Product Description

Alien warships instantly appear and attack Metropolis. Superman flies into action to save his beloved city, but his powers are not enough. This enemy is greater than any other Superman will ever know: the malicious Darkseid, a vicious dictator intent on controlling the universe and the one villain Superman is willing to kill ...or die trying. Darkseid vows to Superman, "If you will not be my knight, then you will be my pawn." No idle threat, he manipulates the Man of Steel to take over Earth in a plot that ultimately changes Superman's life forever! With this 2-disc, 18-episode collection, experience the colossal showdown of two titans from the very first punch!

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Audio Commentaries on select episodes with the creators and the directors.
Easter Eggs:Easter Egg: A never seen before deleted scene with introduction by Bruce Timm.
Featurette:Superman: Behind The Cape -- David Kaufman, voice of Jimmy Olsen, takes you journey on how a show comes together.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14381 in DVD
• Brand: whv
• Released on: 2006-06-20
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: Portuguese
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.20 pounds
• Running time: 396 minutes

Features

• Alien warships instantly appear and attack Metropolis. Superman flies into action to save his beloved city, but his powers are not enough. This enemy is greater than any other Superman will ever know: the malicious Darkseid, a vicious dictator intent on controlling the universe and the one villain Superman is willing to kill .or die trying. Darkseid vows to Superman, "If you will not be my knight

Amazon.com
Superman: The Animated Series, Volume Three, would sadly be the final run of this great animated series before getting cancelled. In this season the show was beginning to take on a daring new direction, which some might say was more grim (like the episode "Unity") and a bit darker than past Superman incarnations. The stories were also becoming more challenging and interesting, ending with Superman and Lois Lane locking lips. But the change to the formula was definitely an asset to the series giving Superman yet another modern facelift. The most notable change was the addition of the super villains from Jack Kirby’s Fourth World. Since Superman was such a "superhero" it was really tough to find villains to fight him on an equal playing field. Kirby’s Darkseid and Planet of the Apokolips characters provided some cool villains that could compete with Superman punch for punch, adding a mysterious, dark element to the Superman mythos. These characters make up some of the best episodes of the season including the great two part episodes "Apokolips…Now!," "Little Girl Lost" and " the series finale "Legacy." Other notable changes were the inclusion of some superguest stars such as Aquaman and Green Lantern, as well as the introduction of Supergirl to the series. --Rob Bracco

Customer Reviews

Come the Apokolips
This is the last volume of Superman: The Animated Series, and includes the last 18 episodes of the show's 54-episode run. It's scheduled to release alongside a slew of Superman-related shows and movie tie-ins, including Justice League season 2 and a new direct-to-video movie featuring Brainiac. This is also the set fans have been waiting for.

Roughly speaking, volume 3 can be divided into thirds. The first third of the set are your typical self-contained Superman stories. We get the introduction of Maxima the warrior queen and Volcana (Peri Gilpin of Frasier). Toyman, Mxy, Bizzaro, and Jax-Ur and Mala return. There is an odd episode involving an alien menace in Smallville, and a dud spotlighting Jimmy Olsen.

The next third are team-up episodes. Superman meets Aquaman and Green Lantern (the Kyle Rayner version) for the first time, and teams up with Batman again to fight Ra's Al Ghul. The Legion of Superheroes help young Clark Kent fight Brainiac in Smallville, and Robin also helps Superman masquarade as Batman when Bruce Wayne goes missing. These are all fun adventures. They predate the Justice League series, and its fun to see the DC animated universe slowly expand into what we know today.

It's the final third of this volume though, that will get fans pumped. These form the Darkseid saga, and are three two-part episodes. Besides the formal introduction of Supergirl, these episodes contain some of the most dramatic and shocking moments in the 10 years+ of shows that Timm and co. have created. This is Superman's darkest hour, and the series finale "Legacy" ended things on a very bittersweet note, the effects of which carried over strongly into JLU. Powerful stuff.

Like I said, there's so much Superman-related stuff coming out June 20th to tie into the movie. You'll probably have to make choices about what to buy and what to pass over. Don't let STAS: Volume 3 be passed over.

Superman: The Animated Series - Volume Three!
Celebrate the Man of Tomorrow's triumphant return today with Superman: The Animated Series - Volume Three! Introducing guest-star superheroes Supergirl, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Orion and the New Gods, Legionnaires Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy and Saturn Girl (plus new characters Maxima and Volcana), this 2-disc set contains the 3rd (and final) wave of 18 episodes from the show's 54-episode series run.

From the far reaches of Apokolips comes the ultimate threat to planet Earth as mankind faces its most powerful enemy, the evil lord Darkseid. Darkseid's obsession for humiliating Superman and dominating the Earth feature prominently in the three excellent multi-part arcs "Little Girl Lost" (Supergirl debut), "Apokolips...Now!", and "Legacy." Also paying tribute to legendary comics writer/artist Jack Kirby and his Fourth World is the underrated Jimmy Olsen episode "Superman's Pal" (a homage to the "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" comic which Kirby used to introduce the Fourth World concept and characters) featuring the debut of the special ultrasonic frequency Superman signal watch.

The Toyman returns with an "Obsession" for a barbie-perfect supermodel (a storyline which later concludes in the Static Shock season three episode "Toys in the Hood"), while evil Kryptonians Jax-Ur (voice of Ron Perlman) and Mala (voice of Sarah Douglas, "Ursa" from Superman II!) return with "Absolute Power." Mr. Mxyzptlk is the "Little Big Head" pulling Bizarro's super-strings in a revenge plot against the Man of Steel. The episodes "Unity" (featuring a Superman/Supergirl teamup) and "New Kids in Town" (featuring three members of the Legion of Superheroes) are fine tales that would translate well as special episodes of WB's Smallville, just as "A Fish Story" (introducing Aquaman) was tweaked for the Smallville "Aqua" episode. Superman takes a walk on the dark side (under Robin's tutelage) when he masquerades as Batman in "Knight Time," while villain Ra's Al Ghul takes on both heroes in "The Demon Reborn."

