Western Animation / My Adventures with Superman

Look! Up in the sky…

Lois: I've been trying to interview Superman, but he keeps running away! Seriously, what is that guy so scared of?
Clark: Well, just a guess. Maaaybe he doesn't want you to...find-out-all-his-secrets-and-publish-them?
Lois: Yeah, but he doesn't know that's my plan!

— "My Interview with Superman"

My Adventures With Superman is a 2023 animated superhero series based upon DC Comics’ very own Man of Steel, produced by Warner Bros. Animation for [adult swim] and Max. Featuring a highly Animesque take on the character, it is developed by Jake Wyatt (DuckTales (2017), Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus) and co-executive produced by Josie Campbell (Justice League Action, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power). Debuting on July 6, 2023, the series also marks the first solo Superman animated series since Superman: The Animated Series ended 23 years prior.

The show follows Clark Kent (Jack Quaid) as a budding intern reporter at the Daily Planet alongside fellow interns Lois Lane (Alice Lee) and Jimmy Olsen (Ishmel Sahid). After a harrowing childhood incident with the spaceship that brought him to Earth, the alien has gone out of his way to avoid getting answers about who he is and how he ended up being raised by a couple in Kansas. However, when an eager Lois drags him and Jimmy into investigating a group of criminals and the suspiciously otherworldly military tech they stole, Clark quickly finds himself on the path to learning more about his origins than he ever wished or imagined, all while adjusting to his new role of protector for his new home of Metropolis, butting heads with Task Force X, and maybe taking Lois out on a date. You know, if they both have time.

A comic book mini-series of the same name is set for release on June 4th, 2024. Written by producer Josie Campbell with art by Pablo M. Collar, the comic is based on an unproduced episode of the show and will serve as an interquel taking place between seasons one and two.

Previews: Teaser, Trailer, Intro, Clip 1

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Faster than a speeding trope:

