Review: My Adventures With Superman S3 E10 The Return

My Adventures With Superman S3 E10, 'The Return', aired this last weekend, the season finale for season 3 and possibly the show's final show. No season 4 has been announced yet. I can only hope that the we get more of this show because it (and this season in particular) has been astonishingly good.

This season has been a sort of mash-up of comic stories - The Reign of the Supermen for sure given the multiple versions of those comic characters we have seen. But I'd throw in something like Zero Hour given the time travel implications we have seen throughout. 

As I have said, the storyline of Superman and Lois meeting their future kids and trying to change their horrible future has been compelling enough. But through in Lois' doubts of her own future, Clark dealing with being depowered for half the season, and Kara's growth into a loving, optimistic, fierce Supergirl has all been fantastic as well.

It all comes down to this episode with the House of El fighting a highly evolved version of the Eradicator, a mix of Superman's powers, Doomsday's powers, and Lex's fears of alien conquerors. Without Superman, the team is frankly outmatched. But they show how determined they are by continuing the fight. 

But it really hinges on The Return of Superman and his true power, wanting to help people, wanting an ordinary life with ordinary happiness, and willing to sacrifice himself to help others.

It ends with a crazy cliffhanger. It would be a fine final shot if this show does end here. But I need more. 

And as usual, the whole thing has the feel of Dragon Ball Z, Neon Genesis, and other comic classics smushed into Superman lore and I am here for it.

On to the show.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S3 E8 'Vae Victis'

My Adventures With Superman, Season 3, Episode 9, titled 'Vae Victis' came out last weekend and was an incredible penultimate episode leading us into what surely will be a tremendous finale next week. From top to bottom, for me, this has been the best season of the show. It has been the blend of fun, whimsy, emotional growth, and character development that we have seen in the prior seasons. But this season has had more drama, more danger, and more action than the prior. Somehow all of those elements have been perfectly mixed.

Last episode, an unstoppable, ever evolving, Eradicator defeated our heroes and took off into the time stream. A powerless Clark went to the Fortress with Bizarro to try to regain his powers. Things look grim.

And so comes 'Vae Victis' which means "Woe to the Vanquished". What  heavy title.

It clearly can be the title for Lois, Lara, Jonathan, Jimmy, Kara, and even Lex. They have been beaten badly by the Eradicator. They are about to face him again, knowing it wants to conquer them. They all have to handle their own insecurities to be prepared. Those insecurities have been building over the season. It is good to see some of them put behind our heroes as they are about to fight for their lives.

But it really has weight with the Superman half of this book. Superman has been cast into a virtual reality by his Fortress guards (led by a 'docile' Brainiac) and told to repeat Krypton's conquering past as a way to prove he deserves his power. Will Superman vanquish? And why did Brainiac give him this task? We find out in the end in an incredible revelation.

We end on two cliffhangers! Bring on the finale of this wonderful season. On to this episode.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S3E8 - It's Reigning (Super)Men

My Adventures With Superman Season 3 Episode 8, It's Reigning (Super) Men, came out last weekend and it was superb. It was jaw-dropping. It was gob-smacking. It was insane. It was perfect.

I am running out of superlatives for this show this season, walking a tight rope of silliness, comic homages, character growth, and epic action. How can it be all things and do them all well? How ?!? 

Three weeks ago, we had a brutal action episode, Superman and his allies fighting the Cyborg Superman. The action was huge in scope and destruction. I did not think it could be topped.

This week we have a similar high action episode but this one even bigger in scope and destruction and emotion. Our heroes and some new allies fight an all-powerful Eradicator, a mix of Superman' powers, Lex's evil mind, and (I assume) some Doomsday evolution powers. This Eradicator is like Doomsday in that he is seemingly unstoppable, violent, murderous, and always gaining new abilities. But it is also like Lex, devious in the end. Like episode 5, this is Dragon Ball Z meets Zach Snyder.

And yet, in all this brawling is intense character development. Lois worried about her future as a mother, wondering if she'll be any good at the role. Clark still suffering from his lack of powers and watching his family being injured, obviously pained by his helplessness. The future children of Lois and Clark are cold and focused, lacking any of the love their parents should give them and willing to kill.

