Superman: The Last Son of Krypton (1996)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This compilation movie from Superman: The Animated Series (STAS) condenses Superman's origin into three arcs and locations - Krypton, Smallville, and Metropolis. It's close to the original comic, the only major change being that Superman's origin is now interestingly - and cleverly - linked with that of his famous foe Brainiac. We see Superman's introduction to Lois Lane and the Daily Planet, his first meeting with Lex Luthor, and get an early hint of the shared continuity that will become known as the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) (an amusing mention of "that nut in Gotham City"). It's not all great; the Krypton segment drags in places, the Smallville segment feels like it needed more time, the dated art/animation style jars, and the final showdown isn't that exciting. The voice work is all good though, and it does serve as a nice introduction to Superman generally and STAS in particular. Overall 7/10

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton combines the first three episodes of the animated series to tell the origin story of Superman. Born on the faraway planet Krypton, Kal-El is the infant son of Jor-El, a brilliant scientist, and his wife, Lara. Jor-El believes that planet-wide destruction is approaching, but his warnings are not heeded -- except by Brainiac, the planet's supercomputer, which uses the information solely to save itself. As the planet begins to fall apart, Jor-El succeeds in sending his baby son away in a small rocket. The rocket lands on Earth, where he is found by Jonathon and Martha Kent. They adopt him and raise him as their own child, named Clark. Soon it becomes clear that Clark is not an ordinary child. He possesses powers and abilities far beyond those of ordinary mortals. He vows to use these powers for good and, after graduating, he moves to Metropolis to start a newspaper career, where he soon finds himself working with attractive reporter Lois Lane. Along the way, he also adopts an alter ego -- Superman -- to fight such dangerous menaces as Lex Luthor, who has designed a battle suit that makes its wearer nearly invincible. Fortunately, Superman triumphs over all, saving Metropolis and the world for the first of what will be many times. Just like Batman: The Animated Series this is one hell of a movie but also Superman TV Show that in my mind they will never reach and make a better show than this.

This feature length video release is actually a re-cutting of the three part pilot for the new superman series produced by Warner Bros. using mostly Japanese animation talent. The pilot re-tells the familiar origin story of the Last Son of Krypton, while introducing two classic DC villains (Brainiac and Lex Luthor) and giving us a feisty new Lois Lane.The look very 50s comic bookish and kind of sci-fi retro. Metropolis looks like what TV and the movies were predicting for the year 2000: an urban landscape of huge buildings, elevated highways, high speed commuter trains, all very ultra-modern and glossy, and yet clean, efficient and familiar. The color palette is very bright and full of primary colors, giving the cartoon a Sunday supplement feel. My biggest complaint relates to a slightly clumsy look to the character animation, and even this is really minor. It's a big step up from Superfriends. The show has a good look, great stories and lots of superhero action, and Clark Kent himself (as voiced by Tim Daly) is wryly amusing and stubbornly heroic in the face of occasionally tough choices. I watched this pilot and signed on for the run of the show. Recommended.

I enjoyed this start to the Animated Series. It gave Superman an origin that seemed to simplify the destruction of Krypton, yet tied in the comics a great deal. What I liked about this incarnation the most was how Superman wasn't overly powerful like in some incarnations. The animation is very crisp, and Tim Daily is PERFECT as the voice for Kal El. I got such a kick out of seeing Lex getting annoyed by the quiet, hovering Superman near the DVD's ending. I never caught all of the series' premier, so this $10 DVD was worth every penny. I only wished that the show lasted longer, too bad the WB nixed it. Its my fave DC animated series bar none so far, including Batman.