From Superman Villain To Internet Troll - A Livewire Retrospective 

I had this idea about Livewire, that she was originally Daily Planet radio DJ and was a big fan of Clark Kent's work and his stance againts corruption and injustice, and in the end it would turned out that Clark is the one who actually inspired Livewire to fight Superman in the first place.🤣

Just like so many people have pointed out about Harley, a lot of the character is a direct result of the voice actor; in this case, Lori Petty. I totally love Petty and she just seems integral to the character.

What i don't like is how media is trying to distance Livewire from Superman, and it's a shame cause he doesn't really have an intersting female villians except maybe Silver Banshee who's also underutilized in Superman stories. To me Livewire is still has an unlocked potential as a character and there is great story about her that is waiting to be told, with the right writer she can rival Harley Quinn imo.

I feel like they've overcomplicated her too much. As far as I'm concerned she should still be a schock-jock type but with a podcast rather than a radio show. Everything else can stay the way it was in the STAS episode. Simple as that. Having her be an more impish Superman villain, yet different from Mr. Mxpltk, would be a good niche for her.

I can easily picture a modern Livewire being an influencer or something criticizing Superman and repeating all those bad takes that people have towards the character, like "he's bad cuz he doesn't kill his villains" or that he has a secret agenda behind him cuz she can't believe someone can be a good person

I would definitely make her a Podcaster, a controversial one like Joe Rogan or Howard Stern in the extreme things she says. Focus on her undermining Superheroes and other powers like Argus. To keep her from becoming stale, make her focus less on revenge/petty things and instead keep her focused on social issues. She can be the blunt voice for the everyman who makes good points/isn't wrong about some things but then takes it the extreme in other areas/conspiracies. She can fluctuate between being a voice for the people and taking her activism too far. I think she has a lot of potential in that area as a recurring villain. Just don't make her issues she reports on one note.

I really liked this character. She’s really the only character to connect to Superman’s role as a reporter and advocate for the truth, since she is technically in news media. And her job is so malleable to whatever time period you want to put her in, especially in today’s podcast climate. It would have been great to see her more often.

I like the idea that she keeps -almost- getting a redemption arc, but that her narcissism prevents it. It would make sense that she would get backlash and offer non-apologies, or be shown to be wrong but make it someone else’s fault, etc. a big characteristic of narcissists is that they really think of themselves as always right and just can’t conceive of themselves as causing harm. Live wire as someone who causes harm, but believes that said harm is really someone else’s fault…that’s interesting

People sleep on DC Superhero Girls, the show is actually pretty good and absolutely knows the characters they're working with. Zatanna for example is sometimes painted as petty and downright evil, which aligns with her comic book counterpart of using questionable abuse of magic all the time. Poison Ivy is my favorite, the way they characterize her and Pamela Isley is perfect, making her a social outcast that hates people and only finds comfort in plants, they make her dress in baggy and shapeless clothes, just so that she "blooms" once she transforms into Poison Ivy. The fact that she's a villain is also there, because she doesn't really want to save the environment as a whole, she only cares about plants and not the animals, and she hates Jessica Cruz for being a vegetarian

I like the concept Leslie is against all superheroes, voicing harsh opinions on them through social media. However her content slamming Superman gets the most views, since he's so seemingly perfect there's a larger audience drawn to content that doesn't glorify him. Keeping her set up as a Superman villain but giving her some leeway to easily fit as an antagonist elsewhere. Superman also simply being the topic that brings her the most attention also really works for the 'how much does she mean what she says' concept. Because she dislikes all heroes with the extreme dislike for Superman being easily read as an act.

Hearing about that unexplained rivalry with Billy Batson made me realize that Livewire could actually make for an interesting Shazam villain. Play up a professional rivalry between Billy and Leslie as rival radio hosts with opposite approaches to the position, and their hero/villain rivalry with similar lightning bolt themes. Then add on the awkwardness of an adolescent or teenage Billy Batson having to fight a woman in a skin-tight outfit that shows off her... features. I feel like it could make for an interesting dynamic.

