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This review was made possible by early screeners of the first two episodes of My Adventures With Superman. My Adventures With Superman premieres on Adult Swim on Friday, May 25th with two episodes. New episodes will air every Friday and will be available to stream on Max the following day.
Adult Swim continues the coming-of-age story featuring the Man of Steel with Season 2 of My Adventures With Superman. The series follows Clark Kent (Jack Quaid), Lois Lane (Alice Lee) and Jimmy Olsen (Ishmel Sahid) as they navigate their new careers, relationships and of course, saving the world.
NOT OF THIS EARTH
One of the biggest themes Clark struggles with in this series is him being an alien. The more he learns about his Kryptonian heritage the more confused he feels about his human upbringing. While his intentions are pure and for the good of the planet, the thought of an all powerful, godlike alien roaming freely at the speed of light can be a terrifying thought for us mere mortals. That fear amplifies the need for protection and brings more threats to the surface. It begs the age old question, is Superman actually good for Metropolis?
Season 2 jumps right into the throughs of Clark’s worst nightmare: that he was sent to Earth to conquer it. With this inner struggle paired with his journey of still discovering his powers, it really humanizes the character. Which, of course Superman is far more interesting when he’s relatable. Quaid’s take is so endearing and likable and that is only elevated by the hope that is exemplified through Lois and Jimmy as his closest friends. They believe in him even when he doesn’t believe in himself.
EXPANDING THE UNIVERSE
While the Daily Planet serves as homebase for our main trio, this adventure of the week and anime-inspired adaptation has plenty of action to offer with it’s bombastic action scenes featuring familiar adversaries portrayed in new ways. Amanda Waller (Debra Wilson) and Agent Slade Wilson (Chris Parnell) return, but the big addition to this season is the introduction of Lex Luthor. With Superman’s most famous villain now in the fold and the series inclusion of futuristic technology, it looks like Clark’s job protecting the city just got a whole lot harder.
But this season will also introduce a new hero, Clark’s cousin Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl. With Supergirl usually being a far more hardcore Kryptonian than Superman, I’m so excited to see how this series will handle the Woman of Tomorrow. The series has started out pretty contained and is expanding very gradually, letting the viewing experience grow along with the world. It has massive potential and I can only hope we can see it continue with more season.
My Adventures With Superman continues to be the quintessential gateway into the world of Metropolis. While there are some departures from the usual Kal-El stories, the series delivers a classic origin story for Superman centered around his relationships with Lois and Jimmy, being a reporter at the Daily Planet and navigating the responsibility of being a hero. If you’re looking to fill the Saturday morning cartoon hole now that X-Men ’97 has wrapped up, this may be the answer you’re looking for.