#-C

• 20 Minutes into the Future: True to its epithet of "The City of Tomorrow", advanced technology is everywhere in Metropolis. Robot cleaners keep the city sparkling, Lois uses holograms while presenting a story to Perry, and both criminals and government agents are equipped with Energy Weapons.
• Abled in the Adaptation: Slade still has both of his eyes in his appearances in early episodes. When he fights Superman in episode 5, his famous mask is symmetrical, uniformly orange with two eyeholes. Though in Episode 9, he loses his right eye to Livewire while she and several other villains are escaping Task Force X.
• Adaptational Attractiveness:
  • In the second episode Slade Wilson (Deathstroke) debuts, looking younger than his usual middle-aged self, clean-shaven and not needing an eyepatch yet. While he is usually still depicted as ruggedly handsome for his age, this version is more akin to a Pretty Boy than a Silver Fox.
  • Mr. Mxyzptlk has gone from an elderly-looking dwarf in a garish orange-and-purple outfit and bowler hat to an elf-like child in puffy robes who looks like he walked off the set of Dragon Ball. He has a relatively deep normal voice instead of the grating one he usually gets in voiced appearances.
• Adaptational Badass: While a dangerous opponent in any continuity, this version of Deathstroke wears Powered Armor that allows him to go toe to toe with Superman (although Clark still overpowers him when the battle begins to put innocent lives in danger).
• Adaptational Diversity: The show features a black Jimmy Olsen, a Korean Sam and Lois Lane and an Ambiguously Brown Cat Grant. As well as Heatwave and Ron Troupe being gender flipped.
• Adaptational Job Change:
  • In most takes of the Superman mythos, Lois is well-established as star reporter of the Daily Planet, with Clark as the new up and comer with his stories about Superman, and Jimmy as the long established intern and/or junior photographer. Here, they're all interns and they have a lot of work to get to the top, while also becoming juniors to their usual colleagues Cat Grant, Ron Troupe, and Steve Lombard.
  • In previous adaptations, Leslie Willis / Livewire starts off as a Shock Jock before gaining her powers. Here, she's already a hardened criminal stealing technology from the US military.
  • Typically, Anthony Ivo is a Mad Scientist known as Professor Ivo. Here, he's a techbro CEO known as Doctor Ivo.
  • Slade Wilson/Deathstroke is turned from a military veteran turned self-employed criminal mercenary in the comics to a black ops agent working under Task Force X here.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: A lot of the villains that Clark faces are regular humans who get their powers from advanced tech, when in the comics, their powers and the reason they had them were much different. The best example being Leslie Willis / Livewire, who was a metahuman in the comic, but here she gets her electrical powers from Powered Armor. However, her skin starts glowing blue to her usual blue-skinned depiction after her tech is overloaded, and though it fades away once she's subdued, she's then left with permanent blue Volcanic Veins, implying that might have changed. Episode 9 confirms this, giving her the lightning powers without the use of the tech.
• Adaptational Timespan Change:
  • In the vast majority of Superman media, Clark learns his origin while he is a teenager. This version first learns about his Muggle Foster Parents finding him in a spaceship when he's a child, though he doesn't try to seek out more information about his origins until he is a young adult. Even then, the information he gets is rather vague thanks to the hologram version of Jor-El speaking only Kryptonese.
  • The romantic relationship between Clark and Lois. Usually the two don't enter in a relationship until years after working together in the Daily Planet. In the show, the two more or less fell in love at first sight and became a couple pretty quickly soon after.
• Adaptational Wimp:
  • This appears to apply to Clark's abilities as Superman to an extent, in part because he seems to be subconsciously suppressing their full potential to better fit in as a "normal man", along with being younger and less experienced than previous incarnations. His fight with the stolen robots in episode one has him visibly struggling against just one of their number, and the punches it lands on him do visible damage, including a black eye. Clark ultimately exhausts himself taking it down by tearing out the power source rather than being able to dismantle it completely, and the rest of the robots being unleashed on him all at once are presented as having a good chance to actually kill him. However, seeing Lois in danger from one of them has Clark briefly tapping into his true strength, complete with a glowing Eye Colour Change and an electric Battle Aura, healing his injuries in seconds and punching the robot hard enough to launch it out of the city, suggesting that it's a matter of inexperience and lack of confidence in him fully controlling his powers that results in his lesser showing against weaker foes.
  • Clark's suppression of the full extent of his powers means he never developed any of his extra-sensory abilities like Super-Hearing or X-Ray Vision, and appears to have the sensory range of an ordinary mortal initially, being unable to see in the dark or hear Perry pulling a Stealth Hi/Bye in the paper morgue. He even needs to use a police scanner to be alerted to impending danger outside his immediate area, unlike other versions who could pinpoint said danger on their own. This means that when he does start developing them, he's both inexperienced with handling the powers and incapacitated from Sensory Overload, whereas other versions have had years to fine-tune them during their childhood. For example, when Clark's Heat Vision starts to "warm up" suddenly, his vision distorts so badly he can't see or react to Lois walking into him in the middle of an open hallway despite his superhuman reflexes.
  • Lampshaded by Amanda Waller, who notes when Task Force X battles Superman in the fifth episode that he’s weaker than their analysis predicted.
• Adaptation Personality Change:
  • From the original Star-Spangled Comics onward, Scrapper was always the feistiest and most stereotypical "Dead End Kid" of the Newsboy Legion, up for a fight at any time. His counterpart here, Patti, keeps his energetic streak, but can best be described as "feral".
  • The General appears to be much more reasonable than his comic counterpart Wade Eiling, as he orders Deathstroke to stand down and let Superman repair a collapsing bridge with civilians on it, while his comics counterpart would likely have screamed at Slade to take Superman out and damn the collateral damage. Turns out it’s not Eiling, it’s General Sam Lane. The trope still fits since comic Sam could be fairly ruthless with regards to civilian casualties at times.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Usually, Clark only meets Jimmy Olsen when he gets hired on at the Daily Planet. Here, the two are already roommates who start working for the Planet at the same time in the pilot. A later episode reveals they met in their freshman year of college, so they have known each other at least four years by the time of the pilot.
