I always like Livewire. She’s such a different type of villain compared to other Superman rogues. She’s the type of villain you can tell is always having fun doing what she does
Not unlike Harley in BTAS, who genuinely seems to revel in the chaos and destruction she helps the Joker cause. Honestly, Livewire kinda reminds me of a mix between BTAS Harley and the Danny Phantom villain Ember. She wants people to know and remember who she is while also reveling in causing havoc. Seems like the writers probably had a blast working on Livewire's character.
@@comettamerNot really. With Ember perhaps but not Harley. Harley Quinn was a psychologist who tried to treat the joker but was manipulated by him and to become his sidekick/pawn. Livewire was a shock jock who let herself be electrocuted after Superman tried to save her... It wasn't for the fact that she was a meta human she would have died.
@@Chadius I mean I get that the writers wanted to let us know that she’s just a girl with a big mallet with no real superpowers while Poison Ivy is literally mother nature but c‘mon stop embarrassing her like that😭 I feel like they had no idea what to do with her character after season 3, they gave her all that character development for nothing That’s why her character and abilities are so inconsistent
I think it's kind of ironic, that she's a bit of a control freak, and wants to be the ringleader of her own life.... Yet she has barely any control over herself. if Toyman represents Superman's childlike innocence, and Metallo represents his heart and humanity, then I think Livewire representatives his self control.
I agree with this. Didn't take Livewire long to go a bit mad with power, to the point that despite having Superman in her grasp, her lack of self-control saw her easily goaded into foiling herself.
Also doesn't help she's in the kind of job that rewards that kind of behavior, except with other folks it's enough of a "bit" they usually don't become genuinely bigger assholes.
Lesley Willis seems to serve two thematic roles, as Casually Comics points out: 1. She serves as an avatar for the comic book reader audience that derides the idea of Superman as being lame and goody two shoes. It's important to note that even in real life, people doing good get unwarranted hate thrown at them 2. She's a semi feminist commentary on the male dominated shock jock industry, dominated usually by males. Her rhetoric makes her "one of the guys" in a way, which makes her such a popular voice in Metropolis,i think
1 - Brings into mind how the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's cut Lord of the Rings sequel "The New Shadow" came to be: good and peace can and will becomes inevitably boring and dull. 2 - A pity her becoming a villainess meant a lot of disillusionment from her fans. However, there's a chance she may still have admirers, not unlike some serial killers then and now.
One thing I like is, similar to how a lot of Harleys personality was inspired from her voice actress, Arleen Sorkin. A similar thing seems to have happened when developing Livewire with Lori Petty
3:35 She's a professional Bullshitter. It doesn't matter if she's right or wrong; she'll say whatever it takes to make you beleive in her. Real life politicians and business leaders thrive on this skill.
In other words, a grifter. It's questionable whether she even believed anything she said; she just knew that it got her ratings and a paycheck so she ran with it. She was just as immersed in the rat race as those against whom she appeared to rebel.
Ive always thought Livewire was one of the most underrated Superman villains with a lot of potential, and Ive always liked her, and Lori Petty does a great job voicing the character. She's such a chaotic, fun, yet sassy villain that can hurt Superman, not just with her electricity powers but with her words. I've always loved the idea of her being a shock jock reporter/podcaster who has an irrational, cynical distaste for Superman as a so-called "boy scout" whose empathy and altruism is seen as boring and corny in today's 21st-century society. Livewire represents how the younger generation today considers the actions of good people. You could really play into her being an online presence before being a villain as a commentary of specific online influencers spreading false information, hateful propaganda, and unreliable fearmongering, all to get attention, manipulate the masses and profit off of them for their own gain. Livewire could be a personification of how the media has affected the world today juxtaposed by actual good media that seeks the truth and shares it with the world with the need of manipulating the masses, as represented by good reporters like Lois, Clark and Jimmy as well as the Daily Planet. Superman can act as a pillar of trustful, reliable and genuine news, with altruistic values that people should listen to, thus that could cause Leslie WIllis to create her own hubris by becoming Livewire through some specific set of events that leads to her manipulating electricity, similar to how she did to manipulate the public, and being a real symbolic threat to Superman as his first villain, all the while Superman would have to grapple if Leslie is right and whether his values and identity do have a place in this world today and whether being Superman is worth all the hate and xenophobia that is yet to come as if the idea of becoming Superman is just a naive fantasy from an equally naive farm boy from Kansas. I think that would be interesting to explore, taking elements from Whatever Happened To Truth, Justice, And The American Way comic storyline.
I had an idea for a film with her and Lex Luthor being the main villains, trying to keep the 90s Blade Runner type Metropolis a hellhole where the only source of joy is the fleeting feeling of pleasure. With Lex pretending to be an ally, trying to get Superman to sell out to him and livewire rallying public opinion against him. He even goes to Gotham and it looks like paradise in contrast despite being the posterboy for 1930s type major city. In the end, Metropolis made more of the likeness of Back to the Future part 2, making it clear that Superman intends to help turn Metropolis into the peak of atomic age optimism.
Livewire's character in the 90s show could work nowadays being skeptical of Supes and diving into conspiracy theorists nowadays. Reaching that spectrum but also Livewire showing she loves having power and doesn't want to change.
I like Livewire as a character. She is literally the very power that runs society, personified. She doesn't just abuse power, she IS power. She's one of those great highlights on what makes Superman better than his enemies - they are among the most powerful people on Earth, as he is, but Supes remains uncorrupted by his power. Then teaming her up with Parasite? Backing her with Luthor? They're all great ideas. Superman was born of the idea that somebody needs to use their power for the common good, and I think STAS really nailed that aspect of the franchise. It's not as complex as the meaning behind most Batman stories, but just as important. And I think STAS did a fantastic job adding depth in unexpected places, and rather tastefully even in its innuendos.
Both LiveWire and Volcana, in my opinion were like the Poison ivy and Harley Quinn to Superman. And I always had this theory about LiveWire on how she seems to be almost like borderline obsessive with Superman at times to where like it felt she was in love with the man of steel, I mean technically she gave him a “shock to the heart.”
yeah I also kinda wished they explored that, heck to me it would be even more interesting if she actually does hate superman but genuinely likes/was attracted to clark for all the same reason she finds superman fake. (would be a neat little twist on how lois is often presented as more romantic with superman vs clark)
@@TheChildofAuraReborn Both Livewire and Volcana were criminally underused on STAS, Volcana herself appearing in only 2 eps max. I think with BTAS, it was the perfect storm of factors: Harley Quinn was such an inspired character, who had an inspired look and a great VA to boot. She pairs extremely well with others in different situations, be it Ivy, Batman and especially Joker. I don't think Livewire or Volcana had that opportunity to pair like Harley did
Lesly is the type of person to complain that life aint fair when thing dont go her way yet never realizes half the times its just a coincidence and the other half is her own dang ego fault
I really like Livewire and honestly wish they stayed the idea of her redemption...but I am a sucker for those. It's a shame comic stuff rarely lets those stick
One time in the comics she actually became a hero and became a part of a superhero team created by Superman. Her powers were overloading and Superman gave her his suit from when he had those eletric powers
I like the little detail that shows she stepped on a cable as she gets struck by the lightning and you can see the bolt going from her through the cable
Honestly I kinda think the reason why Livewire’s powers hurt Superman is because she’s created from the same “energy wavelength” that’s coming off of Clark due to the yellow sun. It’s basically being hit with his own bio-electricity essentially
@@jeggsonvohees2201Superman's a Kryptonian but he still has a nervous and muscular system Edison demonstrated the danger of Telsa superior AC electricty by using to kill an elephant.
I remember being unreasonably jazzed when I realized she was both playable and voiced in Lego DC Supervillains. Nice to see the character do stuff again, even if she's probably never going to be as enormous as Harley.