She seems like a hard character to keep a villain forever. Her character development would have to be stagnated.

considering she's made of energy, I'd say that a long term arch with her might be a tragic arc with her eventually going a little crazy as she begins to lose the ability to experience life as a human being... imagine the loss of being able to eat, smell things, taste things, and eventually hold physical objects or other people. She's somewhat self-absorbed but eventually realizing that her powers would result in making her loose physical cohesion and possibly dissapate into nothingness would be quite frightening and dark.

Imo, Superman revealing to the world he is Clark Kent would have been the best moment to reintroduce Livewire. You could work the angle of how Superman lied to everyone and wrote about himself and his great acts of heroism to get public opinion on his side. It would be believable and a natural consequence of the reveal for some people to feel cheated. Then, idk, get her to get into a electric accident while harassing Clark or something. How she gets her powers is probably less important than the fact Superman has to be close when she gets them.

You can never go wrong with the Lori Petty DCAU version. Just about every version after her can't capture that Tank Girl energy (DC Superhero Girls version actually does something interesting). Young Justice's version really put the Killer Frost comparisons to light, because as of the past few years they've both been given redemption arcs. (In YJ, she's voiced by Brit Baron, FFVII Remake's Tifa... And fortunately/unfortunately both are now famous for being in a certain position lol)

Another case of the DCAU working so well the comics felt compelled to bring its characters into continuity.

Honestly looking at the range she's gone into, I think for her to work she needs to fall into something like Dead Pool, Selfish, but not ultimately evil. But at the same time, I don't think she should be 'redeemed', especially in this current air where seemingly every single female villain with a tragic backstory is becoming an anti-hero in some way or form, redemption stories are too great, but if we just keep making more heroes then they'll just get less spotlight overall. But back to Livewire, I do agree her being a super-powered internet personality who is just trying to inflate her own ego makes for a much more compelling and interesting character, with more story potential than her being a hard core feminist, am I saying you can't tell feminist stories with her character or make her a strong female character because of them, no, but with a character like Livewire it might just muddy the water and be too much, time and place sort of thing.

I like the DCAU version of her story. It makes a lot of sense with the whole radio host thing. I think in modern day she would be like a podcaster or one of those "spill the tea" RU-vidrs. I wonder how the Flash family would react to her? I would read that comic book.

I do remember that Livewire episode in Superman TAS. I like her, because she does represent a personality type that we deal with a lot nowadays. Back in the day it was shock jocks, nowadays its internet trolls or Twitter celebs. Livewire could easily by a podcast/Twitter celeb that might have a political angle against superheroes.

I kinda like that idea you mentioned of her having to piece her life back together from information she finds online. I think I'd run with that idea and add a bit of a twist. She'd start out coming to consciousness inside a computer; her computer at Metropolis University. She struggles to remember who she is but her memory is fragmented. Looking around her files, she starts to piece together who she is from several videos she made (pranks and shock pieces) and she starts feeling emotions like joy and excitement rush over her. She figures out how to manifest outside of the machine and starts looking through her room with more bits and pieces coming together, but she assembles them into a cohesive narrative by what makes her feel good rather than what makes sense (chasing emotions, not truth). She gets more data from her phone, including her home address, and immediately leaves to see what she finds there. Upon arrival (with no one noticing), she overhears her mother spouting vitriol at a group of super heros in her home. Lacking context, she immediately assumes these heros have been bullying her mother and decides that maybe she can get some payback. As she follows them after they leave, she uses the internet to look up their bad deeds (confirmation bias) and eventually works herself up enough to start a fight that she eventually wins (especially since she can't be touched). Of course the truth is more complex: she was one of them once. She had these powers since she was young and was scouted by the League (or similar group) as a potential member. As an adult (mid to late twenties) she went on a mission where here powers and training were needed and things went wrong. Though she saved the day, her body was destroyed and the heros thought her dead. The heros had shown up at her mother's house to attend her wake and her mother's anger and grief unknowingly colored her daughter's opinion and twisted her world view. So the story would revolve around this broken mind falling into villainy due to a misguided sense of justice. She would always find some kind of truth that's gone unpunished or ignored and seek to not only expose the guilty but to seek retribution in ways that totally ignore details like collateral damage, ongoing events and general broader consequences. From a story perspective, her actions would be meant to shine a light on all kinds of topics: government corruption, hate speech, or other social matters that don't necessarily get enough discussion (just because she's wrong in her response does not always mean she's wrong about an issue, though she can be). She always is the villain as her actions are far too extreme and tend to leave a lot of openings for other villains to exploit (open computer pathways, disabled security systems, and otherwise distracting the heros). And there can be questions about identity, what we leave behind, and how we would judge ourselves in a vacuum. Just a thought.

