Characters / Superman: The Animated Series – Main Characters

Superman: The Animated Series character index
Main Characters (Superman) | Allies (The Flash) | Earth Antagonists (Lex Luthor) | Apokolips | Alien Antagonists

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Superman

See the Superman page.

Lois Lane

Lois Lane

Voiced by: Dana Delany

Voiced in Latin-American Spanish by: Astrid Fernández, Rossana Cicconi (Superman: The Animated Series), Soraya Camero, Lileana Chacón, Rebeca Aponte (Justice League-Justice League Unlimited)

Voiced in Japanese by: Yuko Sato

Voiced in French by: Véronique Augereau (Superman: The Animated Series)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

"Lane? Lois Lane? The one Superman always saves?!"

"Fraid so."

Terrorist and Lois Lane

The Daily Planet's star reporter, she never stops at anything to get a good front-page story, though her headstrong nature nearly gets her killed several times. She is initially skeptical of Superman, but eventually falls in love with him. She is also good friends with her fellow reporter Clark Kent who, like in the comics, never figures him out to be Superman's identity, although it's hinted, but never made clear, that she eventually found out in Justice League Unlimited.

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• Action Girl: She is outclassed by the supervillains of the show, but when faced with normal human opponents or when she's pushed into a corner without Superman to save her, she does well all by herself. Makes sense, because she was trained by her black-belt military solider dad after all.
• Alliterative Name: Lois Lane.
• Badass Adorable: She's a cute, gorgeous woman, and has some martial arts skills against villains without superpowers.
• Badass Normal: She has shown to hold her own without superpowers like Superman.
• Bridal Carry: Is often carried this way by Superman.
• Butt-Monkey: She frequently gets captured by the Villain of the Week and has to be rescued by Superman every time. She also nearly got killed several times.
• Clark Kent Outfit: A female example. In multiple episodes, we see Lois has quite the toned body underneath that big purple blouse of hers.
• The Comically Serious: Lois has a no-nonsense, serious exterior, even in funny moments where she snarks at a situation.
• Damsel in Distress: As always. Lampshaded in-universe.
  Terrorist: Let's make an example of this hero. A very tragic example, I'm afraid, Miss...?
  Lois: Lane.
  Terrorist: Lane? Lois Lane? The one Superman always saves?!
  Lois: 'Fraid so.
• Damsel out of Distress: When Superman is being beaten by Lobo, Lois Lane shows up, grabs a metal rod and joins in the attack. True, this does nothing (the guy even eats the pipe), but it's the thought that counts.
• Deadpan Snarker: She has a witty remark for every situation.
• Dude Magnet: Many including Superman and Batman have expressed massive attraction for her. However, she also attracts some unsavory and highly immoral men like Luthor and dangerous stalkers like Luminus.
• Friendly Rivalry: She and Clark are frequently trying to outscoop each other, and she teases him on a regular basis, but they do work on assignments together a lot of the time, and genuinely care for one another. Lois was even in tears when she thought Clark was dead.
• Idiot Ball: She's put herself in danger multiple times, but at least usually she didn't know how dangerous it was or at least tried to take some kind of precaution. But in "Target", she's being targeted for murder. She knows how dangerous her unknown enemy is and she's actually under police protection. During a phone conversation with Clark, she suddenly realizes who the attempted murderer is. What does she do? She sneaks off to confront them face-to-face. While Clark and everyone else still thinks she's under police protection. If it hadn't been for Luthor just happening to call Clark to give him a vital piece of information, she would have been dead by the end of the episode.
• Interspecies Romance: She (a human) eventually begins a romantic relationship with Clark (a Kryptonian).
• Intrepid Reporter: Her introduction revolves around her discovery of a wide-spread gun smuggling ring.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She may snark and tease Clark every time, but she cares deeply for him and her friends and will always be there.
• Leg Focus: It seems like whenever Lois is on screen, it's a full-length point of view of her long shapely legs that are presented due to her mini-skirt.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Despite being constantly kidnapped by villains, she has shown to hold her own against others such as kicking Lytener when he tried to murder her in "Target", fighting Mercy Graves in "Brave New Metropolis", and saving Superman herself whenever he's in distress.
• Loves My Alter Ego:
  • Played with actually. She starts out rather skeptical of Superman and, while she constantly teases Clark, "The Late Mister Kent" (and a few other episodes) shows that this may be to cover up a crush on him.
  • Inverted when she briefly dates Bruce Wayne but regards Batman as a dangerous vigilante. Finding out the two are one-in-the-same softens her attitude on the Dark Knight, but it still puts an end to the relationship.
• Magic Skirt: Gets this all the time, as most of the time she is falling from high heights, getting caught in gusts of wind, being carried by Superman, and being attacked by bad guys, all while wearing these short skirts. She eventually gives up and starts wearing pants.
• Mama Bear: She stops Superman (who was brainwashed at the time) from murdering Supergirl, (a teenager), even though she's not her kid, and keeps her protected while Superman fights off the military.
  • She can also be pretty protective of Jimmy as well.
• Military Brat: Lois grew up on an Army Base along with her sister due to her father being enlisted in the military and was trained in combat.
• Morality Chain: To Superman. It's shown in "Brave New Metropolis" that if she ever died, he may become much less forgiving towards criminals.
  Darker and Edgier Superman: I always thought if I set an example...did enough good...I could make a real change. I didn't realize I was in a war. Then, suddenly, you became a casualty in that war.
• Ms. Fanservice: Lois is a very beautiful raven-haired woman who is well remembered for her miniskirt and long shapely legs. She also tends to be on-camera when jogging, in her nightgown, or otherwise wearing something that looks really good on her.
• Nerves of Steel: Lois is pretty unflappable. In one episode she's being targeted by an unknown killer, and she notes that the assassin doesn't just want her dead, but he seems to want her to suffer first. Her reaction to this realization?
  Lois Lane: It's weird, but it's not Lex.
• Nice Girl: Sarcasm aside, Lois is very friendly and compassionate.
• Official Couple: Finally starts a relationship with Superman in the series finale, "Legacy - Part 2".
• Purple Is Powerful: She usually wears a purple blouse (and also has purple eyes) and has shown to be a Badass Normal and has saved Superman a few times.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The sometimes-impulsive, competitive red oni to Clark's cautious, sane blue oni.
• Secret-Keeper:
  • After "World's Finest", she knows that Bruce is Batman — and being a reporter, it kills her that she can't say anything about it.
  • "Divided We Fall" implies that she figured out that Clark is Superman, which she won't reveal.
• Snark-to-Snark Combat: She and Clark almost never miss a chance to make snide remarks about each other.
• Tomboy: Enjoys traditionally masculine things like basketball and monster trucks, and doesn't have very many feminine interests.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: She has a bit of this relationship with Clark as she's frequently teasing him, but does care for him deep down.
• Weirdness Magnet: Seems to attract more than her share of freaks and killers, as lampshaded by Dan Turpin:
  Lois Lane: Bizarro?
  Dan Turpin: You know this guy? Figures. All the whackos come to you.
• Will Not Be a Victim: She's the traditional damsel, frequently being rescued by Superman, but she is also a competent and driven woman all on her own. In "Target," despite a madman consistently trying to kill her, she remains unconcerned and defiant. She points out that she will never let herself become a victim, and actually beats up her assassin with her own hands before he catches her in one last Death Trap.
• Worthy Opponent: Lex Luthor once explained to Lois that, as much as he disliked her for the shots she takes at him and his company, he respects her for her skills and abilities.

