As a fan of most things "Superman," and having been pumped by Warner Brothers unmatched "Batman: The Animated Series", the debut of "Superman: The Animated Series" gave me the expectations of great things. And for the most part, the series delivered. It didn't quite have the same style as the former, but to be honest… it shouldn’t. It was much lighter in tone, and again considering the superhero it featured, it worked for the series. Batman was dark, Superman was light… any questions? I wasn't able to catch all of the episodes of "Superman: The Animated Series" when they originally aired, scheduling and all, so I was glad to see Warners releasing DVDs starting last year.

They were broken up into volumes as opposed to seasons, like "Batman:TAS", which worked so much better since the number of episodes varied do much with each 'season.'

"Superman: The Animated Series" starred the voices of Tim Daly as Clark / Superman and Dana Delaney as Lois Lane, and they did some great voiceover work. I really prefer Daly to George Newbern, who did Superman's voice in the later "Justice League" series. Daly's voice is just so much stronger, though Newbern grew on me after a while. In another great bit of casting, Clancy Brown took on the role of Lex Luthor. Brown, who was probably best known for his live action role of Kurgan in the movie "Highlander", has been in a ton of movies and TV series and has one of those very recognizable faces, if not so such a name. It's actually kind of funny to me that Brown, who is a master of menacing, both physically and vocally, also voices Mr. Krabs in the "Spongebob Squarepants" series.

The first two volumes of "Superman: The Animated Series" are already available, and Warners Brothers is releasing the third, and final volume on DVD this week. These 18 episodes bring to a close all 54 that were created for the series. The storylines vary, but all are quite good. This time around, the Man of Steel faces Darkseid, the villain with a penchant for dominating Earth. One of the great things about these three multi-part story arcs is that they directly affect episodes in the 2nd season of the later produced "Justice League."

There are also several episodes also team Superman up with various other favorite heroes from the comics, including Supergirl, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Robin and embers of the Legion of Superheroes. He faces the likes of Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bizarro and even Batman's foe, Ra's Al Ghul. Most comic book readers will know exactly who all of these heroes and villains are, even if the casual review reader does not. If you're in the latter group, trust me… seeing these guys in the series is extremely cool.

One other item that helped launch Warner's ranks of Superhero animated series into the stratosphere was the use of familiar voiceover artist to introduce new characters. This season of "Superman" brought with it the likes of Chad Lowe, Jason Priestly, Peri Gilpin, Miguel Farrar. Even Ted Levine got into the act by giving voice to the evil Sinestro.

The 3-disc DVD set also serves up commentaries on several of the episodes by members of the creative team as well as a bit of a behind the scenes look at the making oft he series.

I'm kind of sorry to see the final set being released as it reminds me that there are no more "Batman" episodes, and now that "Justice League" has come to the end of its run on TV, there are no more really great DC superhero animated series delivering fresh, new episodes. (I still say bring back (Batman Beyond!!")

Episodes:
Warrior Queen
Apokolips… Now! Part 1
Apokolips… Now! Part 2
Little Girl Lost, Part 1
Little Girl Lost, Part 2
Where There's Smoke
Knight Time
New Kids in Town
Obsession
Little Big Head Man
Absolute Power
In Brightest Day
Superman's Pal
Fish Story
Unity
The Demon Reborn
Legacy, Part 1
Legacy, Part 2

Extras: Audio Commentaries on select episodes with the creators and the director, A never seen before deleted scene with introduction by Bruce Timm, Superman: Behind The Cape -- David Kaufman, voice of Jimmy Olsen, takes you on a journey on how a show comes together.
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 6/20/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
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We'll give Superman: The Animated Series Volume 3 an A.