She doesn't do a TON but she has more of an appearance in the "Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour" comic book limited series, which, is seemingly canon to the cartoon, bridging at least part of the gap between seasons 2 and 3. In that comic she shows up in issue 4 when Harley & Ivy (on the run from a still-crazed Jim Gordon while simultaneously trying to take a lovers' trip) hide out at her (ex-)girlfriend Nightfall's place. She shows up apparently crashing in the toaster when Harley goes to make some toast, makes Ivy feel like shit for dumping Kite-Man at the altar, and kicks them out of the place while crashing there herself. She reappears as an imagined cameo in issue 5, and has another full appearance in issue 6 (the final of the mini), helping Ivy and three superheroes (Vixen [also bi/lesbian in this universe], Zatanna and Cyborg) rescue Harley from and defeat Mephitic (a poison/pollution based villain created for the series). That implies more action taken on her part than actually occurs. She basically surprises Mephitic by appearing out of a machine and zaps her once and that's it. Her actual personality isn't shown off much at all still... or it's been changed and made SUPER generic so that basically ANY electric-based female villain could've been used in her place (I love the show, but it really is bad about giving side characters unique personalities), but at least it's more than she did in her two episode appearances.

I never knew that she was original to the DCAU like Harley, she kind of does have that "You already know who this is" presentation in a lot of modern outings. I do like her new 52 design, reminds me of Storm in the 90s with the mohawk. I think I should check out Super Hero Girls, I've never seen coverage of the show as in depth like this before and knowing that it's from the same creator as MLP defintely caught my attention. Thanks for the vid Sasha! Best to ya

I honestly loved her in the Superman the Animated Series!! One my favorite episodes in DCAU was her team up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn against Supergirl and Batgirl! I loved seeing the Younger World's Finest in action!!

Lori Petty really made Livewire her own! She's TANK GIRL! Anyway....I met her at a con! She's older but still got that wit, and sass we know her for. I was right next to her booth, and she noticed me. "What's up, babe?" She said. "Huh? Oh, Hey Lori. How's things?" "Eh. Can't complain, but I do sometimes." She said. I asked her how it felt to be a DC super bad guy who's now in the mainstream books? "Aaa....It feels nice." She said. "Hey, did you know you...I mean Livewire got beat up by Batman?" "NO...." She said. "YES....He knocked you..er...HER into a water tower, and took her out. Taken out by him? Real badge of honor." "Mind. Blown." She said. "Heeey...ya wanna autograph?" "Sure! how much.." "Naaaah!" She said. "IT's on me!"

Today she would be a conspiracy theorist i'm sure and thinking Superman is working for the man, but this could also work in well for her redemption because it could be revealed that she was getting misled by Lex Lurther or someone like that and join superman (or batmat) in defeating an actual plot to take over the world by lex and/or the court of owls

I remember when Supes lands on the stage to warn people against the storm, Leslie turns the crowd against him, and they start throwing stuff at him. What always seemed odd was that Superman, the guy that doesn't even feel bullets and could shrug off missiles, braced himself when people threw crumpled up paper and their (probably overpriced) cups of soda.

I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who thought Livewire looks like Killer Frost. I haven't seen the Superman Animated show. Your video made me want to watch it now.

