Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Man of Steel: The Animated Series

Yes, as a rule a I agree that Superman should not go around killing people, but I was a bit surprised by the outrage at the end of Man of Steel when he reluctantly killed Zod. Much more blatant was Superman's killing of Zod in their last live action encounter in Superman II. Still, this Man of Steel parody incorporating the animated series designs got a chuckle out of me.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - SuperRabbit

Super Rabbit returned in the fun and reverent 2013 series finale of The Looney Tunes Show. Warners has continued its fine tradition with this superb tale including Braniac, Lex Luthor, and Zod.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Superman 75th Anniversary

Best short ever? Hard to argue against it. The brilliant tribute to the Man of Steel captures 75 years worth of Superman's biggest moments, not only onscreen but in pop culture, in under 2 minutes. Yes, even at break neck speed so many moments were left out, but the spirit of Superman was captured. This little piece of animation is really something special. Rather than me trying to explain why, just watch it. 

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - MAD Presents: Zeke and Lex Luthor

What a complete and utter waste of a DC Nation short. Some people would argue against the MAD presents concept all together, but I think that some of MAD's best shorts are borderline worthy of being recycled for the DC Nation block... But who in their right mind would enjoy this one? Maybe its just because I have no real idea what Zeke and Luther is, but this short makes it look atrocious. The ONLY redeeming part of this short was the inclusion of Grodd and Grundy, but that still may not be enough to keep it from being the very worst of DC Nation's first 91 efforts.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Night of the Living Shadows

Superman took on the first onscreen incarnation of the Shadow Thief who was actually a couple of people including a rat faced burglar and Lex Luthor. As the episode progressed, the Shadow Thief became the Shadow Gang (including an undercover Lois), but even armed with Kryptonite powered tanks, they were no match for the Last Son of Krypton. This episode was actually fairly decent with an angered Superman threatening to throw the bad guys into the sun.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Hunter

 Despite numerous appearances by look-alikes and other Phantom Zoners, this was the first true animated appearance of General Zod. Although clean shaven, Zod's heart was still impure as he sent an armored hunter to destroy the son of Jor-El. And believe it or not, he succeeded and Superman died. The Hunter became nearly invulnerable after absorbing the properties of diamonds and kryptonite proving too much of a match for the Man of Steel... or did he?

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Big Scoop

Time travel? My favorite! The plot centered on a device that could see 1 hour into the future, unfortunately, the scientists who invented it didn't anticipate using it as its own security system. Lexy baby used it to cause all sorts of trouble, but somehow Superman still managed to reclaim his exposed identity thanks to a very lifelike mask.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - By the Skin of the Dragon's Teeth

 

This one opened with Lex Luthor buying the Great Wall of China.. so yeah, I had a hard time getting into it. Anyway, one thing led to another an somehow Lex found  treasure buried under the wall including a magic dragon tooth. He later gave it back... just because.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Destroy the Defendroids

Can you read my mind? This Superman series clearly took inspiration from the live action movie series. Not only was the scene of Superman flying with Lois ripped from the first movie, but Lex Luthor was portrayed as a somewhat over-the-top comical schemer who traded real-estate for "legitamate" business; the movie's Miss Teschmacher was traded in for this series Miss Morganberry and the episode even paid homage to the great California earthquake caused in the film - though this time Earth's rotation did not need to be reversed for Superman to save the day.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Seeds of Doom

 After single handedly taking down a robot spider piloted by Lex Luthor, Cyborg the teenage tin man got invited to join the Super "Powers" team. Turns out that Cyborg missed being a normal guy but when he was called upon to defend the world against Darkseid, he decided being a member of the team wasn't so bad. At least it was better than living in Apokolips.

Super History of Superman: Lego Batman the Movie: DC Heroes Unite (2013)

Although its certainly not gonna win any awards for storytelling, the Lego Batman movie feature combining recycled cut scenes from the Lego Batman 2 video game with all new animation was mighty entertaining. The comedic take on the World's Finest accompanied by iconic musical cues from the heroes live action history resulted in a decent movie for younger audiences.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Mask Of Mystery

We may have reached a new season low. The episode opened with a wannabe Penguin robbing a bank, but Batman and Robin just happened to be waiting in the safe. The worst part of this scenario, who would want to be Penguin? Next thing you know a wannabe Incredi-boy calling himself Captain Mystery entered the picture. Not sure why the Friends denied him membership after letting Wendy and Marv join the team, but wouldn't you know that after hacking the JLA computer and accidentally being discovered by Luthor, Cap Mystery ended up saving the whole team. Too bad he didn't get the ol Omega Beam treatment.

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Episode Count: 0486
Series Count: (7 of 14)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - No Honor Among Thieves

This season has pulled out all the stops, this time teaming Darkseid with the new and improved battlesuit wearing Lex Luthor. Its just such a classic look. This is as good a time as any to mention that Darkseid's portals were called "stargates." I don't know if this was pre-boom tube or if they just had a different name, but the episode put them to good use by catching the heroes as if they were trap doors. I guess Darseid didn't learn from his fallout with Brainiac, because once again he ended up in a spat with his ally after having captured the Super Friends. Nice use of, "Kneel before Luthor" after Lex dubbed himself King Rex Luthor. And no episode would be complete without yet another marriage proposal to Wonder Woman from Darkseid. The dude is desperate. Maybe there are no women on Apokolips.

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Episode Count: 0483
Series Count: (4 of 14)

Super History of Superman: MAD Presents (2012-)

One of the less impressive additions to DC Nation has been "MAD Presents" editing segments from the animated MAD series into repackaged shorts.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - MAD Presents: Extreme Superman

Oh dear. There are some genuinely funny MAD shorts, some that I will cover even if they never make it to DC Nation. This short is one of the worst MAD has to offer. From the ugly designs to the lack of "the funny," this was just a waste of the short slot for the week. At least it aired in conjunction with the release of Man of Steel... but c'mon can't we get something new. And by new, I don't mean more World's Funnest.

Super History of Superman: All-Star Superman (2011)

Yes, All Star Superman is as good as you have heard. Rather than downplaying his powers, the reverent tribute to the silver age Superman embraced the character's super-human abilities. While a good deal was cut from the source material, the remaining content still presents an inspiring hero and an epic story.

Superman 75th Anniversary Short Decoded

Certainly there were some big on and off screen moments omitted (in particular Lois & Clark and Superman Returns), but this 2 minute short was still all kids of awesome. I may have missed a couple references, but I will do my best to point out those I identified starting with the opening homage to Supes' debut in Action Comics #1. Here goes:

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Revenge of Doom

The long awaited return of the Legion of Doom! So what exactly was the plan that brought the Legion out of retirement? To turn the Super Friends into crystal. Something I never learned in chemistry is that x-rays can counteract crystal and so the LOD was once again thwarted. I definitely was fun to see the Legion again, but this was a tad anticlimactic. I wondered why this was the idea they came up with for a mega return episode, but Lex's final line about how Superman was "crystal clear" made me realize the whole episode was written to set up that lame pun. Classic.

Super History of Superman: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)

In 2010, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths introduced the Crime Syndicate including its ruthless leader Ultraman. While evil versions of the Justice League such as the Justice Lords had been introduced previously, these thugs took it to a whole other level of nasty.

Super History of Superman: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)

In 2009, the first arc of the recent Superman / Batman comic series titled Public Enemies received a fairly strict adaptation for the direct to video project. Taking the lead from the comic art, this Superman's design was all about presenting Supes as the paragon of physicality. Along with battling Power Suit wearing President Luthor and Metallo, with Batman by his side Superman also faced off against hordes of villains hoping to collect a bounty on his head.