• Adaptation Species Change: OMACs here are robots rather than transformed humans, though they still retain the single eye of the OMAC Project versions.
• Age Cut: The intro shows a young Clark looking at a hologram of Jor-El in a field, then it cuts to adult Clark standing in the same or a similar field, joined by Lois and Jimmy.
• Alliterative Name:
  • Lois Lane.
  • Vicki Vale.
• Animesque: This particular series has more anime-inspired character designs and animation; one of the lead character designers and several animators for the series previously worked on the very similarly animesque Voltron: Legendary Defender. The staff has also admitted to taking inspiration for the show from classic anime such as Dragon Ball, Trigun, and even Pretty Cure.
• Appropriated Appelation: Lois is the one who first calls Superman by his superhero name, since he fought the robots "like a super man" in Episode 1. Seeing as how nobody else has anything to call him, the name sticks.
• Bait-and-Switch: In the first episode, a young Clark is struggling to get his kite out of a tree. That's when he crouches down and squares up as if he's going to leap In a Single Bound… only to leap a normal height again, showing that he doesn't have his powers yet.
• Baker Street Regular: When she needs to know what is going on in Metropolis, Lois turns to the Newskid Legion, the kids who deliver the Daily Planet around the city, which means they see a lot of things. The Newskid Legion are actually a call back to the Newsboy Legion, who served a similar role in DC Comics.
• Batman Gambit: At the end of Episode 5, Lois decides to prove once and for all that Clark is Superman by stepping right off the roof of the Daily Planet. As she predicted, Clark immediately dives after her and is forced to use his ability to fly to save her, exposing his Secret Identity to her in the process.
• Beware the Superman:
  • Task Force X is hostile towards Superman for this exact reason, labeling him "Nemesis Omega" and believing that he and his race are a threat towards the safety of Earth, even if their first actual fight against Superman has them surprised that he's not as strong as their analysis predicted. It's hinted that "Zero Day" (which visions of Clark's when interacting with Kryptonian tech indicate involved rampaging mechs on the day Clark fell to Earth) is the primary reason they assume he's secretly hostile, and putting on an act as a Nice Guy.
  • Episode 7 introduces The League of Lois Lanes, who all carry Kryptonite blasters specifically for this eventuality, as they've seen numerous universes where a Clark Kent becomes a mass-murdering conqueror, such as the Justice Lords universe. By the episode's end, Mr Mxyzptlk shows Lois a file of these alternative Clarks laying waste to cities with their immense powers and leaves her a shard of Kryptonite, implicitly to be used against Clark should he turn evil as well, primarily for the drama of it.
• The Big Damn Kiss: Clark and Lois get one when they have their first real kiss in Episode 7, complete with fireworks curtesy of an exploding base. They have another one at the end of Episode 9 when they reaffirm their feelings for one another and Lois tells him that she loves him.
• Blatant Lies:
  • Clark once ripped the door handle to his room in half in a bit of Power Incontinence with his Super-Strength. When asked what happened, Clark claims that the screws came loose... while holding the pieces of the door handle. It was this event that tipped his roommate Jimmy off to Clark's true identity as an alien and later Superman.
  • Clark claims he simply doesn't have the constitution for being in the army when Sam Lane asks if Clark has ever been in the military. Clark, the most prominent Hunk in the show, is claiming to not be fit enough to join the military.
• Body Horror:
  • After Dr. Ivo's Parasite suit nearly kills him, he's left as a shriveled, hairless husk with a blackened eye and Tainted Veins.
  • When Superman is hit by a Kryptonite-powered laser gun, his veins turn green and crystals start growing out of his hands.
• Call-Back: In the first episode of the series Lois makes finger gun gestures as part of her pep talk to herself. In episode 9 of the first season Sam Lane makes the same gesture to Waller during a flashback to Zero Day.
• Cassandra Truth:
  • In episode three Superman finally agrees to take an interview with Lois. It's very short because he admits to her that he barely knows anything about his origins, how his powers work or what he is and he's still figuring all that out. When Clark talks to her right after she confidently calls Superman a liar.
  • Superman repeatedly tells others that he just wants to help others because he can. But everyone from Lois to Task Force X believes that he must have an ulterior motive instead of being exactly what he claims to be.
• Cat Up a Tree: While on his way to the Daily Planet in the first episode, Clark sees a cat stuck on a tree and immediately uses his powers to save and return it to the owner.
• Change the Uncomfortable Subject: It's implied that Clark destroying the alarm clock by accident is a semi-regular occurrence. He quickly changes the subject when Jimmy openly wonders why their alarm clock keeps exploding.
• Clark Kenting: Deconstructed; so far it works because Clark is new to Metropolis and no one's really gotten a good look at him and Superman. The usual idea is that nobody is going to connect the dots between Superman and any person for kinda looking like him. He's Beneath Notice at the Daily Planet as an intern, while both the people he's close to there have figured out his secret identity at different times.
• Classified Information: General Sam Lane says his actions are classified when his daughter Lois Lane inquires about this work in "Hearts of the Fathers".
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Subverted in the premiere with Leslie Willis/Livewire. She's only referred to by her real name for the duration, but Slade mentions that she also goes by a codename only to be cut off mid-sentence before he can actually say it. Jimmy would start calling her "Livewire" in the next episode.
• Credits Running Sequence: The end credits for the show feature Jimmy walking with his camera while photos he took appear behind him, before he hurries up and it ends on one of the photos.
• Crush Blush: Both Clark and Lois blush when the former catches the latter when she's falling in the main trailer (and he's still dressed as Clark). In the first episode, this is just one of multiple times one or both of them blush while talking to each other.
• Cue the Sun: In episode 9, the battle with Parasite takes place just before dawn, with the glow visible in the background. When he is defeated and Clark's confidence is restored the sun finally bursts above the horizon and lights up the city.

