How does Superman TAS stack up against Batman TAS?
In my opinion, the show is about as good as Superman gets in terms of adaptations. One thing it has in common with the Batman animated series is the fact that it draws from the whole history of the character, picking and choosing the best bits and melding them into a unified whole. It took me a while to catch up with the show on DVD -- prior to that, I was mainly familiar with the movie edits of "The Last Son of Krypton" and "The Batman/Superman Movie" ("World's Finest," in the series). Those are good places to start if you want a taste. But once I sat down and began watching the whole series in order (there are 54 episodes running 20+ minutes each, so it's not overwhelming) I became hooked pretty quickly. It has not eclipsed BATMAN for me, just because I tend to prefer the nocturnal world of Gotham City ... but it has its own strengths, and does things that BATMAN couldn't really do. Superman being an alien really opens up the world and its storytelling possibilities.
SUPERMAN also upped the ante when it came to continuity ... not that Batman was a slouch in this department, of course! But there's nothing in BATMAN to compare with the Darkseid/Apokolips story arc. That alone is reason enough to love the series in my opinion! I don't know that Michael Ironside's take on Darkseid will ever be surpassed! The same goes for Clancy Brown's brilliant Lex Luthor and Corey Burton's ice-cold Brainiac. That's another thing SUPERMAN had in common with BATMAN ... they cast voice actors who completely defined their roles. After you've watched the series, it's hard not to hear those voices in your head when you read the comics!
And of course, the music. I really, REALLY love the music.
As a final note, Dragonzord mentions BATMAN having darker material to work with. SUPERMAN was certainly less grim on average, but the show could get plenty dark at times! The doll-faced villain Toyman (voiced by Bud Cort) is just insanely creepy. There's a wonderful noir-style episode called "The Late Mr. Kent" that ends on a shocking note. Come to think of it, I think more people explicitly DIE in SUPERMAN than in BATMAN -- I can name a handful of recurring characters, both good and bad, who do not survive the show's run. Finally, there's the Apokolips story arc that culminates in the series finale, "Legacy." They chose a really bold and interesting note to end the series on ... the kind of thing you wouldn't expect, but which is very satisfying.
All in all, if you even suspect that this is a show you'd enjoy, you owe it to yourself to at least give it a shot. (It's available to view free if you have Amazon Prime, by the way.) Get through the first season -- it's 13 episode, and ends with "Tools of the Trade." It's not a huge time investment, and you'll either know it's not for you, or be hooked like I was.
