History Awesome / SupermanTheAnimatedSeries

* In [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E1E2BlastsFromThePast "Blasts from the Past"]], Lois gets to be pretty badass even though she can't really do anything herself against two Kryptonian criminals. She's DefiantToTheEnd even when in grave danger, is trusted by Superman to keep Mala in check with a Kryptonite chunk while he goes after Jax-Ur, tells them she'll personally lead the army that vaporizes them (this after Superman has been sent to the Phantom Zone, so we're talking the DarkestHour when it looks hopeless not just for her but for the world!) and in the end, the final plan to defeat the duo is Superman leading them to where Lois is waiting with the repaired Phantom Zone projector. Yes, ''she'' is the one to take down the strongest foe Big Blue has faced to this point in the series! Your average helpless DistressedDamsel she is NOT!

-->'''Darkseid:''' "Welcome to Apokolips, Mr. Manheim."
-->'''Bruno Manheim:''' "Who are you?"
-->'''Darkseid:''' "[[BadassBoast Your new Lord and Master. You may call me...Darkseid.]]"

** As for Batman, he sneaks into Lex Luthor's penthouse, knocks out Mercy [[OffhandBackhand without turning around]] when she [[ClickHello pulls a gun on him]] and scares Luthor half to death before the Mooks break in. Before, Luthor thought Batman was some nut in a cape the Joker was too lame to kill off. Next scene, Luthor decides to kill the Joker because he exposed him to the [[TheDreaded Goddamn Batman]].

** One could argue the three-parter in general is a CMOA, not just for being a Superman/Batman story, but also for establishing the ''DC Animated Universe''.

** Lex manages to pull off an expert plan, [[OpportunisticBastard exploiting the invasion]] to finally take down Superman, using a Kryptonite missile to do the job.
** Earlier in the episode, Superman, about to be euthanized by the military, quietly asks Lex for one final request. Lex leans in with a SmugSnake grin to hear what it is... then Supes just decks him a very satisfying one to the jaw.

** When shoggoths begin streaming up from the pit, {{ComicBook/Jimmy|Olsen}} grabs something and throws it at one. It didn't do a thing, but the guy stayed calm and refused to go down without a fight.

** [[spoiler:Turpin then goes on to rally the other humans, tackle one of Darkseid's henchmen, and finally free Superman with a well-aimed throw of the aforementioned henchman's weapon. ''Taunting Darkseid all the while''.]]

* And of course, Darkseid then gets one of his own when [[spoiler:interference from New Genesis forces him to retreat. He fires his omega beams directly at Superman's face only to stop short and make the beams zig-zag behind Superman and vaporize Turpin.]] One of the most KickTheDog things ever but done ''so'' well that it might as well be his signature act.
* [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E12E13Legacy "Legacy"]]: [[spoiler: Darkseid's beaten the crap out of Big Blue and is about to obliterate him with a final Omega Beam blast. Instead, Superman gets his UnstoppableRage on, and slams his palms into Darkseid's eyes, ''turning Darkseid's Omega Beams back on him'' and blowing the back of his head off. Darkseid collapses. Cut to Superman standing triumphantly atop Darkseid's citadel, the limp dictator held over his head. Superman then throws Darkseid to his own Hunger Dogs to do with him as they will]].

* Superman and the Flash having a race in [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E4SpeedDemons "Speed Demons"]]. The fastest man alive and faster than a speeding bullet going all out was awesome! And, according to WordOfGod, [[spoiler: Flash won.]]
* During [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E9AFishStory "A Fish Story"]], ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} is shown to be reasonably competent and tough but nothing exceptional for most of the episode. It was still enough to subvert the whole [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman "Aquaman is useless" thing]]. Then, near the end of the episode its revealed he is the king of his people as a masssive Atlantean battleship emerges from the water which towers over Lex Luthor's freighter. Superman has to convince Aquaman to not obliterate Luthor... [[spoiler:And then one of Luthor's men fires a harpoon at Aquaman when his back is turned. Aquaman [[OffhandBackhand whips around and catches it with ease]] and his navy absolutely decimates the freighter. Once the freighter is sunk and Luthor has fled, Aquaman warns Superman that if anyone fucks with his kingdom again he'll wipe out the rest of mankind's civilization.]] Considering his previous treatment in animation, Aquaman's appearance on ''Superman: TAS'' was not only a crowning moment for the character, it was a crowning moment for the creators as well.

