It wasn't until I was in school that I saw Superman animated again, this time leading The World's Greatest Superfriends. And, years later, he was back again on Saturday mornings leading an even bigger group of Superfriends. That was a time indeed.
"So what does this have to do with Bud Collyer," you ask? Well, some of you may know that the Immortal Mr. Collyer is legend in bringing Superman to the mass media. In the early 40s, Collyer first brought Superman to life on the radio waves, giving the Man of Tomorrow a more tangible feel than four color comics ever did. So, about the same time as the Superman radio show was being broadcast, Paramount acquired the rights to do a Superman cartoon. Made in the famous Fleischer Studios, Bud Collyer voiced the Man of Steel in his first ever animated series. Seventeen episodes were made, all with a total budget of half a million dollars. Expensive for a cartoon at the time, the Fleischer Superman episodes were unbelievable, with smooth animation and dynamic storyboards that kept you on the edge of your seat for the full ten minutes. All in all, these first cartoons are probably the best interpretation ever made of Superman.
Two decades passed, and Filmation acquired the rights to animate the DC Characters, creating the Superman-Batman Hour. Riding on the success of the Batman live action show, this take on Superman was far more campy, with simple plots and a hokey atmosphere. Once again, Collyer voiced the Man of Tomorrow, his characterizations commanding power over such baddies as Brainiac and The Prankster. While Batman and Aquaman also had major episodes, Superman was still the best of the lot.
A few years later, Superman, along with other major DC players, were animated again; this time, in Hanna-Barbera's Superfriends. But, Bud Collyer was not invited back to do the voice of Superman. Instead, it was a vibrant voice actor named Danny Dark. From 1973 to 1980, and again in 1984 to 1986, Dark gave the Man of Steel a dynamic and heroic tone, befitting the character with the rest of the powerful roster of heroes.
In 1988, to commemorate the anniversary of Superman, a new animated series was created, called The New Adventures of Superman. Developed by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, who once worked for Hanna-Barbera, the show took on the new attitude that the revamp in 1986 had created. And the voice of Superman this time? Beau Weaver, whose most recent acting work can be recognized as Mr. Fantastic on the Fantastic Four cartoon. The show also boasted a new home - CBS; years before, all the Superfriends shows had been broadcast on ABC. The animation in this series is something to behold as well, with smooth movement and panoramic views that make you think you were flying up there with the Big Guy. And why shouldn't it have been? The overseas animation team on the New Adventures was none other that Toei Animation, responsible for Voltron and Fist of the North Star, to name a few. Unfortunately, all this didn't help the series; it was only broadcast for one season.
And now, this brings us to the present. Or rather, the recent past. In 1996, Superman debuted on the WB as a prime time special called "The Last Son of Krypton." Wings alumni Tim Daly did the voice of Superman, and Dana Delaney, best known for her work on China Beach, did the voice of Lois Lane. Not since the Fleischer episodes has there been such a good animated series of the Man of Steel. Combining the elements of the Fleischer Brothers work and the style and feel of the multi-award winning Batman: The Animated Series, producer Paul Dini has created a definite winner. And now, in its second season, the series has gone weekdays with new episodes of Batman as well.
Time will tell if this recent animated incarnation of Superman will surpass all others before, but for the time being, I'll just stick to my tapes of Fleischer's Superman.