TV Review: ‘My Adventures with Superman’ Season 1, Episode 1
by Frank Martin
There is a conundrum when it comes to adapting superheroes. Popular characters like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man are always go-to choices for rebooting or starting a new show. People like these characters, so obviously they want to see them. But every new installment runs the risk of rehashing old material the audience is already familiar with. That’s exactly what My Adventures with Superman is up against. There have been countless animated adaptations of the character, so the program immediately has an uphill battle in order to try something fresh.
The first episode begins with Clark Kent (Jack Quaid) and his roommate, Jimmy Olsen (Ishmel Sahid), beginning their journalistic internship at the Daily Planet. Once there, they meet fellow intern Lois Lane (Alice Lee), who the pair has the privilege of working with. Their boss, Perry White (Darrell Brown), instructs them to stay in the office and out of trouble, which Lois does not want to listen to at all. She is chasing a story about stolen government robots and wants to learn more. This leads the trio into danger as the bots are activated and begin attacking them. Wearing a hood to disguise himself, Clark steps in and saves the day, but he reveals himself as a superpowered individual in the city, who Lois dubs “Superman.”
The first episode really doesn’t do too much. Since this is an origin story that puts a twist on classic characters, this first episode really serves as an introduction so that the audience can get a good handle on the setting and this version of the characters. Clark isn’t really Superman yet. But this show doesn’t go back as far as some origin stories like Smallville. Here, Clark is already living in Metropolis and trying to build a career for himself. But he’s just meeting Lois for the first time and still hasn’t learned about his alien heritage. It’s not a bad start, but the show still has a lot of work to do in order to compete with its animated rivals.
My Adventures with Superman streams Fridays on Max.