I don't know much about Livewire, but I find her interesting. I think the most interesting thing about her is that she seems to have the wits, guts, and smarts to get whatever she sets her mind to. The only thing that's stopping her is that she tries to take shortcuts and disregards things keeping her safe, which always end up sabotaging her. Her worst enemy is herself, and it's probably the only thing holding her back. It is a shame that the show squanders Livewire's redemption arc, but I don't think it's entirely out of character. Also, I just have to say that I love 2:52 where the lightning and the words "News Flash!" happened together. That's got to have been intentional.
S: TAS didn't squander it, it's the fault of sequel series Justice League+Unlimited, in what may be a need to stay away from the otherwise great comics so to avoid "Continuity Lockout". Didn't stop them from featuring Deadman and Mister Miracle without a proper first introduction though.
I think she's the sort of villain that benefits from a redemption arc. Great design and powers, and she could be a good person and hero if she worked on her horrific ego and thought about helping others
One thing that's interesting about Parasite in the DCAU is that his face bears the resemblance of the Raymond Jensen incarnation, while the rest of his body is more like the Rudy Jones version of the character from the comics. While he doesn't appear to have any leech teeth like his comic counterpart, there is a slight reference to that aspect during Rudy's gruesome transformation in "Feeding Time". "Two's a Crowd" also references a similar incident that happened to Parasite in the comics. Also, similar to btas, stas shows how despite his monstrous form, Parasite is given some humility by having characters (including Superman) refer to him as "Rudy" in most of his appearances.
@chickadeestevenson5440 She's kind of a waste in MAWS. She's visually boring even after she gets powers, and has almost no character, which is a shame because she's one of my favorite characters in the og show.
Oh my stars and garters you're finally doing her I can't wait she's hella underrated and one of my favorite Superman villains. Definitely in my top 10.
Livewire is honestly one of the most interesting characters. She proved to be a great elemental threat to Superman and her personality was quite..LIVELY😄. Although she doesn’t really understand that even men especially Superman have hard if not harder struggles. She’s basically addicted to attention and feeling more validated than others. Kinda wish she had more appearances because of well written she was. So much more potential for this villain.
Well, I think her hatred of Superman is a commentary on surface level feminism. She places all the blame for her troubles on “men in general”, but never targets the specific men in power. She works for Lex Luther, the man who pays most of the men she sees as getting a free pass. Does she try to go independent and offer some criticism of this? Network with other acclaimed women in news, like Lois Lane, to bring attention to the subject? Offer any support to other women facing these struggles? No. She doesn’t want a better lot in life for all women; she wants one of the lots the patriarchs already have. She doesn’t want equality for all, she wants to be equal to those in power
Honestly, the creators had some sort of idea in their minds of Livewire being some kind of Harley Quinn type character... Except for the fact that Harley Quinn was a figure created by tragedy. Leslie however, brought all this on her own head. But, she is rather interesting. However, I just wish that the writers would know what to do with her more often.
@@seeleunit2000 it may have to do with the gothic nature of Batman and Harley's design that makes her more long lasting in appeal. Livewire is a character study in man's relationship to power and what to do with it, which can be said for so many Superman rogues. I think Superman's rogues are great, but mainstream i think is attracted more to the macabre and tragicomic of the Batman villains
I like that My Adventures with Superman decided to put Livewire in the spotlight by having her be one of the main villains for most of the first season.
I have mixed feelings about MAWS's Livewire. Sure they gave her electricity powers and more, but they really Nerf down her personality. The original was a shockjocker turn anarchist, the new one is just a thief. I guess they had to abandon the whole "shock jock" thing since the government put leash laws on them IRL. But I do like the relationship she has with Heatwave. They gave her a sort of this hopeless romantic side of her that I can respect. "Love is NOT for Coward."
With how social media is huge thing , as well all the grifters using it to lash out on others, Livewire is one those villains that I'm surprise DC didn't use it in their films yet. I really hope she appears in the DCU Superman movies. Not only she would be the first female main villain in a Superman film but also could easly work as foe for both Superman as well Clark and Lois, since they are reporters trying to expose the truth while Livewire uses her influence in media to twist the truth for her own selfish goals.
"Villains use their bad day as an excuse to break the world, but heroes use their bad day as an excuse to fix the world." I think there's something interesting about how villains often feel they are owed something from the world whilst heroes feel that they owe the world something. The duality of selfishness and selflessness often being paired with obligations and debt. Just look at Titan from Megamind: A cautionary tale about the dangers of believing that the real world works the same way it does in comic books and fiction. But then you also have the Parallax arc: An example of what happens when heroes keep giving and giving only to suffer tragedy after tragedy. I suppose there is some merit to this quote then... "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain."
With the way her character was going in the comics, if the New 52 didn't happen, I could imagine the Young All-Stars being brought back with Livewire as one of its members.
I really, really wish they would put her against Punchline, as Punchline feels like the 202X version of a woman Shock Jock in a lot of ways. Going with how Livewire has accumulated at least some interesting ideas over time, it would be interesting to pit this character who came from the same period as Harley against her, but without just using Harley, as a twist to how people see Punchline as a new HQ in the first place.
Livewire was such a fun Superman TAS villainess (alongside Volcana, but my simping over her will have to be for another time, lol). Despite being an absolutely awful person, she was loud, flashy, confident, and had so much charm as a character; she was a train crash that you couldn't look away from. I think the biggest missed opportunity was not having her team up with Lobo; the Parasite team up was a good episode in showing how teaming up with someone who has just as much ill intent as you do makes for an unreliable alliance, but the dynamic between her and Lobo would have been legendary. And I don't care if people make fun of Bruce Timm's design process for female characters (even though it's A) very efficient for animation and B) Great and easy at visually implying what kind of power or theme the villain has), the blue color palette and lightning dip is iconic, especially since the lore is that she chose it for herself. She may hate unwanted attention but she likes to be sexy and flaunt herself. And I'm sure I'll catch flak for it but I'll say it: the MAWS version of Livewire has to be the most boring cartoon incarnation of her to ever exist. The ugly-ass haircut, the lack of lightning motif in her design, the horrible character origin switch from a loudmouth radio personality to a boring merc-type weapons dealer in a show where apparently EVERYONE is a merc-type character. Also not to mention the absolute lack of sexiness. They did her so dirty.
In the DC Super Hero Girls (2019) iteration, she's an internet troll/bully and it really feels like a natural evolution of her previous STAS lore and character, modernizing her.
Livewire was a great villain for Superman. It is a shame she did not get a major role in JLU, but with so many characters, I guess the creative team did not have enough time to feature her. I am almost glad she is not as popular as Quinn because if she was, DC and warner brothers would overexpose her (of course when you consider her personality, I doubt she would have a problem with that).
The interesting mirror livewire shows to the struggle women suffer from, is that among the valid movement, there hide selfish people. But at the same time, only cause they are selfish, doesnt mean the problems arent real. Live wire doesnt care about women, only herself. But despite her selfishness, she still faces the same problems as other women. But through her actions and behavior, she doesnt get the sympathy or moral highground that most women "punching up" get. In short, every group has their bad eggs. Livewire is one of those.
You know Superman really doesn’t have enough villains that can hurt him physically or even have a J.Jonah Jameson type character who doesn’t like the hero and I always get confused with her and Killer Frost as they have the same colour scheme and a sadistic personality as she is just a female Electro.
I've been stuck watching your content, it's soo good and wonderfully made!! Have you ever thought, or have already done, some coverage on the Batman audio adventures?
Livewire had such a unique voice, a shame they never got the actress back after Justice League. Modernizing her would be pretty easy thanks to plenty of jerks and conspiracy nuts on Social Media.
Yeah, Livewire being voiced by Hawkgirl of all folks just didn't seem right. Then again, in the same ep, Metallo wasn't voiced by Malcom McDowell either, though he did return in JLU's "Chaos at the Earth's Core".
