Superman | Serialization and Continuity

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The difference between this series and most other animated incarnations of the character is that the series is serialized. There's no need to showcase the origins of the main characters and many of the heroes and villains on the series are already in place. Every generation knows the basic origin of Superman (a scientist sends his infant son to Earth before Krypton, his home planet, blows up, the infant is found by kindly farming couple who raises him to be a great person, the boy goes out in the world to make a mark and becomes the world's greatest hero). Despite revisions, updates, upgrades, downgrades, alterations, alternate literations, and other addendums over the decades, the core origin hasn't changed, and there's no need to bring it up at all, let alone waste episodes recycling the origin.

This series sets up a period which Superman has been in Metropolis for a while, about three or four years, and the relationships between all the main characters are solid.

The relationship between Lex Luthor and Superman is as old as time and has been explored over and over again. They didn't grow up together ala Superboy and Smallville incarnations. They met in Metropolis. The rivalry began almost immediately as "the new kid" actually connects with the common people more than "the rich kid."

Lois has dated Clark off and on but are friends. At the beginning of the series, they're separated but co-workers, still competing for the front page story, and yet, they know they're connected forever. In the first season, Lois will reveal her true feelings, and Clark finally lets her on his alter ego.

Clark's father Jonathan has been dead for two years (he did live to see his son become Superman and has told him how proud of him he was), and his mother stays at the farm with the family dog and her son, who still has a room upstairs. He has an apartment in Metropolis, largely for appearances.

Bruno Mannheim has been assembling Intergang for a couple of years now, though they were largely unnamed. Parasite, The Key, Conduit, Whisper A'Daire, and Kyle Abbot are already a part of the group. They're the muscle. Mannheim handles the racketeering/weapons side of the group, the gangsters and robbers of Metropolis. This side will rarely be seen because the muscle are the true team.

Metallo has been in a cyborg form for three years, but he has kept his cyborg form secret. His arrival to Metropolis connects the criminal to both LexCorp and Intergang, linking them forever.

The Guardian has been perceived as an urban legend, one that has been around for decades. Jim Harper, the man beneath the mask, is much older than he lets on, and by the time he makes himself known to the Man of Steel, it's because he wants to be seen.

Lex Luthor knows that a green mineral with radiation only Superman can feel exists, as does S.T.A.R. Labs and Cadmus. S.T.A.R Labs calls it "Kryptonite." Luthor has a massive amount of the substance, publicly stating he wants to explore its energy production. Privately, it's his greatest weapon against Superman.

John Irons has been a designer of weapons and armor used by the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit, a team assembled to take on creatures, mutates, robots, aliens, and otherworldly beings. He was one of the trio known as the Metal Brothers, a self-named group of engineering students that also included Curtis Metcalf, a talented industrial designer and Shilo Norman, an inventor who uses a lot of his skills as an escape artist. But, that's another story.

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