Livewire is proof that if they ever make a Tank Girl cartoon, Lori Petty should be brought back to voice her. I know in the comics TG is Australian, but she's also crazy enough to have a randomly misplaced accent.

I love the punk style. Especially with Live wire. I saw the Superman animated series episode of Livewire when first aired back in the 90s. I still remember the day!

If SuperMan is so weak to everyone’s electrical abilities it brings me to wonder if Thor really could defeat him.

I don't know why but I feel like Livewire would've beem an interesting Season 1 CW Flash villain. If she still had the 'can't be touched because she's electricity' part, it would at least give a reason as to why Barry couldn't just run in and slap some cuffs on her or knock her out before she knew what hit her. I get why they wouldn't have used her that way, though.

_DC Superhero Girls_ does such a great job reinventing villains. Toyman being a fanboy who took games way too seriously feels way too topical.

You have to give Lori Petty praise for her work as Livewire she was so fantastic

I always liked her. She was just the right kind of goofy.

Live wire is one of my favorite DC superman supervillains. One reason is definitely thanks to Lorie Petty voicing the animated version who definitely makes the character. And another is my general love for electric super powers in media and fantasy. I think another way they could have done Live-wire in a more modern day was to just make her a Podcaster. I think her shock jock origins could have translated well in that form. Maybe also add in the hole conflict of if superheroes are really doing good or just making more problems. And her transformation giving her the opportunity to be a real hero. But for less than noble reasons as she’s also using it to feed her ego. Though I do love you’re idea of her not even being able to tell the difference between her real personality and the one she makes up for her show. I feel like as people continue to progress more and more into a digital world a villain like live wire could be more relevant than ever. She could steal the entire worlds wealth in cryptocurrency. Or use her skills in the media to help spread disinformation about superheroes. Hell she could take over every social media outlet out there to make her the only name in town. They just need a good enough writer for the job.

Quite the **shocking** character

What the DCU Needs, What Leslie’s Character Needs, & What We Need is for Sasha Wood to Write That LIVEWIRE AS A RU-vidR ARC !!! From the POV of a 57yr Young Comic Geek/ Nerd I Luv DC Superhero Girls, They are Well Thought Out, Light Hearted Yet Heroic Stories , Unlike the silliness of Teen Titans Go IMO… Keep Up The Outstanding Work Sasha 🖖🏾

Love Livewire, especially the original iteration. Her voice actress was just perfection. Love the DC Superhero Girls iteration as well. Love DCSHG in general

Interesting how in the Action Comics version she mentioned being a rival of Billy Batson, then she gets struck by lightning to grant/augment her powers... Shazam!

Oh my God it’s Lori Petty, it was driving me nuts trying to think of her name, I always loved her voice.

"She changes the S to an L" I wonder if Superman had a little Kryptonian chuckle over his El becoming an L.

Hahah it’s hilarious that Lex loves her show, of course he does.

Just found this channel randomly, because RU-vid is weird. 1.) I like seeing Livewire covered. I remembered her from the Superman cartoon when I was a kid, and was sad I didn't see more of her. 2.) I appreciate your humor. 3.) Your hair is fucking wild, and I love it.

Wow, I'm legit blown away by the smart commentary of the DC Superhero Girls portrayal. Having written off the show for the reasons you mentioned, I might actually start watching it now!

Livewire is incredibly underrated, my first exposure to the character was through the video game, LEGO DC Super-Villains, but I came to quite find her interesting down the line especially when evaluating the bigger DCAU stories

Livewire for me always seemed one step away to having a redemtion arc and joining a team like the outsiders or even the Titans. Also nice to mention DC Super Hero Girls. I Love the show. My 6 six year old really got into it. Its fun for Kids and has enough Comic easter eggs and cameos to entertain a Comic Nerd like myself. Somehow giving the Heroes steriotypical Highschool Trope characters just seems to work. Also any Show the brings my daughter to pester me with questions about the different Lantern Corps and how fast Cheetah is and lots more at the breakfast table is a Good Show imo

I like the Superhero Girls version of her being a troll; someone to just make the lives of the heroes miserable. It doesn't have to be a "one and done" story, in that it can be the B-story multiple times to show the long-term effects of online bullying. As long as she's not breaking any laws, it becomes a free-speech issue too and not a problem that can be solved by punching. I remember in her first appearance in Supergirl I remember her making an off-hand comment about her genitals. Kora made such a face...