Just love Lori Petty!❤️ Our sexy Badass Tank Girl was perfect to play a gal who gives no bucks about our favorite boy scout! Though brash and obnoxious, she's definitely one of the few memorable villians welomed in TAS!❤️ I personally love Girls Night Out as it has all my fave gals in one episode! Sad she got relegated to a few cameos and some redemption comics. Still, love her as another villian in the DC rogues...and is funny with Heateave in My Adventures with Superman!
I love the detail from the TAS comic that Livewire is one of the rare metahumans whose powers have no limits. She can absorb and channel infinite amounts of energy. I like that she has so much power but is so petty.
She also had a little brother in the comics who went full-on yandere for Lois, and the B-plot of her debut involved him teaming up with a newly freed-from-the-US-Tax-Code (it makes sense if you have the context, I swear to God it does) Queen of Fables to try and win Lois' heart.
@mitchfletcher2386 can't remember how she got stuck in the show, but in _Midsummer's Nightmare_ the JL trapped her within the Tax Code because her magic is powered by fiction and it was assumed that sealing her in a book of law would render her powerless. Turns out that rich people will make up as much nonsense as they can to keep their money, so she was able to quite literally exploit loopholes to get free.
Livewire is honestly quite a decent commentary on women in media. As, despite being designed in a very shreksual way: She's *only* allowed to follow the status quo. Like, in YJ, she *could* comment on innuendos. But ONLY if they were said by a man. And the innuendo was male inclined. The show eagerly showed men without clothes. But, Mist, was pushed to the background and shamed. HQ is also a perfect example. It has a very strict... "What women are allowed to say and do". All under the guise of "progress". And this spread across all media. It's kinda... weirdly interesting to what I've noticed during all my years of researching it.
I always find Livewire is done dirty in comic adaptations. In TAS we see she is incredibly powerful, able to travel through power cables within Metropolis, putting herself on every screen and later absorb more electricity in order to gain greater power and strength as seen when she picks up and throws a turbine for the hydo-dam. The tie-in comics for Superman TAS continued to show us this level of power, even having Livewire be a key character in the final two issues where she is to be a battery for Darkseid's new doomsday weapon. But in the comics she is just a low level female Electro. Often only able to blast people with lightning and having no higher level of strength/durability, people like Batgirl are able to beat her with relative ease, providing their costume is insulated. She goes from being a tricky threat to handle/contain to a jobber who has only one trick.
The original Livewire is my absolute favorite version of Livewire, mostly because, no matter what she’s doing you can tell she’s having fun while doing it.
I ❤ Livewire mostly because she was voiced by Tank Girl Lori Petti . I am a big fan of her character I really wish she was in more comics In the main universe & I ❤her Sense of humor 😂a character I wish I had an Action Figure of in the Bruce Timm art style.
I would like to point out that at the moment She was struck by the lightning, it first passed through Superman, and then to her. My theory is that when it struck Superman, it gain his alien/sun-powered energy, which then was infused into Livewire when the lightning jumped to her.
I found Livewire very similar to Roxy Rocket from the New Adventures, but she was just cooler. Kinda liked the idea of Metropolis finally getting their own version of J.Jonah Jameson. She was one of my favorite things about STAS, but Lori Petty, Tank Girl her self, being cast was the chef's kiss that made her perfect
0:30: How'd this happen though, this chronological fumble of character introductions? 0:54: Problematic, unfortunately, with then unplanned sequels in mind. Case in point, Huntress in The Batman and Robin Adventures is not the same as the Huntress in JLU. Am jealous of Lex having a hold on Metropolis' entertainment centers. If it were me, I'd gladly make otherwise dry channels be revived with oldies but goodies getting reruns... who needs the The Fast and the Furious series when The Sugarland Express, Bullitt, Thelma and Louise, Smokey and the Bandit, The Italian Job (the remake is also schway though), and so on are around? I adore juxtapositionary scenes. Another good example is Batgirl's only appearance in the SubZero movie. I wonder, how precisely did Superman's Kryptonian presence change Lori into Livewire? That never got a deep explanation in the show or the rest of the DCAU. 4:37: I dunno, I'll be fine with retconning the lightning storm into some covert Multiversal battle between a defense force and a rogue shadow company, with reality warping involved. Might even make this a subtle continuity nod in a Gravity Falls/Amphibia/The Owl House sequel saga, of all places, by way of an operative who fought there casually mentioning this to a privy Amity Blight and Pacifica Northwest... sorry, got rambly there. Livewire loving her new self brings into mind Mr. Freeze, former common thief in The Batman 2004. One wonders if this is a shout-out. 8:18: There's also the list of interrupted expletives... oh, gods, why must Fandom be so advertisement addictive, I see that Samsung!!! Pro of "Girl's Night Out": Gotta love Batgirl and Supergirl's friendly chemistry. (Shame JLU's "Far From Home" didn't acknowledge that when the latter stayed on the 31st century.) Con of "Girl's Night Out": Why is Harley uncharacteristically incompetent and hammer crazy? (Granted, same with her Gotham Girls appearances, the hammer craziness.) In hindsight, Superman Adventures issues 22-23 should have happened after TNBA's "Girl's Night Out", with issue 5 happening before S: TAS' "Double Dose". If it were me on the ranks of the DCAU showrunners, I would have gladly kept Livewire's redemption in Superman Adventures, and just deem that as a noodle incident in Justice League+Unlimited that is well explained in side material, with audience surrogates like, errm, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern commenting that her being a heroine somehow felt sudden. Trust me, I've seen similar out-of-nowhere moments well explained in such material in works like Star Wars Legends (Revenge of the Sith's "business on Cato Neimoidia" is explained in the Labyrinth of Evil novel, for one). 12:59: All in all, the former is most likely. For once, doing an Elseworlds is quite unwise. You know, she should have appeared in Static Shock. Having Static, an electric hero, battle an electric supervillainess would have been fascinating. Maybe even bring out Rubberband Man and She-Bang to assist as well, with Richie doing mission control after his tech got fried. Ah, the Stalker is next. In my opinion, he's a far better done hunter and foe compared to Spider-Man: The Animated Series' nicer take on Kraven the Hunter.
Darkseid’s going on the next STAS villains poll. The video I put out on Monday was partially about Lex Luthor, but there’s an awful lot more to say about him!
You know what’s funny? Modern incarnations of Harley Quinn basically have Livewire’s rude, crass, violent, sexual “Tank Girl” personality. Thus it’s funny how Livewire isn’t as popular as Harley since they had to basically make Harley into Livewire personality wise.
Livewire has such a great design and the kind of extreme personality that stands out. Plus I do appreciate that she is truly her worst enemy. And her problem with Superman being so misplaced just works. Just a really selfish person that twists anything into both being not her fault and being an excuse for her to lash out.
Ive had this vision of Livewire of making her a bigger deal, I see this potential where what if she was like Superman's equivalent of J Jonah Janerson but actualy becoming a villian, besides her actual powers she could use her voice a radio jockey to cause doubt & anger towards Superman, Livewire could be a bigger & very interesting theart.
Her last appearance in the DCAU is just her key art from the STAS days seemingly pasted in next to a number of Secret Society members. It's like they couldn't actually get her to join and they instead made a cardboard cutout.
Im not sure why but Livewire always reminded of Electro from The Spectacular Spiderman but also opposites on how they treat their Elec. powers. Max hated his power and wanted to find a cure to turn himself back to normel, meanwhile Leslie loved getting her powers and used it for herself. I wonder if Electro was the thing they got some of the ideas for Livewire.
@@michaelnally2841 yeah i really dont know much of the other Electros. The only ones i know are from Spectacular Spiderman, Amazing Spiderman 2, and the PS4 Spider Man game.