D-F

• Deducing the Secret Identity: Clark lampshades how ineffective a disguise it would be to simply change his clothing, posture, demeanor and go around without glasses as a means of avoiding detection, and it's later revealed that those who know him both as Clark Kent and Superman swiftly see through his Secret Identity. Jimmy realized years ago thanks to Clark's frequent bouts of Power Incontinence, and it only takes Lois a few days to realize the same. The main reason Clark's not been discovered is simply because his civilian identity of Clark Kent is under everybody's radar, and nobody even realizes he has a civilian life.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • The main trio is tasked to find and capture proof of Superman to keep their jobs, with Lois and Jimmy unaware that Superman is right next to them and is very nervous about being found out.
  • Jimmy's conspiracy theories about psychic starfish and super-intelligent gorillas sound outlandish to Clark and Lois, but all are very real things in the DC Comics universe. In addition, despite Jimmy being a Conspiracy Theorist, he can't see that his best friend and roommate is incredibly powerful (though it's subverted when it's revealed he knew all along).
• Early-Bird Cameo:
  • Anthony Ivo appears on a billboard in "Adventures of a Normal Man Part 2", before appearing properly in "Let's Go to Ivo Tower, You Say".
  • Vicki Vale appears on a news article in Lois' room in the pilot, before appearing in "Zero Day, Part 1".
• Energy Weapon: Rather than use conventional firearms, Leslie's band of mercenaries and the government agents sent after them wield laser rifles and pistols.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • In the A Minor Kidroduction of the first episode, Clark's first instinct when seeing a car spinning out of control is to run after it to try to help, revealing his Chronic Hero Syndrome and generally good nature. After discovering his powers and having a blast with them, he's brought down to earth by the sobering realization that humans can't do what he just did, leading him to ask "Who am I?" The question of his identity haunts Clark throughout the rest of the premiere episodes.
  • Jimmy gushes about all the important news, like aliens, they'll be breaking when they're working at the Planet thanks to his "keen eye for observation" — right as he walks into traffic. Not only does Clark quickly push him out of the way (and is the one to notice Leslie driving it), but Jimmy remains blissfully unaware of it all, cementing him as a little too inside his own head.
  • Lois perks up instantly when her alarm goes off, though she has to punch it a few times before it turns off. She also gives herself a pep talk to "be extraordinary" and to establish herself as a "real reporter" with Perry White. This highlights Lois being a Plucky Girl and a Determinator.
• Evolving Credits: The end credits changes most of the photos with each episode to highlight what happened in it.
• Expy:
  • Mecha designs in this show, such as the robots from the pilot and Ivo's Parasite suit, bear an uncanny resemblance to human-sized Evas.
  • Jake Green voices Dr. Anthony "Tony" Ivo as an impression of Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark.
• Family-Friendly Firearms: Every gun on the show is some sort of futuristic laser. Anything less really wouldn't pose much of a threat to Clark, even with his lesser showing compared to other versions of Superman. It's averted in episode 9, with the military wielding actual firearms against the Zero Day invasion in the flashback. It does absolutely nothing to the Mecha-Mooks, let alone Nemesis Omega itself, explaining why lasers and similar technology have become more widespread by the present day. The American Government is deeply concerned about a second invasion, and don't want their military to be the only ones capable of defending themselves from a possible alien threat across the entire country.
• Foreshadowing:
  • The reveal that Jimmy figured out Clark was Superman a long time ago and wanted to respect his friend's privacy puts some of his prior actions in a new light.
    • Despite being a massive Conspiracy Theorist, Jimmy is never shown talking about Superman's identity on his channel among his numerous alien theories.
    • His secret call to Clark during Livewire's attack in the second episode now seems less like an accident or panicked action and more like a deliberate call for help to the one person he knows can stop her.
  • The opening of the show mixes this with symbolism to hint at the roles future villains will play when it has a brief shot of Clark's Rogues Gallery:
    • Looming over the assembled villains is a red-eyed shadow denoted by the shape of his army cap to be The General/Sam Lane referencing how his well-intentioned actions in weaponising the Kryptonian technology were ultimately the reason why so many of Superman's villains became above-average threats for him to face. Him being an unseen and menacing shadow references how we go most of the series without learning much about him beyond his antagonism towards Superman, and conversely, how managing to understand his Freudian Excuse through an interrogation with Superman sees him step back from being Superman's main opposition after considering that he might not be the enemy he thinks he is.
    • Amanda Waller is presented standing alongside the rest of the villains facing Superman on the frontlines. Unlike the General, she never changes her antagonistic stance towards Superman or stops seeing him as a threat, even after Sam deduces Superman might be too young to have participated in Zero Day, and usurps control of Task Force X from him to continue its opposition of Superman in Sam's stead.
    • Unlike the rest of Intergang, Mist is absent from the lineup. This initially seems to lend credence to his claims of being able to avoid Task Force X because of his Invisibility, before it's revealed that he's actually The Bait to lead Superman into a trap. Alternatively, he is present in the lineup, but just unseen, referencing how he deceived both Superman and the audience.
    • In the far background is Mister Mxyzptlk with Glowing Eyes of Doom, looming similarly to the shadow/the General. This foreshadows that his claims of Adaptational Heroism to Clark are complete bunk, as well as how his one-off appearance continues to have a knock-on effect throughout the following episodes, with the File X he gives to Lois showing her proof that there are valid reasons to fear a Superman, putting a strain on her attempts to defend Superman from his detractors as well as a shard of pure Kryptonite, which seems to be otherwise absent from this Clark's home dimension.
    • Right in the centre of the screen is Nemesis Omega with his alien spaceship, referencing the core motivation that drives the opposition towards Superman. However, Nemesis is placed far back enough out of focus to be easily missed, showcasing his overall absence from the series despite his importance. The framing also makes him look similarly-sized to Clark, showcasing their opposing natures.
  • The vision of Krypton's destruction that Jor-El shows contains a shot of something hitting and changing a star before the planet is destroyed, a known tactic of Brainiac and hint that he was somehow involved long before he appears in the last episode.
• Funbag Airbag: A gender-inverted example occurs in episode 3 when Lois, not paying attention to where she's going due to frustration, ends up running face-first into Clark's chest.