DC SuperHero Girls is really great - it has nuance, humour, heart and enough in-jokes that we love watching it as a family.

Loved Lori Petty’s Voice origination! That’s right, gang! Tank Girl herself! Too bad Superman TAS didn’t continue further, “cos Live Wire would’ve LOVED Blue & White Electric Superman! Happened only a few years away. Now THAT would be a ship. At the core of Leslie’s character, regardless of the subject matter, is that she jumps to conclusions quickly. Weather right or wrong, it highlights her character & motivation immediately. It’s part of what makes her fun, and part of why she’s best as a recurring cameo character, rather than long term. But still, a standout one. Also, I have questions about the Blue Beetle story. Wasn’t Jamie Reyes still a teenager? Another thing not helping!

I. LOVE. LIVEWIRE. I’m so mad because she so underutilized and underrated. Like what are these writers doing?? She could become a really popular character (With the right writers) I imagine her hanging out with Harley, Ivy and Catwoman more.

I had totally forgot she was voiced by Lori Petty. That was such a good animated series. It doesn't get the love of BTAS, but I always felt it was a good representation of at least a time in Clark's existence.

I always thought that with how crazy and evil that she already was as a normal, ordinary human being, that after she was struck by a bolt of lightning while touching Superman and being electrocuted by an electric amp at the same time, mutating her into a super-human being, that she should've become completely insane, showing a sociopathic side to her personality that little by little becomes even more dangerous and psychotic over time. Leslie Willis should've been motivated by a need to kill Superman because she blames him for her ruined life, becoming a sentient electrical energy being due to his alien physiology's DNA being filtered through her body mixed with static electricity and current electricity. The freak nature of her appearance and her body wide mutagenic alteration is truly a fluke that can't be duplicated and therefore she is permanently transformed. No longer human and no longer alive in the physical sense of the word. She shouldn't have any human frailties anymore. No need to breathe, dream, drink, eat, or sleep. She also has senses that no longer atrophy because they can't be affected by things which cause them to become atrophied. So she can't be blinded, she can't be made deaf, she can't get her olfactory senses like smell and taste ruined, and she can't have her tactile senses of touching and feeling removed. They all always stay perfect yet normal like an ordinary human's level of five physical senses. She therefore wouldn't need to be motivated by a need to accumulate wealth like a cat burglar or an armed bank robber. She would've just been motivated by being a nihilist, with a power lust. She would probably more than likely be a psychopath obsessed with seeking revenge against Superman and committing criminal acts of mayhem, and senseless, wholesale destruction in Metropolis. As one of Superman's most powerful and strongest arch-enemies, she should be extremely dangerous and deadly, like a big enough threat that it could take Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman combined. Under the right circumstances, she could be a major menace to the super-hero teams the Justice League of America, the Justice Society of America, and the Teen Titans combined. Her super-human physical power is her physical structure being permanently altered into electrical energy (both lightning and ordinary electricity), which enables her to expel energy in the form of electrical energy and which also enables her to expel energy in the form of an electrical energy force field. Her power is goddess-like with a strength-level that is virtually unlimited. So she should be able to control, create, generate and manipulate all forms of electrical energy in all of Metropolis. But instead she is just treated as a B-List comic book super-villainess character who is nothing but a professional criminal instead of being a serial killer and would-be world destroyer. It's a waste of a character. With the right writer, she could cause major damage in the DC Comics Universe and if the story has her play her cards right, Livewire could actually cause massive deaths and destruction. But I guess we'll never see that happen. It's a shame. She has a lot of potential, but despite being an interesting DC Comics female super-villain for 25 years, people only just barely scratched the surface of using her correctly in comic book stories.