Excited to watch this Parasite video you've got planned. Also still patiently waiting for a video on Batman Beyond's Ratboy, aka Patrick. He's still my favorite Batman Beyond villain, & I wanna hear your opinions on him Serum.
One of the plot threads cut by the Flashpoint/New-52 was Livewire eventual redemption arc. In one of the last issue of the New Earth Superman she received the old contaiment suit from the "energy Superman" era, since she was at risk of turning into pure energy. Apparently, this gave her both more control over her powers and a way to "think more clearly", implying that channeling all that electricity was scrambling her mind.
Honestly, I find that the message of LiveWire is not how women are treated worse, but how this disposition can be radicalized and exploited as well. It basically shows toxic feminism/victimhood: a sound base, but completely selfish and wrong.
Seeing Livewire team up with Harley and Ivy reminded me of Darkwing Duck's adversaries The Fearsome Five, but only 3/5th's of the way, as they were lacking expies of NegaDuck and Liquidator at the time.
I'd be interesting to see her referenced in the new Superman film, even if just as a voice. Maybe they could adapt her as a podcast host/TikToker that her entire content is her trashing not only Supes but all heroes altogether, considering how hate culture is stronger than ever
In the Superman comics, part of why livewire reforms to an extent is that when brainiac enacts his plan, livewire appears in public ready to commit more crimes with an audience. Except because the city is worried about the end of the world by brainiac’s plan, as Lois lane tells livewire, no one cares. Lois lane I think also challenges her to actually help out since livewire always complains as if she is being ignored/disrespected. Livewire dosnt really have an answer to lane, which means lane hit on livewire’s need for attention.
StAS Livewire always struck me as an example of a person who feigns victim hood for clout, and to stroke their ego. I feel like a good redemption ark for her would have involved her getting humbled by people who really had gone through what she claimed she had, and/or people who she couldn’t claim being victimized by. She would have made for some really great Wonder Woman focused Justice League episodes.
My favourite episode with Livewire is probably "Double Dose". Double Dode is an interesting case because the pairing of Livewire and Parasite kind of fixes the issues I had with the individual villains which is that DCAU Parasite doesn't have an interesting personality and doesn't make for a compelling episode centric villain, whereas Livewire I felt had too much personality and would be more enjoyable in smaller doses.
Wish they acknowledged Batgirl during Kara's last appearance in JLU's "Far From Home". Not coming back to the past to pay visits anymore with her pal just feels mean.
Leslie doesn't 'blame' Supes for her powers, she's moreso just saying that because she finally has an excuse and more importantly a means to finally hurl something more than pointed words at the MAN of steel Superman's a symbol, but in Livewire's eyes he became a symbol of everything she couldn't be almost in a similar way to Lex Luthor While my memory's a bit spotty on this, I do like the crossover episode between S:TAS and THBA where Livewire vacations in Gotham and forms a crime trio with Harley and Ivy, with Supergirl and Batgirl trying to stop them, and iirc Livewire is especially cruel to Harley and Batgirl because they're trying to keep up with people with super powers, at this point willfully forgetting how she was just like them is constantly trying to show off to the (at this point) borderline nature elemental Poison Ivy, while Ivy was just all buisness. It's this sorta rivalry with Harley for Ivy's attention that ends up with the trio failing. I do kinda wish that Livewire joined up with them again during the Static Shock episode Nails (where a bang baby travels to Gotham thinking there was a cure only to be tricked by Harley and Ivy to do their dirty work until they tried to kill her) but I suppose budget constraints and the idea of having two electric characters in one scene would be a bit confusing
I love Leslie’s pre-livewire transformation look. It just screams late-90s edgy alt chick.
thats what I was thinking! her character design is so fun to look at
Lol that was me, glasses, Wet N Wild black pencil for my whole face, and everything. God, I was so clueless back then.
I know. Who cares if it's a period piece, her look and attitude, for it's a Schway period piece!
I would give multiple appendages for a Leslie lookalike
DUDE I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE!
I always like Livewire. She’s such a different type of villain compared to other Superman rogues.
She’s the type of villain you can tell is always having fun doing what she does
Well, she is interesting
That’s probably why I liked her when watching STAS as a kid.
The reality of being the one without powers on a team of those who do have them
Not unlike Harley in BTAS, who genuinely seems to revel in the chaos and destruction she helps the Joker cause. Honestly, Livewire kinda reminds me of a mix between BTAS Harley and the Danny Phantom villain Ember. She wants people to know and remember who she is while also reveling in causing havoc. Seems like the writers probably had a blast working on Livewire's character.
@@comettamerNot really. With Ember perhaps but not Harley. Harley Quinn was a psychologist who tried to treat the joker but was manipulated by him and to become his sidekick/pawn.
Livewire was a shock jock who let herself be electrocuted after Superman tried to save her... It wasn't for the fact that she was a meta human she would have died.
I swear they did Harley so dirty in Girls Night Out. She was basically bullied and treated like an incompetent idiot for 20 minutes😭
Yeah, I know she's about to be the comedy relief sometimes, but that was painful.
All she does in that ep is hit things with a mallet but deal no damage, it's infuriating
@@Chadius and a few episodes later she casually kidnapped and almost killed Batman like it was nothing on a normal afternoon😭
@@Chadius I mean I get that the writers wanted to let us know that she’s just a girl with a big mallet with no real superpowers while Poison Ivy is literally mother nature but c‘mon stop embarrassing her like that😭
I feel like they had no idea what to do with her character after season 3, they gave her all that character development for nothing
That’s why her character and abilities are so inconsistent
Foreshadows her Gotham Girls self, in a way.
Can we take a moment to appreciate that Live Wire's origin is basically just a pun for the term "Shock Jock?"
no. lol
Yes
Maybe
Shock Therapy
Absolutely
I think it's kind of ironic, that she's a bit of a control freak, and wants to be the ringleader of her own life.... Yet she has barely any control over herself. if Toyman represents Superman's childlike innocence, and Metallo represents his heart and humanity, then I think Livewire representatives his self control.
@@nexik680 i like how there are parallels to be drawn between Superman and his rogue gallery.
Kinda like between Batman snd his rogues
@@KNadoli all great villains represent pieces of the heroes.
That's so cool to me.
I agree with this. Didn't take Livewire long to go a bit mad with power, to the point that despite having Superman in her grasp, her lack of self-control saw her easily goaded into foiling herself.
Can't blame her for her sassiness, but can blame her for her rudeness.
There's always a difference between confidence and over confidence.
Also doesn't help she's in the kind of job that rewards that kind of behavior, except with other folks it's enough of a "bit" they usually don't become genuinely bigger assholes.
Lesley Willis seems to serve two thematic roles, as Casually Comics points out:
1. She serves as an avatar for the comic book reader audience that derides the idea of Superman as being lame and goody two shoes. It's important to note that even in real life, people doing good get unwarranted hate thrown at them
2. She's a semi feminist commentary on the male dominated shock jock industry, dominated usually by males. Her rhetoric makes her "one of the guys" in a way, which makes her such a popular voice in Metropolis,i think
1 - Brings into mind how the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's cut Lord of the Rings sequel "The New Shadow" came to be: good and peace can and will becomes inevitably boring and dull.
2 - A pity her becoming a villainess meant a lot of disillusionment from her fans. However, there's a chance she may still have admirers, not unlike some serial killers then and now.
One thing I like is, similar to how a lot of Harleys personality was inspired from her voice actress, Arleen Sorkin. A similar thing seems to have happened when developing Livewire with Lori Petty
Yeah her voice defines Livewire for me, its sad other portrayals don't try and channel her version of Livewire.
Petty's distinctive voice absolutely made Livewire
Lori Petty is an icon, and I agree, she absolutely made Live Wire.
A lesser role who actually got the "Can't Unhear It" trope treatment. Quite impressive.