The character that steals this episode is Supergirl. I bristled at her last season being a weapon for Brainiac. But her growth this season, loving Earth, loving Superman, realizing she can decide her future has been brilliant. Her fierceness and hope are pure classic Supergirl. And what she does in this episode, stepping up as a hero, defending her family and her future, and sacrificing herself is just perfect. This is Supergirl. 

Enough intro. On to some moments worth savoring.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S3E7: The Ex Games

My Adventures With Superman S3E7, The Ex Games, was another fun diversion after the brutal Cyborg Superman episode back in E5. But this wasn't just about the humor and another breath of fresh air. This episode pushed forward the underlying theme of this season. Who are you and who can you become?

Clark is powerless and has been struggling greatly with who he is if he isn't Superman. Can he even like his life.

Kara has been trying to distance herself from the Brainiac trauma, wondering if she can ever put that violent past behind her, even if she has embraced Earth as a home, a place she loves.

Lois is trying to figure out her future and who she will be if she marries Clark. Will she still be able to be a Lois she is proud of, happy with. 

And Jimmy is Jimmy.

These storylines have been front and center for most of this season, just under the surface of the threat of the Cyborg Superman, the simmering evil of Lex, and the dystopian futures we have seen. It is that seamless mix of character growth and action plot that has made this Superman content one of the best I have seen recently. Toss in humor and deep cut comic references, and you have a winner.

So seeing our main characters in a Squid Game styles tournament against other versions of themselves is a good way to showcase differences. Of course, the tournament is a plot by Mr. Mxyzptlk so everything isn't as it seems.

On to some details that stood out. But seriously, I hope everyone is watching this.

Review: My Adventures Of Superman S3E6: Party Animals

My Adventures of Superman S3E6, Party Animals is a sort of rest issue after the violence and catharsis of last episode. The action is a little bit more muted but the character focus is high in this episode. But it is the characterization and character interplay is really what I love about this show. 

Frankly, after last episode, I need a breather, a 'rest issue'. Not that this is nonsense. All our characters are dealing with things and we learn more and move forward. All of this is set in a Humanist Gala for Metropolis.Clark has no idea who he is without Superman. Lois and Jimmy are nominated for an award but Lois is still feeling like she is the shadow of Vicki Vale. Jimmy is still dealing with his feelings for Kara. Kara is dealing with her feelings for Jimmy while also being the main hero of Metropolis. More on all these in the review. 

This episode also leans into many characters we have met and who make up the supporting cast. Silver St. Cloud, Steve Lombard, Vicki Vale, and Bizarro all show up and add flavor.

All these character moments are shown through an action piece of Dr. Poison trying to turn humans into animals. This leads to another Silver Age Jimmy moment.

Love this episode mostly because you feel the pain that Clark is suffering, not knowing who he is now that he is powerless. He seems almost disgusted with life as Clark. Hmmm ...

This season continues to be incredible. On to details.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S3E5 - The Death of Superman

 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.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S3 E4 - Guess Who's Slammin' to Dinner

My Adventures with Superman S3 E4 'Guess Who's Slammin' to Dinner' came out this week and propelled the storyline for this season forward in a fast way. New character, emergence of the main villain, and a cliffhanger that seems to preview the dystopian future we saw last episode. 

I was a little surprised at how fast this moved along until I realized that this season is only 10 episodes long. Turns out every season has been that long and I forgot. Perhaps because these episodes pack so much inside them that they feel longer or meatier than just 10 episodes.

This episode brings in Jon Kent, the future son of Lois and Clark who looks very suspiciously like Conner Kent from the comics. When I saw the previews, I figured it was Conner given the cloning side of this season. But bringing Jon to another medium is just as cool, even if everything about him - clothes and personality - scream The Metropolis Kid.

In fact, Jon is outright fun here, saying everything is "slmmin'" and he is enjoying himself perhaps a bit too much for a kid sent from a world on fire. I suppose meeting your young parents and eating pound cake might make you forget your terrible present makes sense.

I will also say that I appreciate all the Silver Age riffs and comic homages the show is dropping into the show. And I love this sort of brash Kara learning and loving her new world. After saying goodbye to Brainiac early this season, we haven't seen much overwhelming trauma in her.

Loving this season so far. On to details.

Reviews: My Adventures With Superman S3E3

My Adventures With Superman S3 E3, All's Fair in Love and W.O.R.M.S. ,came out this week and was another great episode. As I said last episode's review, somehow this show is able to balance plot progression, action, character growth, and humor. I mean in this episode we get dystopian future, 2 Silver Age homages, a musical number, and two super villains! Whew!