I honestly would've retconned Livewire to be involved during the events of The Death of Superman. Where she witnesses Superman's sacrifice and he gives her the parting advice to becoming a better person. And that sacrifice drives her to becoming a reformed hero. Put her in any team and how she interacts with others. I could do the same with Volcana

You missed her in "Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour" ( or not, but she's not listed here ), as she has kind of an arc and does more than stand in the background, gets a girlfriend and a loving joke that their home has a plentiful supply of lightbulbs, a joke about orgasms I only got down that issue, and I loved how she was portrayed. The whole Harley animated show and the comics would make a great episode :D

I've always felt like Livewire looked like rule 34 Freakazoid

in terms of the "ive had to work harder and be more shoking than my male contemporaries" I think this is true (more so at time of her debut) and its part of why she's so loud, anti authority and stubborn. Only one of many the reasons that is. Overall she results in a compelling radio personality, but like all interesting traits its disadvantages her as well. In that she wont give Superman a fair shake and becomes quite the stanky lil hater

Man, the wasted potential of Livewire is such a shame... (BTW, love the hair this time around)

I love that livewire just has a fun, in your face personality, kinda like superboy. Also I'm very confused by the line "Does this homicide make my butt look big", like does she want a big butt or does she not like that?

I love the original version of her. however, Faust's interpretation is interesting. I would expand her hate to all heroes. Definitely have her take on the Big Red Cheese, I like the origin of her getting 2nd hand shock from a Kryptonian. (Gives a little wariness for them) I would also have her be the sister of someone Superman/Supergirl (whomever) failed to save. Give her a slow build up. Start with the failure, have her program on in the background in Lex's lair/office/prison cell, after a few more issues have the accident. Also I love your tiktok idea.

now I really want a Livewire solo mini series!!! maybe Livewire's snarky podcast gets picked up by the Daily Planet as part of its pivot to digital media. then you can have Leslie interact with Jimmy, Perry, and Lois too as a coworker. there's definitely lots of interesting ground to cover about the weird nature of journalism in a world where the fantastical is real, and I think Livewire's brashness could be a good way into that stuff. I think it's also really important to make her funny and interesting! show why people like her work!

When I was younger, Superman the animated series was my favorite show. It was/is better than Batman. Livewire was one of my favorite villains. She was just so powerful and fun to watch. I’m sad that she isn’t a major part of the Superman rouges gallery, and that she isn’t that beloved. I always thought she’d make a great Flash villain though. Or a Captain Marvel (I refuse to call him Shazam) villain.

I know they didn't handle Livewire especially well in the Batgirl continuity you mentioned, but gosh, I love the art style. I've never really seen this iteration of Batgirl before, and the comic art is like... super cute, but with just enough edge to it to not feel like it defangs the characters. I might see if I can track it down to read, or at least find more work by the illustrator just for that.

“Lois is freed to marry Bruce just like how Zack Snyder wanted” Got me wheezing

I find it amusing that My Adventures With Superman decided to have their first, debut villain be Livewire, a villain invented by a previous animated Superman show. It's just a cute nod to the past as well as a genius setup for the new show's more electric-motifed Superman - who better to rival an electric Superman than an electric villain?

When you think about it, Marc Webb's Electro and LiveWire have a lot in common. Like... they've both been electrified and go into a "coma" state only to wake up and find they have control over the electricity. The two also have strong feelings towards a specific hero. Max has an admiration for Spider-Man which later turns to hatred as he feels betrayed by his idol, while LiveWire dislikes Superman and after the incident she hates him. Imagine if in the next version of LiveWire the reason she hated Superman was because he forgot her birthday party! That would be HILARIOUS!

Damn! I really like your take here 24:30, specifically just the part where she had complete amnesia so she uses her videos to “reconstruct” herself but because they’re just an online persona/a shock jock personality she’s remembering a false version of who she really was thus creating “livewire” and not Leslie. It would have been an amazing cautionary tale about online persona/presence, “if this person was you, would you be ok with that?”

