Look! Up on the shelves! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman, The Animated Series, now on DVD (cue musical fanfare)! Being a huge fan of the series (i.e.: a big dork) ever since it premiered on the WB network in 1996, I did a little happy dance when I found out the entire first season was coming to a store near me.

Featuring the first eighteen episodes, of a total of 54, Superman: The Animated Series chronicles the Man of Steel in all his animated glory. Here, Superman’s origin is retold, and much of his supporting cast and villains appear in this collection. This two-disk set features commentary on four episodes by the series creators, the same people who brought Batman: The Animated Series to the small screen. While commentary on more episodes would have been most welcome, it seems that only four were allowed to have the extra audio track. Five artists and directors add their stories and anecdotes to each of the four episodes. Also included is a trivia track, ala Pop Up Video, on just one episode (A Little Piece of Home, which introduces kryptonite). Most of the trivia, however, is about the history of Superman and some tidbits about the animated series in general, rather than about the specific episode itself.

To round things out, there are also two short and sweet featurettes about the series, with interviews of much of the same people doing the audio commentary. One featurette explores getting the series started, going over the look and feel of the characters and stories. The other one focuses on some of the supporting players featured, like Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, but curiously, none of the villains.

Spread out over two disks (the second disk is double sided), the DVD brings the animated version of Superman back into your home. For you purists out there, the format is Full Screen, as this was created for television. Another interesting feature is the multi-language tracks, which allows you to hear such colorful characters like Lobo and Brainiac speaking fluent Spanish and French ("Est Soopermahn!"). Last but not least, trailers advertising the Batman and the SuperFriends DVDs are included, in case you hadn’t blown all your disposable income yet. The set is nicely packaged as well, showing what appears to be original artwork made just for the DVD. Whether you’re a fan of Superman, or just good old-fashioned action story telling, this set makes a welcome addition to your DVD collection. And currently priced around $20, an affordable one as well. Until next time, farewell!

-Tony Whitten