Jimmy Olsen

Jimmy Olsen

Voiced by: David Kaufman

Voiced in Latin-American Spanish by: Juan Carlos Vázquez, Luis Carreño (Superman: The Animated Series)

Voiced in French by: Christophe Lemoine (Superman: The Animated Series)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

A cub reporter and photographer for the Daily Planet, he is the best pal of both Superman and Clark Kent, although he never finds out they are one in the same. He has a special signal watch with a distinctive "zee zee zee" that he can use to call Superman anywhere on Earth.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: He looks much less stereotypically nerdy than most versions of the character.
• Affectionate Nickname: Superman calls him "pal" or "my pal."
• The Baby of the Bunch: While far from a baby, he's the youngest of the Daily Planet team and sometimes feels he isn't respected by the others. He may have somewhat of a point, as Lois introduces him to Clark the same way you would introduce a small child to an adult.
  Lois: Jimmy! Jimmy Olsen, say hello to Clark Kent.
• Big Brother Instinct: Inverted; he's fiercely loyal to Superman, his Big Brother Mentor, and if you touch him, Jimmy will throw every ounce of his resources into stopping you.
• Camera Fiend: Jimmy's a photographer, not a regular journalist.
• A Day in the Limelight: "Superman's Pal" focuses on him.
• Distressed Dude: In "Solar Power" and "Superman's Pal", he's kidnapped by members of Superman's Rogues Gallery, and The Superman Adventures add other occasions. In "Question Authority", he gets kidnapped by Huntress in order to attract Superman’s attention.
• Heroic Bystander: Sometimes, Jimmy gets off the sidelines to save the day.
• Hidden Depths: For a supposed teen without much experience in things, "Feeding Time" shows that he understands morse code when Superman's imprisoned by Parasite and clangs "SOS" on the pipes he's strapped to in order to get Jimmy's attention.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Multiple appearances, most especially his focus episode "Superman's Pal" and the comic follow-up "Roughnecks", hint that Jimmy has a bit of an inferiority complex.
• Intergenerational Friendship: For most of the series, his closest friends seem to be his adult mentors Lois and Clark/Superman.
• The Intern: Exaggerated; Jimmy isn't even technically a member of the news staff. He's a copy boy who moonlights as a photographer. However, he's lucky enough that a lot happens in Metropolis, and that both Lois and (especially) Clark are willing to treat him as an unofficial apprentice.
• Interspecies Friendship: Clark/Superman is a Kryptonian; Jimmy is a human. They still care for each other deeply; they enjoy hanging out together, protect each other from danger, and would be heartbroken if the other died.^note "The Late Mr. Kent", "Legacy", and "Only a Dream"
• Intrepid Reporter: As always, if something bizarre happens in Metropolis, Jimmy will probably follow at Lois' or Superman's heels as they investigate it...or even go after the story himself.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Jimmy doesn't look like much and both villains and most of his coworkers besides Clark tend to dismiss him. However, if you give him reason to bring his A-game (e.g., by threatening someone he cares about)...well, the Man of Steel credits him with saving his life at least twice. He's also a journalist, intern or not - and that means he's a pretty snappy detective when one is needed.
• Limited Wardrobe: Except for two scenes, one where he is undercover with Lois Lane and once when he is attending a funeral, Jimmy Olsen wears the exact same outfit for literally every scene in the entire series. It's possibly explained by a story in the comics where Jimmy refers to himself as a kid from the wrong side of the tracks. He may not be able to afford the same number of clothes that (for instance) Lois can.
• Muggle Best Friend: Jimmy (being one of Clark's co-workers) is one of Superman's closest friends in the non-superhero world. He doesn't have powers (or the tech and training Batman uses to compensate for lack of them), but he's friendly, loyal, and courageous.
• Nice Guy: In spite of occasional snarkiness, he's one of the most cheerful, friendly people in the series. He also steps in to help people who are in trouble (such as evacuating Angela Chen's pilot after her helicopter crashed on a collapsing bridge). This explains why he and Clark/Superman get along so well.
• Red Is Heroic: Jimmy is a redhead who acts as a heroic bystander on more than one occasion and remains loyal to and protective of Superman no matter how nasty the circumstances become.
• Undying Loyalty: Or pretty awful close. Even after Superman has gone on a crusade for a monstrous alien overlord, Jimmy still isn't ready to give up on his pal. Although (understandably) reluctant to approach the Brainwashed and Crazy Superman, when the hero returned to normal, Jimmy was one of his only friends. When asked for his opinion by a news crew, he vehemently retorts:
  Jimmy: Superman's saved the world hundreds of times. We owe him another chance!
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Superman tries to talk him through a slump in "Superman's Pal", once in each identity.

Perry White

Perry White

Voiced by: George Dzundza

Voiced in Latin-American Spanish by: Alberto Arvelo (Superman: The Animated Series)

Voiced in French by: Michel Muller (Superman: The Animated Series, Season 1), Mario Santini (Superman: The Animated Series, Season 2-3)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

"When I was your age, we didn't have computers or fax machines or..."

"Yeah, yeah, and you walked ten miles on your bare feet to work every day."

Perry White and Lois Lane

The editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: His hair is gray when in the comics it was brown with graying temples.
• Canon Immigrant: The name "Perry White" was first used in the radio show.
• Character Catchphrase: He frequently says "Don't call me 'Chief'!" (mostly to Jimmy).
• Da Editor: He is the chief editor of the Daily Planet.
• A Father to His Men: He cares about his employees.
• Intrepid Reporter: In his youth.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He is a good journalist and a tough but fair boss.
• Satellite Character: His biggest role centers around his time at the Daily Planet and its staff.
• When I Was Your Age...: Invokes this to Lois, which serves as his page quote.

Pa and Ma Kent

Jonathan and Martha Kent

Voiced by: Mike Farrell (Jonathan "Pa" Kent) and Shelley Fabares (Martha "Ma" Kent)

Voiced in Latin-American Spanish by: José Gómez, Eduardo Rodríguez, Renzo Jiménez (Jonathan "Pa" Kent, Superman: The Animated Series), Héctor Isturde (Jonathan "Pa" Kent, Justice League), Gladis Yáñez (Martha "Ma" Kent, Superman: The Animated Series)

Voiced in French by: Joël Martineau (Jonathan "Pa" Kent, Superman: The Animated Series), Jean-Loup Horwitz (Jonathan "Pa" Kent, Justice League), Caroline Beaune (Martha "Ma" Kent, Superman: The Animated Series)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

"No, son. It doesn't matter where you were born or what you can do, you'll always be Clark Kent. Superman just helps out now and then."

"Still, it wouldn't be bad if people knew a little more about Superman. I don't want anyone thinking you're like that nut in Gotham City."

Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent

Clark Kent's adopted parents who took in Clark when they discovered his space pod while he was still an infant. Their upbringing of Clark and acceptance of his alien origins help shaped him into what he is.

