My Excellent Adventures With Superman
Voice Actors: Jack Quaid, Alice Lee, Ishmel Sahid
Created by: Jake Wyatt
Lois: “I’ve been trying to interview Superman, but he keeps running away! Seriously, what is that guy so scared of?”
“My Interview With Superman” (Season 1, Episode 3)
Clark: “Well, just a guess. Maybe he doesn’t want you to…find out all his secrets and publish them?”
Lois: “Yeah, but he doesn’t know that’s my plan!”
Superman has faced a lot in recent years. The Snyderverse made him a brooding god while shows like Invincible and The Boys thrive on the back of evil knockoff Supermen. Team-ups with the Justice League are lighter fare, but often push Superman into the background. It’s time for the Man of Steel to get back to basics.
My Adventures With Superman is the first solo Superman cartoon since the Nineties. The show features young adult Clark Kent learning about his powers and fighting a sinister conspiracy, filtered through Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen’s friendship with Clark. Is the show flying high or lined with Kryptonite? Let’s find out. Scroll down, down and away!
The Good
Terrific Trio in My Adventures With Superman
Lois: “A man flew down from the sky and risked his life to save us. Not for a reward, or for fame, but just because we needed help.”
“Adventures of a Normal Man” (Season 1, Episode 2)
Superman is the title character, but a dependable duo joins the fray while writing about their adventures with Superman.
Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen are new arrivals in Metropolis and working as interns at The Daily Planet newspaper. They quickly meet Lois Lane, a fellow intern driven to be successful who often goes AWOL while trying to report news. The trio are assigned to work together and investigate strange technology appearing throughout the city.
Clark is a goofball who tries to ignore his powers and offers lousy excuses when others notice them. Investigating the spaceship he arrived in gives him a costume that he uses to become Superman. His powers are weaker than in most adaptations, but surge when people are in danger.
Lois is spunky and cunning, but often gets blinded by her emotions and desire to become a famous reporter. She also struggles with family drama because of her distant father and dead mother. Jimmy is a conspiracy theorist who creates a podcast called Flamebird to investigate conspiracy theories. Lois and Jimmy often help Superman during his fights, cutting off power sources or distracting villains.
Shining Silver Age
The Brain: “Come vith us. You are different. Shtrange, like us. And this vorld… it’s not so forgiving of that.”
“My Adventures With Mad Science” (Season 1, Episode 5)
Superman: “I have to stay. I have to believe that this world can be a place where everyone is accepted… and I need to help it get there, with the people I love.”
The Brain: “Zhen until ve meet again. Auf Wiedersehen, Clark Kent.”
Screenwriters tend to forget that Superman is a superhero. They pick apart his backstory and personality to create dark versions, because there’s no way someone with the power of a god wouldn’t become a tyrant. My Adventures With Superman remembers how to be idealistic. Zack Snyder, take notes. You too, James Gunn!
Superman is in top form, saving cats from trees and creating silly excuses to run out and save the day. Lois and Jimmy are supportive of the big blue Boy Scout and offer a shoulder when he’s feeling alienated or overworked. Ma and Pa Kent also appear semi-frequently to dispense folksy wisdom.
My Adventures With Superman‘s art direction and characterization are inspired by anime, particularly Dragon Ball Z and Trigun. The characters act over the top and fight scenes feature fast-paced, high energy brawls. The showrunners also sneak in references to classic anime, including several robots similar to ones from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Mr. Mxyzptlk redesigned to look like Dragon Ball’s Supreme Kai, and a transformation sequence for Superman explicitly based on Pretty Cure.
Despite being lighter, My Adventures With Superman knows when and how to go dark. Several characters suggest that Superman could lead an alien invasion or simply conquer the world. People are also shown being killed and maimed without any gore. Superman’s shining idealism contrasts with a jaded world.
Villains Reforged in My Adventures With Superman
[Livewire is being interrogated]
“Adventures of a Normal Man” (Season 1, Episode 2)
Agent Wilson: “Zero Day. Tell us what you know.”
Livewire: “N-nothing! [gets electrocuted] NOTHING! I have no idea, okay!? I’m not lying!”
Agent Wilson: “The flying man. Tell us what you know.”
Livewire: “He’s not with you? Who are you people?!”
Agent Wilson: [chuckles] “Oh, that’s easy, Willis. [cuts to the Suicide Squad] We’re the good guys. Now tell us everything you know about… Superman.”
A good hero needs vile villains to fight. My Adventures With Superman brings a fresh coat of paint to many villains while spotlighting a few unknowns.
Alien technology that gives criminals superhuman powers has been smuggled into Metropolis. Ruthless criminal Livewire is the first to become a supervillain, swiftly followed by Heatwave and Intergang, a trio of little-known villains led by Mist. There are also hordes of killer robots called OMACs.
Some villains don’t need alien tech. Mad scientist Dr. Ivo is merged with Superman foe Parasite and reimagined as a Tony Stark-esque tech bro. Mr. Mxyzptlk goes from fun-loving trickster to self-proclaimed God of Chaos. The Brain and talking gorilla Monsieur Mallah are the most changed, becoming kind scientists who nonetheless push their experiments too far.
The danger skyrockets when Task Force X enters a battlefield. Agent Wilson, a young Deathstroke, serves as their vanguard with a suit of high-tech armor capable of wounding Superman. Amanda Waller directs captured supervillains while the operation is overseen by a terse soldier codenamed The General. Task Force X pursues Superman because they believe he is connected to “Zero Day” and an unknown figure called Nemesis Omega.
The Bad
Too Many Cooks
Lois: “There’s no sign of Superman in Park Ridge or Midtown. Steve, Cat, and Ronnie agreed to call if their contacts see something. Anything on Flamebird?”
“Zero Day” (Season 1, Episode 8)
Jimmy: “Nothing. It’s like he disappeared off the face of the Earth.”
Flip: “Which is why we’re here! [The Newskid Legion ride up] Nobody knows the streets of Metropolis better than The Newskid Legion. Big Words brought the walkie-talkies, Gabby made missing posters, even Patti is helping.”
My Adventures With Superman has great characters, but falls into the trap of introducing them too early. That isn’t bad in moderation, but it clutters the story.
The Newskid Legion, four children who are Lois’ feet on the street, are one group introduced early. Their leader, Flip Johnson, is the only speaking character and the quartet rarely appears with or without her. Their presence feels like an obligatory nod to The Newsboy Legion, allies of Jimmy Olsen in the comics and another Metropolis-based hero called Guardian.
Viewers meet The Scoop Troop early on, a trio of fellow reporters who took credit for an article that Lois, Clark, and Jimmy wrote. Cat Grant and Steve Lombard are flashy jerks who lord their experience over our heroes while Ronnie Troupe tries to rein them in and offers condescending advice.
The worst example is Vicki Vale, Batman’s counterpart to Lois Lane. She appears in a single episode to do a hit-piece on Superman. Her story is sidelined after several scenes and has no resolution, leaving Vicki’s entire appearance feeling pointless.
The Verdict
My Adventures With Superman is a welcome return to form. It is unabashedly idealistic with memorable characters and dangerous villains. Too many characters are introduced early, but that is a minor flaw. My Adventures With Superman is worth your time.
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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