Ed Asner Played One Of Superman’s Most Unique Female Villains For Over A Decade

Superman has battled hordes of enemies in numerous DC Comics TV shows – but only one of them is a gleefully terrifying woman voiced by Ed Asner. 

One of the Man of Steel’s most disturbing enemies across all media is Granny Goodness — a lieutenant of planet Apokolips’ brutal overlord, Darkseid. In the DC Animated Universe, Granny Goodness sounds quite a lot like Asner, an Emmy winner known for playing Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and voicing the main character in Pixar’s “Up.”

A Jack Kirby creation, Granny Goodness trains Darkseid’s warriors and leads a particularly vicious faction called the Female Furies. In 2010, Asner explained why he enjoyed working on arguably some of the best superhero cartoons of all time in the DCAU. 

“It’s always a trip, a joyful trip to come into the studio, and especially working with this group. Andrea [Romano, voice director] is a delight to work with, and Bruce [Timm, head producer] knows this genre better than anybody,” he said. “Plus, it’s the ability to let your imagination take flight — to take chances, to plunge and to soar. That’s something you don’t get to do as an actor. You get to do it as a kid. So, I grab the opportunity as often as I can.”

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Ed Asner voiced Granny Goodness in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited

An animated version of Granny Goodness wearing her green and yellow costume. – Warner Bros. Animation

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Ed Asner first played Granny Goodness in “Superman: The Animated Series” Season 2 in 1998. At the time it was a bold move from Bruce Timm and Warner Bros. to cast a man to play a woman. 

Asner enjoyed the challenge, telling CBR: “I was intrigued. I was titillated — accent grave on the ‘t**.’ But honestly, we played around with her voice and came up with something quite campy. It was a delightful camp journey.”

Granny Goodness later appears in “Superman: TAS” Season 3, and Asner reprised the role for “Justice League Unlimited” before playing her for a third and final time in 2010’s “Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.”

Asner also had a foot in Marvel as he previously voiced J. Jonah Jameson in one of the best Spider-Man animated shows. His other animated roles in the superhero genre included Roland Daggett in “Batman: The Animated Series” and Daily Planet boss Perry White in the “All-Star Superman” movie.

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