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• Badass Normal: While neither of them do much fighting, when Brainiac went back in time, their response was simply to pull shotguns on him to defend their son, which results in them also being a Papa Wolf and Mama Bear.
• Crazy-Prepared: They still wrap Clark's Christmas presents in lead foil to prevent x-ray vision peeking.
• Dull Surprise: Justified; it's kinda hard to be horrified by the tragic death of your son when said son happens to be sitting a few feet away. Martha passes her lack of reaction off as being in shock to avoid tipping anyone off about Clark's survival.
• Good Parents: Martha and Jonathan are kind and supportive of their son; they're a large part of the reason why he's such a Nice Guy.
• Granny Classic: Martha is not a grandmother, but she certainly fits the image and personality; loving and supportive, loves to cook.
• Happily Married: Neither of them get into quarrels. Really, they're the most pleasant couple in the DCAU.
• Muggle Foster Parents: To both Clark and Kara (Supergirl, although she is Clark's foster cousin, calls them Ma and Pa).
• Secret-Keeper: Started keeping Clark's secret long before he knew about it himself.
• Seen It All: In the Justice League episode "Comfort and Joy", Clark brings J'onn J'ozz home for Christmas. Despite his green skin, red eyes and Underwear of Power, they don't give it a second thought and warmly welcome him into their home. As they put it, they're used to having aliens in their house.
• Upbringing Makes the Hero: It is a major theme in the Superman mythos how their upbringing of Clark, and the values they have instilled into him, are instrumental in shaping him into who he is.

Emil Hamilton

Professor Emil Hamilton

Voiced by: Victor Brandt (Superman: The Animated Series), Robert Foxworth (Justice League Unlimited)

Voiced in Latin-American Spanish by: Alfredo Sandoval, Framk Maneiro (Superman: The Animated Series), Héctor Isturde (Justice League Unlimited)

Voiced in French by: Igor De Savitch (Superman: The Animated Series, main voice)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League Unlimited

A brilliant scientist who directs the facility S.T.A.R. Labs and later joins Project Cadmus.

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• Absent-Minded Professor: For one, he initially assumes that all aliens are benign.
• Actor Allusion: Hamilton's The Other Darrin happens to be Robert Foxworth, who had played characters beforehand who were turncoat False Friends/Evil Former Friends and a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing like Hamilton in such films back in The '70s like Damien: Omen II and Airport '77.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: By the time of Unlimited, his role as an ally of the Justice League is nothing more of a facade to mask his connections to Cadmus and his own Fantastic Racism.
• Broken Pedestal: A mutual one with Superman. He began to distrust Superman after the hero first went on a Brainwashed and Crazy rampage and then threatened him after he refused to help Supergirl or Superman due the fact the act would be considered national treason to the United States since she and Superman were government fugitives (see Selective Obliviousness). Superman, in turn, lost faith in him after he refused to help him and a critically injured Supergirl. Superman even lampshades the trope by acknowledging that Hamilton will never trust him again for the threat.
• Dirty Coward: His reason for not helping save Supergirl’s life was purely because he didn't want to be in trouble with the government, and he only agrees because Superman frightens him into helping anyway. After going all Smug Snake on Superman at Cadmus HQ over his Face–Heel Turn, Hamilton shivered with fear after Superman leaves to tend to Huntress and Question.
• Et Tu, Brute?: He was horrified when it appeared that Superman had gone rogue.
• Evil Former Friend: For Superman in Unlimited.
• Evil Genius: For Cadmus.
• Evil Is Petty: In a way, while he alleges that he joined Cadmus for Earth's benefit, it's basically out of feeling betrayed by Superman's threats, despite it being for seeking help to save Supergirl.
• Face–Heel Turn: Becomes a member of Project Cadmus in Justice League.
• Fantastic Racism: Not just towards the Super Family, but the entire Justice League as well.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Despite Superman being Brainwashed and Crazy at the time of the series finale of Superman: The Animated Series, Hamilton staunchly views Superman as a threat from that point on no matter what the reason. Of course, this ends up leading Superman to feel the same way about Hamilton, since he already regretted what he had done.
• Hate Sink: Given he was disliked by the creators of Superman: TAS to begin with, they deliberately made him as unlikable as possible in Justice League. He sides with Cadmus, antagonizing Superman whether or not he's showing any signs of being a threat, and helped them create their own superhuman living weapons, some of whom were fairly young people.
• Heel Realization: See My God, What Have I Done? below.
• Hero Antagonist: Subverted; he claims to have joined Cadmus out of Earth's best interests, but it's clear he's a Hypocrite who did so out of selfishness and pettiness.
• It's All About Me: He pulls a Face–Heel Turn all because he felt betrayed that Superman threatens him, despite the fact Superman did that trying to save Supergirl's life. The only reason Hamilton refused to save Supergirl was that he might get in trouble with the government for doing it. Essentially, Hamilton is a selfish coward who stopped helping Superman the moment it negatively affected him, and turned on him less out of fear of what Superman might do to the world if he goes rogue and more out of fear that Superman might personally hurt him. Hurting other people like the Question or the Ultimen clones, though? No problem whatsoever.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • Sure, refusing to offer medical aid to Supergirl was a pretty awful thing to do. But from his point of view, if he does, he'll probably be charged with treason (meaning either death or life without parole), unless Superman is cleared of his fugitive status... and Hamilton had no reason to think that would ever happen. It's kind of hard to fault that decision.
  • Then, after the above, Superman, at his wits' end, very violently and threateningly seizes him, not long after Superman demonstrated a lack of mental stability (he was mind-controlled, but Hamilton may not have fully accepted that explanation). Even Supes himself is worried about what might happen if he loses control, and Hamilton almost experienced that firsthand. Wouldn't you find it hard to trust him after that?
  "The chicken or the egg, Superman?"