* In [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E1E2BlastsFromThePast "Blasts from the Past"]], Lois gets to be pretty badass even though she can't really do anything herself against two Kryptonian criminals. She's DefiantToTheEnd even when in grave danger, is trusted by Superman to keep Mala in check with a Kryptonite chunk while he goes after Jax-Ur, tells them she'll personally lead the army that vaporizes them (this after Superman has been sent to the Phantom Zone, so we're talking the DarkestHour when it looks hopeless not just for her but for the world!) and in the end, the final plan to defeat the duo is [[spoiler: Superman leading them to where Lois is waiting with the repaired Phantom Zone projector. Yes, ''she'' is the one to take down the strongest foe Big Blue has faced to this point in the series!]] Your average helpless DistressedDamsel she is NOT!

** Jimmy defending Superman's right to another chance on TV at the end of the episode. He saw exactly what a villainous Superman could do and was understandably unnerved. As just an ordinary teenager, he has every reason to echo the fear and condemnation of the other interviewees, and cut ties with the disgraced hero...and he's one of the only people in the world to insist that what he did while brainwashed shouldn't set aside his years of service to the world. The guy's got more guts than a number of people twice his age.

** Also, The Joker. When he comes to Metropolis, everyone native to the town underestimates him and Batman as powerless nuts who are no real threat to anyone, from mob bosses to Lex Luthor to Superman himself. Joker then [[NotSoHarmlessVillain proceeds to show everyone why underestimating him is generally a bad]] (IE: fatal) idea, fooling everyone he comes across and blowing up half of Metropolis before he gets taken down. His best moment is completely outwitting Superman, getting the drop on him with a statue made of Kryptonite and some well placed acid, dancing around his weakened body and torturing him while laughing maniacally, in one of the more sadistic BreakTheHaughty moments in WesternAnimation. Worst of all, he apparently only let Superman think he won at first so that he could kill him in front of a kidnapped Lois Lane. And, if it weren't for the timely intervention of Batman, he would have succeeded.

* Any time one of the Lanterns recites the Oath is a Moment of Awesome in my book. Case in point: Kyle Rayner reciting it while recharging his ring, allowing him to beat the crap out of Sinestro in "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E7InBrightestDay In Brightest Day]]".

** Jimmy defending Superman's right to another chance on TV at the end of the episode.

** Small one for Luthor for firing missiles upon Braniac. This was the first and only time in this series he and Superman work together agaisnt a common threat.

* Pa Kent has one of his own when confronted by Kalibak. He shows that Clark got what makes him Superman at least as much from the Kents as he did from his Kryptonian parents.

* Superman is fond of awesome ShutUpHannibal moments. A {{mook}} threatens him with a ray gun, gloating, "Hey, alien, this laser can punch through four sheets of reinforced titanium. I have no doubt it can..." Supes simply {{Flash Step}}s up to him and crushes it.

** Edward Lytener puts on a suit of armor that projects red sunlight and decks Supes, explaining that red sunlight weakens him. Supes hits him with a pipe, then proceeds to beat the crap out of him!
*** Lytener forgot that all red sunlight does is take away his superpowers, and even without them Clark is ''still'' a big, beefy dude.

* Another crossover Batman episode. ComicBook/RasAlGhul hqs basically got all of Superman's strength, and is prepared to kill Superman and Batman. Supes manages to distract Ra's from their attention by pointing out [[Comicbook/TaliaAlGhul Talia]] is falling to her death (''either punish me or save your daughter''). And in spite of his continuing weakness, he escapes with an unconscious Batman, from the self destructing hideout.
* Superman and the Flash having a race in [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E4SpeedDemons "Speed Demons"]]. The fastest man alive and faster than a speeding bullet going all out was awesome!
** And, according to WordOfGod, [[spoiler: Flash won.]]

* Another crossover Batman episode. ComicBook/RasAlGhul is basically got all of Superman's strength, and is prepared to kill Superman and Batman. Supes manages to distract Ra's from their attention by pointing out [[Comicbook/TaliaAlGhul Talia]] is falling to her death (''either punish me or save your daughter''). And in spite of his continuing weakness, he escapes with an unconscious Batman, from the self destructing hideout.

* How about the first time Superman meets Braniac for the first time in "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS1E8StolenMemories Stolen Memories]]". After several episodes since the "Last Son of Krypton", Supes finally gets to give Braniac the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown he deserves, avenging his parents and his people and also ensuring that no one else suffer crazed AI's madness.

