Superman - The Little-Girl-Lost (Episode)

"Little Girl Lost" is a two-parter consisting of the 27th, 28th and final episodes of the second season of Superman: The Animated Series, and the 40th and 41st of the overall series. It is the first appearance in the series of Supergirl (Kara In-Ze). Searching for signs of life on Krypton, Superman soon discovers a nearby planet that has also died. However, he finds that there is a single survivor of this planet as well. He takes this survivor back to Earth where she develops powers just like his. Unfortunately, Intergang is back in business and now Superman must fight to stop them reluctantly taking help from the new Supergirl.
== Plot ==
Deep in space, in Krypton's own solar system, Superman flies by in his space ship. Krypton is now nothing more than an asteroid belt of Kryptonite floating in space but Superman still checks for signs of life. There are none. However, the ship picks up a distress signal from another planet in the system. Feeling hopeful, Superman heads out to answer the call.Superman follows the signal to a frigid world at the edge of the system. Finding that the planet is devoid of Kryptonite radiation, he investigates further. He finds a lab buried in the ice and snow. Inside, he discovers a recorded message from Kala In-Ze, the planet's former chief physician: the planet is called Argo and was once a thriving civilization. When Krypton exploded, however, Argo was ravaged by shock waves and torn from its orbit. Eventually, it moved so far from the sun that all inhabitants froze to death. To survive, Kala placed herself and her family in stasis chambers in hope of rescue.
After the message finishes, Superman finds the chambers have all been destroyed by weathering much to his sadness—except one, holding a teenaged girl.
Later back on Earth, the girl, Kara, flies over Kansas reveling in her new found powers. Unfortunately for her, Clark grabs her and pulls her down, scolding her for being so reckless. He reminds her that she needs to keep a low profile. She agrees, but complains about the fact that he won't let her fight crime along with him, and he tells her to be patient.
Over lunch with the Kents, Jonathan mentions that Intergang is causing trouble in Metropolis again. Kara is immediately interested, but Clark insists that she need not worry. As soon as he leaves, however, she presses Jonathan for more details.
In Metropolis, Lois and Jimmy are covering an electronics show, which is attacked by a couple of teenagers riding on flying disks and wielding beam weapons that shoot fire and ice. Superman arrives and confronts the duo but their weapons are strong enough to keep him at bay. He manages to capture one of the teenagers but the other grabs Lois and sticks a flying disk on her, sending Lois shooting into the sky and distracting Superman long enough for them to escape.
The teenagers return to their gang's hideout, in the Hob's Bay recreation center, where they are greeted by Granny Goodness.
Meanwhile, at the Daily Planet, Kara arrives disguised as Clark's cousin, wanting to help him. Clark insists that she stay out of the case and sends her back to his apartment. At the same time, Jimmy complains to Lois that he wants to join in on the Intergang investigation. He insists that he has a lead, a video arcade token that one of the teenagers dropped. Lois refuses to let him tag along, and Jimmy decides to check the arcades himself. Kara overhears, and, seeing her chance, decides to join him.
The pair eventually finds the right arcade and discover the same two teenagers that fought Superman. They follow them to Intergang's hideout and sneak in, but get caught. Even though Jimmy claims that they only want to join, Granny decides to have them beat up. Kara decides she's waited long enough and tells the thugs that Granny is just using them. Angered, Granny orders Kara killed but she easily beats the group and unveils her costumed identity: Supergirl. Granny starts attacking with her own weapon but Kara manages to destroy it. Still not ready to call it quits, Granny opens up a boom tube and summons three of her Female Furies.
=== Part II ===
Together, Lashina, Mad Harriet and Stompa attack Supergirl but her fighting prowess is greater than they thought. She manages to defeat Lashina and Mad Harriet. Unfortunately, Stompa manages to force Supergirl out of the building. The gang members run out leaving Supergirl to fend for herself.
Meanwhile, Clark listens to Dr. Cornell telling about a comet that will be coming within a couple million miles of Earth. Soon after, the ground begins to shake and Clark notices the fight. He goes to aid Kara but during the ensuing fight, she is buried under a fallen building. Superman attempts to save her but the Female Furies take advantage of his distraction and capture him. Superman is taken to Apokolips, put into restraints, and tortured.