• Karma Houdini: After the Cadmus arc Hamilton is never seen or mentioned again, meaning there are no on-screen consequences for his betraying the Justice League. Considering Waller and Eiling escaped prosecution, it's plausible to believe that he did too.
• Mad Scientist: For Cadmus.
• Morality Pet: To Galatea.
• Mr. Exposition: His role on Superman: TAS, before all the things in the spoiler-hidden text happen.
• My God, What Have I Done?: The look he gives after Galatea hugs him says it all.
• Never My Fault: Emil Hamilton justifies siding with Luthor by blaming Superman for threatening his life at the end of Superman: The Animated Series. The reason Superman had threatened him is because Hamilton had initially refused to help save a wounded Supergirl's life, due to Kryptonians being treated as criminals after Darkseid temporarily turned Superman evil. Hamilton was more concerned about saving his own ass than helping someone he'd previously called a friend, or saving a heroine who had risked her life to protect Earth from her brainwashed cousin.
• Parental Substitute: To Galatea. He helped create her and she calls him "Daddy" right before leaving on a mission to attack the Justice League Watchtower.
• The Professor: He was the one Superman tended to go to when he needed intellect to help him.
• Revenge Myopia: See Self-Serving Memory and Took a Level in Jerkass below.
• Selective Obliviousness: He conveniently forgets that the reason Superman threatened him was because he refused to help save Supergirl's life until Superman was forced to do so.
• Self-Serving Memory: There is a possibility that Hamiliton did not care why Superman threatened him if he did not forget. All that matters to him that Superman threatened him and had to be stopped, no matter what the reason.
• Smug Snake: Towards Superman when being confronted for his Face–Heel Turn. While not as bad as Dr. Milo, he still takes arrogant pride on how his scientific abilities would protect humanity from the League and goads on how Superman betrayed humanity justifies him joining Cadmus. After Superman leaves him alone, Hamilton then cowered from the intensity of his confrontation with the Man of Steel.
• Start of Darkness: Following the events of "Legacy."
• Took a Level in Jerkass: When he performs his Face–Heel Turn, by first stealing some of Supergirl's DNA after feeling betrayed by Superman to create a weapon against metahumans and then willingly joining Cadmus to oppose Superman (and then the Justice League) also due to feeling threatened by Superman (forgetting, or possibly not caring, why Superman did it in the first place), in the process he is then responsible for the chaos he and his conspirators cause in the Cadmus arc. In addition, he turns from the friendly and curious Absent-Minded Professor into a heartless and racist Mad Scientist with a Never My Fault idealism about his actions.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Despite all Superman did for the world and for him to that point, as well as apologizing for threatening him to save Supergirl's life, he still feels betrayed and it's what causes Hamilton's Start of Darkness.
• Villain with Good Publicity: He is still seen as an ally despite having undergo a Face–Heel Turn long ago until his true allegiance has been revealed to Superman. He is also a member of a U.S. government agency that the public trusts.
• Walking Spoiler: As you can see, discussing him involves a lot of plot twists.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He sided with Cadmus because he believed Superman had gone out of hand.
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • It's not known what's happens to Hamilton after his connections to Cadmus has been revealed and the Cadmus arc ends. DCAU fans have multiple speculation about his fate (from the Heel Realization to suicide), but were never confirmed by Word of God.
  • It is also unknown what happens to S.T.A.R. labs, as it was run by Hamilton himself and also acted as a front for Cadmus' experiments, though its possible it's either under new management after the Cadmus Crisis, or it has been boarded up, shut down and closed for good.

Dan Turpin

Dan Turpin

Voiced by: Joseph Bologna

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Ricardo Mirabal, Luis G. Sánchez, Roberto Colmenares

Voiced in French by: Michel Muller

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

A Metropolis cop who is part of the Special Crimes Unit. He's known for his bravery, but is quite hot-tempered and foolhardy, and has had to be pulled from the force quite a few times. Nevertheless, he is one of Superman's most valuable allies, even saving his life at least once.