The axle the issue spins on is the will they/won't they Jimmy/Kara relationship. Kara took Jimmy's advice and has started dating other people but her knowledge of Earth and really of who she is herself is lacking. In comes Lois. Meanwhile, Jimmy is jealous from the outcome he asked for so has signed up for a new dating service W.O.R.M.S. Fun and mayhem and comic references ensue.

Amid that fun we have two more serious plots. First is character driven, Lois is worried that perhaps her relationship with Clark is moving too fast. She likes the idea of making the next step; she wants to. But she also likes how life is going now. How can she deal with those conflicting emotions.

Second, the Cyborg Superman reveals who he really is and shows himself to be a threat to everyone. 

Throw in an amazing cliffhanger and you have another winner. On to some details.

My Adventures With Superman S3E2

My Adventures of Superman S3E2 came out last week and continued to push the overall storyline of this season forward. It is clear that the showrunners are going to lean into two areas. The first will be the concept of identity, especially in Supergirl and for plot, the idea of the Reign of Supermen, probably looking at what it means to be Superman, or an evil version, or a clone, etc. Meanwhile, it continues to be amusing and cute in just the right measure.

This episode brings the super-crew to, of all places, a fan con. Most of that plotline revolves around Supergirl coming to grips with being new to the world and wanting to have a partner. From Jimmy's noble worries about Kara's affection to Cat Grant becoming a foil (leaning into Sterling Gates' run), we are going to get a lot of Supergirl dealing with her past and future this season. After last year's rough run of her as Brainiac's weapon, I hope we will see her get to a happy place.

As for the other theme of Superman's identity, we already had a version of Bizarro introduced. In this episode, we get Hank Henshaw's Cyborg Superman. Perhaps the thing that pleases me the most is that Luthor is really deep in that mess. I want to see Lex sort of emerge as the arch-villain here.

Despite the heavy topics, there is still the humor I love in the show. A super-villain wanting to date Superman. Jimmy Olsen's self-made comic books. Lois losing her mind. Cat Grant cackling like a Disney evil queen. It all made me smile between the action.

Love the series. On to the episode.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S3E1

Season three of My Adventures With Superman started this week and truly hit the ground running. It is a brisk half-hour show with all the action, comic history and homages, and whimsy of the first two seasons. I don't know how the creators are walk the tightrope of anime slice-of-life young romance, deep existential dread of overcoming early trauma, scifi action, DC lore, and enough hints of ongoing threads to make my head spin.

It is clear based on the season card, name-drops, and plot points that we will be circling the 'Reign of the Supermen' storyline. Or, at the very least, what it means to be Superman, what it means to be Kryptonian, and how one can define themselves. We hear about Hank Henshaw. We see Bizarro. We see Supergirl recognizing the psychological weight of needing to redefining herself away from Brainiac, Kryptonian robots hinting at the need to reinvigorate their culture, and we even see Lois dealing with her upbringing and how that made her who she is. All of that is reflected against Superman's sunniness and his Kent upbringing. Whew ... all that in the first episode.

But in all that thick plot, there is still the fun and joy we saw in this show's first two seasons. Clark and Lois' flirting and teasing. Jimmy and Kara's romance. Kara still being a bit of a stranger in a strange land. And Clark just wanting the simple things in life like a Halloween festival, the crispness of an autumn day, and a dog.

For Supergirl fans, she will clearly be a central figure on the show as she struggles with her new life. Should be a great showcase for her and will resonate with the movie's take on Kara.

On to some details and highpoints. There are a lot so settle in!

Supergirl Best Of 2024 Part One: Non-Comic Reviews And Comic Honorable Mentions

Well, we have reached a new year and that means it is a good time to go back and look at 2024 and how it treated Supergirl.

As with most years, this will be a three day review.

Today - non-comic year as well as Honorable Mention 2024 comic moments

Tomorrow - Top ten 2024comic moments, #10 - #6

Friday - Top ten 2024 comic moments, #5 - #1

It has been an interesting year for Supergirl overall.

She was a major player in the Crisis On Infinite Earths trilogy movie which wrapped up that era of the DC Animated universe. She also was a key player in the second season of My Adventures with Superman television show. A Supergirl movie is in the works and she was even casted. That is a lot of exposure for the character which I think is always a good thing. But certainly the concept of the upcoming movie and her portrayal in the two animated series weren't exactly what I look for in Supergirl as a character. 

In comics, it was a bit more piecemeal as you had to sort of look to find Supergirl here and there. I think she had a great presence in the House of Brainiac arc. I think she has been treated well by Mark Waid in his Phantom Zone arc in Action Comics. But I have found her one solo story by Mariko Tamaki to be a bit lacking. 

So overall I think it has been an okay year for the character. Certainly her being visible outside of comics is a good thing. And I'll reiterate that while these takes on her don't work for me, if you love them, I am glad.

As always, I want to thank the people who come to the site and read my ramblings! Appreciate you all!

On to the year in review.

Review: My Adventures Of Superman #6

One of the things that happens when there is a sudden glut of books to review (weekly Action Comics with 2 reviews a week for example) is that inevitably something will get forgotten or pushed back.

Sorry My Adventures of Superman #6. 

The book came out a while ago and was the final chapter of the six part mini-series which bridged seasons 1 and 2 of the television show.

Writer Josie Campbell, a creative on the show, maintained the tap dance nature of the show being all things at once and somehow being cohesive. Wholesome? Yes. Action forward? Yes. Progressive? Yes. Funny and charming? Yes. 

It isn't easy to juggle so many significantly different feels but somehow Campbell does it. And here, she has the ending line up nicely with the 'upcoming' story of Season 2. Superman and the team has to help Amazo understand that each individual gets to determine who they are. Here it is Amazo coming to understand that they are more than a mechanized weapon; they are a being with choice. In season 2, they have to convince a brain-washed and traumatized Kara the same. It resonates.

Artist Pablo Collar continues to bring that anime-style to the proceedings. Here, the finale feels like a big robo show with a mecha trying to stop a doomsday device. The battle is wild and writ large and looks great. But, much like a good anime, there are the quiet family moments that also need to shine.

I don't know how this sold. I wonder if another mini will come out to bridge season 2 and the upcoming season 3. I hope so because giving us a peek at a Kara acclimating to Earth would be great. On to the book. 

Review: My Adventures With Superman #5

My Adventures with Superman #5 came out this week, the penultimate issue of this mini-series bridging the two seasons of the show. It is interesting to see just how much Kryptonian tech and concern for a Kryptonian invasion permeates the whole IP. 

Writer Sophia Campbell continues to create a sort of three-dimensional universe for this take on Superman. First and foremost, she writes an inspirational Superman and inspirational Lois. These are both heroes in their own right. This is a Superman who lifts people up by telling them that acts are more important than words. That there is no fate save that what we make. And that you can shake off expectations if we want. It is clear that Amazo, a now sentient robot with a nefarious reason for existing, is going to be a full hero, someone who sacrifices himself to save others. Some of that is because he has been befriended and supported by Superman. I'm okay with it.

Pablo Collar continues to do a great job on art. There is that cartoony/anime style that jibes with the cartoon. But he has to do serious action here. He also has to bring in mecha, hand beams, airplanes, and brawling. Again, that makes this feel like a true separate universe. 

I know we are getting a 3rd season of the show. So I hope we get another bridging mini. 

On to the book. 

Review: My Adventures With Superman #4

My Adventures With Superman #4 came out last week and continued to be a fun, heart-warming, and surprisingly action-packed book. This also pushed the Amazo storyline forward in an interesting way. You know I love mysteries and now we have one. 

Writer Josie Campbell continues to walk that tightrope of whimsy and serious, character moments and action moments, progressive plots mixed with nostalgic callbacks. I seriously don't know how she does it. This book opens with the Kents talking at length about family, unconditional love, parents teaching and learning, and the power of Christmas. The book ends with a brawl between Superman and Amazo, Checkmate, and Task Force X. In between that there is humor, romance, and at least two callbacks. 

Artist Pablo Collar continues to walk his own fine line between the anime style and more standard comic style. I like his take on Amazo. I love his Checkmate armor. But it is the early portion with the Kents and Lois that I think he really shines, bring warmth to everything.

Add a decent cliffhanger and you have a winner.

On to the book. 

Review: My Adventures With Superman #3

My Adventures With Superman #3 came out last week, another solid chapter in the all ages book. 

Much like the cartoon, the comic walks a bit of a tight rope and in a good way. There is humor. There is whimsy. There is torture. There is action. It is hard to work a balance like that but somehow show runner and comic book writer Sophia Campbell is able to pull it off.

