Unfortunately there isn't too much to say about this one, but apparently around 2012 a 70's style Justice League movie was in the cards - very briefly. A little info is posted on artist Shannon Tindle's blog. The designs are pretty slick and I must say, I wouldn't mind seeing Batzarro in action some day.
Tales of Metropolis may not become one of the "classic" series of shorts, but I am really enjoying their overall tone. This was a pretty comical look at the relationship between Superman and his #1 pal, Jimmy - even if it was at the Man of Steel's expense. It was also fun getting a glimpse at "Not Bizarro," the star of the first Tale of Metropolis.
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.
Back to Bazarowurld.And while the Bizarro episodes have been decent, I wasn't that excited to see old cube face at first, that is until Mr. Mxyzptlk appeared. That villainous combo, along with bizarified Guardians training for duty in Metropolis turned out to be a fair enough formula. This one may not be a classic, but it was a bit of harmless fun. The real highlight was the Bizarro Mxyzptlk AKA Kltpzyxm - kind of a clever idea. I mean its no Zibarro, but for 1985 it will do.
Superman would remain in the background for tales featuring other citizens of Metropolis. After 3 shorts, the real star of the Tales of Metropolis has to be Bizarro, I mean, not-Bizarro. Starring in the first short, Bizarro proved his backwards antics could still prove heroic. not-Bizarro returned in the third short as well for a comedic cameo.
Me am always love Bizarro (try and decode that statement :) ) The truth is, having the Friends trapped in a video game was a fun, if not original idea. And man, those graphics were pretty rocking for the 80's! It was nearly "game over" for the Friends after being thrust into the worlds of Asteroids and Pac-Man! Wugga-wugga. This one wasn't great, but after the past several episodes, I will take decent over terrible any day.
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Episode Count: 0461
Series Count: (63 of 66)
Me am hating this old series of longs. Actually, the Tales of Metropolis series holds a lot of potential giving Superman's supporting cast a chance to shine. It was quite enjoyable seeing the well intentioned Bizarro nearly destroy the earth by throwing the sun at Brainiac. Luckily, Bizarro did end up saving the day even if it meant revealing his secret identity as Not-Bizarro.
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:
Ah Skylab, we loved you and you repaid us by crashing into Australia. Where was Black Vulcan when we needed him! I have to admit that after a string of bad episodes, Bizarro is a welcome treat. What really makes this episode a winner is the inclusion of the always unpredictable red kryptonite. This time it seemed to turn Supes into Pinocchio. There was still plenty of bad writing to go around like when Superman was able to turn the red kryptonite into blue by letting the rays pass through his blue suit... WHAT? In the end though, I did get a kick out of this one - and just in time.
In 2012, animator Robb Pratt followed up his amazing tribute to the Golden Age in Superman Classic with a dash of the Silver Age by adding Bizarro to the mix. The result is simply amazing, I mean, it am horrible.
This is one I have been waiting for and it did not disappoint. Bizarro World had a horse riding a man, a junkyard full of treasure and a doppelganger Lois Lane and that was just the intro. By the time the dust settled I had been on a wild ride laced with red kryptonite and Bizarroized Super Friends. Octopusman was the highlight. This was thoroughly entertaining and one of the best of the season so far. Or as Bizarro would say, "Me am hate this!"
It was Bizarro's chance to shine and to his credit he was able to "giantize" the Legion. All it took was splitting the moon in half. Thankfully, Superman was able to weld it back together.
After a quick introduction to the evil Legion, the diabolical plan was put into place - to turn all humans into Bizarros and Cheetahs, wait, WHAT!? That is not only a terrible plan but it makes no sense.
Animator Robb Pratt has done it again. In his first short, Superman Classic, Pratt paid homage to the Golden Age Superman that appeared in the Fleischer theatrical shorts. For round two, the Silver Age has been added to the mix by introducing Bizarro to the formula. The result is simply amazing, I mean, it am horrible.
Bizarro made his first appearance in the Superboy comics in 1958 . In most of his origin stories he is created using some sort of duplicator ray gone awry which generates an opposite of Superman - though he is actually more of a super powered idiot than a true villain. In other words, when he is out causing mayhem, he thinks he is doing good. He is usually identifiable by his backward "S" and backward speak, saying things like "me am Superman," and he often inhabits a cube shaped planet, Htrae or Bizarro World.