G-N

• Gender Flip:
  • Flip Johnson of the Newsboy Legion is depicted as a girl instead of a boy, as are Gaby (Anthony "Gabby" Rodriguez) and Patti (Patrick "Scrapper" MacGuire), while Big Words remains a boy. As a result, they call themselves the Newskid Legion.
  • Heat Wave is also male in the comics, but is a woman in the show.
  • Ron Troupe is now a woman called Ronnie Troupe.
  • The League of Lois Lanes features a male version of Lois, Lewis, and a female version of Jimmy, Jalana.
• Gilligan Cut: In episode 7, Jimmy finds Clark making a flowchart for his date with Lois. He says Lois isn't doing that, goes to see her, and there's a smashcut to her apartment where she's doing the same thing.
• Hero Insurance: Subverted. Rather than flying off after defeating Livewire, Superman pointedly puts as much as he can back as it originally was, including setting down cars back in their parked positions.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Clark has always been bigger than Lois (and bigger than most people) but their size difference is particularly notable here.
  Lois: Boost me up.
  Clark: Uh, what?
  Lois: Just lift me up. You're, like, twice my size.
• Immoral Journalist: The Scoop Troop, minus maybe Ronnie Troupe, are this. So, as it turns out, is Vicki Vale.
• The Joy of First Flight: After getting over the initial shock of floating off the ground, a young Clark soon takes off into the clouds at the beginning of the first episode. He's laughing and whooping the whole time as he flips, spins, and somersaults through the air. His fun is only soured by the realization that normal people can't do this, resulting in him wondering who and what he is.
• Keeping Secrets Sucks:
  • Actually Played With. The series takes a nuanced approach to the concept of keeping secrets involved in Clark's superhero life, ranging from his Secret Identity to important revelations. Whilst Lois has a Berserk Button initially about people lying to her which fuels her reckless attitude and investigative reporting, it's also shown that Clark has good reasons to want to keep his private life confidential and feel "normal" as Clark Kent, and her desire to expose the "hidden agenda" behind Superman's heroics makes Clark uncomfortable with the idea of explaining himself fully, which causes a rocky patch between them when Lois eventually deduces the truth. And then it turns out that Jimmy has been Clark's unknowing Secret Secret-Keeper since before the show started, and was gently pushing him in subtle ways to tell him the truth when he felt comfortable with it, being content to keep the truth hidden despite having ample opportunities to expose him.
  • On the other hand, the strain on personal relationships caused by not trusting somebody with important matters is also highlighted, such as Sam Lane/The General's refusal to tell his daughter Lois the truth about Zero Day and his work in the government keeping him absent for long period of her life making them estranged by the present day, despite his love for her being one of Sam's driving motivations to protect Earth. Even as they learn this Aesop themselves and try to go ahead with a "no more secrets" policy, it's also shown that the heroes struggle with being able to explain uncomfortable but important subjects to others out of fear of hurting them with the truth, like Lois and Jimmy debating over the best time to show Clark the file X they were given with proof about the evil version of Superman out there, because he's not in the best headspace to deal with that revelation right now. They fully acknowledge they're being hypocritical about it, but just aren't certain of the best choice to make.
• Kryptonite Factor: Red sunlight. Many of Task Force X robots and equipments are powered by it and it does weaken Clark and makes him more vulnerable. However, the iconic green rocks themselves seem to be completely absent from the show itself, with no indication of any showing up on Earth, until Episode 7 introduces them, used by the dimension-hopping League of Lois Lanes as a counter to evil alternates of Superman. When used in laser blasts against Clark, they cause his body to develop green veins and Kryptonite crystals, though these swiftly recede after a brief period of incapacitation. By the episode's end, Mr. Mxyzptlk leaves Lois a shard to be used against Clark as well as a file showing how many Evil Doppelgangers he has, but the fact that it had to be provided from an alternate universe and the lack of any usage against Clark despite Task Force X's animosity towards him indicates that Kryptonite is either still undiscovered in his home universe or otherwise absent. "Hearts of the Fathers" confirms Kryptonite exists in the show's universe, and heavily implies that Jor-El chose Earth as a safe haven for Clark because there were no traces of Kryptonite on it, among other factors, as it's shown that Kryptonian technology also reacts badly and crystalizes in the presence of Lois' shard. Jor-El's hologram AI is stunned when the ship detects "the poison" and triggers failsafes in response.
• Lovable Jock: Steve Lombard straddles the line between this and Jerk Jock. He's an arrogant, obnoxious dude bro who nobody at the Planet likes; but it's revealed in episode 5 that his attitude is a result of his isolation, not the cause. He admits that when he was a young reporter all the friends he came in with eventually moved on and away from him, leaving him alone, and so he decided to embrace his role as a "lone wolf". When he recognizes that Jimmy is becoming the third wheel in his group with Lois and Clark, he appoints himself the younger man's mentor and tries to take Jimmy under his wing, and with a surprising degree of empathy tells Jimmy that the others don't see him as an equal and will likely outgrow him soon. Even when proven wrong he retains his soft spot for Jimmy, and he's the first to congratulate him when the trio gets promoted to reporters.
• Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: Despite Superman stories usually being a case of Loves My Alter Ego, here Lois has feelings for Clark right off the bat, but finds Superman and his secrecy aggravating.
• Magic from Technology: Siobhan McDougal, the Silver Banshee, has a mystical origin in the comics but is depicted in the show as a regular human woman using technology that amplifies sound.
• Meta Origin: In this continuity the first season has most of the antagonists (bar Mr. Mxyzptlk) deriving their abilities from Kryptonian technology apparently left behind from a previous invasion.
• Miniature Senior Citizens: The old lady manning the counter at Clark's favorite donut shop barely comes up to Clark's waist, needing to climb onto the counter to get a bib around his neck.
• Mistaken Identity:
  • Leslie mistakes Clark, the so-called "flying man", for one of the government goons coming after her for her theft of important military technology. She's baffled when Waller and Slade torture her for information about him. In Episode 5, Heat Wave later mistakes Slade for Superman as well, since Slade's battle suit gives him super speed and strength, with glowing red eyes.
  • Throughout the series, Task Force X repeatedly refers to Superman as "Nemesis Omega", marking him as the principal foe that the group is trying to defeat. But in Episode 9, Nemesis Omega is revealed to have been the first invader of Earth who wiped out a military camp 22 years ago. When Superman demonstrates genuine ignorance and horror at what Nemesis Omega did, the General realizes that it's possible that Superman and Nemesis Omega may not be the same being, as Superman is too young to have participated in that attack if he ages at the same rate as humans.
• Mood Whiplash: After reveling in his Super-Speed and ability to fly at the beginning of the first episode, a young Clark comes to the realization that human beings can't do these things. His joy is quickly replaced with sobering trepidation as he wonders who and what he really is. As if to underscore the point, the soaring orchestra and energetic guitar that accompanied Clark's ascent above the clouds is replaced with a low, somber horn as he's figuratively brought down to earth.
• The Multiverse: In comparison to other DC multiverses, this particular multiverse is one with infinite Earths, with Earth-1 designated its Earth-Prime. The League of Lois Lanes designated the show's Earth as Earth-12.