--->'''Brainiac''': Kal-El. This development was highly improbable.
--->'''Superman''': Yeah, well today's been full of surprises...''*decks Brainiac with one punch*''

* Another crossover Batman episode. ComicBook/RasAlGhul is basically got all of Superman's strength, and is prepared to kill Superman and Batman. Supes manages to distract Ra's from their attention by pointing out Talia is falling to her death (''either punish me or save your daughter''). And in spite of his continuing weakness, he escapes with an unconscious Batman, from the self destructing hideout.

* How about the first time Superman meets Braniac for the first time in [["Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS1E8StolenMemories" Stolen Memories]]. After several episodes since the "Last Son of Krypton", Supes finally gets to give Braniac the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown he deserves, avenging his parents and his people and also ensuring that no one else suffer Braniac's madness.

* How about the first time Superman meets Braniac for the first time in "Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS1E8StolenMemories" and finally avenging his parents and his people.

** What's better? Steel is able to take down Metallo only because Metallo had [[CripplingOverSpecialization modified himself to take down Superman.]] [[AttackItsWeakPoint The exposed Kryptonite power source]] turns out to be the perfect target for a thrown sledgehammer.

** And of course, there was Darkseid's entire plan in the finale, an utterly ''brilliant'' XanatosGambit. If Superman succeeded in conquering Earth, Darkseid could claim it without breaking his treaty with New Genesis, [[LoopholeAbuse as he technically didn't attack it]]. If Superman loses, a dangerous enemy is removed and Darkseid can focus his forces more on defeating New Genesis and continue his expansion. If something in the middle happened (which it did) and Superman's brainwashing is removed, he still attacked Earth under his own banner. [[HeroWithBadPublicity The damage is still done and Superman's image and reputation on Earth is tarnished]]. Meanwhile, [[UndyingLoyalty Darkseid is still worshiped by his people, no matter how horrible he is to them]]. No matter what the outcome, '''Darkseid wins!'''

** Also, The Joker. When he comes to Metropolis, everyone underestimates him and Batman as powerless nuts who are no real threat to anyone, from mob bosses to Lex Luthor to Superman himself. He then [[NotSoHarmlessVillain proceeds to show everyone why underestimating him is generally a bad]] (IE: fatal) idea, fooling everyone he comes across and blowing up half of Metropolis before he gets taken down. His best moment is completely outwitting Superman, getting the drop on him with a statue made of Kryptonite and some well placed acid, dancing around his weakened body and torturing him while laughing maniacally, in one of the more sadistic BreakTheHaughty moments in WesternAnimation. Worst of all, he apparently only let Superman think he won at first so that he could kill him in front of a kidnapped Lois Lane. And, if it weren't for the timely intervention of Batman, he would have succeeded.

** Superman starts off with a seriously awesome moment in his very first major fight of the series. Kaznian terrorist John Corben (not yet Metallo) has just stolen the [[HumongousMecha Lexo-Skel Suit 5000]], which at that point is considered the single most powerful fighting ''thing'' on the planet (as the people were not yet familiar with superheroes). After taking some punishment, Superman stops holding back and [[CurbStompbattle removes the mech suit's limbs, slams it into the ground, and rips the metal covering the pilot's chair.]] He pulls Corben out and says, [[PreAssKickingOneLiner "Shall we go a few rounds without the suit?"]] Corben whimpers his surrender, Lois calls in the story, and the world of crime and crimefighting is changed forever.

** Superman starts off with a seriously awesome moment in his very first major fight of the series. Kaznian terrorist John Corben has just stolen the [[HumongousMecha Lexo-Skel Suit 5000]], which at that point is considered the single most powerful fighting ''thing'' on the planet (as the people were not yet familiar with superheroes). After taking some punishment, Superman stops holding back and [[CurbStompbattle removes the cyborg's limbs, slams it into the ground, and rips the metal covering the pilot's chair.]] He pulls Corben out and says, [[PreAssKickingOneLiner "Shall we go a few rounds without the suit?"]] Corben whimpers his surrender, Lois calls in the story, and the world of crime and crimefighting is changed forever.

** Lex manages to pull off an expert plan,[[OpportunisticBastard exploiting the invasion]] to finally take down Superman, using a Kryptonite missile to do the job.

