Superman: The Animated Series/Awesome

• Superman starts off with a serious awesome moment in his very first major fight of the series. Kaznian terrorist John Corben has just stolen the 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 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, "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.
  • Supes has another, much more low-key one at the end of the episode. After giving the silent treatment to Luthor when he tries to convince the Big Blue to work for him, an enraged Lex demands that he "Say something!" and throws the battlesuit model at him. Superman catches the model, crushes it into dust, and further enrages Lex with five simple words: "I'll be watching you, Luthor." In addition to striking the perfect note in starting Supes' and Lex's relationship, it shows that the Man of Steel can be just as intimidating when he's not throwing punches.
• 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 comes to rest 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 nearby very far away rooftop with binoculars looking back; Batman waves at him and vanishes into the shadows. Clark grits his teeth and crushes the tracer between his fingertips.
  • Also, The Joker. When 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 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 him 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 sadistically torturing him while laughing maniacally, in one of the more sadistic Break the Haughty moments in Western Animation. 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.

Joker: Awww... What's the matter Supey? No more steam in the ol' locomotive?

• • This one's almost nothing but Moments of Awesome! One of the best comes when Joker "borrows" one of Luthor's giant killer robots and sics it on Batman, which chases him and later Lois all around town, resisting all the punishment Batman can throw at it. Finally it corners them and is moving in for the kill when Superman casually smashes it with one blow, while wearing an expression that clearly says 'You may be the Goddamn Batman, but I'm still the Man of Steel.'
• The Kents' Moment of Awesome comes in a time-travel episode, where Brainiac travels to Smallville to try and kill Superman while he's still a teenager. Brainiac and Clark battle it out in the family's barn, and Brainiac seems to have the upper hand...and then Ma and Pa Kent open fire on him with double-barrelled shotguns. Sure, it didn't have much effect aside from getting Clark some time to recover, but it takes balls to take on a super-powered homicidal robot with buckshot.
  • Followed by Clark ripping Braniac's arm off, and punching him into the sun. Plus, given that this is a Brainiac from far in the future, it's perfectly justified to assume that this actually does kill him for good.
• 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 his episode of Superman: The Animated Series. The name of the episode? "In Brightest Day".
• Lobo's personal introduction as detailed on the Heroic Sociopath page... not to mention his first fight between him and Superman, (a fight which Lobo has a good claim to winning) with their respective theme songs dueling in the back ground.
  • Good claim to winning? What show were you watching? In this troper's opinion, the pounding Superman eventually handed Lobo was one of the Man of Steel's greatest Awesome Moments ever. "What? Last call, already?" Heh.
  • Three words, my friend: "Lights Out, Clyde!"... BAM. Lobo knocks Superman out with a punch to the face!
• What, no love for Dan Turpin?

Darkseid: People of Earth, I am Darkseid, lord of Apokolips. Here is your savior, cowed and broken. I have crushed him as easily as I have crushed all who dared to oppose me throughout the cosmos. I am power unlike any you have ever known: absolute, infinite, and unrelenting. You have no choice but to prepare as a long dark future as my subjects and my slaves.
[dead silence]
Turpin: In a pig's eye!

