- Title: Superman: The Animated Series – Livewire
- wiki: link
With a new Superman in now in theaters every now and then I’ll continue to take a look back at the hero’s more memorable moments on both the big and small screen. Superman: The Animated Series put their own spin on several new and classic comic book villains but of all the baddies made specifically for the show Livewire (Lori Petty) stands out above the rest. Although her introductory episode may not be one of the show’s best, Livewire turned out to be another fun character to add the animated rogues gallery of our hero.
When we first meet Livewire she’s nothing more than self-centered Mertropolis shock jock Leslie Willis attacking Superman (Tim Daly) on the air for ratings. During rally she refused to cancel despite a strong storm, Livewire is exposed to lightning channeled through Superman and is imbued with electric energy she can use to effect electronics, transform herself into living lightning, and expel in the form of an attack.
Blaming Superman for her condition (which she quickly grows to enjoy), Livewire blacks out the city and holds Metropolis hostage. Although Superman eventually manages to take down Metropolis’ newest super-villain, the news that her care is being payed for by Lex Luthor makes it obvious Livewire will return (although not as often as one would hope making only one more appearance on Superman, another on Batman: The Animated Series, and later showing up in small roles in a handful of Justice League Unlimited episodes).
Livewire is vastly more interesting that Leslie Willis who we are stuck with for the first-half of the episode. Although the idea of someone using the media to attack Superman for her own publicity is interesting, the excessively annoying character doesn’t quite work. Things pick up quite a bit after her transformation leaving the show with a powerful new villain to add to its stable of revolving threats for Superman.
