Bruce Timm, the mastermind behind a lot of projects from the DC Animated Universe, has a favorite of his own. Or to be more precise, he has a favorite episode of his own from the toon-verse. Now, considering how some of his best and most notable works are from Batman: The Animated Series, many would expect his favorite episode to be from this series as well.
However, that’s hardly the case. In fact, that one episode that touched Timm deeply isn’t from any of his work on the Batman saga. Instead, as it turns out, the episode that he considers to be the “Ragnarok” of “sob scenes” is actually from Superman: The Animated Series!
Bruce Timm Considers this Superman Episode his Favorite
Bruce Timm has helmed one too many star-studded pieces for the DC Animated Universe, some of which notably include masterpieces from the Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Justice League universe.
Out of all of these, it was the episode Apokolips… Now! from Superman: The Animated Series that got to the mastermind the most.
That is what he said during an interview with DC Animated, where he was asked to share his favorite scene or moment from one of the episodes out of all the series he has contributed to.
But the response didn’t come easily. Only after listing down an uncountable number of other moments from multiple other superheroes’ universes did Timm finally reveal:
“But the ‘Ragnarok’ of ‘sob scenes’ is, of course, the climax of ‘Apokolips…Now!’…that baby fires on every emotional cylinder….I’ve had grown men tell me they bawled like little girls at that scene.”
If that wasn’t all, the genius mind behind all those gems from the DCAU then continued to express just how that episode made him feel, saying, “What’s Not To Love???!!! I swear to God I’m choking up just thinking about it…”
While some fans — especially those who are well-versed with the Batman: The Animated Series lore all too well — may feel disappointed after hearing this response, they need to know that it didn’t come without justification. And when you hear it, you just might fall in love with that episode too.
Bruce Timm’s Justification for Why He Loves Apokolips… Now! So Much
Although all the other stuff he listed had pretty genuine justifications themselves, Timm quite literally took it to another level while sharing what exactly he loves so badly about the Apokolips… Now! episode from the Man of Steel’s The Animated Series.
In a nutshell, the legendary mastermind explained:
“The shock of seeing Turpin annihilated/Superman going berserk/Lois can’t even watch/Superman’s fury spent/the cemetery based on Jack Kirby’s final resting place in Thousand Oaks/the Rabbi singing that gorgeous Kaddish/star-spangled avengers, super-spies, African princes, various comics professionals and even Luthor pay their last respects/sad but proud cops/Toby comforting a stoic but clearly destroyed Maggie Sawyer/the last few family members leaving the funeral as a soft wind blows/Superman’s gentle good-bye to his friend/the last silhouetted shot as the day ends/the one-two sucker punch end titles, ‘Not the end…’ and ‘Long Live The King’/all scored with impeccable good taste by Kris Carter.”
Well, thanks to Bruce Timm for jogging up that memory, for now, we’re crying once again just thinking about it!
You can stream both Superman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series on Max.