• • 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.
  • Superman then gets one right after. Kalibak tackles our freed hero, as the crowd silently cheers on Superman, he decks a very satisfying right hook to Kalibak's face-sending him flying! I was totally cheering with that crowd too!
• Of course, Darkseid then gets one of his own when 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.
• "Legacy": 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 Unstoppable Rage 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.
  • Darkseid gets one right after that, oddly enough. Before the fight, Darkseid announces that "I am many things, Kal-El. Half of them you can't even begin to comprehend." After being beaten and tossed to the people whose lives he's made into a literal living hell...they all help him up and start to carry him off to a doctor while Superman looks on horrified. Darkseid stops the crowd long enough to give this parting shot: "I am many things, Kal-El. But here, I am God."
  • Earlier in the episode, Superman, about to be euthanized by the military, quietly asks Lex for one final request. Lex leans in with a Smug Snake grin to hear what it is... then Supes just decks him a very satisfying one to the jaw.
    • And we see at the end of the episode that the punch (given while Superman was Brought Down to Normal, mind you) put Lex in a neck brace.
  • Lois tasering Lex and General Hardcastle in order to break Superman out of jail.
  • The lead up to the fight with Darkseid is also great for Supes, defeating Granny Goodness by grabbing her as he's being electroshocked, crashing the Female Furies through a fiery smokestack then a statue of Darkseid, before bursting into Darkseid's throneroom and knocking out Kalibak with three punches.
• Superman proving his smarts in "Mxyzptlkilated". Nothing like seven minutes of punking an all-powerful Jerkass to point out that Big Blue has brains to go with that brawn.
• 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.
  • In that same episode, this troper's jaw fell to the floor when Kalibak, charging at Superman as usual, gets completely decked when Supes grabs a car in each hand and smack them around him like he was swatting a fly. Holy crap, that's awesome!
• Superman is fond of awesome Shut UP, Hannibal 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 super speeds up to him and crushes it.
  • From that same episode, Supes pulled a Batman interrogation on that same guy...as in, punches the wall, and DANGLES THE MAN OVER 40 STORIES!!! Threatening to drop him! Who says just Batman knows how to instill fear in criminals???
  • Brainiac zaps him with kryptonite and beats on him while saying, "You are your father's son. Headstrong. Foolish. Easily defeated. In the end, forgotten." Superman punches a hole in his chest.
  • Edward Lyghtner 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!
    • Lyghtner forgot that all red sunlight does it take away his superpowers, and even without them Superman is still a big, beefy dude.
• "The Late Mr. Kent" - IIRC, Superman, after investigating an condemned prisoner's claim of innocence for one night, proves he had an ironclad alibi. Then he finds the real killer, who is sent to the gas chamber (on a kid's show). Yawn, just another day in the life of the GODDAMN SUPERMAN
• Superman in "Knight Time". Dressed up as the Batman....seriously, watch how he just OWNS BANE! It's both awesome AND hilarious!
  • Also his pwnage of Brianiac in same said episode.
  • Or when his disguise as Batman was blown away, revealing the Man of Steel underneath.

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. Ghul is basically got all of Superman's strength, and is prepared to kill Superman and Batman. Supes manages to distract Ghul from their attention by pointing out Talia is falling to her death (either punish me or save your daughter). And manages WHILE STILL WEAKENED to escape with an unconscioius Batman, from the self destructing hideout.
• Superman and the Flash having a race. Yeah I'm a sucker for these two, but the fastest man alive and faster than a speeding bullet going all out was awesome!
  • And, according to Word of God Flash won.
• During A Fish Story, Aquaman is shown to be reasonably competant and tough but nothing exceptional for most of the episode. It was still enough to subvert the whole "Aquaman is useless" thing at the very least. 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... And then one of Luthor's men fires a harpoon at Aquaman when his back is turned. Aquaman whips around and catches it with ease and his navy absolutely decimates the freighter. Once the freight 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 was not only a crowning moment for the character, it was a crowning moment for the creators as well.
  • Aquaman spent this episode as an Ambadassador, as he tried to convince Luthor to call off his underwater drilling operation and was captured as a result. When Lois finds him, Aquaman admits he could have left anytime he wanted to but wanted to make a non-violent point first. Then he learns Luthor has decided to accelerate his operation just to spite Aquaman. Bad idea, Lex.
• Lana instantly deducing Superman's identity, and surprising him by asking if Martha made his costume.
• 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.
• Supergirl defeating all three Furies and Granny Goodness by cleverly turning their abilities against each other, in her introductory episode.
• "Double Dose" sees Superman up against 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. Smiling, Superman simply lifts the mop up to the sprinkler system. Superman jumps into the safety of the janitor's closet just before Parasite gets fried.