'My Adventures with Superman' Premiere Review.

I am a Marvel fan and I liked it! In today’s stan-war culture, that is quite the compliment (IYKYK).

(Mostly) Spoiler-Free Review.

The two-parter is aptly titled “Adventures of a Normal Man,” as Clark Kent discovers his alien superpowers as a child, shows us his heroic nature in the first five minutes, and gradually skips the Smallville stuff with a time jump. Clark is trying to be “normal,” while clumsily destroying handles, alarm clocks, and other items with his super strength. Internship opportunities compel Clark and Jimmy Olsen to the Daily Bugle. They meet Lois Lane, senior intern. An instance attraction happens. During a hunt for a juicy story, we run into our first villain and giant mechas that give us our first glimpse into the Man of Steel’s battle prowess. The premiere ends with Clark firmly establishing himself as Superman, Lois and Jimmy vowing to find out Superman’s secret identity, and intriguing clues about the rest of the season to keep the viewer hooked.

Kindness is Back

This series offers a nice balance against the terror that The Boys‘ Highlander and Invincible‘s Omni-Man showed us. We know that the flying bricks among the superhumans could easily destroy our cardboard world. Truthfully, some of my favorite Superman moments are his cardboard world speeches (video below). But even in this darker moment for The Last Son of Krypton, he always reminds us that his empathy and treasuring of life restrain him against all but the worst foes. Highlander and Omni-Man show us what happens if that guard ever came down. Below, Darkseid also learns the hard way about how much Superman holds back normally. Wisely, My Adventures with Superman reminds us of the kind-hearted alien who shows us the best of humanity.

One of the things I appreciate most about the premiere is that it functionally treats its audience like they are already familiar with Superman. Every superhero film has to contend with retelling the same origin story a billion times, but many make the mistake of retelling it in painstaking detail tailored to the uninitiated. Here, Director Diana Huh, and writers Cynthia Furey, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Shuster, get to the super and Lois Lane romance parts expediently. There will be time to add in more details about the back story later. Granted, this works a lot better in an episodic setting. In films, especially with the constant reboots, origin stories have to be told over and over and over again. We have to see Bruce Wayne’s parents die in the same gutter, Uncle Ben lose his life to the same mugger, and Superman grow up on the same farm. This is done for ticket sales, the assumption being longtime fans of these heroes are guaranteed, but that periphery fans must be spoon fed origin stories. It ties most superhero films to a narrow part of the superhero’s history.

But we don’t know what we don’t know! What would happen if we dared to treat the audience like they were familiar with the flagship characters of Marvel and DC (Spider-Man and Batman/Superman respectively)? It’s a question My Adventures with Superman aims to answer.

Characters of Metropolis

Superman is Superman. The blue eyed boy scout whose heart always points north. The writers have found a way to make him not so sugary sweet, a common complaint about some Superman stories in the past. Though it seems certain we won’t get the new age sociopolitical complexity that challenges his black and white morality is some beloved comic stories. His powerset is still new to him, so there are actual challenges to the Man of Steel right now. Interestingly, they seem to acknowledge the damage superhuman clashes can have by having Supes “fix” all the things he breaks due to his super strength. He is voiced by Jack Quaid (The Boys, Oppenheimer). People concerned about the uptick in dark, moody Superman influenced by the aforementioned Highlander and Omni-Man will be happy to see the Last Son of Krypton back in gentle giant territory.

Lois Lane has been made modern with a short unisex haircut and an ambiguous ethnic look. She is voiced by the talented Alice Lee. She is headstrong and ambitious, yet good-hearted and smitten with both versions of the Man of Steel.

Jimmy Olsen is a Black American in this rendition. He is Clark’s best friend and modernized with an alien-obsession to match his photo happy one. He is voiced by Ishmel Sahid.

As you might have guessed, the racial swaps and changes have made the same predictable demographics upset. Expect red-head erasure laments to circle Jimmy Olsen especially.

The Kents are sweet backdrops as usual. Superman’s AI guide/father (we know he’s the father even if its not revealed) can only speak Krypton, and so far has not been able to give us any useful information. He did, however, provide the battle suit.

Metropolis is vibrant, diverse, and feels modern. The writers do a great job of showing our modern world in a natural and fresh way. The characters don’t seem that shocked by supervillains, giant mechas, and Superman, so it seems this is going for a DC universe feeling.

Final Verdict

Go watch it. Its a fun series and it breathes life into Superman. Catch it on Max.