Batman: The Animated Series may have launched the DC Animated Universe, but Superman: The Animated Series really opened the fictional universe up and adapted more science fiction and supernatural elements from DC Comics. Superman TAS took viewers to the far reaches of space and introduced heroes like The Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman to the DCAU.
Superman TAS features some of the best episodes of the franchise, but it also includes some strange episodes with unconventional narratives. Lois Lane travels to an alternate universe, Lex Luthor creates a Superman clone, and Clark Kent meets a being from the 5th dimension. The series' weirdest episodes also featured some of its most memorable moments.
10 "Two's A Crowd" Made Parasite Even Stranger
Thanks to his powers of absorption, Parasite is an iconic Superman villain. Parasite may not seem that menacing at first glance, but he can absorb other people's powers, leaving his victims temporarily powerless. Parasite often drained Superman of his godlike abilities.
In "Two's a Crowd," Parasite considers reforming and agrees to help Superman. Parasite touches a criminal named Earl Garver, hoping to retrieve information about a hidden bomb. Instead, Earl's mind enters Parasite's and the two fight for control over the body. It's a strange concept that made Parasite an even better character with a slim chance of redemption.
9 Two Kids Became Friends With Metallo In "Action Figures"
After the events of "The Way of All Flesh," Metallo walked along the sea floor, shedding his fake skin and revealing his fully metallic body. In "Action Figures," Metallo finally finds the shore, but exits the water with amnesia. Two kids find the former villain and convince him to use his powers for good.
However, Metallo's memories soon return, and he eventually confronts Superman again. "Action Figures" didn't focus on the Man of Steel, but was a unique story that offered a possible redemption arc for the villain. The idea of kids befriending a villain and convincing him to become a superhero was certainly a strange concept that was executed surprisingly well.
8 Bizarro Tried To Recreate Krypton In "Bizarro's World"
Bizarro made his Superman: The Animated Series debut in the episode "Identity Crisis" where he originally believed he was the real Superman. Due to cellular degeneration, he transformed into a slightly deformed version of the Man of Steel with a warped sense of reality. Bizarro is one of the strongest Superman villains as he possesses all of Superman's powers.
Thankfully, he can be quite gullible and easily tricked. In "Bizarro's World," Bizarro views an old recording of Krypton and attempts to recreate the destroyed planet on Earth. The Bizarro episodes were usually humorous stories with a lot of heartfelt moments, such as Superman relocating Bizarro to his own planet to live out his dream.
7 "Mxyzpixilated" Introduced The Series' Strangest Antagonist
Batman fought a lot of weird villains in Batman: The Animated Series, but none of them come close to Mister Mxyzptlk. Mxyzptlk was a prominent Superman antagonist during DC Comics' Silver Age, frequently reappearing to torment Superman's life.
The showrunners used DC's goofy Silver Age as inspiration for "Mxyzpixilated," which introduced Mxyzptlk to the series. Mxyzptlk enters and reenters Superman’s life every 90 days, but is always sent back to the 5th dimension after Superman tricks him into saying his own name. The episode was comical and ridiculous as Mxyzptlk uses his powers to manipulate the world.
6 Mister Mxyzptlk Met Bizarro In "Little Big Head Man"
Two of Superman's most recognizable foes, Mister Mxyzptlk and Bizarro, met in the episode "Little Big Head Man." The duo made an unlikely pairing, which led to some ridiculous, comedic moments. When Mxyzptlk last encountered Superman, he promised he'd never directly meddle in the Man of Steel's life again. Instead, he indirectly antagonized Superman through Bizarro.
Any episode that featured either Bizarro or Mxyzptlk featured plenty of goofy moments, including a court case where Mxyzptlk defends his actions against Superman to the 5th dimension's rulers, but the two together made for one silly episode. As punishment, Mxyzptlk was banished to Bizarro's homeworld where he's forced to spend his days entertaining the Superman clone.
5 Superman Became Batman In "Knight Time"
After Batman goes missing, Tim Drake, a.k.a. the second Robin, traveled to Metropolis for Superman's help. In order to keep up the appearance that Batman was indeed present and active in Gotham City, Superman dressed up as Batman, helping Robin defeat iconic Batman foes like The Mad Hatter, Riddler, and Bane.
Bane was definitely surprised to see Batman survive being crushed by concrete, and Mad Hatter was certainly shocked to see Batman move faster than a speeding bullet. "Knight Time" was one of the most memorable episodes of the series for the sheer novelty of seeing Superman under the cape and cowl.
4 "New Kids In Town" Introduced The Legion Of Superheroes
The Legion of Superheroes is one of the most popular superhero teams in DC Comics. They represent a bright future of the DC universe that was made possible thanks to the inspiring heroics of Superman in the present. In Superman TAS's "New Kids in Town," Brainiac develops a time machine and travels back to Smallville to kill Clark Kent as a teenager, long before he became Superman.
Three Legionnaires, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Chameleon Boy, follow Brainiac to the past and team up with a young Clark Kent to stop him. Episodes like this made future DCAU stories like "Once & Future Thing" possible.
3 Superman Fought A Giant Chimpanzee In "Monkey Fun"
Lois Lane and her sister used to play with a chimpanzee named Titano as children. Titano was sadly used by the government in a space mission where he was presumably lost. Years later, Superman discovered Titano in suspended animation within his space pod.
Upon returning to Earth, the radiation from space caused Titano to grow, mimicking the appearance of King Kong. It's not the greatest episode, but watching Superman battle a giant chimpanzee was certainly a strange sight. The plot of "Monkey Fun" resembles the plot of "The Chimp Who Made It Big," an episode of the old Filmation Superman animated series from the 1960s.
2 The "Unity" Episode Belonged In A Horror Series
"Unity" is by far one of the strangest Superman: The Animated Series episodes. It's also one of the scariest. The main antagonist of the story isn't Lex Luthor, or Brainiac, or any foe previously seen in the show, but rather an alien entity known as the "Unity." The Unity is a hive-mind organism that attempted to take over the world by infecting the minds of everyone on the planet.
The Unity began its global takeover in Smallville where Superman and Supergirl were luckily present to stop it. The Unity was a frightening creature. It used gray tentacles to wrap its foes and control its victims. Those under the Unity's control also expelled those tentacles from their mouths.
1 "Brave New Metropolis" Introduced Alternate Realities
Some of the coolest DC Comics explore DC's multiverse. These alternate worlds can often be more intriguing than the canonical one. In "Brave New Metropolis," Lois Lane accidentally travels to an alternate universe where that world's Lois died. Distraught by Lois's death, Superman aligned himself with Lex Luthor and the two ruled over Metropolis as tyrants.
The Lois Lane of the prime universe helped convince Superman to fight Luthor and reclaim his title of hero. "Brave New Metropolis" was strange in all the best ways. It explored a cool new universe of events and proved how important Lois Lane is to Superman.