3:35 She's a professional Bullshitter. It doesn't matter if she's right or wrong; she'll say whatever it takes to make you beleive in her. Real life politicians and business leaders thrive on this skill.
In other words, a grifter. It's questionable whether she even believed anything she said; she just knew that it got her ratings and a paycheck so she ran with it. She was just as immersed in the rat race as those against whom she appeared to rebel.
42nd 👍,
Powerscalers sometimes use the same tactics too
We really need to have penalties for that sort of thing.
@@bensoncheung2801 45
Leslie's superpower isn't electricity. It's the uncanny ability to be the only known person alive to look good in a hospital gown.
She can have both powers.
Ive always thought Livewire was one of the most underrated Superman villains with a lot of potential, and Ive always liked her, and Lori Petty does a great job voicing the character. She's such a chaotic, fun, yet sassy villain that can hurt Superman, not just with her electricity powers but with her words. I've always loved the idea of her being a shock jock reporter/podcaster who has an irrational, cynical distaste for Superman as a so-called "boy scout" whose empathy and altruism is seen as boring and corny in today's 21st-century society. Livewire represents how the younger generation today considers the actions of good people. You could really play into her being an online presence before being a villain as a commentary of specific online influencers spreading false information, hateful propaganda, and unreliable fearmongering, all to get attention, manipulate the masses and profit off of them for their own gain. Livewire could be a personification of how the media has affected the world today juxtaposed by actual good media that seeks the truth and shares it with the world with the need of manipulating the masses, as represented by good reporters like Lois, Clark and Jimmy as well as the Daily Planet. Superman can act as a pillar of trustful, reliable and genuine news, with altruistic values that people should listen to, thus that could cause Leslie WIllis to create her own hubris by becoming Livewire through some specific set of events that leads to her manipulating electricity, similar to how she did to manipulate the public, and being a real symbolic threat to Superman as his first villain, all the while Superman would have to grapple if Leslie is right and whether his values and identity do have a place in this world today and whether being Superman is worth all the hate and xenophobia that is yet to come as if the idea of becoming Superman is just a naive fantasy from an equally naive farm boy from Kansas. I think that would be interesting to explore, taking elements from Whatever Happened To Truth, Justice, And The American Way comic storyline.
I had an idea for a film with her and Lex Luthor being the main villains, trying to keep the 90s Blade Runner type Metropolis a hellhole where the only source of joy is the fleeting feeling of pleasure. With Lex pretending to be an ally, trying to get Superman to sell out to him and livewire rallying public opinion against him. He even goes to Gotham and it looks like paradise in contrast despite being the posterboy for 1930s type major city. In the end, Metropolis made more of the likeness of Back to the Future part 2, making it clear that Superman intends to help turn Metropolis into the peak of atomic age optimism.
You took the words right outta mouth, I too saw too see that potential in Livewire.
I wish we'd gotten to see her sharing the screen with DCAU Lobo. Those two would be a volatile combination.
Or even battle Static in Static Shock.
Just commented something along the lines of this and didn't even see your comment, I wholeheartedly agree.
@@michaelandreipalon359she fought Black Lightning in SS. It was as innuendo charged as you can expect
@@nyetloki The mainline universe comics, you mean, not the DCAU cartoon.
@@michaelandreipalon359 whoops I was thinking Batman assault on Arkham, but nope it was Young Justice ruclips.net/video/esTpliFBQ6E/видео.html
Livewire's character in the 90s show could work nowadays being skeptical of Supes and diving into conspiracy theorists nowadays. Reaching that spectrum but also Livewire showing she loves having power and doesn't want to change.
I like Livewire as a character. She is literally the very power that runs society, personified. She doesn't just abuse power, she IS power. She's one of those great highlights on what makes Superman better than his enemies - they are among the most powerful people on Earth, as he is, but Supes remains uncorrupted by his power. Then teaming her up with Parasite? Backing her with Luthor? They're all great ideas. Superman was born of the idea that somebody needs to use their power for the common good, and I think STAS really nailed that aspect of the franchise. It's not as complex as the meaning behind most Batman stories, but just as important. And I think STAS did a fantastic job adding depth in unexpected places, and rather tastefully even in its innuendos.
Both LiveWire and Volcana, in my opinion were like the Poison ivy and Harley Quinn to Superman. And I always had this theory about LiveWire on how she seems to be almost like borderline obsessive with Superman at times to where like it felt she was in love with the man of steel, I mean technically she gave him a “shock to the heart.”
yeah I also kinda wished they explored that, heck to me it would be even more interesting if she actually does hate superman but genuinely likes/was attracted to clark for all the same reason she finds superman fake. (would be a neat little twist on how lois is often presented as more romantic with superman vs clark)
Someone once lamented that Volcana could have been the Catwoman of Superman TAS, and honestly I feel that being a missed opportunity.
@@TheChildofAuraReborn Both Livewire and Volcana were criminally underused on STAS, Volcana herself appearing in only 2 eps max. I think with BTAS, it was the perfect storm of factors: Harley Quinn was such an inspired character, who had an inspired look and a great VA to boot. She pairs extremely well with others in different situations, be it Ivy, Batman and especially Joker. I don't think Livewire or Volcana had that opportunity to pair like Harley did
Sounds more like a headcanon than a theory
Lesly is the type of person to complain that life aint fair when thing dont go her way yet never realizes half the times its just a coincidence and the other half is her own dang ego fault
"In charge" - I see what you did there! 😂🤣😂🤣😂
🙇♂️
@@SerumLake please make a video explaining the history of the dc comics and Static Shock cartoon series villain named HotStreak please
@@SerumLakeDo you have any intentions on covering the Watchmen animated trailer?
@@marktheshark7588 No
I really like Livewire and honestly wish they stayed the idea of her redemption...but I am a sucker for those. It's a shame comic stuff rarely lets those stick
Just what were the JL+JLU creators thinking, not wanting to keep the tie-in comics canon?
One time in the comics she actually became a hero and became a part of a superhero team created by Superman. Her powers were overloading and Superman gave her his suit from when he had those eletric powers
Which comic is this?
I like the little detail that shows she stepped on a cable as she gets struck by the lightning and you can see the bolt going from her through the cable
Honestly I kinda think the reason why Livewire’s powers hurt Superman is because she’s created from the same “energy wavelength” that’s coming off of Clark due to the yellow sun. It’s basically being hit with his own bio-electricity essentially
@@dejaypage1575 That makes more sense than him just being vulnerable to electricity.
Considering that she's currently a metahuman made out of pure electricity, any living being would get hurt being smacked by lightning
Honestly I still think she can mess with his Bio-energy field. Given she wears a suit for a bit that Blue-Energy Clark wore
@@jeggsonvohees2201Superman's a Kryptonian but he still has a nervous and muscular system
Edison demonstrated the danger of Telsa superior AC electricty by using to kill an elephant.
Livewire is Superman's J Jonah Jameson
“BRING ME PICTURES OF SUPERMAN!”
I’ll disagree. He is misguided like Livewire, but unlike her Jameson actually cares about the people of NY.
@Victor-qx3vx yeah, I know.
@@SerumLake Ha Good one 👍
@@SerumLake "Sexy pictures."
I remember being unreasonably jazzed when I realized she was both playable and voiced in Lego DC Supervillains. Nice to see the character do stuff again, even if she's probably never going to be as enormous as Harley.
I don't know much about Livewire, but I find her interesting. I think the most interesting thing about her is that she seems to have the wits, guts, and smarts to get whatever she sets her mind to. The only thing that's stopping her is that she tries to take shortcuts and disregards things keeping her safe, which always end up sabotaging her. Her worst enemy is herself, and it's probably the only thing holding her back.
It is a shame that the show squanders Livewire's redemption arc, but I don't think it's entirely out of character.