• Mythology Gag:
  • As the teaser ends, Clark is once more shown tearing his shirt open to reveal the S of his hero suit underneath.
  • The shirt a young Clark is wearing when his parents show him the spaceship he came in bears a striking resemblance to the t-shirt that Jon Kent is sometimes drawn wearing in his civilian attire, such as in Batman And Superman Battle Of The Super Sons.
  • Jimmy mentions a "psychic starfish from Germany", almost certainly referencing Starro, the first-ever enemy of the Justice League. He also references a conspiracy involving super-intelligent French gorillas, a nod to the then-yet-to-appear Monsieur Mallah. The latter also foreshadows Jimmy getting kidnapped by a giant gorilla at the end of "You Will Believe a Man Can Lie".
  • On the subject of the latter theory, Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen also involved Jimmy having a number of encounters with gorillas, including getting romanced by one and turned into one multiple times, because DC Comics during the Silver Age often added gorillas to their covers to sell more books.
  • The Newskid Newspaper has various references to Guardian, a superhero that the Newsboy Legion have connections to via Project Cadmus.
  • While listing off a bunch of possible stories for Lois, Flip mentions "Bogdanov's diner" and a "Mrs. Jurgens". Jon Bogdanov and Dan Jurgens are highly influential creators that have worked on Superman.
  • Lois's favorite coffee shop is Waid's Cafe.
  • Jimmy runs a YouTube channel called "Flamebird". Flamebird is the other half of the Kryptonian legend that inspired Dick Grayson to become Nightwing as well as a recurring superhero identity. Jimmy himself became Flamebird in Kandor in the Earth-One comics.
  • When Jimmy shows off his logo for his channel to Lois and Clark, Lois believes he's referring to Superman, leading to this exchange referencing a famous line in the Superman franchise:
    Lois: You think he's a plane?
    Clark: It kinda looks like a bird.
  • When her electric tech starts to malfunction, Leslie’s skin starts to turn blue much like her main comics counterpart.
  • While Superman cleans up the wreckage after his fight with Livewire, a billboard advertising Amazo Tech can be seen, referencing the robotic Justice League villain. It also serves as Foreshadowing, as Anthony Ivo, who created Amazo in the comics, here is the CEO of Amazo Tech and creator of the Parasite armor, doubling as an Early-Bird Cameo.
  • When Clark goes through a Transformation Sequence to don his Superman suit for the first time, it's initially lacking the classic belt and red shorts before Martha adds them, making them resemble the New 52 and DCEU incarnation of the suit. It's worth noting that the lack of red trunks throwing off the color balance that helped emphasize his strongman torso was indeed a bit of an issue, which is why they were eventually brought back.
  • 52 being an Arc Number for the DC multiverse, it turns up here and there: the news program announcing Silver Banshee's prison escape is on Channel 52, Cadmus is also known as Area 52, and Earth-52 is one of the Earths in the multiverse.
  • Among Ivo's shady dealings, Clark mentions that his headquarters was built on land connected with the Gazzo crime family, a Metropolis-based Mafia syndicate featured sparingly in Batman: Dark Victory.
  • The title of episode five, "You Will Believe a Man Can Lie", is a riff on the tagline of Superman: The Movie, "You will believe a man can fly.".
  • One of Jimmy's Flamebird posts centers around the existence of Atlantis and Sub-Diego from Aquaman.
  • A road sign for Blüdhaven (from Nightwing) appears during Superman's first fight with Slade.
  • Among the universes with Clark and Lois shown in "Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal" are the DCAU and the Fleischer theatrical shorts; the latter, which featured the characters in their first ever animated appearances, is hinted to be the very first designated "universe", as its Lois is referred to as "Lois-Prime" and the founder of the League of Lois Lanes.
  • Earth-Prime's Space and Superhero Museum features a Mother Box, Hawkman's mace, a Green Lantern, one of the T-Spheres used by Michael Holt's Mr. Terrific, the Helmet of Fate, a cosmic rod, and a flight ring.
  • Jalana Olsen says the coolest thing she's ever come across is the telepathic horse, a.k.a. Equus Mensa, Hippos Telepathia, and Comet, referencing Comet the Super-Horse from the Supergirl comics.
  • One of the evil Superman that Lois sees is the Justice Lord incarnation. Another resembles Ultraman, his Mirror Universe counterpart, and a third looks like Superboy-Prime.
  • Mr. Mxyzptlk has a very different design in this show compared to other iterations, maintaining the purple color scheme to his wardrobe and having the expected Reality Warper powers but bordering on In Name Only otherwise. However, the item that he needs to access his full power is his traditional bowler hat from the comics, even if it does turn into more of a sci-fi crown/diadem when he actually puts it on.
  • In "Zero Day, Part 1", one of the streamers video taping Superman's fight against Task Force X has the user name Bibbo87, named after recurring Superman support Bibbo Bibbowski.
  • In Vicki Vale's introduction, Lois mentions that she covered a Queen Industries inheritance scandal and helped expose the Falcone Crime Family.
    • Viki later turns out to be an Immoral Reporter, much like her counterpart in Batman: The Telltale Series turned out to be the supervillain Lady Arkham.
  • Alex believes that Superman is "one bad day" away from going rogue and becoming a nigh-unstoppable threat to humanity. In addition to referencing Beware the Superman stories like Injustice: Gods Among Us, the phrasing is a clear sendup to The Killing Joke, where the Joker claims that everyone is "one bad day" away from snapping and becoming a nihilistic murderer like him.
  • One of Jimmy's followers is Lori Lemaris. In the Silver Age, Lori Lemaris was a mermaid from Atlantis and one of Superman's girlfriends.
  • In "Zero Day, Part 2", in their livecast on the Flamebird channel, Jimmy Olsen introduces himself as "Jimmy Olsen, Superman's best friend," and Lois Lane implicitly starts to introduce herself as Superman's girlfriend before stopping and declaring herself a reporter.
    • While they don't appear on screen, the usernames of people viewing Jimmy's livestream imply that it's being watched by Lana Lang, Pete Ross, Lori Lemaris, and Bibbo Bibbowski, all friends of Superman throughout the years in the comics.
  • Waller says that their superiors and Checkmate reviewed the recent incident and made the decision to put her in charge of Task Force X.
  • In the comics, Livewire is explicitly out of consideration for the Suicide Squad due to her powers making it impossible to keep her under control. This also ends up being the case here, as her powers properly awakening allows her to easily destroy her Shock Collar and stage a mass break out from Task Force X's prison, aided in part by Waller sabotaging the camera system.
  • In "Hearts of The Fathers", Brainiac is revealed to be a Kryptonian AI, much like his DCAU counterpart.
  • This isn't the first time we've seen a black Jimmy...or a black Perry White. (Oh, and don't call him "Chief".)
• Never My Fault: A consistent feature of many of Superman's growing rogues' gallery is that they arrogantly misuse alien technology they do not and never did understand, suffer permanent disfigurement and potentially lethal damage as a result, and then when Superman saves them and everyone around them from the consequences of their actions, spitefully abnegate all personal responsibility in favor of blaming him instead.
• Never Trust a Trailer: Before the show's animation itself was glimpsed, an initial promo pic of the core three was released and here Clark's hair has a purplish tint compared to the trailers where it's the usual black, and Jimmy is wearing a green shirt instead of red.
• No Ontological Inertia: In episode three, when the malfunctioning Power Crystal is destroyed by Superman to stop its run-away freeze of Metropolis, the immense amount of ice it created immediately sublimates into mist.

