3x13 Legacy (2)

[7.8/10] I like what Superman: The Animated Series is going for in its final frame, which helps a lot. In a weird way, it tracks with the deeply flawed Zack Synder movies’ take on Superman, which set out to examine how Superman, who aims to represent hope, could also represent terror to a world of people far less powerful than he is. The finale is chasing after that same question of meaning, the burden on the Man of Steel to uphold so much that is right, because even one slip-up, one moment where he’s out of control, could make him a symbol of fear rather than one of truth, justice, and the American way.

But like the Snyder movies, it also...doesn’t make much sense in a lot of places. Even with a Red Son lamp, why do Lex and Hardcastle think they can just waltz into Superman’s cell and give him a lethal injection without resistance? Why doesn’t Superman mention that he was brainwashed as the opening part of any conversations with his allies? Why is it that Darkseid’s eye-beams seemed to mess up Supes on almost every other occasion, but apparently now Superman can just cover Darkseid’s eyes with his hands and make a brain-cracking explosion?

Still, these are all nitpicks, or at least not the most important parts of the episode. Those come in the form of paying off so many things that the show has held in check for so long. Superman gets to punch Lex Luthor in the face, with the knowledge that he’s limited to the strength of a regular human being so it’s a fair moment of catharsis. Superman gets the aforementioned final stand-off with Darkseid, getting to strike a blow for Dan Turpin and best the alien despot who would otherwise subjugate Earth. And arguably most importantly, he and Lois kiss, cementing a relationship the show has been teasing for ages.

It’s all good, satisfying stuff. While some of the nuts and bolts of the episode don’t work perfectly and come off a little rushed, the episode ties off all of its major loose ends and finds vindicating finishes to its long running threads. We get to see Lois save Superman for once, which is a neat reversal, and it’s great to get to see her being so active a part of this finale. We get to see Lex really make his move and fail. And we get to see society react to the news that their guardian from beyond the stars may have, if you’ll pardon the expression, a dark side that they haven’t really seen before.

There’s also just the cool factor of Superman going off here. We get to see him take on the U.S. military in way the show hasn’t really gone for previously. We get to see him obliterating parademons with his heat-vision. We get to see him whomp the Furies, knock out Kalibak, and give Granny Goodness a taste of her own medicine. We rarely see Superman so unrestrained, but he’s angry here, mad at how he’s being treated by his own government and furious at how Darkseid would turn Superman’s own people against him.

That’s the cinch of this one. It can be tough to craft a meaningful threat for Superman because he’s just so powerful. The stakes just aren’t there most of the time. Darkseid’s powers changes that a bit, because he’s one of the few beings in the universe who can seem to put Superman on the ropes, as we see here. Their fight has more tension because Darkseid hands the Man of Steel his own behind for much of it, in a way few foes can or do.

But he’s also attacking Superman psychologically, turning him from the beloved hero of Metropolis to just another untrustworthy alien invader, like Darkseid himself is. In that, he wounds Superman in a way not even kryptonite could.

That’s part of the problem. He doesn’t just reprogram Superman for evil -- he angers him, makes him lose control in a way we’ve never really seen before. It’s genuinely scary when he lifts Emil Hamilton up by the collar and demands he work on Supergirl despite the position it would put him in. As badass as it is to see Superman unleash hell on the Parademons and other enemies, it feels out of step with the merciful hero we’ve known for the prior 50+ episodes. Supergirl even has to show up to stop Big Blue from stooping to Darkseid’s level, or more accurately, his methods, after beating the villainous brute.

Therein lies the central irony of “Legacy pt. 2”. After Superman defeats Darkseid, he raises the bad guy’s body overhead and throws him to the people. He tells them that they’re free and that they can do with Darkseid whatever they wish. Rather than trampling their oppressor and enslaver, they tend to his wounds, ask if he’s alright, and carry him to safety. A beleaguered Darkseid, whose dialogue in this episode is spot-on, tells Superman that whatever else he may be, on Apokalips he is god.

That’s the difference between him and Superman. Despite all the terrible things Darkseid has done, he has ruled by fear and brainwashing for so long that he’s forced his subjects to internalize their oppression, to be ruled by it even when he’s not exerting his power. Superman, on the other hand, holds himself to a higher standard, seeing himself as a servant to mankind, someone there to preserve its freedom, rather than stifle it in the name of his own image.

But as a result, the people of Metropolis and, by implication, the world have their doubts about him. Darkseid can do whatever he wants and still be adored by his people. Superman just has to slip-up once before even his trusted friends like Professor Hamilton (not unreasonably) start to wonder if their faith in him is misplaced. After all Superman has accomplished over the past three seasons, all the times he’s used his considerable powers to protect this world, it just takes one day where it looks like he might use them against it to knock all of that down.

And yet, the closing moments of the episode point toward optimism, toward a Superman who will do what he always does: win back the people one incredible feat, one good deed, and one person at a time. The boy from Smallville was always guided by his parents’ ethics and the Superman of Metropolis was always lifted up by his friends, even as he so often literally lifted them up. Despite this crack in the foundation, we can expect that not to change, or change him.

Superman: The Animated Series never quite hit the heights of its Dark Knight equivalent, despite sharing much of the same creative team. Don’t get me wrong, the series has plenty of stand-out moments and episodes, but rarely hit the level of consistency or greatness that Batman: The Animated Series did when it began the D.C. Animated Universe.
I’m apt to attribute that to multiple things, but first among them is my belief that Superman is simply a less interesting character than Batman. Not only is he invulnerable to so much, making it hard to build a realistic threat. But he is also preternaturally good, which makes it harder to craft moral dilemmas and character stories and, in the wrong hands, can veer off into blandness.

That’s the other irony of “Legacy Pt 2” -- it gestures toward a different version of Superman, one who has to struggle with being mistrusted as Batman is rather than beloved by all, who has to work to stay under control rather than always walk the line, who has encountered people who can hurt and maybe even kill him, from worlds beyond the stars or within his own country. There was always that chance to complicate the Man of Tomorrow, and in its swan song, Superman: The Animated Series finally makes good,

I would have had either Superman struggling with regaining his memories, or start out with his regained memories like in this episode, and Luthor is a lot more involved. After some verbal sparring and questioning, Luthor grows to think Superman really was brainwashed, and begins to realize that he needs Superman's help in order to combat the greater threat.

I don't like in this episode with Luthor trying to kill Superman, it's so short-sighted.

With my idea, having these two big characters often in the scene together and with Superman as a prisoner, the dynamic between them has temporarily changed, and we can show that in the dialogue and have a longer conversation. By making part or half the episode mostly a personal verbal showdown between the two, it keeps us invested and intrigued at what is going to happen next, along with the interesting moral element of Luthor changing to believe and help Superman, and then Luthor has to go against the military or convince them.

In this episode, having random military men interrogate Superman is boring, as is the unrealistic intervention of Lois. We're dealing with an invasion of Earth, we should be focused more on the big players and the bigger drama, which we get in the second half, but i don't like he didn't kill Darkseid in the end or that Darkseid didn't die, it felt anticlimactic.