Also, I just have to say that I love 2:52 where the lightning and the words "News Flash!" happened together. That's got to have been intentional.
S: TAS didn't squander it, it's the fault of sequel series Justice League+Unlimited, in what may be a need to stay away from the otherwise great comics so to avoid "Continuity Lockout".
Didn't stop them from featuring Deadman and Mister Miracle without a proper first introduction though.
what's really awesome about her is that lori petty (tankgirl) did her voice
I think she's the sort of villain that benefits from a redemption arc. Great design and powers, and she could be a good person and hero if she worked on her horrific ego and thought about helping others
Just finished Superman last week. Her episodes were definitely some of my favorites.
One thing that's interesting about Parasite in the DCAU is that his face bears the resemblance of the Raymond Jensen incarnation, while the rest of his body is more like the Rudy Jones version of the character from the comics. While he doesn't appear to have any leech teeth like his comic counterpart, there is a slight reference to that aspect during Rudy's gruesome transformation in "Feeding Time". "Two's a Crowd" also references a similar incident that happened to Parasite in the comics. Also, similar to btas, stas shows how despite his monstrous form, Parasite is given some humility by having characters (including Superman) refer to him as "Rudy" in most of his appearances.
Always been kinda funny to me how she's an obnoxious egotistical type of person but also undeniably sexy and fun to watch as a villain.
This definitely my favorite villain from the show
Still disappointed by how little she appears in stuff
Well I hope you enjoy the video once it goes live 🫡
She's in MAWS a lot
@chickadeestevenson5440 She's kind of a waste in MAWS. She's visually boring even after she gets powers, and has almost no character, which is a shame because she's one of my favorite characters in the og show.
Leslie: I need someone to blame for my problems, otherwise it's all my fault.
That's her about what happened to her.
I like the voice they cast for Livewire, works really well.
Tank Girl herself!
Rare is a casting misfire in the DCAU.
Oh my stars and garters you're finally doing her I can't wait she's hella underrated and one of my favorite Superman villains. Definitely in my top 10.
Livewire is honestly one of the most interesting characters. She proved to be a great elemental threat to Superman and her personality was quite..LIVELY😄. Although she doesn’t really understand that even men especially Superman have hard if not harder struggles. She’s basically addicted to attention and feeling more validated than others. Kinda wish she had more appearances because of well written she was. So much more potential for this villain.
Well, I think her hatred of Superman is a commentary on surface level feminism. She places all the blame for her troubles on “men in general”, but never targets the specific men in power. She works for Lex Luther, the man who pays most of the men she sees as getting a free pass. Does she try to go independent and offer some criticism of this? Network with other acclaimed women in news, like Lois Lane, to bring attention to the subject? Offer any support to other women facing these struggles? No. She doesn’t want a better lot in life for all women; she wants one of the lots the patriarchs already have. She doesn’t want equality for all, she wants to be equal to those in power
I like that her STAS design resembles Superman’s electric form, not sure what came first
Honestly, the creators had some sort of idea in their minds of Livewire being some kind of Harley Quinn type character... Except for the fact that Harley Quinn was a figure created by tragedy.
Leslie however, brought all this on her own head. But, she is rather interesting. However, I just wish that the writers would know what to do with her more often.
@@seeleunit2000 it may have to do with the gothic nature of Batman and Harley's design that makes her more long lasting in appeal.
Livewire is a character study in man's relationship to power and what to do with it, which can be said for so many Superman rogues. I think Superman's rogues are great, but mainstream i think is attracted more to the macabre and tragicomic of the Batman villains
I like that My Adventures with Superman decided to put Livewire in the spotlight by having her be one of the main villains for most of the first season.
@kamikazelemming1552 too bad MAWS version of Livewire is pretty underwhelming.
@@kamikazelemming1552 A shame they wasted all of the screen time by not giving her an interesting character or costume design.
I have mixed feelings about MAWS's Livewire. Sure they gave her electricity powers and more, but they really Nerf down her personality. The original was a shockjocker turn anarchist, the new one is just a thief. I guess they had to abandon the whole "shock jock" thing since the government put leash laws on them IRL. But I do like the relationship she has with Heatwave. They gave her a sort of this hopeless romantic side of her that I can respect. "Love is NOT for Coward."
@@tylerbertram7065Most of the villains in my adventures are underwhelming, except for Brainiac, Mxy and Parasite.
@@tayojones9460 well you're not wrong
With how social media is huge thing , as well all the grifters using it to lash out on others, Livewire is one those villains that I'm surprise DC didn't use it in their films yet. I really hope she appears in the DCU Superman movies. Not only she would be the first female main villain in a Superman film but also could easly work as foe for both Superman as well Clark and Lois, since they are reporters trying to expose the truth while Livewire uses her influence in media to twist the truth for her own selfish goals.
Oooooooooooh I would LOVE that
"Villains use their bad day as an excuse to break the world, but heroes use their bad day as an excuse to fix the world." I think there's something interesting about how villains often feel they are owed something from the world whilst heroes feel that they owe the world something. The duality of selfishness and selflessness often being paired with obligations and debt.
Just look at Titan from Megamind: A cautionary tale about the dangers of believing that the real world works the same way it does in comic books and fiction.
But then you also have the Parallax arc: An example of what happens when heroes keep giving and giving only to suffer tragedy after tragedy.
I suppose there is some merit to this quote then...
"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain."
With the way her character was going in the comics, if the New 52 didn't happen, I could imagine the Young All-Stars being brought back with Livewire as one of its members.
Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Livewire make a deadly trio.
10:21 "being groped" shows Livewire forcing a kiss on a man 💀
But in all seriousness, cool video, dude 👍
I really, really wish they would put her against Punchline, as Punchline feels like the 202X version of a woman Shock Jock in a lot of ways.
Going with how Livewire has accumulated at least some interesting ideas over time, it would be interesting to pit this character who came from the same period as Harley against her, but without just using Harley, as a twist to how people see Punchline as a new HQ in the first place.
Livewire was and still is my favorite villainess. I believe it was a missed opportunity to explore her life as a hero.
Livewire was such a fun Superman TAS villainess (alongside Volcana, but my simping over her will have to be for another time, lol). Despite being an absolutely awful person, she was loud, flashy, confident, and had so much charm as a character; she was a train crash that you couldn't look away from. I think the biggest missed opportunity was not having her team up with Lobo; the Parasite team up was a good episode in showing how teaming up with someone who has just as much ill intent as you do makes for an unreliable alliance, but the dynamic between her and Lobo would have been legendary. And I don't care if people make fun of Bruce Timm's design process for female characters (even though it's A) very efficient for animation and B) Great and easy at visually implying what kind of power or theme the villain has), the blue color palette and lightning dip is iconic, especially since the lore is that she chose it for herself. She may hate unwanted attention but she likes to be sexy and flaunt herself.
And I'm sure I'll catch flak for it but I'll say it: the MAWS version of Livewire has to be the most boring cartoon incarnation of her to ever exist. The ugly-ass haircut, the lack of lightning motif in her design, the horrible character origin switch from a loudmouth radio personality to a boring merc-type weapons dealer in a show where apparently EVERYONE is a merc-type character. Also not to mention the absolute lack of sexiness. They did her so dirty.
In the DC Super Hero Girls (2019) iteration, she's an internet troll/bully and it really feels like a natural evolution of her previous STAS lore and character, modernizing her.
She’s the character I wish modern DC turned into their Deadpool wannabe
Honestly I could see it costly annoying everyone funny never shutting up
I always thought in my head that condimint king could work as a dc villan deadpool because hes a joke character
Thats what they Did with Harley
I wish I can see a “zap!” On screen when she shocks someone.
Livewire was a great villain for Superman.
