Now streaming on Channel 4 in the UK, as well as playing weekly on E4, is the first season of new animated series, My Adventures with Superman. The series – which debuted in the US back in July – features the vocal talents of Jack Quaid, Alice Lee, and Ishmel Sahid, and details the early adventures of Superman/Clark Kent, as well as his close friendship with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen.
Set during the beginning of Superman’s super hero career, before he fully understands his alien origins, and even before he has access to all his powers, the series follows Clark Kent’s transformation from mild mannered intern for the Daily Planet to Metropolis’ caped wonder. Along the way he crosses paths with a number of villains, including the Parasite, Livewire, and Mr. Mxyzptlk, and finds himself becoming the target of shadowy organisation, Task Force X.
Superman’s battles with villains are a big part of the series, but so too is his friendship with Lois and Jimmy. The show is designed around this central trio, with their connection to each other being the heart and soul of the series.
In fact, Clark’s relationship with Lois and Jimmy is so important to My Adventures with Superman, the series purposefully brings these two characters into his inner circle very quickly. This isn’t yet another adaptation of the Superman mythology where Clark keeps these characters at arm’s length in order to protect his alter-ego; in this series they learn a great deal about him very quickly.
This also paves the way for an important plot point about Lois getting a little too close to Clark/Superman, while not knowing enough about him. Is he really the good guy he appears to be, or could she be getting in deep with someone who is perhaps too powerful?
In total, there are ten episodes in the first season of My Adventures of Superman. The first two episodes are a two-part story, as are episodes eight and nine, while the remaining six episodes are stand-alone instalments.
Although I’m not quite sure stand-alone is the best way to describe any of the episodes, as the whole season has an ongoing story arc running through it which connects everything up. So while there are individual stories, every episode feels more like the next chapter in one big tale than truly it’s own thing.
However, this isn’t a bad way to tell a Superman story, as the gradual unspooling of the central arc works very well for the series. My Adventures with Superman feels very much as if it is a show about the journey, rather than offering up lots of individual tales, and there is a sense it is building up to something big.
In terms of positives, the first season of My Adventures with Superman has plenty of them, beginning with the anime-style animation which is gorgeous to look at. The overall aesthetic of the show is very reminiscent of Netflix’s delightful series, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and everything is slick and clean.
The voice cast is also superb. Jack Quaid is note perfect as Superman/Clark Kent, and Alice Lee and Ishmel Sahid work well as Lois and Jimmy respectively.
The show also benefits from a good selection of characters, which aren’t all the usual suspects. Amongst this first season are the likes of Monsieur Mallah, Vicki Vale, and Heat Wave, as well as Silver Banshee and Mist.
Rather than going down the route of using Lex Luthor, or even General Zod as the key characters of the first year, this initial season incorporates a number of lesser-used names from the Superman comics and the wider DC Universe to set out its stall. This keeps this new cartoon feeling fresh, and even if Lex or Zod become key figures in later seasons (as is hinted in season one), it’s good to get things off to a different start with this first batch of episodes.
It’s also fun to see Superman discovering his different abilities as the season progresses. Outside of the live-action teen show, Smallville, which teased out Superman’s abilities over multiple seasons, most adaptations make the character all-powerful from the beginning, which kind of robs him of some of his journey.
With My Adventures with Superman, Supes doesn’t get his costume until episode two, his heat vision until episode three, and his super hearing and x-ray vision until episodes eight and nine. Kryptonite is also barely featured in the show.
In terms of the not-so positives in My Adventures with Superman, there are actually very few. I’m not completely sold on some of the villain designs, with the Parasite in particular looking too much like a Guyver reject, and the show needs a decent theme song, but beyond these issues everything else is solid.
Similar to the aforementioned She-Ra show, My Adventures with Superman has a clear creative vision, as well as a desire to update the mythology in a respectful way, and this comes across very well. The show isn’t about reinventing the wheel, but it does deliver a modern Superman story for the 2020s which is also enjoyable to watch.
Based on how likeable this first season is, I’m not surprised a second season is already in production. There’s no news on a release date just yet – certainly not for UK viewers anyway – but I’ll be back for more when the time comes.
Superman celebrates his 85th anniversary this year, and as proved with this first season of My Adventures with Superman there is still plenty of room for new stories. The show has gotten off to a great start, and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
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