Thank you! Always liked the character. As you said, her personality portrayed by Lori Petty made her enjoyable. Kind of like Harley Quinn. And I did notice she isn´t used as much in the media in general. Personally, I´d keep trying and have her be mainly a Superman villain (as he doesn´t have that many and/or memorable) while ocasionally have her fight other characters from the Superman family. In my case I ADORE Giganta yet DC doesn´t know what to do with her either. Not even knowing full well that Wonder Woman is the main JL member with the least amount of villains and popular ones at that. So, for one that´s well known you´d thing they´d found a way to make use of her. ...I´m hoping beyond hope that she appears in the third Wonder Woman movie. PS Could you do a similar video but about Silver Banshee? That´s another character that I like but barely know anything about.

I haven't seen a lot of Livewire stories but after seeing the episode from Superman the animated series where she's introduced (in that animated universe), it really irks me how she comes across as just a bratty person who happened to get superpowers. Really radiated a whole vibe of "I'm more correct because I'm yelling louder than you" sort of thing.

Another Superman villain I think deserves more attention is Silver Banshee. Extremely underrated character, and an absolute icon. She's got a very fun powerset, a unique backstory and amazing story potential. Also another character that DC Superhero Girls adapted successfully, better than any other medium.

So, Livewire learning her lesson and going grumpy Krillin to Superman/Supergirl's Goku is an "inevitable intersection" ? I'm here for it.

DCAU's Livewire is the best one due to how fun and cool her powers are also Lori Petty's performance gave the character so much life. Nowadays I think the problem with Livewire is she doesn't stand out in the Superman's rogue gallery as she's often treated as a nuisance than a credible threat to Superman.

2:11 "...Which also helps to ground her..." Yeah, we see what you did there.

Awesome livewire is a fascinating character. Her episode with that purple guy was kinda rape-y. Touching her after repeated statements not too with out her consent

You missed your calling as a comic book editor. I'm always impressed by what you know about plot structure and character development.

Wait Livewire before she transformed dressed like a goth? Nice lol

On top of my head if we were adapt Livewire then I like the idea of her splitting up and being divided into different internet personas and going on a journey of self-discovery as she literally tried to recollect herself and her memories from being fragmented. I feel like Superman who has experience of being pulled in countless directions, being the center of controversies and constantly discovering new sides of himself and what he can do, makes for a great foil and grounding character for her to bounce off of. I think exploring different faccets of internet and parasocial relationships is the way to go. Like you said, RU-vid alone has a ton of different avenues that could spice up and change her character, but they all should share the same core of things getting out of hand. I love the idea of her reflecting both internet personas and toxicity of comment secions/social media. For a storyline, I would have a Channel Chasers concept with Superman using his Electric powers to pursue an out of control being of living energy wreaking havoc and he is on a time crunch as each jump further fragments her, Superman is trying to save an increasingly toxic person who doesn't want his help, but needs it. He might not make it in time, but he is the best man, WILLING TO TRY and bring her back down to reality. They may or may not make it in time to fully put her back together again, which leaves the door open to Livewire fragmentations to take on new various internet personas, toxic and or otherwise, but as an allegory for a lot of people who have lost sight of reality and themselves to internet culture, who better to save them but Superman. It's a perfectly valid power fantasy that could resonate with many that falls in line with Superman.

I loved Livewire in her first appearance but I have to agree that as time went on it felt more and more like they didn't know what to do with her. Which is a shame because I feel like she has such potential to be a really interesting character, as Sasha does a great job of laying out here.

Sasha talking about DCAU characters give me hope she talks about Annie, another Clayface.

I would like to see a younger person take the name Livewire with the same prank channel (al la the Paul Brothers) but instead of taking on Superman, have her face the Teen Titans or Blue Beetle specifically (just tone down the 'stimulation' from the scarab). But I think Livewire started very much as a 'villain of her time' but updating her should be easy because this villain is actually furn.

Honestly it sounds like Livewire is a character could be one that if handled right can fit in any age. Heck having her be more of a Vigilante in the right story than a straight up villain and I don't mean as just a suicide squad member.

