Neck
C: Glasses (well, futuristic glasses that look like ski goggles)
D: Vest
E: Brown pants
268. Which of the following events has NOT
happened during the courtship/marriage of Victor and
Nora Fries?
A: Marriage on Christmas Eve
B: An attempted blood-transfusion on an oil rig
C: Nora never remarried, but separated from Victor
D: Nora remarried another doctor
E: Ferris Boyle was released from prison
269. Which of the following characters has had a
romantic interest in either the past, present,
or future in Gotham?
A: Summer Gleeson
B: Edward Nygma
C: Hamilton Hill
D: Tim Drake
E: Jonathan Crane
270. In the BEYOND episode "TERRY'S FRIEND
DATES A ROBOT", what was the name of the robotic woman who masqueraded as
"a hot babe that no nerd would ever be caught dead with"?
A: Dana Tan
B: Cheryl Stone
C: Cynthia (no last name given)
D: Vanessa (no last name given)
E: Moesha Brandt
______________________________________________
AND THESE ARE OUR FINAL ANSWERS (to the trivia)
Answer to #266: C
Answer to #267: A, B, E
Answer to #268: C, E
Answer to #269: D
Answer to #270: C
