I was a Superman kid first. I'll admit that up front, because I think most people started with Batman… Superman is the first comic book I ever remember pulling out of the wire rack of my grandpa and grandma's grocery store and sneaking into the breakroom to look at the pictures because I was too young to read what was on the page.
Twenty-eight years ago yesterday, on a Saturday morning, September 19th, 1998, Superman: The Animated Series started its third season on Kids' WB with an episode called "Where There's Smoke." That's the episode Volcana made her debut in.
Wikipedia's episode list counts season three as ten episodes, September 19th, 1998 through "Unity" on May 15th, 1999, and then files the last three under a season four. epguides doesn't recognize a fourth season at all and stuffs all thirteen into season three. Either way, they're the same episodes and the same dates.
With that in mind, I'm going to stop calling it the third season and refer to it simply as "the last run," because both sources agree on that. Fifty-four episodes in total, and there were only thirteen left, starting with that one.
Kids' WB scattered those thirteen episodes over seventeen months, with ten airing across the 1998-99 season, then "The Demon Reborn" turned up on September 18th, 1999, and the final two not airing until February 2000.
"Knight Time" aired October 10th, 1998. Bruce Wayne has gone missing, Gotham is about to figure that out, so Superman puts on the Batsuit and works the city with Tim Drake/Robin so the criminals never learn that the Bat is gone.
It's a Superman episode where Superman spends most of his screen time pretending to be a rich guy with no powers!
"Absolute Power" on January 16th, 1999 has Jax-Ur and Mala escaping from the Phantom Zone and building a New Krypton. "In Brightest Day..." on February 6th, 1999 sees Kyle Rayner's Green Lantern turning up in the DCAU for the first time. "New Kids in Town," "Obsession," "Little Big Head Man," "Superman's Pal," "A Fish Story" and "Unity" fill out the rest of the episodes.
A couple of things I want to correct while I'm here. "Apokolips... Now!" is season two, February 1998, and that's the one where Dan Turpin dies and the episode closes on a dedication to Jack Kirby. "Little Girl Lost" is also season two, May 2nd, 1998, and that's Supergirl's DCAU debut with Nicholle Tom voicing her.
Then there's "Legacy." Part one aired February 5th, 2000 and part two on February 12th, 2000, and that second one is the last episode of the series. Darkseid brainwashes Superman into believing he's his adopted son. Lex Luthor, of all people, is the one who weakens him enough to stop the invasion, the military locks him up, and Lois breaks him out so he can go after Darkseid. When everything is said and done, the public doesn't trust him anymore.
Michael Ironside voiced Darkseid across the show and did a superb job. He doesn't even need to raise his voice to take control of Superman's mind!
Tim Daly was Superman and Clark Kent for the entire series, with Dana Delany as Lois Lane and Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor. Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett developed it, Paul Dini produced and wrote, with Jean MacCurdy as the executive producer.
Both shows aired under one Kids' WB banner, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, and that combined title is what won the Daytime Emmy in 1998 for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and again in 1999 for sound mixing. Shirley Walker's main title got an Annie nomination in 1997.
Ending the show with Superman brainwashed and distrusted by the public is a pretty lousy way to wrap up a show.
Luckily the DCAU picked the thread back up. Justice League premiered November 17th, 2001 on Cartoon Network with George Newbern as Superman, because Tim Daly was tied up with his CBS show The Fugitive. [VERIFY: how explicitly "Legacy" and the public distrust of Superman get referenced in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. I couldn't get a second source that names specific episodes carrying that thread forward, so this is stated as a loose connection and not a documented callback.]
Justice League Unlimited closed the DCAU on May 13th, 2006 with an episode called "Destroyer," and it's the one carrying Superman's line about living in a world made of cardboard, always taking constant care not to break something or someone.
If you want to watch it, it's on HBO Max, and through Hulu, all fifty-four episodes as of September 2026. You can also buy it digitally through Apple TV, Amazon and Fandango at Home. There are DVDs and Blu-rays out there too. I didn't confirm whether either is still in print, so check stock first!
While I liked Batman: The Animated Series, the animated Superman series holds a special place in my heart. Chalk it up to being a Superman fan all of my life, or finally getting to see what Superman can do without the budget limitations imposed on him in live action, but I LOVED the Superman animated series.
Which episodes have you gone back and rewatched? Is "Knight Time" the one you'd show a friend first?
Let us know in the comments below!
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