My Adventures of Superman S3 E5, titled 'The Death of Superman', came out this week and was a high action, rather brutal episode for this series. If you are looking for the usual food jokes and whimsy the show is known for, look elsewhere. This is Zach Snyder meets Dragon Ball Z as the Super-family battles the Cyborg Superman to stop a dystopian future from unfolding.
With Bizarro, the Cyborg Superman, and a Conner-esque Superboy all here, the show has been leaning into the Death of Superman/Reign of Supermen famous comic storyline. We get a peek at another famous of those characters at the end of this episode. And what an ending, worth of Trunks time-traveling for sure.
But we have to get there first. And to get to that finale, we need a knock-down, level the city brawl between the threat of the Cyborg and his Kryptonian drone cronies vs the Supers. And it isn't easy. The Cyborg has all the powers of Superman, and the ability to link to technology (like in the comics), and a heart of Kryptonite.
While the buildings are toppling, the Cyborg is becoming more monstrous, and our heroes are turning green, we still get to see the best of our heroes character come through. Superman continues to look for the best in people. He levels up at the end. Kara shows she has come far from Brainiac's weapon. And Lois shows she is fearless.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the episode was written by Marguerite Bennett, a comic writer I liked best on DC Bombshells. Cool to see her name in the credits. On to the show.
Then boom ... an episode title card unlike any we have seen before. Stark lettering. Dripping blood.
But learning Superman has a son enrages Henshaw more.
We open with the Cyborg calling out Superman to fight for the city.
Then boom ... an episode title card unlike any we have seen before. Stark lettering. Dripping blood.
It is almost as if the creators on the show were warning us that this wasn't going to be the usual episode.
I like how Jon is taken aback by the whole thing. He confides in Lois that he thought he had some more time. That his world is on fire and destroyed. He found himself in a bright world filled with life. He saw his parents and how happy they were. He wanted to be part of that, at least briefly.
I won't comment too much on the action in the episode as it a series of the Cyborg nearly killing a family member, being shaken off by a hero (and even Lex once), then beating down on a different member and nearly killing them. The action is non-stop. And I mean it. It is Zach Snyder 'Man of Steel' sized action with buildings being toppled, cut through with heat vision, and city blocks destroyed.
Throughout, we see Henshaw losing his humanity more and more. More skin flakes off. His human eye manifests circuitry. He loses his human like arms and grafts the Kryptonian drone mecha onto his body, looking almost Tetsuo-like.
I loved this shot of him seeing his reflection in the shattered glass, screaming that he has become a monster, just a broken version of himself.
Superman is down for a bit and Jon comes to save him.
At last, Jon says that in the future Henshaw kills Superman. Jon is here to stop it.
Now this means we already are in a new timeline. Lois isn't pregnant. Jon isn't born to see his father die as he was in his timeline. So we are in new territory, even if some of the shots mirror things we saw in our glimpses of the future.
He is more machine than man. He won't have a family.
I do like this realization that he really isn't human. The basis of this show is love and family. Henshaw can have neither.
Again more skirmishes.
But in the midst, Jon says Kara cannot enter the fray.
As someone who lived through Crisis on Infinite Earths, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Were we going to see Kara's death here?
I truly love the sort of 'aw shucks' good guy Clark/Superman is on this show.
Here, even after the battle that has already ensued, he extends a hand for Henshaw to stand down. Hank is better than this.
That's Superman.
But then, the new powerset.
Henshaw opens up his chest to reveal a Kryptonite heart. Holy Metallo!
But this does up the ante. I forgot that in this universe, if exposed to green K long enough, you sprout kryptonite crystals. Henshaw really beats the snot out of Superman, leaving him green and basically out of commission until the near ending of the show.
The Lois in the show has always had tremendous moxie.
She isn't going to wait in Smallville while the world ends. She drives to Metropolis, crashes the Kent's car into Lexcorp, and plants one on Luthor's kisser. Pretty cool! I really am liking Lois this season. She convinces Lex that it is in his best interest to help try and shut down the Cyborg.
Of course, her storyline has been being afraid of her future. So perhaps this near run-in with the apocalypse will have her consider future possibilities differently. So all this just resonates nicely.
Because the action is so wild, all our characters get a decent showing.
I have to include one of Kara just planting one on Henshaw sending him flying before he can kill Jon.
We then get my favorite moment of the show. And yes, I am biased.
But Jon admits he doesn't want Kara near him or the action, not because he doesn't like her. He is doing it because he can't bear seeing her die (again).
She raised him in his timeline because Lois and Clark were gone. She was his teacher, his mentor, his friend.
She taught him what it meant to be kind!
That is a far cry from the dupe of Brainiac, the genocidal weapon Brainiac mind controlled, or even the cold Kara struggling with her past.
She raised Jon and taught him to be kind.
That's a Supergirl I can get behind.
But even a last minute introduction of anti-kryptonite armor from the future can't give Jon and Kara a true upper hand.
We see the Cyborg juicing up to kill Jon.
This Henshaw is 100% scary.
But seeing his son about to die makes him go Super Saiyan God level (what with the blue energy and all). The Kryptonite disappears. He screams in anger, flies in, and rips the K out of Henshaw, crushing it to dust.
Wow!
Nowwe have seen the blue energy manifestation all the way back in episode 1 of Season 1 of this show. It seems in great crisis, he can level up a bit. (It really does sound like a Saiyan!)
Pretty crazy this time. I wonder if this is like the old solar flare where he expended his energy and so is powerless. But did he burn out his cells ability to absorb? Another mystery.
Jon flies in and is able to fly the drained Superman away.
Henshaw initially looks like he is going to self-destruct to kill everyone but when he learns Jon is part human, he just shuts himself down.
So no death of Superman at the hands of the Cyborg. Disaster averted ... right?
Nothing left but the wrap-up. Jon's device is calling him back home to the future.
Kara hugs Jon and says she can't wait to meet him.
Lois says she is proud of her boy.
And just like that he blips out.
But maybe this was the 'death' of Superman.
The blue energy seems to have burned out Superman's cells. He's powerless.
I love Lois' response. They saved Clark.
No ... you're crying.
But then we see Jon's new future.
We no longer see Henshaw destroying everything. Instead we see a Metropolis in lockdown, Eradicator looking robots flying around the city.
And the 'rebel' Jon is brought before what is clearly a Lex/Brainiac amalgam.
So no Dystopia #1. On to Dystopia #2.
Whew!
This was a high octane, non-stop action episode that really showed what a brawl between mega-powers would look like. I love how the heroes teamed up and worked together. I think Superman powering up when seeing his family threatened is fantastic. Supergirl's character continues to shine! And then the ending with another villain ruling ...
Whew!
Really loving this season.
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