20 Best Superman TV Episodes Of All Time
7. "Ghost In The Machine" - Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series had a very interesting take on one of the hero's classic villains, as they presented a version of Brainiac that existed as an artificial intelligence on the planet Krypton. This connected the maniacal super-computer directly to Superman's lineage, as the rivalry with his father spilled over into Superman's modern-day adventures.
Which is what makes "Ghost in the Machine" such an interesting episode, as it pits Brainiac not against Superman, but villain against villain. After his defeat in "Stolen Memories", it's revealed that Brainiac has been hiding in LexCorp's servers and forces Luthor to rebuild his body. Elements of this story would pay off years later in the JLU episode "Divided We Fall".
Superman is forced to work with Lex's bodyguard Mercy Graves, as the two come together to find out where Luthor has vanished to. The episode even adds some dimension to Mercy, as we discover that she was taken off the streets by Lex. This all comes to a dramatic conclusion when the duo finds Lex, capped off by an incredible action sequence in LexCorp's underbelly.
After risking her life to save him, Lex ultimately abandons Mercy to save his own skin. Despite this, Mercy sticks by him in the end, an act which leaves Superman confused as he utters one of the show's most poignant lines.
"Just a stray."