Over the years, Bizarro has had quite a few appearances on Superman themed shows. The character appeared as part of the Legion of Doom in the Challenge of the Superfriends animated series in 1978. In this depiction, Bizarro was actually a bad guy, but he would become his more lovable self as the years passed.
During the run of the Superfriends and then Super Powers Team shows, Bizarro made several appearances, eventually moving away to his cube shaped Bizarro world.
In 1985, Bizarro used the duplicator ray to make Bizarro versions of Wonder Woman, Firestorm, an Cyborg who caused no end of trouble.
In 1989, Bizarro made his first live action appearance on the Superboy television series.
True to the original comic origin, Bizarro was created when Superboy jumped in front of a duplicating machine. This deformed Superman, though not evil, needed to be stopped before he inevitably exploded. Green Kryptonite did not work, but duplicated White Kryptonite stabilized the explosion potential. In a later episode, Lex Luthor made a Bizarro Lana Lang to gain Bizarro's allegiance, but she eventually did explode.
In 1994, the Lois and Clark series episode "Vatman," featured a boyish clone of Superman who put the moves on Lois, and though called "bizarre," he was never actually dubbed Bizarro. This was kind of a waste. If they could do Toyman or frog-eating Lois clones, why not a truer version of The Bizarre One.
1997 saw Bizarro return to the animated medium in Superman: The Animated Series. In "Identity Crisis," Bizarro was created by Lex Luthor using Superman DNA as an attempt at making a controllable Superman clone.
At first, even the clone thought he was Superman and thought the real Supes was an impostor. Later, the clone started to deteriorate resulting in none other than Bizarro. I never really understood why his costume got so sloppy though, I guess it was a failed copy too.
This same version of Bizarro later appeared on the animated Justice League series, but he was mostly used as a manipulable henchman rather than a real bad guy.
Bizarro's origin was drastically altered for his 2007 debut on the Smallville season 6 finale episode "Phantom." In this telling, Bizarro began as an escapee from the Phantom Zone. He copied Clark's DNA becoming a "bizarre" version of the hero. Yellow sun, being Bizarro's weakness, caused him to appear with the classic angular face. Otherwise he and Clark looked the same except for opposite colored jackets. He and Clark fought, but he seemed to get along just fine with everyone one else, especially Lana Lang who unbeknownst to her seemed to prefer spending time with Bizarro than with the real Clark.
Bizarro tried to forge an alliance with Brainiac to overcome his sun weakness, but he was eventually defeated with an overcharge of Blue Kryptonite. I was a big fan of this version of the character. The campy take wouldn't have really fit into the Smallville universe, and though this guy had a different background, he had just enough in common with the comic version to justify the use of the Bizarro name (then again I wouldn't mind seeing ice-vision of fire breath). This take on Bizarro was fairly likable and demonstrated Smallville's strength at adapting classic Superman rogues into a more grounded world. It was a shame that the character was really only around for 4 or 5 episodes, but I guess sometimes less is more.
Now there is word of a Bizarro Superman script along with a review and (slight) possibility of a feature film. Although it might be a fun diversion, I don't think this is what the Superman franchise needs to get rejuvinated.
Lastly, this article wouldn't be complete without mentioning the classic Seinfeld episode "The Bizarro Jerry" that brought the unassuming villain into the mainstream.
Are there any big Bizarro fans out there? Who would you like to see spotlighted next? Comments are always welcome. Until next time, "Bad Bye."
True to the original comic origin, Bizarro was created when Superboy jumped in front of a duplicating machine. This deformed Superman, though not evil, needed to be stopped before he inevitably exploded. Green Kryptonite did not work, but duplicated White Kryptonite stabilized the explosion potential. In a later episode, Lex Luthor made a Bizarro Lana Lang to gain Bizarro's allegiance, but she eventually did explode.
Bizarro tried to forge an alliance with Brainiac to overcome his sun weakness, but he was eventually defeated with an overcharge of Blue Kryptonite. I was a big fan of this version of the character. The campy take wouldn't have really fit into the Smallville universe, and though this guy had a different background, he had just enough in common with the comic version to justify the use of the Bizarro name (then again I wouldn't mind seeing ice-vision of fire breath). This take on Bizarro was fairly likable and demonstrated Smallville's strength at adapting classic Superman rogues into a more grounded world. It was a shame that the character was really only around for 4 or 5 episodes, but I guess sometimes less is more.