* Any time one of the Lanterns recites the Oath is a Moment of Awesome in my book. Case in point: Kyle Rayner reciting it while recharging his ring, allowing him to beat the crap out of Sinestro in the episode "In Brightest Day."

* Superman starts off with a seriously awesome moment in his very first major fight of the series. Kaznian terrorist John Corben has just stolen the [[HumongousMecha Lexo-Skel Suit 5000]], which at that point is considered the single most powerful fighting ''thing'' on the planet (as the people were not yet familiar with superheroes). After taking some punishment, Superman stops holding back and [[CurbStompbattle removes the cyborg's limbs, slams it into the ground, and rips the metal covering the pilot's chair.]] He pulls Corben out and says, [[PreAssKickingOneLiner "Shall we go a few rounds without the suit?"]] Corben whimpers his surrender, Lois calls in the story, and the world of crime and crimefighting is changed forever.

* The three-part episode "World's Finest" had a scene that established exactly what the relationship between Superman and Batman would be. When he confronts Batman in the midst of roughing up some mobsters, Superman gets grabbed and judo-thrown across the room. (The look of utter surprise on his face as he lands is excellent.) Superman then peers through Batman's mask with his x-ray vision and discovers Bruce Wayne underneath. After a heated argument that ends with kryptonite, Superman returns home and while changing into Clark Kent, finds a tracer on his cape. Looking out over the skyline, he sees Batman on a very far away rooftop with binoculars looking back; Batman gives him a mocking salute and vanishes into the shadows. Clark grits his teeth and crushes the tracer between his fingertips.

* Lobo's personal introduction as detailed on the HeroicComedicSociopath page... not to mention his first fight between him and Superman, (Superman proved to be superior in a fair fight but Lobo had a good performance being on par with Supes, despite relying on cheap shots) with their respective theme songs dueling in the back ground.

* The climax of “Apokolips...Now! Pt II”: there's something [[SugarWiki/SoCoolItsAwesome sweetly awesome]] about seeing the denizens of New Genesis (Scott, Barda, Forager, the Black Racer, and Metron among them, and all headed by Orion) roll in at the eleventh hour on the Glory Boat.

* "Legacy": [[spoiler: Darkseid's beaten the crap out of Big Blue and is about to obliterate him with a final Omega Beam blast. Instead, Superman gets his UnstoppableRage on, and slams his palms into Darkseid's eyes, ''turning Darkseid's Omega Beams back on him'' and blowing the back of his head off. Darkseid collapses. Cut to Superman standing triumphantly atop Darkseid's citadel, the limp dictator held over his head. Superman then throws Darkseid to his own Hunger Dogs to do with him as they will]].

* Superman proving his smarts in "Mxyzpixilated". Nothing like seven minutes of punking an [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien all-powerful]] {{Jerkass}} to point out that Big Blue has brains to go with that brawn. The capper is when Mxy tries to attack him with a HumongousMecha (for his scale anyway) that takes him months to build, and Supes sends him back in ''[[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome less than five seconds]]!''

* "The Late Mr. Kent" - After investigating a condemned prisoner's claim of innocence for one night, Clark Kent proves he had an ironclad alibi. He can't get the evidence to the Governor in time to stop the innocent man's execution, so he ''flies to the prison'' himself and personally stops the execution at the literal last second. Then he finds the real killer, who is sent to the gas chamber.
* Superman in "Knight Time". Dressed up as the Batman... seriously, watch how he idly '''owns''' Bane in the CurbStompBattle. It's both awesome AND hilarious!

* Superman and the Flash having a race. The fastest man alive and faster than a speeding bullet going all out was awesome!

* During “A Fish Story”, ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} is shown to be reasonably competent and tough but nothing exceptional for most of the episode. It was still enough to subvert the whole [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman "Aquaman is useless" thing]]. Then, near the end of the episode its revealed he is the king of his people as a masssive Atlantean battleship emerges from the water which towers over Lex Luthor's freighter. Superman has to convince Aquaman to not obliterate Luthor... [[spoiler:And then one of Luthor's men fires a harpoon at Aquaman when his back is turned. Aquaman [[OffhandBackhand whips around and catches it with ease]] and his navy absolutely decimates the freighter. Once the freighter is sunk and Luthor has fled, Aquaman warns Superman that if anyone fucks with his kingdom again he'll wipe out the rest of mankind's civilization.]] Considering his previous treatment in animation, Aquaman's appearance on ''Superman: TAS'' was not only a crowning moment for the character, it was a crowning moment for the creators as well.

