A few years ago one of the biggest stories in mainstream media was that, mysteriously, cats had replaced dogs worldwide as the most popular pet...? At about the same time someone else noticed that Batman had replaced Superman, similarly, for the #1 spot. Explanation? (Not for the dog/cat thing, for that, please see my review of the Cat in the Internet Pet Database). Supe is very hard to dramatize, once you get past the origins. He never lies. His virtue is never in doubt. Not much can hurt him, so writers have spent almost 7 decades inventing baddies who can. Batman, on the other hand, is more fun than a barrel of hammers. He is a borderline psychotic. He has no superpowers yet somehow gets invited to JLA roasts? Even his enemies (Joker and Harley) are more fun. The point of this review is that Batman was a tough act to follow for Dini and crew, and the production team tries hard but never quite makes it work. No foul. no blame. But the magic is scarce. And frankly I have seen enough Lex Luthor to last a lifetime. (In his own way, he is as predictable and boring as Supe). In the Golden Age of comics (yes they were called "comics" then) the DC people would often do a full issue stuffed with an "imaginary" story just to break the bounds. Of course, when you do an imaginary riff on something which is imaginary to start with, well, nothing good comes of that. With hindsight, one has to silently applaud the creators of both LOIS AND CLARK and the waka-doo (but fun) SMALLVILLE for trying to re-imagine this story for TV, and doing a pretty goshdarned good job of it.
Superman: The Animated Series
(1996–2000)
Batman was the ultimate "Tough Act to Follow"
28 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers