Superman: The Animated Series, Season 2, Episode 22: The Late Mr. Kent
This was one episode that I wasn't super-crazy about as a kid, but pleasantly loved when I rewatched it as an adult. It featured more detective work than what is normal for a Superman episode, and featured a lot of Superman rumination as opposed to Superman fighting the Metallos and Livewires and Kalibaks of the world. But it's a very great episode that feels different, in a good way. It gives Superman a much-needed personality moment, as he stands back and narrates how it came to this. Obviously Superman's not really going to die -- but Clark Kent did, and we learn the reason as to why Superman is forced to allow Clark Kent to die. Stumbling upon a conspiracy to frame a thief to be the fall man for a murder, Clark finds himself trying to solve and absolve the man's sins not as Superman, but as Clark. There are some very well-done choice words as Clark muses about how part of why he was so intent on proving it as Clark and not as Superman is his own ego, something that makes the Man of Steel so much more human than his usual square-jawed peerless beacon of hope hero of mankind deal.
Clark talking to his parents about how he'll go crazy if he was forced to be Superman all the time is all very human as well, a stark contrast to the hero of Superman: TAS's sister show, Batman, who, unlike Superman, uses Bruce Wayne not to live a second life, but as a tool to gather information and help the people. To Superman, both Superman and Clark Kent are equally important, and as Superman himself helps a very distraught Lois investigate, we also get to see a very human side of Lois. She's never really liked Clark Kent the way she did Superman (or Bruce Wayne), yet Clark's death causes her to become increasingly miserable and very much intent to finish what Clark started. Again, as I keep saying in the past few episodes, the show has been giving Lois Lane a lot more things to do, and I appreciate it so much. A lot of the earlier Superman: TAS episodes reduce Superman and Lois Lane to just caricatures of themselves instead of proper characters, and it's clear that they're trying to fix that.
There's also copious amounts of neat continuity nods. Sure, it's obvious that creepy officer Bowman is the real killer, simply because there really isn't anyone else who fits the bill as the villain, but Bowman is a corrupt cop who played a small role in a previous episode, "Targets", as a red herring, and seeing him reused here is a neat bit of "ooooh that dude, I kinda remember him!" moment. The inclusion of Lana Lang, as well as Ma and Pa Kent (who are in the show a lot less than I remembered being) are also great continuity nods.
The ending of the episode, ending with Officer Bowman's execution as he sees the gigantic insult that the article that exposed him is written by Clark Kent, and he's dragged to the gas chamber that he meant for his fall guy to take, and right before the executioner pulls the lever, Bowman shouts a revelation as his crazed eyes go bloodshot -- "HE'S SUPERMAN!" It's a chilling, well-done ending that I really loved to an episode with an unusually darker tone than normal.
DC Easter Eggs Corner:
- Detective Bowman, and his prior history as a corrupt cop, was introduced in the episode "Target". Lana Lang appeared last in "My Girl".
No comments:
Post a Comment