* All of "Brave New Metropolis," an extremely dark Elseworld story about just how badly Lois' death would affect Superman. And it climaxes with Lex Luthor being exposed, confronted by all the people he's screwed over, and then actually ''killed'', the censors allowing it because it wasn't the "real" Luthor.

* "Double Dose" sees Superman up against [[VillainTeamUp Livewire and Parasite]]. Naturally, Parasite double-crosses Livewire, absorbs her electric powers and pursues a weakened Superman to absorb his powers next. Faced with a dead end of a janitor's closet, Superman grabs a mop and tries to fend Parasite off with it. Parasite just laughs and zaps it, lighting one end on fire. [[BatmanGambit Smiling]], Superman lifts the mop to the ceiling sprinkler. Cue the OhCrap (and BigNo) from Parasite. Superman jumps into the safety of the janitor's closet just before Parasite gets fried.
* Luthor gets one in “The Way of All Flesh”. Corben is one step away from ripping him to pieces for not mentioning how the new body won't have any sensation of taste, touch or smell. How does Luthor handle it? Luthor casually points out that he's Corben's only chance to ever regain those senses.

* In the episode “Heavy Metal”, Metallo has Superman on the ropes, when [[BigDamnHeroes Steel intercedes]] and [[IAmYourOpponent introduces himself.]]

* "The Hand of Fate":

* In part two of "The Main Man", Superman [[BriarPatching Briar Patches]] some alien mooks, warning them that they ''really'' don't want to throw him into one of the Collector's cages with an unseen creature. He's right: the habitat is for a dodo, from Earth, and includes a yellow sun lamp which quickly recharges him.
* In Blasts from the Past, Lois gets to be pretty badass even though she can't really do anything herself against two Kryptonian criminals. She's DefiantToTheEnd even when in grave danger, is trusted by Superman to keep Mala in check with a Kryptonite chunk while he goes after Jax-Ur, tells them she'll personally lead the army that vaporizes them (this after Superman has been sent to the Phantom Zone, so we're talking the DarkestHour when it looks hopeless not just for her but for the world!) and in the end, the final plan to defeat the duo is [[spoiler: Superman leading them to where Lois is waiting with the repaired Phantom Zone projector. Yes, ''she'' is the one to take down the strongest foe Big Blue has faced to this point in the series!]] Your average helpless DistressedDamsel she is NOT!

* In Blasts from the Past, Lois gets to be pretty badass even though she can't really do anything herself against two Kryptonian criminals. She's DefiantToTheEnd even when in grave danger, is trusted by Superman to keep Mala in check with a Kryptonite chunk while he goes after Jax-Ur, tells them she'll personally lead the army that vaporizes them (this after Superman has been sent to the Phantom Zone, so we're talking the DarkestHour when it looks hopeless not just for her but for the world!) and in the end, the final plan to defeat the duo is [[spoiler: Superman leading them to where Lois is waiting with the repaired Phantom Zone projector. Yes, ''she'' is the one to take down the strongest foe Big Blue has faced to this point in the series!]] Your average helpless DistressedDamsel she is NOT!

* In Blasts from the Past, Lois gets to be pretty badass even though she can't really do anything herself against two Kryptonian criminals. She's DefiantToTheLast even when in grave danger, is trusted by Superman to keep Mala in check with a Kryptonite chunk while he goes after Jax-Ur, tells them she'll personally lead the army that vaporizes them (this after Superman has been sent to the Phantom Zone, so we're talking the DarkestHour when it looks hopeless not just for her but for the world!) and in the end, the final plan to defeat the duo is [[spoiler: Superman leading them to where Lois is waiting with the repaired Phantom Zone projector. Yes, ''she'' is the one to take down the strongest foe Big Blue has faced to this point in the series!]] Your average helpless DistressedDamsel she is NOT!

** Except he doesn't. As ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' shows, Superman managed to win back Earth's trust, making Darkseid's actions ultimately for naught. At the end of the day, Superman comes out on top.

* In part two of "The Main Man", Superman [[BriarPatching Briar Patches]] some alien mooks, warning them that they ''really'' don't want to throw him into one of the Collector's cages with an unseen creature. He's right: the habitat is for a dodo, from Earth, and includes a yellow sun lamp which quickly recharges him.