O-S

• One Head Taller: Clark towers over Lois courtesy of his Heroic Build.
• Poor Communication Kills: The fifth episode sees Clark's, Lois', and Jimmy's friendship strained to the breaking point by lack of communication. Both Clark and Lois miss their planned camping trip with Jimmy because of their respective personal issues (being Superman and proving that Clark is Superman respectively). Lois becomes frustrated with Clark's absences while Clark becomes increasingly nervous because of Lois' insistence on drawing out all of Superman's secrets. The episode ends with Lois rejecting Clark because she feels she can't trust him, Clark blowing up at Lois because of his worry for her and fear of being exposed, and Jimmy venturing off into the wilderness alone, only to be dragged away by a gorilla.
• Punch Catch:
  • When Leslie's goons sic a Humongous Mecha on Lois and Jimmy, Clark catches the blow to save them.
  • Superman catches Rough House's punch, in episode 3
  • One of Heat Wave's goons tries to use a power glove to punch Lois in episode 5. Superman catches the blow, then removes the power glove and crushes it.
  • In episode 8, Superman catches seveal of the kaiju-sized Parasites's punches.
• Race Lift:
  • Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are white in the comics and in most adaptations. Here, Lois has Korean ancestry, while Jimmy is African-American.
  • Perry White is African-American, as in the DC Extended Universe.
  • Leslie Willis/Livewire is white in the comics, but here is Ambiguously Brown (with platinum blonde hair too).
• Record Needle Scratch: In the first episode, Jimmy tries to convince the group that the stolen robots came from space before Lois corrects him in that they were from an army base, accompanied by a record scratch.
• Rewatch Bonus: The reveal in "My Adventures with Mad Science" that Jimmy knew Clark was Superman from the beginning reframes a number of Jimmy's lines and actions from earlier episodes, such as wondering why their alarm clocks keep breaking.
• Ring-Ring-CRUNCH!: In "Adventures of a Normal Man", a variation occurs when Clark accidentally destroys his alarm clock while trying to turn it off gently with just one poke of his finger. This is also inverted by way of contrast when Lois wakes up; she energetically whacks her clock with her fist a couple of times but still fails to activate the snooze button.
  Clark: I can't believe we're late.
  Jimmy: I can't believe our alarm clock exploded again. Why do you think that keeps happening?
  Clark: So... Hey! Our… Our… [clears throat] Our first day at the Daily Planet! You nervous?
• Rogues' Gallery Transplant:
  • The second part of "Adventures of a Normal Man" introduces Deathstroke, nominally a Batman, Teen Titans and Nightwing villain.
  • Heat Wave, normally one of The Flash's rogues, shows up here as a crook who finds herself and her gang getting targeted by Deathstroke.
  • The Brain and Monsieur Mallah, who are classic foes of the Doom Patrol, appear in episode 6. Funnily enough, the two did once briefly appear in a Smallville tie-in comic that also didn't include any mention of the Doom Patrol.
  • The Golden Age Mist/Kyle was the nemesis of the Ted Knight version of Starman. This version is part of Intergang and fought against Superman.
  • Anthony Ivo, who's normally a Justice League of America villain, here pits himself against a solo Superman; indeed, he goes onto become this particular setting's version of the villain Parasite.
• Rule of Symbolism: Martha Kent looks over Clark's newly fashioned costume in "Adventures of a Normal Man" and muses that it's good, but it needs "something more", before adding the traditional belt and shorts herself. With the DCEU's shortless Superman suit being a topic of ambivalence for some time among fans, it effectively serves as the show itself saying it doesn't mind seeming a little corny if it's in service of a more classical take on the character.
• See the Invisible: Superman is able to detect Mist when he is using his invisbility by listening for his footsteps on puddles.
• Sequel Adaptation Iconic Villain: The main antagonists of season one are Task Force X, who don't normally face the Man of Steel, though The General is Sam Lane, who has antagonized the Super Family in the comics but is very low in Superman's rogues gallery. Meanwhile, the season one finale introduced the more familiar Brainiac, who is set up as a primary antagonist for season 2 alongside a evil Kryptonian.
• Sheathe Your Sword: Dr. Ivo's Parasite armor feeds off any energy thrown at it, meaning that Superman's attempts to fight back only make it stronger. After realizing this, Superman chooses to simply dodge all of Ivo's attacks, letting the Powered Armor slowly run out of energy on its own after Lois and Jimmy cut its external power source. Ivo, an even less experienced fighter than him, can only throw clumsy swings and charge attacks that drain the armor of power until it starts draining the life out of Ivo himself.
• Shout-Out:
  • According to producer Jake Wyatt, Jor-El's beard and Eyepatch of Power are directly inspired by Big Boss.
  • The stolen robots used by Livewire resemble an EVA Unit.
  • From storyboard notes, Superman’s Transformation Sequence is at least partially inspired by the Pretty Cure franchise, with Cure Mermaid from Go! Princess Pretty Cure as one of the direct influences.
  • Furthering the EVA references, the core of the freezing device in episode 3 when it goes haywire briefly resembles Rebuild Ramiel.
  • The "Small Mutant Army" created by Mallah and the Brain are very similar to the Gunmen/Ganmen from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann some even having multiple sets of arms like Enkidu.
  • The scene where Clark unlocks his super speed fully and saves Lois from a giant robot is almost shot for shot the same as the scene in My Hero Academia where Izuku uses One For All for the first time saving Ochaco from a giant robot during the U.A. Entrance Exam.
  • Jake Wyatt confirmed on Twitter that the show's take on Lois is directly inspired by Meryl Stryfe from Trigun.
  • The episode title "Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal" is a spoof on the opening lyrics of "Sakura Kiss", the opening theme of Ouran High School Host Club.
  • The locker at the League of Lois Lanes' base is full of shoutouts, including the Dragon Slayer from Berserk, a skyhook from Bioshock Infinite, the Noisy Cricket from Men in Black, and the Wabbajack from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
  • Task Force X believes that Superman's alturism is an act and that he's a scout for an impending Alien Invasion. They would be absolutely right if they were talking about Omni-Man. Nemesis Omega's Red-and-White colour scheme (with some black accents) bears some resemblance to Omni-Man's design and the Kryptonians' white-black outfits are similarly designed to the Viltrumites' uniform body suits.
  • In "Zero Day, Part 1", one of the Daily Planet's employees looks like Trent Crimm from Ted Lasso.
  • "Zero Day, Part 2" practically has a Whole-Plot Reference to The Iron Giant, appropriately enough, as the titular character was in part inspired to a greater example by the comics of Superman that Hogarth read to him. Learning the truth of Zero Day and that the Kryptonain race is apparently a villainous species of conquerors has Clark come to the conclusion that his varied powers and immense might are because he's a Living Weapon sent to destroy Earth for his species, with an accident that occurred during Zero Day preventing him learning about his "mission" and growing up as a normal child, much like the Giant's crash-landing gave him Laser-Guided Amnesia that allowed him to develop a conscience and choose to be something more than he was created for. Lois likewise helps snap Clark out of this negative mindset and by the episode's end, Clark chooses to embrace the role of Superman: protector of Earth regardless of what his (perceived) origins are.
  • The Kaiju sized Parasite suit turning black and being left as an immobile statue like form in the middle of the city in "Zero Day, Part 2" seems to be a nod to the similar fate of the titular character in Shin Godzilla.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Underneath the shiny, colorful exterior of the show, there's a pervasive cynicism among the cast. Lois, Vicki Vale, and Task Force X all believe that it's impossible for Superman to want to help others just because he wants to. Lois and Vicki repeatedly try to dig up dirt on Superman to prove their suspicions right, while Task Force X is convinced that Superman's altruism is just an act and that he's scouting for an Alien Invasion. The show itself seems to be highlighting how difficult it would be for the overarching themes behind Superman's character to be taken seriously in the modern day.
• Spoiler Opening: The opening sequence, first released on YouTube but first broadcast starting with the second episode (after the 2-part premiere), shows a bunch of villains before their proper introductions in the storyline, though only for a few seconds. Examples include Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (albeit he's not immediately recognisable in his Powered Armour), and Mr. Mxyzptlk with Glowing Eyes of Doom spoiling that his claims to Clark about being an inter-dimensional peacekeeper on introduction are complete bunk. An inversion occurs with Mist, who is absent despite the other members of Intergang being shown, helping to support his claims of evading Task Force X in "Zero Day, Part 1" before it's revealed that he's actually The Bait luring Superman into an ambush. Most importantly, Nemesis Omega, a being referred to throughout the series is shown prominently in the middle of the screen along with his spaceship, but far back enough to be out of focus despite his overarching influence on the plot. The framing also makes him look similarly-sized to Clark as well, highlighting their opposing roles.
• Standard Office Setting: In the second episode, Lois brings Clark and Jimmy to their "new" office, which is actually the Daily Planet's newspaper morgue with faulty pipes.
• String Theory: Lois likes using them for figuring things out, calling it a "murder board". Clark prefers "investigation board". In Episode 7, they both put up separate boards to plan out their first date, with Clark's going all the way onto the ceiling and floor.
• Surrounded by Idiots: After spending most of the first episode trying to transport several Humongous Mechas discreetly, Leslie is outraged when one of the mercenaries she hired unleashes a robot to attack Lois and Jimmy.
  Leslie: Why. Would you use. The robot!?

