This review was made possible by screeners of Episodes 1-7 of My Adventures With Superman. My Adventures With Superman premieres on Adult Swim on July 6th and will stream on Max the next day. New episodes are released on Thursdays.
Animation has always been one of the crown jewels at DC Comics, bringing to life countless characters and stories through animated shows like Batman: The Animated Series, Young Justice and animated films like The Flashpoint Paradox and Justice League: Doom. They’re very good about covering their bases. My Adventures With Superman is a reimagining of the early days of Clark Kent as Superman, pulling his origins into the present day and modernizing classic staples of the character as we see not just Superman but both his pals and his rogues blossom into the characters we know.
Not So Super Scheduling
This first part is as much a critique of the series itself, but the way it’s being released is a bit odd. The series will premiere on July 7th, 2023, at midnight EST on Adult Swim and then premiere the next day on Max. My question is, what’s the point? The series was originally intended to release on HBO Max before it was shuttered, and MAX was released in its place. The series was also initially green-lit for two seasons. It’s an odd release strategy that could work a lot better than solely releasing the series on Max.
The Beginning Of Wonderful Friendships
We meet a young Clark Kent on a small farm in Kansas when he first unlocks his super abilities to catch a Frisbee caught in a tree. It’s around this time that Ma and Pa Kent decide it’s time to tell Clark the truth and show him where he came from, with what I can only presume is the fortress of solitude having planted itself within a cornfield in Smallville. The series makes some interesting changes to the character, but they’re not bad ones. It works as a way to set itself apart from the story you’ve heard and seen plenty of times before. This show is much more tech-based than fantastical. Many of the villains Superman faces, like Livewire and Silver Banshee, use stolen tech instead of getting any actual abilities. While it may seem odd, as the series progresses, it becomes more obvious that it’s all part of one big storyline.
While the series does make strides to set itself apart, it plays it close to home with Clark, Lois, and Jimmy, giving us something that’s been greatly missing from Superman stories for a good while. The three of them have this incredible dynamic led by Lois Lane, voiced by Alice Lee, who does an incredible job of bringing Lois’s eagerness and tenacity to get the hottest story in town. Ishmael Sahid is similar in his performance as Jimmy Olsen, a lovable and dorky photographer, whose on the hunt for a front-page-worthy photo, and we finally get a proper Clark and Jimmy friendship. Jimmy is also an internet conspiracy theorist now, but it’s not as bad as you think. It’s pretty funny. Jack Quaid nails it as Superman, albeit a quirky and younger iteration of the character. He absolutely rules, bringing such warmth to the character that felt absent.
Super Animation
With animation these days, people love to talk about how smooth it looks and how well it flows, but the work was really put into this series. The animation here is top-notch. It doesn’t feel choppy or rushed, it’s smooth, and the fight scenes are even better. One of the biggest critiques about a series like Invincible is that, at times, the animation was just really poor. While the story itself was super engaging, and the gore was a factor that pulled people in, it struggled in what it was supposed to be, an animated series. Happy to say that My Adventures With Superman does not suffer from those issues.
‘My Adventures with Superman’ – Final Thoughts
My Adventures With Superman is a surprisingly sweet and grounded reimagining of Clark Kent’s origin, with standout performances from Jack Quaid, Alice Lee, and Ishmael Sahid. The animation is slick, the tone refreshingly modern, and the chemistry between the leads makes this a genuinely fun watch, even if the tech-based villains take some getting used to.
Check out the trailer for My Adventures With Superman below.
The Review
My Adventures with Superman
My Adventures With Superman is a surprisingly sweet and grounded reimagining of Clark Kent’s origin, with standout performances from Jack Quaid, Alice Lee, and Ishmael Sahid. The animation is slick, the tone refreshingly modern, and the chemistry between the leads makes this a genuinely fun watch, even if the tech-based villains take some getting used to.
