Welcome back, Superfriends, to another exciting episode of My Adventures with Superman. We get the anime intro credits we were promised this week! Want to know what else Lois, Clark, and Jimmy are up to? Read on and beware, spoilers abound.
1. The Superman Television Formula
Superman television episodes often have a loose formula to them. A mystery presents itself to Lois and Clark, typically with a sci-fi twist. They investigate with the help of Jimmy. After breaking the story, Superman swoops in at the end to save the day. The formula can then be used to explore different themes or advance a season long plot.
We’ve had this formula since the original Adventures of Superman. Check out “Mystery in Wax” as a good example. The mostly forgotten Superboy show has a couple episodes that fit the bill like “Special Effects” with Lana and Andy rather than Lois and Jimmy. It was put to frequent use in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman like in episode four “I’m Looking Through You”. Even Smallville gets in on the fun, with the early years replacing Lois and Jimmy with Chloe and Pete. “X-Ray” from season one uses the formula. My Adventures with Superman is no exception.
The episode cold opens with a blimp in danger above Metropolis. The crowd is amazed as he saves the pilot and a large metal beam. This is a Superman that checks in with the crowd to make sure everyone is okay.
When the pilot asks “Who are you?” Lois rushes up to get her interview. Instead Superman flies away to finish saving the blimp.
We jump to a prison break already in progress. An invisible man we later learn is Mist—played by Lucas Grabeel someone Smallville fans will recognize as Young Lex and Conner Kent—is in charge. Mist and his accomplice Rough House are using tech they got from Livewire to break out Siobhan McDougal (Silver Banshee). Siobhan gets a mask that can amplify sound similar to her comics powers. This is our sci-fi twist story for Lois, Clark, and Jimmy to investigate.
After saving the blimp Clark continues his low key flirting with Lois by getting her a coffee from Waid’s Cafe. We get our first glimpse at Clarks vision powers starting to kick in here, which helps the awkward cuteness they have going on.
Lois expresses her frustration with being unable to get the Superman interview and asks Clark to pretend to be Superman. Clark is so flustered and I love their interactions. “If it was within my power; I would do anything for you Lois”.
2. Meet the rest of the Daily Planet staff
We get to meet the rest of the Planet staff because our heroes are getting scooped! Steve Lombard, Cat Grant, and Ronnie Troupe all get introductions to showcase their characters. These are more good adaptations from the comics. Steve is dead on from his Bronze Age appearances; more modern readers would known him better from All Star Superman. Cat Grant is true to form as the gossip columnist. Ronnie is the serious journalist of the bunch, which tracks with the Ron Troupe she’s adapted from. When they take the team’s “murder board” Ronnie explains Perry told them to get the research they compiled. Lois is not at all discouraged by this set back.
The team learns about the breakout on 52 News and Jimmy notices the tech looks like it came from Livewire. I wonder if Jimmy will hand out more villain codenames on this show. Clark has a great slip up here where he proclaims he has to stop the criminals and then corrects himself to say he has to write about them. Lois agrees to go after this story, but has the ulterior motive to use this to get to Superman.
3. Intergang and how the show will be giving us villains
In the last episode Livewire told Deathstroke she had given away the tech to every low level criminal in the city. This is our first example of that and I’d bet it’s how most of the antagonists this season will challenge our Man of Steel. It further connects to Clark since we are given another hint the technology could be Kryptonian based on the vision Clark has when he interacts with it. Mist demonstrates a freeze weapon to Siobhan and Rough House, but the off button gets stuck in a Chekhov’s Gun moment.
Continued belowWhen Lois, Clark, and Jimmy get to the prison Lois reveals she has stolen their rival’s press badges. Clark is initially bothered, but goes along with it. This gives us a fun moment of Lois and Jimmy mimicking the Cat and Ronnie introductions from earlier and Clark going through the motions.
The warden explains the escaped criminals are Intergang. Unlike the comics this Intergang is three small time crooks who rob convenience stores. They aren’t even good at it. We see a clip of them in action and Siobhan is wearing pants with bones on them as a reference to her comic Silver Banshee look.
The team slips out of the warden’s office and come across the area of the breakout. Clark gets a kick out of Lois stealing the warden’s keycard, in sharp comparison to him being upset when she stole the press badges. Clark’s vision powers act up again while they are snooping around Siobhan’s room.
After our interns get out of the prison they put together the clues they discovered and make the deduction Intergang is planning on robbing the Metropolitan City Bank.
4. The action is excellent
Intergang starts their robbery and Clark makes the excuse he’s going to call the authorities. This is when he learns Lois’s plan to ambush Superman when he’s saving the day. Before Clark gets a chance to get upset they are separated by the ice. This gives Clark the perfect opportunity to change.
The fight between Superman and Intergang is fantastic. It’s so good they used a bunch of it in the preview trailers released promoting the show. Rough House and his gauntlets might be no match for Superman’s strength, but Silver Banshee’s scream is a force to be reckoned with.
Mist shoots the ice weapon at Superman and is unable to turn it off as expected. When Rough House punches the power source goes through a transformation that reminds me of the angel Ramiel from Evangelion. The ice starts to spread out of control and Superman sees Lois and Jimmy working to get people to safety.
Lois and Jimmy being in danger is the push Superman needs for his newest power to fully show up: heat vision. A quick blast of heat vision gets him out of the ice and destroys the weapon’s core giving him a vision of robots on a battlefield.
After the ice recedes Deathstroke shows up as part of the clean up crew.
5. Lois gets her interview, but it’s not enough
Superman offers Lois the interview she’s been looking for, but the Planet staff shows up to scoop her. Superman picks up Lois and flies her to the most classic of Superman and Lois interview spots: the roof of the Daily Planet. It’s a sweet scene between the two of them with Superman admitting he’s nervous about being interviewed. He tells Lois he saw her and Jimmy risking themselves to help others which made him want to be interviewed by her.
Lois doesn’t get much from the interview though. Superman can’t give answers to her questions like where he comes from and how his powers work. He’s putting all that together.
Right after Superman flies away Clark runs up the stairs to meet Lois. After apologizing for deceiving Clark with her plan she tells him she got the interview, but that Superman is a liar. She can see right through him.
What a way to end an episode. Clark thought his simple interview would satisfy the great Lois Lane! She’s no mild mannered reporter and she’s going to get the real inside scoop on the Man of Tomorrow. Tune in next week for more Adventures with Superman!
