Quality compared to Batman: TAS or Spectacular Spider-Man?

Superman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series are a million times better than the craptastic Spectacular Spider-Man. Batman and Superman were more mature whereas Spectacular Spider-Man is very juvenile.

I see where you're coming from but I think design and mood is the one area of the show where Superman: TAS is about as good as Batman: TAS. The look of Metropolis, Superman's design, the color palette - are all excellent, and depict how Superman is a much brighter character than Batman.

But Superman: TAS generally lags behind Batman: TAS in terms of quality, I think for two main reasons.

1.) Superman's villains aren't as interesting as Batman's. Most of Batman's villains are just as psychologically scarred and interesting as Batman himself. TAS paved the way for characters like the Riddler and Scarecrow to appear in movies. In comparison, it's hard to find a villain who can actually pose a threat to Superman and who's also complex at the same time. The show usually had him fighting giant robots or guys like the Parasite or Metallo who were basically "science projects gone bad."

2.) Superman as depicted in comics is pretty much invulnerable. Unfortunately, a Saturday morning cartoon doesn't exactly work if your hero is omnipotent. Bruce Timm and his collaborators decided to tip the scale in the other direction by making Superman not so god-like in his powers. Personally, I feel they went too far. Superman came across as much too weak and vulnerable, always getting tossed by punches or screaming in agony at electrical blasts. Sure, he would always recoup and come back with a flurry of punches but for me the damage was done. In this show, Supes was just too weak.

It's still one of my favorite cartoons of all time, though, and I think the writers *really* got into a groove during Season 3. This show ended in its prime...it could have easily gone on for another season or two. Once the writers realized that could use Superman as the perfect anchor for the rest of the DCU and brought in characters like Aquaman, the Legion of Super Heroes, Supergirl, and Green Lantern - the whole scope of the show broadened considerably. This is still my favorite depiction of Supergirl, ever.

The producers also solved the problem of Supes' rogues gallery by positing Darkseid as his ultimate foe...the one guy who could get inside Superman's head and cause his blood to boil. The dark god to Superman's boy scout. Imagine what the writers could have done with Mongul?