Superman is facing a crisis, and it’s unlike anything he’s ever faced before. Batman recently summed it up quite well in the pages of a recent comic when he said, "Let’s face it, Superman, the last time you really inspired anyone was when you died." There is a fierce debate among comic fans as to whether Superman is relevant anymore. Some point to the lack of any decent stories about Superman in the past decade as a sign of stagnation and a descent into obseletism. However, I think it really depends on how you tell the story that will determine whether or not a Superman story is any good, and more than any other character, Superman works best as an animated hero. He’s just more believable as an animated character as opposed to some character in static panels or an actor in a suit surrounded by special effects, and I don’t think that’s going to change with the upcoming revival of Superman on the big screen. Superman: The Animated Series Volume Two is an excellent example of just how well this character works as a cartoon, and although it’s several years old, it demonstrates that when properly understood, the character of Superman can still provide some compelling and entertaining stories.

Like with Batman: The Animated Series, the makers of the Superman Animated Series really understood the character. While it may be difficult to write stories for a hero that has so many amazing powers that’s pretty much more than a match for just about anyone, the animated series was able to bring out the "human" side of Superman by exploring some more emotional conflicts. They also pared down his powers some so that he wasn’t completely overwhelming, which again made him more interesting. The show's creators especially showed his "human" side with their portrayal of Clark Kent. Instead of being the bumbling, somewhat slow-witted individual portrayed by Christopher Reeve, this Clark Kent is your average guy; which when you think about it, is the best disguise of all. Granted, he may be more polite, kind, selfless and caring than most people, plus he’s the size of a house, but all in all, Clark Kent blends in as just an average, unremarkable individual, and it’s this desire for normalcy that makes him such a great character. In episodes such as "The Late Mr. Kent," we get see just how important the persona of Clark is to Superman, and how Superman isn’t a complete character without Clark Kent. Perhaps the stand-out episode of this set is the three-parter, "World’s Finest." In this story, not only do we get to see two of the most recognizable heroes of all-time at odds with each other before they team up against two of the most notorious villains of all time, but we also get to see how Clark Kent and Superman are both necessary parts of any good Superman story.

Superman works best as an animated character because with animation, there’s a freedom to do just about anything with the character without having to worry about special effects. As I watched Volume Two of this series, I found myself wondering how Metropolis was able to pay for all the damage caused by Superman’s various battles. In just about every episode cars explode, buildings crumble, walls are smashed, property is destroyed—this is one action-packed show, and it would be hard to portray it all in any sort of live setting. In an animated format however, whether Superman is fighting monsters or Metallo, all the massive destruction and amazing feats look really cool and, strange as it may sound, quite natural. It’s a tribute to the animators that they’ve been able to create an animated world that admittedly is a cartoon, and yet is still one we can identify with—albeit on a somewhat fanciful level. Best of all, none of the action looks fake, because it’s all fake. What I mean is when Superman is in animated format, picking up huge objects, tossing around bad guys, smashing through walls, blowing up missiles and the like looks totally plausible because you aren’t distracted by trying to figure out the special effects guys were able to pull a scene off (or why it looks so fake). Suffice it to say: in a cartoon, anything is possible, which makes it a perfect fit for the adventures of Superman.

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