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• Badass Bystander: Single-handedly turns the tide against Darkseid. With Superman captured and publicly humiliated in order to cow humanity into hopelessness, Turpin alone flips off the triumphant Darkseid and rallies the crowd behind him. He leads a counterattack, singlehandedly frees Superman, defeats several Parademons, and helps fend off the forces of Apokolips until the forces of New Genesis arrive to liberate Earth. Now, while it's true that the viewers already knew Turpin was a tough cop, Darkseid had no clue who this guy was and thought he'd conquered Earth by defeating its greatest champion. Unfortunately, this also counts as a Dying Moment of Awesome, as the fleeing Darkseid kills Turpin out of spite, prompting Superman to deliver this quote at Turpin's funeral.
  Superman: In the end, the world didn't need a Superman. Just a brave one.
• Badass Normal: He rallied the people of Metropolis to oppose the forces of Apokolips and lead the charge.
• Brooklyn Rage: Responds to Darkseid's planet-wide speech by insulting Darkseid to his face and proceeding to free Superman.
• Butt-Monkey: He frequently gets humiliated by the Monster of the Week. (It doesn't help that he's constantly Tempting Fate with his pronouncements that the SCU will easily defeat the villain. At that point, the Theory of Narrative Causality practically requires him to get his comeuppance.)
• Cowboy Cop: He tends to get aggressive.
• Death by Adaptation: His comic counterpart lived to see Final Crisis and in the expanded version in later editions, he survived Darkseid's possession of him and the subsequent exorcism by the Flashes and Black Racer. Here, Darkseid kills him.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: "I don't care how many worlds you've conquered, ugly, you ain't gettin' this one!" He follows this up by tossing a stolen Parademons' lance at Darkseid.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: He paid for the above by getting disintegrated by Darkseid's Omega Beams.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: The media (especially Lois and Angela) give him a hard time due to being part of the "cleaning crew" while Superman does all the work. Everyone sees him standing up against Darkseid and getting killed for it. Even Lois, Angela, AND Lex were at his funeral.
• The Lancer: To Maggie Sawyer.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Turpin is modeled after his creator Jack Kirby, who was quite a tough street fighter in his youth. He's even Jewish like Kirby, proven with the Jewish funeral he gets after being vaporized by Darkseid.
• Sacrificial Lion: When Superman was captured and Darkseid demanded the obedience of all humanity, Turpin was the only one who would not Kneel Before Zod. It meant his death, but it also kept Earth free.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He starts off very critical of Superman, but later learns to appreciate his good deeds.
• Turn in Your Badge: Inverted. Maggie Sawyer comments that if she had a nickel for every time he's given up his badge of his free will, she'd be richer than Luthor.

Maggie Sawyer

Maggie Sawyer

Voiced by: Joanna Cassidy

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Elena Díaz Toledo

Voiced in French by: Sophie Deschaumes (Superman: The Animated Series, main voice)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

The head of the Metropolis Police's Special Crimes Unit (SCU), working under Dan Turpin.

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• Ambiguously Gay: Ambiguous only because it's not downright stated (she's a lesbian in the comics).
• Boyish Short Hair: She wears her hair in a pixie cut.
• The Commissioner Gordon: Superman spends most of his time working with her.
• Fair Cop: She's very beautiful.
• Hide Your Lesbians: Maggie Sawyer is an imported character from the Superman comics, first appearing in the 1980's, and has been an out-lesbian since 1988. However, this was not allowed to be explicitly stated in a kids show at the time, and the closest they get to covering this point is in "Apokolips...Now!" when she is visited in the hospital by a woman who comforts her throughout both parts of the episode. The woman is unnamed in the show, but DVD commentary and the credits reveal that she is Toby Raines, Maggie's long-time girlfriend in the comics, and was included as a reference to their relationship.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice: A female example. She has a very promanant and chizled jaw, and is a heroic police woman.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Unlike Turpin, she trusts Superman right from the get-go.
• Straight Gay: Assuming she is in this version, aside from her short hair she never gives off any stereotypical Butch Lesbian indicators.

Lana Lang

Lana Lang

Voiced by: Joely Fisher (adult), Kelley Schmidt (teenager)

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Soraya Camero

Voiced in French by: Magali Barney (Season 1), Sybille Tureau (Season 2), Laurence Crouzet (Season 3)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

"Hmm...red, blue, yellow...primary, but it works in a superhero-ish kinda way."

Clark Kent's childhood friend from Smallville and one of the few Secret Keepers for Superman's identity. They've had a bit of a relationship during their teen years, but both of them moved on to greener pastures.

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• Alliterative Name: Lana Lang.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Invoked. When Luthor finds out she has been talking to Superman, she tells him the truth by explaining he was trying to warn her about his criminal activities, but reassures him by using this trope to say she doesn't care. In actual fact, her preference is definitely Single Woman Seeks Good Man. She tells Clark that she's learnt how to handle most men, but Clark was the only one she couldn't handle.
• Captain Ersatz: Of Lois. Both of their characters were even combined in Superman's Lotus Eater world as one character, Loana.
• Childhood Friend Romance: She had a crush on Clark since they were twelve, and they were dating during high school. In the present they broke up, but she still has some feelings for him.
• Damsel in Distress: Superman saves her from being murdered in her first appearance as an adult.
• Deducing the Secret Identity: Being one of the first people who Clark told about his powers when he was first developing them as a teenager, even witnessing him emerge from a raging diesel fire without a scratch, it didn't take long for her to put two-and-two together regarding his identity.