As always the voice casting is nothing short of brilliant. Steve Sandor, who was the voice of hero Dark Wolf in the cult feature "Fire and Ice" supplies vocals for Orion in "Apokolips...Now!" Former TV heartthrobs Chad Lowe (Life Goes On), Jason Priestley (Bevery Hills, 90210) and Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina, The Teenage Witch) voice Legionnaires Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy and Saturn Girl respectively; Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue) channels her Gwen Davenport character from NBC's short-lived sitcom "Fired Up" for Maxima in "Warrior Queen"; Peri Gilpin (Frasier) lends her smoky vocals to Volcana in "Where There's Smoke"; "In Brightest Day" (introducing Green Lantern Kyle Rayner) features the voice of Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs) as the most menacing version of Sinestro to date; and Miguel Ferrer (Robocop) voices both ends of the spectrum as hero Aquaman in "A Fish Story" and villain De'Cine in "Warrior Queen".

Superman - The Animated Series, Volume Three is a 2-disc collection that features Full-Frame video, English Dolby Surround Stereo 2.0 audio, English, French, Spanish subtitles. The contents of this 3rd (and final) super-set are as follows:

Disc 1:
Warrior Queen
Apokolips...Now! Part 1
Apokolips...Now! Part 2
Little Girl Lost Part 1
Little Girl Lost Part 2
Where There's Smoke

Disc 2, Side A:
Knight Time
New Kids in Town
Obsession
Little Big Head
Absolute Power
In Brightest Day

Disc 2, Side B:
Superman's Pal
A Fish Story
Unity
The Demon Reborn
Legacy Part 1
Legacy Part 2


Special Features:
Commentary: On "Apokolips...Now! Part 2", "New Kids In Town," and "Legacy Part 2" by the series creators and directors

Featurette: "Superman: Behind The Cape": David Kaufman (voice of Jimmy Olsen) takes you behind-the-scenes on how a show comes together

Easter Egg: Bonus Commentary


Highly Recommended!

A rarity in a season: it's nearly perfect
With the upcoming release of Superman Returns, we of course are being treated to a wealth of Superman related DVD's such as the Justice League sets, the old George Reeves set, Dean Cain, a documentary, even Krypto the Wonder Dog is purchasable. Well with it comes a great addition: the third and last volume in the Superman Animated Series set which features some great episodes including some teamups and an all-and-out brawl with Apokolips and Darkseid.

Disc I:
Warrior Queen: It's decent. A stuck-up ruler gets turned on by Superman and wants him for a husband, only his refusal doesn't exactly make her nice. 7.5/10
Apokolips...Now!: Darkseid is planning to assault Earth and a new addition decides to help Superman. 9/10
Apokolips...Now! Part II: It's war as Earth/Superman and Apokolips' warriors go head to head which results in a shocking end to a character. 9.5/10
Little Girl Lost: Exploring Krypton's ruins, Superman comes across a survivor on a nearby planet, who's a bit too eager to be a hero on Earth. 8/10
Little Girl Lost Part II: Superman is taken to Apokolips and Supergirl has to save him, as well as save the Earth on a global scale. 8/10
Where There's Smoke: Another decent episode as Volcana, a hot(literally) vixen causes some trouble. 7.5/10

Disc II Side A:
Knight Time: Batman's missing? And what's Superman doing impersonating him and helping Robin? Fun episode. 9/10
New Kids in Town: Brainiac wants to destroy Superman so he decides to time travel to when Superman was actually just an underdeveloped Clark Kent. 9/10
Obsession: I never liked Toyman as a villain and he's got a stalkerish obsession with a model. Bah. 6/10
Little Big Head Man: Mr. Mxypzptlk is back and he needs help taking down Superman so he recruits...Bizarro? 8.5/10
Absolute Power: Mala and Jax-Ur are back only they're in charge of a planet. 8/10
In Brightest Day: A great episode as a new Green Lantern is featured, unfortunately also being hunted. 9/10

Disc II Side B
Superman's Pal: Thanks to the press, Jimmy is "Superman's friend" which warrants uninvited attention. 8/10
A Fish Story: Aquaman makes an appearance and he's not to happy with Luthor. 8.5/10
Unity: Another decent episode as Supergirl and Superman have to stop a cult who worships a huge...thing. 7.5/10
The Demon Reborn: Superman has to reteam with Batman again when Ra's Al Ghul and Talia come back and they're after Superman. 8/10
Legacy: Darkseid has a new partner in crime...Superman, and he's taking the fight to Earth. 9/10
Legacy Part II: Untrusted by Earth, Superman decides to take the fight to Darkseid and end it...permanently. 9.5/10

Aside from those "decent" episodes, this is a great set. One complaint about the Superman TAS as opposed to Batman's is that the latter as more human drama in it, it's more compelling while Superman's more fun. It's true but still when Superman takes on Brainiac and Metallo and deflects comets, who cares right? I guess one complaint I can say about this season is that there's too many teamups, either it's with Supergirl, Green Lantern, Aquaman..., even Jimmy gets to be a sidekick. But still it's an almost flawless season. One tiny nitpick: the Superman/Darkseid fight? Toooo short.