This chapter nudges the plot along. Amazo has consciousness. As a living being, even if an android, it should be spared that. So Superman is helping it while the government hunts it down. Add in some fun antics of our squad trying to keep Amazo out of the military's hands and you have fun episode.

Artist Pablo Collar continues to do a good job of keeping the feel of the show while rendering a visually active book layout. The battle scene at the end of the book in particular is well paged and paced. 

All  together, the tone of the comic continues to mirror the progressive, fun, occasionally dark tone of the show. That makes this a great arc to have happened between seasons. 

On to the book.

My Adventures With Supergirl Season 3

One day I will get to San Diego Comic Con. It's a sort of bucket list.

Lots of DC news came out of the con with a bunch of new books with classic DC characters coming out as well as the DC All In initiative.

But the big thing about SDCC is all the multimedia news that comes out of it. So after wondering if there would be a third season of My Adventures With Superman, I was able to watch a whole panel about the show. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izLq946kMhI

The panel includes the show runners and the main voice actors. The topics range from character growth to favorite episodes to the future. If you are a fan of the series it is worth listening to.

The above image is the teaser for the now confirmed season 3. 

As a Supergirl fan, I am glad to see she is going to stick around as a focus for the show. She was used as a sort of foil to Clark this last season. My guess is that will continue as we look at the two relationships and how they unfold - Clark/Lois and Kara/Jimmy.

This is a Supergirl site so a couple of things to note from the panel. Of course, my dislike for Kara's backstory. I didn't need the trauma. Some of the answers on this panel perplex me a bit.

Supergirl's voice actor talks about how Kara is a clean slate able to explore Earth and reinvent herself. She is trying to find herself on Earth in this new life with new friends. A clean slate makes me wonder if all that trauma is going to be forgotten or swept under the rug. You would think she should at least reflect or respond to this. It is a huge part of her story. I hope we just don't get silliness from her. Because if ultimately she is going to be the funny 'stranger in strange world', we could have got there without the bleak origin.

Her wanting to mate with Jimmy is also an interesting wrinkle given that compare/contrast aspect. 

I'm hopeful.

On to more details.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S2E10

The second season of My Adventures With Superman ended this weekend with the final episode, titled 'My Adventures With Supergirl'. 

As usual, this episode was filled with great anime-infused action, great character moments, and some nice DCU homages and references. I'll say it again. I like this show. I love the Clark/Lois interactions and arc. I love how deep it dives into the DCU. And even this whole storyline about Brainiac has been solid.  This is a good show.

The depth of Brainiac's involvement in the destruction of Krypton ratchets him up as a villain. Although I do have to wonder about his overall strategy in some places. The theme about Clark feeling alone and how he overcame that on Earth is a nice parallel to how Kara was raised. I like how we see Superman as an inspiration, making some of the villains from earlier episodes rally around him to fight Brainiac.

And, of course, the season ends with the redemption of Kara. No surprises there. But, no surprise, we have to darken things up one last time to make the redemption that much brighter. We see, in no uncertain terms, that Kara was raised as a psychologically abused child. We know she is a killer of worlds, even if she was being controlled. You'd think she still feel some guilt about that. In this episode we see one more time how she has been controlled by Brainiac. One more fight against Superman ... of course.

Look, am I glad Supergirl is on a successful cartoon? Yes. Am I glad she is redeemed at the end? Yes. Do I hope we get a season three with Kara as a cast member? Yes. 

But I still think Josie Campbell could have done almost this exact story without all the trauma, without all the carnage, without all the darkness. I will never say 'I'm glad she was a dupe and a weapon and an unwitting killer of worlds'. I don't need it. 

Still, hopefully it's all in the past and if this show goes on she's a true hero. 

On to the particulars. Settle in. There is a lot to talk about.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S2E9

The penultimate episode of season 2 of My Adventures With Superman came out this week. 

It is intriguingly called 'Superman!' and I think that title works for a number of reasons, especially given the exclamation point. This is Clark shaking off the fake life Brainiac has been giving him, rebecoming Superman. But we end on what seems to be doomsday and so that scream might be people asking to be saved.