In the back of the gang's hideout, Supergirl, Jimmy, and Amy investigate Granny's inner sanctum and find a large machine, built from technology stolen by Intergang. None of them knows what it does, but Supergirl finds a boom tube generator dropped by Granny and heads off to Apokolips herself. She is appalled by the place but keeps up her search to find Superman. Twice she is nearly captured, first by a couple of guards mounted on war dogs, and then by a troop of Parademons. Supergirl runs from the parademons and loses her boom tube generator. Still unable to evade them she finally manages to incinerate them using fire from a fire pit. Shortly after escaping, Supergirl witnesses Superman being dragged away to Darkseid's palace.
Superman is brought before Darkseid, who explains that since he cannot conquer the Earth, he'll destroy it. Granny was sent there to create a device capable of pulling the comet into an impact with Earth. Angered by her memories of Argo's fate, Supergirl leaps into the fight, but Darkseid quickly disables her with his Omega Beams. Fortunately Superman manages to hit Darkseid and force him to stop, but Granny soon disables him.
The Furies attack Supergirl, and in her weakened state she is nearly defeated. But her fighting prowess shows again, however, as she uses Stompa's attack against Mad Harriet, then defeats Stompa. She then faces off with Lashina, who nearly defeats her single-handed, but her lash accidentally wraps around Granny's weapon, disabling them both. Supergirl frees Superman and the pair escape into a boom tube generated by Lashina's generator.
Returning to Earth, Superman and Supergirl see the Doomsday Magnet, which Amy and Jimmy have tried unsuccessfully to destroy or deactivate. The comet has already been pulled onto its impact course. Supergirl destroys the Doomsday Magnet despite Superman's warning, and he scolds her, since he could have used it to push the comet away. Now he'll have to do it the hard way.
He flies into the upper atmosphere to push it away. He manages to do so, but a chunk of it breaks free and heads straight for Metropolis, large enough to cause massive devastation. Realizing it's up to her, Supergirl hurtles at the chunk of comet, destroying it.
Superman finishes pushing the comet away and flies down to catch the falling Supergirl, knocked unconscious.
On Apokolips, Darkseid orders the Furies to torture Granny as punishment for her failure.
At the Planet, Jimmy proudly admires his front-page story on Supergirl's debut. As his co-workers eagerly crowd around for more details, he points out the window, where Kara flies around Metropolis, proud of her achievement and confident that Earth has a new heroine.
== Continuity ==
* Superman refers to Darkseid's failed attempt to conquer Earth in "Apokolips... Now!".
* In Justice League Unlimited, "Chaos at the Earth's Core", Kara tells Stargirl that she stayed on the farm in Kansas for three years before coming to Metropolis.
* In The New Batman Adventures, "Girl's Night Out", Kara repeats to Batgirl that flight is her favorite superpower.
== Background information ==
=== Home video releases ===
* Superman: The Animated Series, Volume Three (DVD)
* Superman: The Complete Animated Series (DVD)
* Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (Blu-ray only)
* DC Comics Super-Villains: Superman - Worlds at War! (DVD)
=== Production notes ===
* When Amy blows up the police vehicles, the resulting explosion is reused footage from the scene of "World's Finest, Part III" where one Wayne/Lex T-7 blows up another droid. This is used again later on part II when Supergirl hits the Doomsday Magnet, and then finally when she collides with the Fleischer's Comet.
* When Granny Goodness's rod blows up in part I, the ensuing explosion is reused footage from a scene of "My Girl", in which Mr. Eelan blows a vat of hot lead off its support.
==== Production inconsistencies ====
* Before Superman grabs the flying disk that Amy is on, the animation on Amy makes her appear to be liping something despite no sound being made.
* For some reason Mad Harriet does not kill Jimmy when she disarms his beam weapon, despite being ordered to by Granny to do so.
=== Trivia ===
* Since Kara was placed in stasis shortly after Krypton's destruction, this makes her, chronologically, much older than Clark.
* The Kansas weatherman is voiced by (and greatly resembles) real-life TV weatherman Al Roker.
* Kara seems to lack any inhibitions to killing as she killed off several parademons.
* First appearance of Supergirl and the Female Furies in the DC Animated Universe.
* The plot of using a magnet to attract a comet to Earth echoes an episode of the 40s Fleischer Superman cartoons, "The Magnetic Telescope". Indeed, the comet is actually referred to as "Fleischer's Comet".
* When Kara first meets and interacts with Jimmy, she's not wearing a disguise and goes by the name "Karen". Karen is also the alias used by Kara Zor-L, Power Girl, an alternate universe version of Supergirl.
* Kara's brunette wig when she interacts with Clark is a reference to Supergirl's earliest stories in the comics, when she would wear a wig to help aid her civilian disguise.
