When My Adventures With Superman was originally teased in 2023, many, like myself, were hyped to see the show off the bat. Its unique, Sailor Moon-inspired animation style and narrative take-off point in the timeline gave the show something that DC fans could nearly see. When My Adventure With Superman‘s first season finally released, its take was incredibly exciting thanks to the natural bonds and fun chemistry between Jack Quaid‘s Clark Kent, Alice Lee‘s Lois Lane and Ishmel Sahid‘s Jimmy Olsen. With its second season concluded, the show not only masters its tonal balance, but continues to go even further beyond with higher stakes.
My Adventures With Superman season 2 ups the ante from the first season by testing Superman’s true humanity. While most of the world loves him, his detractors, like Amanda Waller (Debra Wilson) and an emerging Lex Luthor (Max Mittelman) hope to influence society to see otherwise. Waller was always an integral part of the first season, influencing her way up the ladder to eventually take over Task Force X. This season, she’s incredibly determine and driven, yet the show actually gives her a slice of comedy in “Fullmetal Scientist.”
Lex, on the other hand, finally gets the upbringing from his minor role as Ivo’s assistance thanks to Olsen’s handy advice. While he did serve as Waller’s right-hand man for most of the season, My Adventures With Superman has slowly laid the groundwork for him to become next season’s biggest threat. He shows this through his cunning personality in “Two Lanes Diverged” and further more in “Olsen’s Eleven”, where he truly gets to shine. In these two episodes, Lex gets that more involved role and Mittelman’s snarky vocal performance tops it off.
However, the real push comes from the introduction of Supergirl (Kiana Madeira), previously teased in the show’s first season finale. While she was incredibly stern, seeing her experience the joys of Earth for the first time in “Most Eligible Superman” was so much fun! Putting Kara and Jimmy in this relationship together was so heartwarming to watch as Jimmy tried everything he could. It was also good to see that this show does not attempt to pull back on keeping this a thing thanks to Clark trolling Kara about Jimmy in “The Machine Who Would Be Empire”. In fact, it added on to the heartbreak when that reveal would be made.
Yes, Kara has serving as Brainiac’s (Michael Emerson) pawn the entire time. She’s unknowingly helping him destroy these worlds because she believes in the Kryptonian cause of expansion. However, when she gradually changes thanks to Jimmy and Clark’s influence, it never feels forced. With Kara’s ever-building doubt that coincides with her morals to protect the innocent and her naiveté, the show gives her a complexion that feels just right.
On Brainiac himself, the show actually takes different turn from the Coluan mastermind fans already know. Here, he’s a Kryptonian artificial intelligence who seeks to spread “order” across every world, essentially being a cross between him and General Zod. While he might sound plain on paper, Brainiac does serve as a viable threat to Superman, especially in the final three episodes. Emerson gives Brainiac such tenacity that gives off this vibe of creepiness in his character. Brainiac continually tests Superman, from fighting those holograms in episode six to the memory-wiping Black Mercy in episodes eight and nine. It is through these things that make Brainiac a worthy foe for Clark to face.
All of this is to say that My Adventures With Superman season 2 does a great job maintaining its thematic importance of finding humanity and compassion. It’s driven even more so with Clark and Lois’ diverging paths that lead them to nearly separate. The “Clois” dynamic gets much deeper as the two have to deal with their problems separately unlike previously, which creates a great overarching challenge.
The two still love each other, but they fear things might get out of hand if they share their concerns. This is shown in great detail in “Most Eligible Superman”, where Clark’s and Lois’s feelings get out after all this time. Clark and Lois don’t want to abandon each other, but they don’t know to how truly make it work. As the show goes on, this thematic issue is handled with a good amount of subtlety to feel emotionally powerful.
The show mostly handles everything well even if there are some problems, including the beginning’s pacing. The first few episodes feel like a return to basic form, which can feel like a retread of a classic “save of the day” story. However, with the show focusing on Kara’s transformation, Brainiac, and Clark’s extraterrestrial origins, the excitement factor continues to grow. In addition, it also happily provides side characters, like Livewire and Heat Wave, some more depth to build with, which was intriguing to see in “Olsen’s Eleven”. Hopefully, this means that the season’s after-effects may continue to show next season!
Overall, My Adventures With Superman season 2 remain strong through its deeper humanization of the Man of Steel all while showcasing new ideas through characters like Supergirl and Brainiac. This season really upscaled everything successfully, from the character dynamics to its more intense action that feels like its pulling from other shows like Jujutsu Kaisen and Solo Leveling. With a third season in the works, hopefully this show can continue to outdo what fans have seen here, which was definitely a level-up from the first!
All episodes of My Adventures With Superman season 2 are now streaming on Max.