I like this show. I love the dynamics of Lois and Clark in this show. I like how she saves him in this episode, opening his mind to the fake life Brainiac has fed him. I like how Superman and Kara decide to team up and fight in the end. I even like how Amanda Waller and Lex Luthor are shown, perhaps, the error of their ways. There are some nods back to this show itself and even to comics. It is both serious and comedic and wholesome all at the same time. This show is way way better than I thought it was going to be and I had pretty high hopes.

This is 'Supergirl Comic Box Commentary' so I have to talk about Supergirl's role here. 

As I have said, at length, I don't think that we needed her to have a dark past, whether as cruelly raised tool of Brainiac or mind-controlled/possessed genocidal weapon of destruction. I did know she would end up in a good place. And this episode cements both that dislike and ending. Kara starts the episode utterly defeated. She thinks Brainiac-possessed Clark is unstoppable. She calls the situation 'hopeless'. She sulks a little. She knows she has killed. It is only when Jimmy spurs her to be a hero that she shakes the doldrums and flies into battle. Heck, she seems ready to sacrifice herself for Earth. She ends up a hero.

But the truth is we could have eliminated all the darkness and got to this same place. She could have been happily exploring for Brainiac as a student for him. He could have destroyed these worlds while she was out on the next mission (we see he has to tech to destroy worlds). She might have realized she was a well-meaning dupe who didn't kill opposed to the 'raised as an angry warrior and world-killer'. We have been shown she has good traits throughout the show. Why we needed the dark varnish over her character still perplexes me. It wasn't needed. (And I know there is an outside chance that everything Kara remembers are implanted ... so maybe she isn't a killer. I can still hope.)

Anyways, I am glad Kara will end up a hero. And overall the show is entertaining and fun. Intrigued to see how it all wraps up. 

Review: My Adventures With Superman #2

The comic My Adventures With Superman #2 came out last week, the second part of a mini-series with Superman dealing with a new version of Amazo.

I have been watching and enjoying the show this comic is based on, even while dealing with its terrible backstory behind Supergirl. This is a new Superman universe so everything feels fresh here as we see Clark learning his powers, dealing with his dual identity, and (most importantly) loving Lois Lane. 

This comic continues to focus on the Lois/Clark relationship as well as Jimmy being part of the news team. The scenes that sing the most in this book are those of these three interacting. I especially like Lois and Clark sort of feeling each other out as new daters. Part of that is learning more about this Lois and contrasting (and comparing) her to her father. Given what we have seen this season on the show, I like seeing more of what life was like growing up as Lois with Sam.

In this issue, the Jimmy/Clark/Lois trio head into an army base to try to find and free the Amazo robot. But it isn't Superman; it's Clark. Seeing him deal with decreased powers and try to remain a hero and help Amazo is another part of this chapter that works well. 

We end on a solid cliffhanger putting Clark in some peril. 

Pablo Collar brings the style of the show to the book as well making this smoothly slide into this universe. 

On to the book.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S2 E8

The eighth episode of the second season of My Adventures With Superman, titled 'The Death of Clark Kent',  came out this week and was another interesting episode, perhaps opening up a door for a better ending for Supergirl than I have been expecting.

My reviews of this show have been an interesting exercise for me. I actually am enjoying the show as a whole with its wholesome foundation, its somewhat darker plot themes, and it's anime twee-ness. It is a crazy mix. 

There is no doubt this is a small town Superman with small town beliefs and a very earnest approach to helping people. Superman is that wholesome protagonist that the whole show is built on. But the themes of the show are ones of isolation, persecution, and loneliness. This season has Superman truly questioning if he fits in on Earth and it is amplified by Luthor and the government turning the people against him. 

Add to that, you have the Brainiac/Supergirl story. Brainiac wants to recreate Krypton. He wants to convince Superman that he doesn't belong so he can use Kal. And he has been using Kara this whole time. It means that Superman is going to have to choose Earth. Kara is going to have to reject Krypton, at least the vision of it Brainiac has been filling her head with. 

But mixing anime cuteness and wholesome 'aw shucks' Smallville with genocidal Supergirl's and depressed, isolated Superman and keeping it cohesive is tough. I think about the movie Thor Love and Thunder which had Jane dying of cancer, a god-killing being kidnapping children and threatening to sacrifice them mixed in with ludicrously bad humor attempts. It didn't work. 

Somehow this show is pulling it off. I'm enjoying it overall. 

I still wish Supergirl had a better backstory ... but the truth is that might come to pass. On to the particulars.