T-Z

• Taken During the Ending:
  • In Season 1 "You Will Believe a Man Can Lie", because Clark and Lois had some issues to deal with, they completely forgot to meet up with Jimmy for his camping trip. After four hours of waiting for Clark and Lois to show up, Jimmy decides to go on the trip alone, but he soon gets kidnapped by a gorilla in the woods.
  • At the end of "Zero Day, Part 1", Superman is kidnapped by Task Force X after beating beaten and electrocuted unconscious by the organization's Boxed Crooks.
• Team Member in the Adaptation:
  • Leslie Willis/Livewire is a member of a group of criminal mercenaries.
  • Slade Wilson is introduced as a black ops government agent instead of a self-employed mercenary criminal, and implied to work with Task Force X.
  • Silver Banshee and Mist are both portrayed as members of Intergang here, despite having never been members of the team in the comics.
  • Heat Wave is normally a member of the Rogues, but here appears without them.
• That Poor Cat: As Flip is explaining what her group knows about the trucks they saw, Patti pulls a cat's tail that causes it to jump on her.
• Time for Plan B: After Livewire finds out that all buyers and fixers have disappeared in Metropolis, she resorts to taking the robots out of the city.
• Transformation Sequence: Clark has a brief magical-girl-esque transformation sequence to don his Superman outfit for the first time. The sequence does not give him the belt or shorts, however; Martha adds them herself.
• Two-Person Love Triangle: Unlike most adaptations, Lois is clearly attracted to Clark straight off, but she's still got her typical crush on Superman as shown by her blushing when flying with him, though she gets more frustrated with the Man of Steel as he seemingly dodges her questions.
• Ungrateful Townsfolk: Double Subverted. Superman becomes a beloved hero in Metropolis and the talk of the city as he helps everyone every single day. People stop to take photos with him and the police thank him over the radio. But in "Zero Day, Part 1", the townsfolk instantly start turning on him and calling him a menace after he makes some destructive mistakes and collapses from Sensory Overload while chasing Mist. No one save for Lois and Jimmy questions Vicki Vale's smear article against him either, even after she was only able to find a single, incredibly biased source willing to speak badly about him. It's then triple subverted when Ivo is rampaging through Metropolis and Superman is the only one able to stop him. Lois uses Jimmy's Flamebird account to issue a broadcast to all of Metropolis reminding them of the good Superman has done and begging for them to turn off the power and starve Parasite of energy. Metropolis does so while cheering Superman on from what few screens are left on, giving Superman the edge he needs to take Ivo down.
• Upgrade Artifact: The Kryptonian tech operates as this, granting the users enhanced abilities immediately with no apparent need to familiarize oneself with how it works.
• Wham Line: Jimmy gives a massive one in episode 6. After Lois spent the last two episodes reacting to the revelation that Clark is Superman, they hesitantly begin to let Jimmy in on the secret too... only for him to confirm he already knew.
  Jimmy: Clark, I know you're Superman. This is not a big reveal.
• Where the Hell Is Springfield?: A sign in the first episode suggests that Metropolis should be somewhere west of the Mississippi river, being located 198 miles from the Kent farm, which is in Kansas. But the city appears to be on the coast - this is most visible in background shots to Episode 8, which show a a Manhattan-style island as the city's core, and an ocean horizon behind the airborne Silver Banshee.
• You Don't Look Like You: Quite a few actually, with a number of characters (particularly villains) undergoing radical redesigns.
  • Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, instead of a Silver Fox with short, gray hair and a beard missing one eye, is a much younger man with spiky hair that's tied back in a ponytail, with no facial hair at all, and possessing both eyes, though he does later lose one in battle against Livewire.
  • Instead of a purple skinned humanoid, Parasite is a depicted as an otherwise regular man wearing a purple battlesuit, that grows and evolves in relation to the power it absorbs, to the point when it absorbs enough, it turns into a repto-insectoid, Kaiju-like monster. After losing his initial fight to Superman, his body becomes much more emaciated, and gets purple veins, and one eye glowing purple, possibly as a Shout-Out to his original design.
  • Mister Myxlplyx is normally depicted as a small, elderly man wearing a purple suit and top hat. In this, he’s a blue-skinned, youthful, fairy like being, dressed in more fantastical clothing. Even his distinct top hat, once he puts it on, shifts its appearance to a more fantastical-style crown.
  • In the end, we see Brainiac, where instead of being a green-skinned, alien cyborg, he’s an android with a triangular head, Tron Lines, and a flowing cape. Really, the only thing he has in common with his original design, is the three dots on his forehead.
• Younger and Hipper: Many characters have received an Age Lift that puts them as young adults rather than their comic counterparts being in their late 30's or such. In particular, the main trio are new interns at the Daily Planet, and Slade Wilson has been de-aged from a grizzled veteran in his 50s to a Pretty Boy who looks to be about 30 at best. Clark's age in particular becomes a plot point, as when the General is interrogating him in "Zero Day, Part 2", he notices Clark's statement about "growing up on Earth" and on seeing his horrified reaction to the events of Zero Day, starts to reconsider if he really is the "Nemesis Omega" figure that slaughtered his entire squad. The general notes that if Clark's species actually ages similar to humanity (which is indeed the case) he'd have been too young to participate in it 22 years ago, showing that Task Force X believed Older Than They Look was in play with Superman.

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