Superman: The Animated Series (Kenner) 1996 – 2001

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Superman: The Animated Series began its four season run on September 6, 1996 and it ran 54 episodes until February 2000. The series passed the torch from the iconic Batman Animated Series, which ran until 1995. Kenner had just finished their “Man of Steel” toy line the year before, so they kept it rolling with a new Superman line based on the animated series. Kenner released two waves of figures and accessories in the U.S market before releasing the final waves overseas as European exclusives. It should be noted the third wave did make it to North America as a Diamond exclusive. In total, there were 18 standard figures, 5 Deluxe figures, 2 Multipacks, 2 Large Sized Figures and a few vehicles released for the Superman Animated Series toy line. The series did have some success, but it never really made it to the level of the Batman Animated Series.

For more information about Kenner’s Superman: The Animated Series line, see bottom of page for a complete summary.

Superman: The Animated Series (1996): Series One

For the premier wave of their Superman Animated Series line, Kenner released six new figures in 1996, which included Capture Net Superman, Deep Dive Superman, Evil Alien Brainiac, Lex Luthor, Neutron Star Superman and Quick Change Superman.

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Superman: The Animated Series (1996-1997): Series Two

Kenner released only three figures for the second wave of their Superman Animated Series late line in 1996. Included in the wave were Capture Claw Superman, Electro Energy Superman and a super cool animated version of Omega Blast Darkseid.

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Omega Blast Darkseid

Market Value:
Carded $25 – $40
Loose $12 – $17

Omega Blast Darkseid
Accessories: Galactic Laser Blaster, Missile
Years Released: 1996-1997
Difficulty To Find: Common – Easily found on secondary market
Notes: Darkseid is one of the big bad guys in the DC Universe and did appear in the Superman Animated Series. This Omega Blast Darkseid comes with a Galactic Laser Blaster and Missile. This is actually a really fun sculpt of the animated version of Darkseid.

Superman: The Animated Series (1998): Series Three

After two waves of action figures, the Superman Animated Series line was starting to run out of gas. Additional figures had already been completed but due to slow orders, the third wave was originally released exclusively in Europe. The series was later picked up by Diamond Distributers and offered as exclusives through them. Included in this wave were Evil Bizarro, Metallo, Power Swing Superman, Supergirl, Tornado Force Superman and X-Ray Vision Superman. This was actually a great wave of figures with some new characters we had not seen before!

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Superman: The Animated Series (2001): Series Four

The fourth and final wave of Superman Animated Series figures was a bit strange for a few reasons. The wave includes three new figures Anti-Kryptonite Superman, Fortress of Solitude Superman and Strong Arm Superman. they were initially supposed to be released in 1999 as European/Diamond Distributors exclusive, but got pushed back to 2001. This was mostly due to the Kenner/Hasbro merger and a lack of distribution outlets. This makes sense because the Animated Series actually came to an end the year prior in early 2000. These figures ended up being European exclusives only.

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Strong Arm Superman

Market Value:
Carded $12 – $20
Loose $5 – $8

Strong Arm Superman
Accessories: Brick Wall Debris, Pole Debris
Years Released: 2001
Difficulty To Find: Common – Easily found on secondary market
Notes: We get one final Superman variant with Strong Arm Superman. This version is responding to cries for help by lifting debris from trapped citizens and tossing it away. Strong Arm Superman also has a Double Uppercut Punch feature.

Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2001): Deluxe Figures

In addition to the many standard figures released by Kenner/Hasbro for the Superman Animated Series line, there were also six additional Deluxe figures as well. Included in this Deluxe series were: Vision Blast Superman, City Camo Superman, Flying Superman, Kryptonite Escape Superman, Ultra Shield Superman and Cyber Crunch Superman.

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Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2001): Multipacks

In addition to their standard and deluxe figures, Kenner also released two multipacks for their Superman Animated Series line, which included the Super Heroes vs. Super Villains set and the Battle For Metropolis set, which was the only way to get a Lois Lane figure.

Super Heroes vs. Super Villains

Market Value:
Boxed $35 – $50
Loose $21 – $28

Super Heroes Vs. Super Villains
Figures Included: Superman w/ Backpack, Supergirl w/ Armor Suit, Metallo w/ Wall Debris, Bizarro
Years Released: 1998
Difficulty To Find: Common – Easily found on secondary market

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Battle For Metropolis

Market Value:
Boxed $80 – $110
Loose $40 – $50

Battle For Metropolis
Figures Included: Superman w/ Pipe & Wall, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor w/ Launcher, Brainiac w/ Hover Sled
Years Released: 2001
Difficulty To Find: Less Common – Appears less often with some hunting needed

Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2001): 12 Inch Figures

Kenner released two 12″ figures for their Superman Animated Series line, with Supergirl and Superman in 1998. These were pretty nice figures and it’s a shame we didn’t get more of them.

Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2001): Accessories

Kenner released only one vehicle for their standard Animated Superman line with the Superman Conversion Coupe. They also re-issued the Kryptonian Battle Suit from the Man of Steel line. A Metropolis Bank Playset was released as a European exclusive in 1999, which is VERY tough to find nowadays.

Superman Conversion Coupe

Market Value:
Boxed $35 – $50
Loose $17 – $25

Superman Conversion Coupe w/ Clark Kent
Accessories: Clark Kent Figure, Opening Cockpit, Disc Launcher, Discs x 4, Side Wings
Years Released: 1996
Difficulty To Find: Common – Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: The Superman Conversion Coupe is Clark Kent’s ride about town, but can also change into a Hyper-Drive Space Jet when Superman is needed to battle crime. It comes with an Opening Cockpit, Disc Launcher, Discs x 4, Side Wings, and an exclusive Clark Kent figure. This is a essentially a re-brand of the Matrix Conversion Coupe from the Man of Steel line. An alternate packaging version was also released as a European exclusive on 1999.

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Kryptonian Battle Suit

Market Value:
Boxed $110 – $140
Loose $35 – $55

Kryptonian Battle Suit
Accessories: Opening Cockpit, Battle Ram, Robotic Claw, Shoulder Launcher, Missiles x 3
Years Released: 1995
Difficulty To Find: Moderate Difficulty – Takes patience and appears less often
Notes: The Kryptonian Battle Suit was developed through advanced Kryptonian technology and provides the wearer with incredible protective powers, along with lots of firepower. The suit holds one figure and fires three missiles from a shoulder launcher. There’s also a power punch feature and robotic claw to grab bad guys.

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Metropolis Bank Playset

Market Value:
Boxed $110 – $140
Loose $35 – $55

Metropolis Bank Playset
Accessories: Bank Playset, Bendable Bars, Streetlight, Money Bags, Gold Bar Pile, Exclusive Superman Figure
Years Released: 1999
Difficulty To Find: Hard to Find – Occasionally listed, and usually sells quickly
Notes: The Metropolis Bank Playset was basically a re-brand of the Gotham City Bank Playset from the Batman Animated Series toy line from earlier in the 90’s. This set was only available in Europe in 1999, which is really a shame! The set comes with bendable bars, bendable streetlight, bags of money, gold bar pile and the bank itself.

Superman: The Animated Series began its four season run on September 6, 1996 and it ran 54 episodes until February 2000. The series passed the torch from the iconic Batman Animated Series, which ran until 1995. Kenner had just finished their “Man of Steel” toy line the year before, so they kept it rolling with a new Superman line based on the animated series. Kenner released two waves of figures and accessories in the U.S market before releasing the final waves overseas as European exclusives. It should be noted the third wave did make it to North America as a Diamond exclusive. In total, there were 18 standard figures, 5 Deluxe figures, 2 Multipacks, 2 Large Sized Figures and a few vehicles released for the Superman Animated Series toy line. The series did have some success, but it never really made it to the level of the Batman Animated Series.

Kenner really tried to capture the Superman Animated look with this line, while using the Man of Steel packaging vibe, which worked, for the most part. The premier wave in 1995 featured Capture Net Superman, Deep Dive Superman, Evil Alien Brainiac, Lex Luthor, Neutron Star Superman and Quick Change Superman. Three more figures joined them for the second wave, with Capture Claw Superman, Electro Energy Superman and a super cool animated version of Omega Blast Darkseid. Additional figures had already been completed but due to slow orders, the third wave was originally released exclusively in Europe. The series was later picked up by Diamond Distributers and offered as exclusives through them. Included in this wave were Evil Bizarro, Metallo, Power Swing Superman, Supergirl, Tornado Force Superman and X-Ray Vision Superman. The fourth and final wave included Anti-Kryptonite Superman, Fortress of Solitude Superman and Strong Arm Superman. These were initially supposed to be released in 1999 as European/Diamond Distributors exclusive, but got pushed back to 2001, mostly due to the Kenner/Hasbro merger and a lack of distribution outlets. In addition to the standard figures, Kenner released six deluxe figures, two 12″ figures, two multipacks and a few accessories.

The packaging for the Superman: The Animated Series toy line was very similar to the Man of Steel line from 1995, which was bright and eye catching. It was done in a deep Superman themed blue color scheme, but the star of the show was the oversized Animated Superman logo that adorned a good portion of each card. Each figure was on a traditional blister card with the figure centered on the lower part of the card. Each character name was on the bottom left of the blister bubble while a small illustration of each character and their accessories were to the right on the lister bubble. Each card back featured that wave’s figures, along with a small bio of the character and explanation of the figure’s action features, along with a nice illustration of each character. Overall, I enjoyed the Superman Animated Series line and Kenner clearly tried to recapture the magic of their Batman Animated line.