• Girl Next Door: To Clark in Smallville.
• Heroic Seductress: She tries to be this during her relationship with Luthor, taking advantage on how close she is to him to deliver information about his schemes to Superman, despite the latter's reluctance. It backfires when Luthor finds out about it, and she gives up on it.
• Like Brother and Sister: This is how Clark sees her, but she's not very happy about it considering her own romantic feelings for him. She even warns him not to call her by such a comparison.
• Ms. Fanservice: Lana is a very gorgeous red-haired woman who tends to wear outfits that present her figure and long shapely legs.
• Secret-Keeper: She knows that Clark is Superman.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: As stated above, she had a crush on Clark since they were twelve and they were dating during high school. But now he is in love with Lois.

Angela Chen

Angela Chen

Voiced by: Lauren Tom

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Astrid Fernández

Voiced in French by: Emmanuèle Bondeville (main voice)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

A star gossip columnist for the Daily Planet and host for the popular news show Metropolis Today.

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• Canon Immigrant: She was created exclusively for the cartoon, but made the leap to the DC Universe with DC Rebirth. Before that, she also appeared in the comic continuation of Smallville and Justice League vs. Teen Titans.
• Is This Thing Still On?: Wasn't aware that she was on camera when she was commenting about her coffee being decaf.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While she is a gossip columnist, she acknowledges Superman's heroics.
• Manipulative Editing: In "Superman's Pal", Angela has a quote by Jimmy Olsen altered from "I don't think I'd be real comfortable with that. [...] But it's not like I'd call us pals or anything" to "Real comfortable. I'd call us pals."
• The Rival: With Lois at the Daily Planet.
• Token Minority: She's seen as Cat Grant with a Race Lift.

Bibbo Bibbowski

Bibbo Bibbowski

Voiced by: Brad Garrett

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Luis Pérez Pons

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

A sea captain who frequents the dock of Metropolis. He's also an acquaintance of Lois Lane.

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• Adaptational Wimp: Bibbo in the comics was a retired boxer and even took on some street level thugs at times in order to help clean the streets up. Animated Bibbo has never shown any of his comic counterpart's fighting skills, with his comic relief traits getting focused on more in the cartoon.
• Alliterative Name: Bibbo Bibbowski — heck, it even repeats the first five letters!
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Lois gave him money to call Clark should she had been in danger on a story she was covering. He quickly forgot and spent it on a soda machine. Superman ended up saving her anyway.
• Berserk Button: He doesn't like pepople badmouthing Superman. One time he called up Leslie Willis (pre-Livewire) on her show to chew her out for insulting him.
• Captain Ersatz: A sailor with that squint and that jaw? Popeye, you put on a little weight! This may be a reference to the fact that the Popeye cartoons were made by Max and Dave Fleischer, who also created the Superman Theatrical Cartoons.
• Father Neptune: He's an unemployed sea captain.
• Fearless Fool: Bibbo is not very smart, but he is incredibly brave. It takes a huge amount of guts to swat a King Kong-sized chimpanzee with a newspaper and scold it for making a mess on the docks. It takes an equally huge lack of brains to think that's a good idea.
• Gentle Giant: He's big, burly, and one of the good guys.
• Good Is Dumb: He's a virtuous, stand-up guy...but he's not too bright.
  Bibbo (striking a misbehaving Kaiju with a rolled-up newspaper): Bad monkey! Bad, bad monkey!
• The Informant: For Lois, and sometimes Clark.
• Recurring Extra: He's an absent-minded longshoreman who appears in the pilot (with minor plot relevance; he's established as an informant for Lois who helped her on an arms smuggling expose, and whom she asks to inform the Planet of her whereabouts if she doesn't return from the ship she is investigating, a task he is quickly distracted from). He appears several times thereafter, often just to provide a comment on something strange that has occurred, though occasionally Lois or Clark seek information from him, and he often makes shows of support for Superman.

Supergirl

Supergirl (Kara In-Ze / Kara Kent)

^{Click here to see her second Supergirl costume}  

Voiced by: Nicholle Tom

Voiced in Latin-American Spanish by: Carmen Olarte (Superman: The Animated Series), Giannina Jurado (Justice League Unlimited)

Voiced in Japanese by: Chiaki Takahashi

Voiced in French by: Laura Blanc (Superman: The Animated Series, Season 2), Dorothée Pousséo (Superman: The Animated Series, Season 3), Chantal Macé (The New Batman Adventures), Caroline Victoria (Justice League Unlimited), Célia Charpentier (Justice League Unlimited, replacement voice)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures | Justice League

Kara In-Ze is the sole survivor of Krypton's sister planet Argo. While exploring the space around the destroyed Krypton, Superman found Kara in a cryogenic facility and took her in as his adoptive cousin. Inspired by her adoptive cousin, Kara made a costume with Superman's logo and occasionally acted as Superman's effective sidekick in his adventures. She later becomes a member of the expanded Justice League.

