Superman: The Animated Series is widely credited for popularising Superman among a wider audience. The series, which aired from 1996 to 2000, smoothly modernized the character as the animated series allowed the creators to explore different ideas. However, in one particular episode, they went too far.
The two-part “Little Girl Lost” episodes from season 3 of the show initially had a very different setting, which would be dark for a show that aired on Kids’ WB. Writer Evan Dorkin once explained how the second half was changed at the last minute because the episode had a Nazi concentration camp-style setting.
In the two-part episode, Granny Goodness transforms innocent teenagers into soulless Parademons. Dorkin explained that one of the producers opposed this idea and they had to change the whole plot.
A Superman: The Animated Series episode was changed at the last minute for being too controversial
In 2006, one of the writers of Superman: The Animated Series, Evan Dorkin, talked about the show in an interview with Toon Zone News. During the conversation, Dorkin talked about the two-part “Little Girl Lost” episodes from the show’s third season, revealing that it originally had a different premise (via DC Animated),
“The second half was changed fairly last minute and a regular series writer reworked the plot. Originally, Granny Goodness was bringing together wayward teens and training them with Apokolips technology because she was harvesting them as source material for creating new Parademons – We were going to show this huge, Nazi-like Krupp Works for Parademons with beings on chains being dragged into chambers where they’d emerge as soulless Parademons.”
The Nazi concentration camp-style premise indeed caused problems and as a result, a new team of writers was hired to make the changes. Superman: The Animated Series was widely praised for its writing, voice acting, and mature themes. The series played a key role in popularising and modernizing the character as fans were only familiar with the traditional Clark Kent featured in the live-action movies.
Evan Dorkin says he liked the original premise
This controversial plot was opposed by one of the producers of the show so, the new team of writers, along with the old ones, were assigned to come up with a fresh plot. Dorkin explained that he preferred the original premise,
“From what I was told, a producer who had signed off on the original premise balked and then asked for changes. We had already done several drafts, and after they handed us the new plot, we ended up doing another slew of drafts. It was nuts – We were pretty disappointed, to be honest. I still like the episodes a great deal, but we preferred the original premise, and after all was said and done we were no longer the sole writers on the shows.”
The series aired from September 6, 1996, to February 12, 2000, but can be streamed today on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Max. All eyes are on James Gunn as the co-CEO of DC Studios is currently setting up his fresh DC Universe. A new actor will be playing the Last Son of Krypton in 2025’s Superman: Legacy, which will be the beginning of this new universe.