Livewire is one of those weird characters where I actually think it's BETTER that they keep retooling her. The core of her character--an attention-seeking shock artist--has never gone away, but even just in the relatively short time she's been relevant, it's changed form. Shock jock, outrage commentator, prank artist, they all work perfectly for the character in the time where they're relevant, but that sort of person gets popular in very ephemeral fields, and very rarely is that sort of person actually one destined for long-term success. I don't think you can pick a singular specific form of her that isn't going to somehow become dated, but that doesn't make those forms less valid in the moment. Perhaps, though, that's actually something that can make for more of a 'One True Livewire'. Consider Joe Rogan; he's filled that role in different forms over the years, but he's still the same person, appealing to similar audiences every time. A smart shock artist doesn't stay doing one thing forever or it stops being shocking, so in a sense it would be right to, even in a singular constant continuity, have Livewire keep chasing the grift and keep reinventing her appeal.

After rewatching Superman TAS, it's really her voice actor that makes the character, I think that's another reason why people may struggle to adapt her in comics, I hope she becomes more interesting in Young Justice.

I definitely do believe in the intention of the pun of her being a “shock jock “ who becomes a super villain with the power to “shock” with electricity 🤔✌️

This is the most in-depth look at Livewire I’ve ever seen and I really enjoyed it.

As the Grand Archpriest of the Church of the Algorithm, I comment you to engage with this video.

It's possible they scheduled the Superman Adventures appearance to come out first so that technically the character's first appearance would be in comics.

27:55 - Also it was the glorious return and full realization of Nicole Sullivan Supergirl, best version of the character fight me! 33:29 - Hmmm....Maybe have her lead a team of trollish supervillains _(who are nowhere near as powerful as her but still "useful" to her)_ who go after not just heroes but other villains? And in so doing they end up crossing the wrong target and along the way of trying to save her team's butts she has to reevaluate how much she values other people? Would be a neat starting point....

Being a fan of the DCAU, I've always loved Livewire and wish they'd use her more in other media. Her DCAU origin is perfect and in some ways would work even better today, with some minor updates to incorporate a podcast/social media rather than traditional radio. I think she'd work well in a movie or TV series if she were kept in her regular human form for a while, just as a popular online critic of Superman (with perhaps Bibo Bibowski also appearing, representing the opposite point of view), then in the second movie/season, have her become Livewire. I think your analysis is spot-on as usual, and with your understanding of online culture and the RU-vidr lifestyle, you've figured out how to make her a really relevant modern villain. Also, between this and the Batman Beyond video, I'm loving the DCAU kick you've been on.

I really liked her in Superman TAS, though as a kid I did wonder why Superman was fighting a Flash villain, probably because she does look similar to Killer Frost so I must've got them mixed up. That Internet Troll seems like an interesting updated take that sounds really fitting with her character.

Superman cartoon was my first introduction to her. I had no idea she was a show original. I always found it funny how they played some generic rock music when she came on. Like they still had that mindset that rock music was evil. And since you brought it up, I do hope you get a chance to talk about the weirdness of Superman walking one day.

Yeesss, the artsy painted wall outlet has finally made another appearance! It's been a while. Good to see it back! #CasuallyPaintedWallOutlet

I'm just happy where talking about DC Superhero Girls, I love that show.

I love Babs Tarr's art. Really, that was the key reason I did like the Burnside run. Babs just going crazy with the designs. The writing? Not so much.

In Superman's defense, it was her own fault for holding a concert during a thunderstorm.

I think her doing podcasts is a good idea

Undercurrents! Don't think I don't see what's going on, electrically speaking.

An updated Livewire would be a Joe Rogan podcaster. Someone who is attacked by 'cancel culture' because she keeps it too real, and then goes out to prove just how right she is about everything she says... by force!

Livewire: oh look..its the cops' weeks pay. Superman: mam, I dont get paid for this...but right now i wish to god I was.

I wish Volcana was the one that got popular instead. She was a better character that Leslie. Will you please do a video on her?

Ok… we need more of this wig. I’m living for this Rick James/Rainbow Brite vibe you’re serving.