It is a shame she did not get a major role in JLU, but with so many characters, I guess the creative team did not have enough time to feature her. I am almost glad she is not as popular as Quinn because if she was, DC and warner brothers would overexpose her (of course when you consider her personality, I doubt she would have a problem with that).
The interesting mirror livewire shows to the struggle women suffer from, is that among the valid movement, there hide selfish people.
But at the same time, only cause they are selfish, doesnt mean the problems arent real.
Live wire doesnt care about women, only herself.
But despite her selfishness, she still faces the same problems as other women.
But through her actions and behavior, she doesnt get the sympathy or moral highground that most women "punching up" get.
In short, every group has their bad eggs.
Livewire is one of those.
You know Superman really doesn’t have enough villains that can hurt him physically or even have a J.Jonah Jameson type character who doesn’t like the hero and I always get confused with her and Killer Frost as they have the same colour scheme and a sadistic personality as she is just a female Electro.
I've been stuck watching your content, it's soo good and wonderfully made!!
Have you ever thought, or have already done, some coverage on the Batman audio adventures?
I hadn’t really considered it because I tend to focus on the DCAU (and the tangentially related projects) but never say never!
I would love to see a modern live action LiveWire as an insufferable social media influencer
If I'm remembering right, I'm pretty sure that "DC Superhero Girls" did that.
Imagine if Livewire and Lobo got together. The surrounding cities don't stand a chance.
Livewire had such a unique voice, a shame they never got the actress back after Justice League. Modernizing her would be pretty easy thanks to plenty of jerks and conspiracy nuts on Social Media.
Yeah, Livewire being voiced by Hawkgirl of all folks just didn't seem right.
Then again, in the same ep, Metallo wasn't voiced by Malcom McDowell either, though he did return in JLU's "Chaos at the Earth's Core".
It's honestly baffling that they didn't make her into some sort of podcaster
In that context I can see her working especially given controversial radio hosts/podcasters are still relevant.
We love Livewire cause deep down we all need a rock/goth chick dommy mommy.
Definitely my favorite superman villain thanks for covering her!
Just love Lori Petty!❤️ Our sexy Badass Tank Girl was perfect to play a gal who gives no bucks about our favorite boy scout! Though brash and obnoxious, she's definitely one of the few memorable villians welomed in TAS!❤️ I personally love Girls Night Out as it has all my fave gals in one episode! Sad she got relegated to a few cameos and some redemption comics. Still, love her as another villian in the DC rogues...and is funny with Heateave in My Adventures with Superman!
Don't you mean Heatwave in My Adventures with Superman?
@@ShyBiiteVT yeah got the name mixed
I love the detail from the TAS comic that Livewire is one of the rare metahumans whose powers have no limits. She can absorb and channel infinite amounts of energy. I like that she has so much power but is so petty.
DCAU Livewire > MAWS Livewire
She also had a little brother in the comics who went full-on yandere for Lois, and the B-plot of her debut involved him teaming up with a newly freed-from-the-US-Tax-Code (it makes sense if you have the context, I swear to God it does) Queen of Fables to try and win Lois' heart.
Is the context similar to how she got trapped in a book in the Harley Quinn TV series?
@mitchfletcher2386 can't remember how she got stuck in the show, but in _Midsummer's Nightmare_ the JL trapped her within the Tax Code because her magic is powered by fiction and it was assumed that sealing her in a book of law would render her powerless.
Turns out that rich people will make up as much nonsense as they can to keep their money, so she was able to quite literally exploit loopholes to get free.
@@nicholasfarrell5981 Not the Superman Adventures tie-ins, I assume?
@michaelandreipalon359 no, this was in the main continuity.
Livewire is honestly quite a decent commentary on women in media. As, despite being designed in a very shreksual way: She's *only* allowed to follow the status quo. Like, in YJ, she *could* comment on innuendos. But ONLY if they were said by a man. And the innuendo was male inclined. The show eagerly showed men without clothes. But, Mist, was pushed to the background and shamed. HQ is also a perfect example. It has a very strict... "What women are allowed to say and do". All under the guise of "progress". And this spread across all media. It's kinda... weirdly interesting to what I've noticed during all my years of researching it.
Livewire is in my favorite category of villains. She's destructive and dangerous because she's wants to. She's a woman who wants to have fun.
I always find Livewire is done dirty in comic adaptations. In TAS we see she is incredibly powerful, able to travel through power cables within Metropolis, putting herself on every screen and later absorb more electricity in order to gain greater power and strength as seen when she picks up and throws a turbine for the hydo-dam. The tie-in comics for Superman TAS continued to show us this level of power, even having Livewire be a key character in the final two issues where she is to be a battery for Darkseid's new doomsday weapon. But in the comics she is just a low level female Electro. Often only able to blast people with lightning and having no higher level of strength/durability, people like Batgirl are able to beat her with relative ease, providing their costume is insulated. She goes from being a tricky threat to handle/contain to a jobber who has only one trick.
The original Livewire is my absolute favorite version of Livewire, mostly because, no matter what she’s doing you can tell she’s having fun while doing it.
Given the characterization, I'm surprised she'd hate the new look. :]
I adore Livewire. I wish we could have seen more of her.
Same.
holy shit i love Livewire's pre transformation look. the clothing, the glasses?!
Yeahh its pretty cool
One of my favorite characters from the animated Superman Series. I was always excited whenever she popped up in a new episode.
I ❤ Livewire mostly because she was voiced by Tank Girl Lori Petti .
I am a big fan of her character I really wish she was in more comics In the main universe & I ❤her Sense of humor 😂a character I wish I had an Action Figure of in the Bruce Timm art style.
I would like to point out that at the moment She was struck by the lightning, it first passed through Superman, and then to her. My theory is that when it struck Superman, it gain his alien/sun-powered energy, which then was infused into Livewire when the lightning jumped to her.
I found Livewire very similar to Roxy Rocket from the New Adventures, but she was just cooler. Kinda liked the idea of Metropolis finally getting their own version of J.Jonah Jameson.
She was one of my favorite things about STAS, but Lori Petty, Tank Girl her self, being cast was the chef's kiss that made her perfect
Livewire is basically DC’s Electro
But cool (hot take here oh boy)
We also got another live action Livewire in the Arrowverse's "Supergirl" series.
0:30: How'd this happen though, this chronological fumble of character introductions?
0:54: Problematic, unfortunately, with then unplanned sequels in mind. Case in point, Huntress in The Batman and Robin Adventures is not the same as the Huntress in JLU.
Am jealous of Lex having a hold on Metropolis' entertainment centers. If it were me, I'd gladly make otherwise dry channels be revived with oldies but goodies getting reruns... who needs the The Fast and the Furious series when The Sugarland Express, Bullitt, Thelma and Louise, Smokey and the Bandit, The Italian Job (the remake is also schway though), and so on are around?
I adore juxtapositionary scenes. Another good example is Batgirl's only appearance in the SubZero movie.
I wonder, how precisely did Superman's Kryptonian presence change Lori into Livewire? That never got a deep explanation in the show or the rest of the DCAU.
4:37: I dunno, I'll be fine with retconning the lightning storm into some covert Multiversal battle between a defense force and a rogue shadow company, with reality warping involved. Might even make this a subtle continuity nod in a Gravity Falls/Amphibia/The Owl House sequel saga, of all places, by way of an operative who fought there casually mentioning this to a privy Amity Blight and Pacifica Northwest... sorry, got rambly there.
Livewire loving her new self brings into mind Mr. Freeze, former common thief in The Batman 2004. One wonders if this is a shout-out.
8:18: There's also the list of interrupted expletives... oh, gods, why must Fandom be so advertisement addictive, I see that Samsung!!!
Pro of "Girl's Night Out": Gotta love Batgirl and Supergirl's friendly chemistry. (Shame JLU's "Far From Home" didn't acknowledge that when the latter stayed on the 31st century.)