== Cast ==
Actor 	Role
Tim Daly 	Clark Joseph Kent/Superman/Kal-El
Dana Delany 	Lois Lane
Nicholle Tom 	Kara-In-Ze/Kara K Kent/Supergirl
David Kaufman 	Jimmy Olsen
Mike Farrell 	Jonathan Kent
Carolyn Seymour 	Kala In-Ze
Shelley Fabares 	Martha Kent
Ed Asner 	Granny Goodness
Diane Delano 	Stompa
Michael Ironside	Darkseid
Julia Kato 	Amy
Andrea Martin 	Mad Harriet
Scott Menville 	Trouble
Diane Michelle 	Lashina
Al Roker 	Weatherman
Clyde Kusatsu 	Doctor Cornell
Dog Cavalryman (uncredited)
== Quotes ==
=== Part I ===
Kala In-Ze: I am Kala In-Ze, chief physician of Argo City. Five years ago, Argo was a thriving, vibrant world. But then, without warning, our sister planet, Krypton, was destroyed in a giant chain of explosions. Krypton's destruction tore Argo from its orbit. The resulting devastation destroyed most of our world and sent it moving slowly, inexorably, away from our sun...leaving a few desperate survivors slowly freezing to death. There was nothing my people could do but pray our distress signals would be answered. But now, I can wait no longer. I have taken a desperate last chance to save my surviving family. To my knowledge, we are all that is left of Argo. Please help us.
Weatherman: It's gonna be a gorgeous spring day in the nation's heartland, with temperatures reaching the high seventies. So, all you folks in Smallville, Kansas: get out there and enjoy that great, big, beautiful sun!
(cut to Kara flying through the sky)
Lois: Somehow I don't smell Pulitzer here... or soap, for that matter.
Trouble: You see, Metropolis? Nobody can beat the Intergang! Nobody!
Superman: Well, then just call me nobody.
Kara: It's me, Kara.
Clark: I know.
Kara: You saw through my secret identity?
Clark: How did you get here?
Kara: You said no "vroom" so I ran.
Lois: Can you talk some sense into him?
Clark: I've had my fill with teenagers today.
Granny Goodness: Let me tell you tadpoles how I work: I seek out the lost little lambs society has cruelly abandoned, I take them lovingly under my wings, give them the power to face the cold heartless world... and kick its butt!
Jimmy: We're in!
Granny Goodness: But you hardly seem the type. So bright-eyed, soft skin. Life has not scarred you as it has my other goslings. Still... we can remedy that...
Kara: All right, I've seen enough. Don't you realize you're being duped? You think you're getting power but she's just turning you into her personal goon squad!
Jimmy: What are you doing?
Kara: What do you think? I'm shutting down this psycho-witch!
Granny Goodness: Ah! Such language! Children, defend your Granny's honor. KILL HER!!
Jimmy: I don't believe it! A Super...girl?
Granny Goodness: Girls, this ninny noodle wants to play rough. Make her last moments special...
=== Part II ===
Mad Harriet: Oh, poor baby, let me kiss it and make it worse!
Supergirl: Eew! Hands off, gruesome!
Superman: Kara, I thought I told you to stay out of trouble.
Supergirl: Who, me? I'm not in trouble. And by the way, it's Supergirl. See? (points to shirt) Super...girl. (points to face)
Superman: Right.
Lashina: Hello, big boy.
Mad Harriet: Come to help your little friend?
Stompa: Ain't that a kick?
Supergirl: Wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley...
Darkseid: Ever proud, eh, Kryptonian? I must say I find it to be... wearying.
Superman: What was this boot-licker doing on Earth, Darkseid? I thought your business there was settled.
Darkseid: I never settle. What I cannot have I destroy.
Supergirl: I've seen one planet die, and I'm not going to stand by and watch it happen again.
Darkseid: Noble sentiments, my dear. (fires Omega Beams at her)
Lashina: You gotta lotta guts coming her, Blondie!
Stompa: And we're gonna spread them all over Apokolips!
Lashina: Okay, sugar. The main event.
Granny Goodness: Oh, great and powerful Darkseid, I...
Darkseid: Furies... teach Granny the price of failure.
(Lashina, Harriet, and Stompa advance on Granny)
Granny: No! My precious girls! Don't! Don't hurt your beloved Granny...
(Lashina cracks her whip)
Granny: NOOO-OOO!
Lois Lane: You keep staring at your byline, you'll burn a hole in it.
Jimmy Olsen: ...What? Oh, yeah. It just looks so... good.