While I spent the last week finding time to finish the first two seasons of “Superman & Lois,” I set aside time to watch the highly anticipated “My Adventures with Superman,” which stealthily premiered on Cartoon Network’s adult programming block Adult Swim. That in and of itself is bizarre, as there’s nothing adult about “My Adventures with Superman.” The series is highly stylized to look like anime, but there’s no swearing, or intense violence, or any kind of sexual content. This is as wholesome and pure as Superman’s been in a long time, and it’s actually a series I’d recommend to literally any Superman fan young or old.
As a Superman fanatic myself, “My Adventures with Superman” is a great animated series that brings Superman in to Generation Z with a whole new take on his origin. Everything from the animation, to the style, to the action is light hearted and exciting, without a single dour moment in sight. Even when Clark Kent is swooning over Lois Lane, the series decidedly plays it for cute points rather than bringing down the pacing. The series premiered with the first two episodes, chronicling Clark’s entrance in to Metropolis as a potential journalist. He happens to arrive at the same time Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane do, and the trio end up together as “Daily Planet” interns hoping to be taken seriously as journalists. It’s during this time a new crime ring begins taking hold of the city, prompting Clark to use his powers to battle them.
“My Adventures with Superman” works as a steady, speedy pace, but not at a point where it’s tough to keep up. There are flashbacks to when Clark learned he was an alien, and even the famous scene of Martha creating Clark’s costume. The series reminded me a lot of “Avatar” in where the anime influenced animation helps punctuate the light humor well. The way Lois and Jimmy interact with Clark is charming, and Clark is the endearing lug who is on the verge of becoming an icon. The cast are all bang up including Alice Lee as Lois Lane, and Ishmel Sahid as the neurotic but brilliant Jimmy Olsen. The highlight though is Jack Quaid (Scream V) who is just great as Clark Kent/Superman.
The role is a bit of a fun in joke as Quaid is known for his role in the anti-superhero series “The Boys,” but here he’s just dynamite presenting the humility and perseverance we’d expect from young Clark Kent who is coming of age, and trying to figure out who he is. I’m still not sure why they chose to premiere a potential animated juggernaut at midnight on their Adult Swim block. Is this a confirmation that Cartoon Network really is dead? Is Cartoon Network sabotaging it? Are they trying to avoid cancellation by sneaking it on to their highest rated programming block?
Are they trying to appeal to older Millennials before they make their way to the Gen Z demographic? I have no idea, and I hope it’s not an indication that this show is not long for this world. In either case, “My Adventures with Superman” is just great, and is absolutely teeming with epic potential, and I hope with the new Superman-centric direction DC Entertainment is going, I hope it gets a chance to flourish rather than be left out in the cold like “Justice League Action” and “The Green Lantern.”
Currently airing on Adult Swim, and Streaming the Day After on Max.