Superman: Last Son of Krypton (DVD)

Superman and his story are known to people across America and the world. So, when faced with the challenge of giving the Man of Steel's origin a new and fresh look that can still be respected, creators Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, and Bruce Timm rose to the occasion. This Superman was new but not out-of-line with the character we've come to know and love. It's definitely less campy than the first two Superman movies with Christopher Reeve, though that's kind of like comparing apples and oranges as both versions are still great. This television pilot gave us a great story and set up a lot of cliff-hanger plot points for future episodes, all of which were definitely reasons to stick around and watch the series. Overall, a great pilot to a great television show for Superman fans young and old. I will say I did like the more confident Clark Kent and it was nice to see Superman using his x-ray vision for something useful...in the movies, it always seemed like he was using it more to show it off...I don't recall him ever using it to find someone or anything else like that. But again, the Superman films are great, this series is great, and Superman is great. This television pilot ought to be a welcome addition for any Superman fan's collection. Enjoy.

I still prefer the 1978 Christopher Reeve Superman movie to this, but for a pilot episode for an animated series, I found this one to be quite enjoyable. And there were a couple of things I liked better about this version like the introduction of Brainiac. Plus you also get more insight into Krypton's society than in any of the other Supermans, and you also get a little more on-screen time with Superman's birth parents. Those things are what really makes this animated version so good.Superman's home planet Krypton is dying, and their lead scientist, Jor-El (Superman's father), is attempting to warn the planet's leaders of the threat, but no one will listen to him because Brainiac, Krypton's all-knowing computer, says there is nothing to worry about. Jor-El, knowing that Brainiac is lying, tries to find out why Brainiac would say such a thing. Hacking into Brainiac's systems, Jor-El discovers that Brainiac is downloading himself into a satellite in order to save himself. Brainiac orders the police to arrest Jor-El. Evading capture, Jor-El returns home and sends his only child and infant son into a small spaceship and launches it towards Earth just as Krypton explodes.Arriving on Earth, Jor-El's son is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. They decide to name the boy Clark. As Clark Kent grows he realizes he has amazing powers that he decides to use to protect mankind. Moving to Metropolis, Clark gets a job at the Daily Planet newspaper and meets the beautiful female reporter Lois Lane. Superman makes his presence known and must stop a group of terrorists who have stolen LexCorp's new high-tech battle suit. Superman suspects that LexCorp's CEO, Lex Luther, may know more about the theft than he's saying. Now it's up to Superman to save the day.The episode ends with a group of aliens in deep space picking up the Brainiac's satellite. Brainiac kills the alien crew, takes over their ship, and sets a course for Earth.In all, I say this film was pretty entertaining, and considering that its just over an hour long, they managed to fit in quite a bit of material. Highly recommended!

This is just the first three episodes of the 96 Warner Brothers "Superman - The Animated Series". Why buy this when you can buy the entire first season for about the same price? Don't get me wrong, as a "movie" it does work and is actually one of the best and most sympathetic versions of the Superman story covering Superman's arrival, a glimpse into his teenage years, and ending with his introduction to Metropolis. Of course, I bought it to "complete" my Superman collection which includes all Superman movies and TV series. But, if you have the Animated Series, you already have this.

Works great

While not as good as the Batman Animated Series this cartoon does a great job of telling modern Superman stories. These episodes are random so it is better to get the complete season one since the ones included here are not all the best episodes.

Mom of boys and they loved it

LOVES IT! Enough said! :) He is 3 years old and is just now getting into all the superhero stuff.

4 stars