Con of "Girl's Night Out": Why is Harley uncharacteristically incompetent and hammer crazy? (Granted, same with her Gotham Girls appearances, the hammer craziness.)
In hindsight, Superman Adventures issues 22-23 should have happened after TNBA's "Girl's Night Out", with issue 5 happening before S: TAS' "Double Dose".
If it were me on the ranks of the DCAU showrunners, I would have gladly kept Livewire's redemption in Superman Adventures, and just deem that as a noodle incident in Justice League+Unlimited that is well explained in side material, with audience surrogates like, errm, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern commenting that her being a heroine somehow felt sudden. Trust me, I've seen similar out-of-nowhere moments well explained in such material in works like Star Wars Legends (Revenge of the Sith's "business on Cato Neimoidia" is explained in the Labyrinth of Evil novel, for one).
12:59: All in all, the former is most likely. For once, doing an Elseworlds is quite unwise.
You know, she should have appeared in Static Shock. Having Static, an electric hero, battle an electric supervillainess would have been fascinating. Maybe even bring out Rubberband Man and She-Bang to assist as well, with Richie doing mission control after his tech got fried.
Ah, the Stalker is next. In my opinion, he's a far better done hunter and foe compared to Spider-Man: The Animated Series' nicer take on Kraven the Hunter.
Very clever. Nice, after Parasite, I hope that you can cover Lex Luthor, and later Darkseid.
Darkseid’s going on the next STAS villains poll. The video I put out on Monday was partially about Lex Luthor, but there’s an awful lot more to say about him!
I feel like this character was WAY ahead of her time. She was basically a SweetBaby employee ripped from modern day...
A modern version should definitely be based on Anita Sarkeesian, all the same BS and causing problems for herself that she blames on the world.
I can definitely see livewire work as a potential villain given that many Alex Jones esc radio hosts are still relevant
You know what’s funny? Modern incarnations of Harley Quinn basically have Livewire’s rude, crass, violent, sexual “Tank Girl” personality. Thus it’s funny how Livewire isn’t as popular as Harley since they had to basically make Harley into Livewire personality wise.
I like livewire in MAWS, shes still a crimal but shes more like flashes rouges even in a relationship with heatwave
Livewire has such a great design and the kind of extreme personality that stands out.
Plus I do appreciate that she is truly her worst enemy. And her problem with Superman being so misplaced just works. Just a really selfish person that twists anything into both being not her fault and being an excuse for her to lash out.
Ive had this vision of Livewire of making her a bigger deal, I see this potential where what if she was like Superman's equivalent of J Jonah Janerson but actualy becoming a villian, besides her actual powers she could use her voice a radio jockey to cause doubt & anger towards Superman, Livewire could be a bigger & very interesting theart.
Seeing that my adventures with superman design was actually painful. My god did they even try!?
Her last appearance in the DCAU is just her key art from the STAS days seemingly pasted in next to a number of Secret Society members. It's like they couldn't actually get her to join and they instead made a cardboard cutout.
Im not sure why but Livewire always reminded of Electro from The Spectacular Spiderman but also opposites on how they treat their Elec. powers. Max hated his power and wanted to find a cure to turn himself back to normel, meanwhile Leslie loved getting her powers and used it for herself. I wonder if Electro was the thing they got some of the ideas for Livewire.
Although it may depend on which version of Electro because almost all of them are different but Livewire is a lot more consistent between adaptations
@@michaelnally2841 yeah i really dont know much of the other Electros. The only ones i know are from Spectacular Spiderman, Amazing Spiderman 2, and the PS4 Spider Man game.
Excited to watch this Parasite video you've got planned. Also still patiently waiting for a video on Batman Beyond's Ratboy, aka Patrick. He's still my favorite Batman Beyond villain, & I wanna hear your opinions on him Serum.
Patrick the Rat Boy will be in the next Batman Beyond villain poll, which will go live after the Stalker video 🫡
One of the plot threads cut by the Flashpoint/New-52 was Livewire eventual redemption arc. In one of the last issue of the New Earth Superman she received the old contaiment suit from the "energy Superman" era, since she was at risk of turning into pure energy. Apparently, this gave her both more control over her powers and a way to "think more clearly", implying that channeling all that electricity was scrambling her mind.
Honestly, I find that the message of LiveWire is not how women are treated worse, but how this disposition can be radicalized and exploited as well. It basically shows toxic feminism/victimhood: a sound base, but completely selfish and wrong.
Seeing Livewire team up with Harley and Ivy reminded me of Darkwing Duck's adversaries The Fearsome Five, but only 3/5th's of the way, as they were lacking expies of NegaDuck and Liquidator at the time.
I'd be interesting to see her referenced in the new Superman film, even if just as a voice.
Maybe they could adapt her as a podcast host/TikToker that her entire content is her trashing not only Supes but all heroes altogether, considering how hate culture is stronger than ever
In the Superman comics, part of why livewire reforms to an extent is that when brainiac enacts his plan, livewire appears in public ready to commit more crimes with an audience. Except because the city is worried about the end of the world by brainiac’s plan, as Lois lane tells livewire, no one cares. Lois lane I think also challenges her to actually help out since livewire always complains as if she is being ignored/disrespected. Livewire dosnt really have an answer to lane, which means lane hit on livewire’s need for attention.
Pretty strange seeing Lois Lane be tank top fanservicey there though, in issue 23.
StAS Livewire always struck me as an example of a person who feigns victim hood for clout, and to stroke their ego.
I feel like a good redemption ark for her would have involved her getting humbled by people who really had gone through what she claimed she had, and/or people who she couldn’t claim being victimized by.
She would have made for some really great Wonder Woman focused Justice League episodes.
Oh my God, Livewire predicted modern influencers...
Shock Jocks have always existed. Before Ben Shapiro, there was Howard Stern. Even early Oprah was a bit too much...
12:31 Boo. They gave her blonde hair. I wish they keep her original civilian look. Its shame we never got more goth/alternative styled characters.
I never noticed the Lex Luthor connection in her debut. But wow.
My favourite episode with Livewire is probably "Double Dose". Double Dode is an interesting case because the pairing of Livewire and Parasite kind of fixes the issues I had with the individual villains which is that DCAU Parasite doesn't have an interesting personality and doesn't make for a compelling episode centric villain, whereas Livewire I felt had too much personality and would be more enjoyable in smaller doses.
I always like a good villain team up episode.
Please do supergirl from Superman the animated series next please.
She's on the list but won't be coming up for a while.
Wish they acknowledged Batgirl during Kara's last appearance in JLU's "Far From Home". Not coming back to the past to pay visits anymore with her pal just feels mean.
Leslie doesn't 'blame' Supes for her powers, she's moreso just saying that because she finally has an excuse and more importantly a means to finally hurl something more than pointed words at the MAN of steel
Superman's a symbol, but in Livewire's eyes he became a symbol of everything she couldn't be almost in a similar way to Lex Luthor
While my memory's a bit spotty on this, I do like the crossover episode between S:TAS and THBA where Livewire vacations in Gotham and forms a crime trio with Harley and Ivy, with Supergirl and Batgirl trying to stop them, and iirc Livewire is especially cruel to Harley and Batgirl because they're trying to keep up with people with super powers, at this point willfully forgetting how she was just like them is constantly trying to show off to the (at this point) borderline nature elemental Poison Ivy, while Ivy was just all buisness.
It's this sorta rivalry with Harley for Ivy's attention that ends up with the trio failing. I do kinda wish that Livewire joined up with them again during the Static Shock episode Nails (where a bang baby travels to Gotham thinking there was a cure only to be tricked by Harley and Ivy to do their dirty work until they tried to kill her) but I suppose budget constraints and the idea of having two electric characters in one scene would be a bit confusing
I think Livewire was in the Supergirl Cw show
That’s right, she was!