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• Action Girl: Is a fight around? She'll go into it without a problem.
• Adaptation Name Change: She's basically the comics' Kara Zor-El. In the comics, In-Ze was her mother Allura's maiden name. The change was done because at the time, DC had an executive policy of, "Superman is the only survivor of Krypton period and other survivors are not allowed". The writers changed her last name and made her an inhabitant of the planet Argo as part of a loophole to allow them to bypass the Kryptonian Ban with the explanation of, "She is technically not from Krypton". Thus, allowing the writers the ability to utilize a slightly altered variant of the original Kryptonian Supergirl, rather than one of the Non-Kryptonian versions in the comics at the time.
• Age Lift: Unlike the pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El, who was born on a chunk of Krypton after its destruction (thus really was younger than Clark), Kara In-Ze is technically older, with the time in cryogenic suspension explaining why she's mentally and physically younger. This was later adapted into the comics when The Supergirl from Krypton (2004) storyline reintroduced Kara Zor-El into the Post-Crisis continuity.
• Badass Adorable: While she may be one of the strongest beings in the galaxy, she is very much an adorable teenager with her own hangups.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": "S" for Supergirl obviously.
• The Cameo: In the episode, "Hereafter", she can be seen with the Kents and Lana at Superman's funeral.
• Character Development: She develops greatly from her first appearance in "Little Girl Lost" to Justice League Unlimited. In her first appearances from Superman: TAS to JLU, she was criticized for being impulsive and reckless. By the time "Divided We Fall" rolls around, she was chosen to be in charge of the League while the original seven were in custody. In "Far From Home", Green Lantern himself notes that there is nothing more he can teach her.
• Costume Evolution: In S: TAS and during her appearances in the Cadmus arc of JLU, Supergirl wore a unique costume that included a white tank top and blue skirt. During Unlimited's last season, she switched it out for one based on the Michael Turner design.
• Cute Bruiser: She is a sweet and gentle teenager with the same powers as Superman.
• Determinator: In "Chaos at the Earth's Core", she fights Metallo despite her powers being significantly reduced and him having a Kryptonite power battery that can kill her. Even weakened and near death, she managed to remove the battery from his chest.
• Distaff Counterpart: To Supes.
• Doppelganger Link: Temporarily shares one with her clone, Galatea, in the episode "Fearful Symmetry".
• Farmer's Daughter: Kara was raised on a farm by Ma and Pa Kent, who treated her like one of their own children.
• Fight Off the Kryptonite: Against Metallo in the aformentioned episode "Chaos at the Earth's Core".
• Flying Brick: A given since she has the same powers as Superman.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: In-Universe she has considerable popularity in Japan. She is so popular that a chubby little fangirl kicked Stargirl in the shin for badmouthing Supergirl.
• Headbutting Heroes: With Stargirl in "Chaos at the Earth's Core", though by the end of the episode, they appear to be becoming friends.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Becomes this with Batgirl in "Girls' Night Out". Livewire hits Gotham and meets up with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, and Kara joins with Batgirl to stop them. Both later admit each has what the other would like, and the Justice League episode "Comfort and Joy" shows they're on a first-name basis (and Kara joined Barbara for skiing the Christmas Clark brings the Martian Manhunter to the Kent Farm).
• Human Aliens: All Kryptonians are outwardly indistinguishable from Humans, despite obvious biological differences.
• Impossible Hourglass Figure: She has a very hourglass figure despite her age (although, it is revealed in JLU that she is around the age of twenty).
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Green Arrow in Justice League Unlimited - a very unexpected, plausible and touching development.
• Last of Her Kind: Along with Superman, she is one of the last surviving Kryptonians, even if she was technically born on Argo and not on Krypton.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Initially, though over time it lessened.
• Loophole Abuse: As mentioned above, her name and origin were slightly altered as part of a loophole utilized by the writers to bypass DC's then editorial ban on Kryptonians other than Superman.
• Magic Skirt: For both her costumes.
• Ms. Fanservice: She has an hourglass figure and wears midriff-exposing costumes. She takes every chance she gets at showing off those legs.
• Nice Girl: Despite her stubbornness, she's very kindhearted, compassionate and loving.
• Older Than They Look: Because she was put into stasis after Krypton exploded, then found and brought to Earth by Superman a few decades later, she is still a teenager in terms of biology and mentality, while being chronologically older than Superman who was just an infant at the time.
• Put on a Bus: At the end of "Far From Home", she stays in the future with the Legion.
• Sealed Good in a Can: Superman finds her in "Little Girl Lost," frozen in a cryogenic chamber.
• Sidekick: To Superman.
• Superpower Lottery: She has all the powers of Superman: Eye Beams, Nigh-Invulnerability, Super-Strength, X-Ray Vision, and much more.
• Super-Speed: Though not quite as fast as Flash.
• Super-Strength: Almost as strong as Superman
• Team Member in the Adaptation: Joins the Justice League during Unlimited. Normally Supergirl was an independent hero that aided the Justice League on occasion.
• Unrelated in the Adaptation: In the comics and most versions, Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) is usually portrayed as a biological cousin to Superman. Here, she is his adopted cousin instead due to the alterations made towards her surname and origins.

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