The Death of Clark Kent and Pierce the Heavens, Superman!
I was traveling last week so I missed posting about the latest episode! Humblest of apologies. This week I’ll cover both new entries as we prepare for the final installment of season two.
Title References
No, we don’t have Conduit discovering Clark’s secret making him give up his secret identity like in the 1995 storyline The Death of Clark Kent. The original was from the height of 90s events trying to recapture that Death of Superman magic. We had Death, Return, Bizarro, Overpowered, Fall of Metropolis, Zero Hour, Dead Again, Death of Clark Kent, and many more.
Pierce the Heavens, Superman! References anime Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (literally translated as “Heaven-Piercing Gurren Lagann”). I’ve never watched it so I’m uncertain if the references go deeper than just title.
Superbrainiac
Brainiac’s plan is to take control of Clark’s body. He’s been using Kara to conquer worlds, but she’s becoming more and more difficult to control. Clark’s extra power makes him a more enticing host. Especially now that Brainiac says his body and Kandor are falling apart.
We open on Brainiac using Black Mercy to do exactly that. While giving us a killer villain monologue spelling out that evil plan.
Michael Emerson is awesome as Brainiac. When he says “Rejoice son of Jor-El” it sounds so evil. Inspired casting among an already excellent cast.
Black Mercy
This show hasn’t seen a piece of Superman lore it couldn’t turn into technology. This time it’s Kandor and the Black Mercy. Kandor is now a Man of Steel Black Zero style space station and Black Mercy is a headband that allows you to view memories. They hadn’t named it when Kara used it previously. I always love Kryptonians in headbands.
It wasn’t until the end of The Death of Clark Kent that the Black Mercy started acting Black Mercy like. Trapping Clark in a fantasy land with Jor-El and Lara. I loved Clark feeding the baby Sun Eater. Compassion for all is his biggest strength.
Like in the Supergirl episode of the same name we’ve got someone going into the Black Mercy to save our hero. When she first arrives in Clark’s mind, Lois doesn’t remember who she is. When she sees Clark for the first time her memory is restored. The Black Mercy can’t seem to remove her, instead resetting the simulation groundhog day style. This gives Lois the chance to figure out the solution and wake Clark up.
Lois is as strong as Clark from his perspective. So in Clark’s mind they both have Super Powers. The combined strength of Lois & Clark punches out of Brainiac’s prison and allows Clark to control his own body.
“Mortigi Kodon!”
Clip Show
A late in the series clip show episode could feel cheap, but I think it was well handled here. See Superboy season four. Brainiac is exploring Clark’s memories looking for weaknesses, but each of them features some differences. Despite Clark fighting back Brainiac does eventually find Lois and Jimmy. Brainiac surmises his compassion is his weakness. But Brainiac will learn it’s a strength.
I was so sure they would take the one surviving Metallo and put a person in him. But I guess not, it’s still just an army of robots. This time with some Kryptonite. Felt a bit pointless since Waller has robots. Brainiac has some Kryptonite armor anyway so they just end up causing problems with Clark and Kara.
It does seem a bit silly that Brainiac suddenly has this Kryptonite armor. I know it raises the stakes, but why not always use that? I thought his body and ship were falling apart, but now he’s got new armor?
Kara and Jimmy
They are adorable together. It reminds me of Lois & Clark from the first season, but unique and true to these two characters. I almost wish they didn’t have to fight bad guys so they could just be cute. They’ll just need to overcome the fact that Kara destroyed whole civilizations under Brainiac’s control.
New costumes
After Lois & Clark defeat the Black Mercy simulation Superman returns with a new costume in the red and blue. This time he’s got some serious shoulder pads. He doesn’t have Ma Kent around to give him new trunks though which is a bummer. I hope he gets those next week for the finale!
How will our heroes defeat Brainiac? He has control of the Metallos, he can’t be hurt by Kryptonite, Clark and Kara seem defeated. It looks bad! I can’t wait to tune in next week!
July 15, 2024
MAWS
Quick Thoughts on My Adventures with Superman #2
This week saw the release of issue two of the tie-in comic. In part of my endeavor to have something on the blog for every piece of the MAWS story here are some quick thoughts on the issue.
No Superman!
This issue—like this week’s episode—has no Superman in it! It has a similar story too. Our heroes need to break in to a secure facility for a rescue mission. Rather than stealing a spaceship to save Clark they want to save Amazo from this military group. We do get Clark at least, but it’s a funny scheduling coincidence that everything MAWS related this week was missing Superman!
Bloodsport, shot, stroke, death
It’s cool to see the universe expand with Bloodsport (although I always get the names Bloodsport, Deadshot, Bloodshot, and Deathstroke mixed up) and another secretive government group. Looks like Checkmate has these groups competing with each other to accomplish some nefarious goals.
I don’t understand why this robot is Amazo. It feels like we’ve already burned the Amazo name with Ivo and the Amazo-Tech company. Why would this robot be named Amazo after the company? Amazo also feels way more interesting than Ivo’s Parasite armor. Makes me wish they hadn’t used Ivo for Parasite and kept him open to use with Amazo here.
Spin off books like this have a fine needle to thread. Tell a decent story in the world but don’t affect the status quo. They can’t make any major changes to the characters or have major events, because it’ll never be reflected in the show. They need to leave the team on the show free to make the best creative decisions for the show without being beholden to a book most viewers of the show haven’t read. This book uses the introduction of Bloodsport and the Mt. Simonson Base to do that. All while tying it in with the Cadmus tech from season one and an attack by Deathstroke.
The issue ends with Clark Kent in custody! That’s a story beat that typically works for me. I like when Clark needs to rely on his wits and protect his secret identity all while getting out of a jam.
July 5, 2024
MAWS
Olsen’s Eleven
This episode takes place at the same time as last week’s. It was an interesting decision to do these episodes like this instead of cutting back and forth between the two main stories. Last week they wanted Kara’s story to breathe which meant no room for Lois and Jimmy. It means zero Superman this week and like last week there is no A plot and B plot. It’s all A plot.
Waller has declared martial law in Metropolis. Her Human Defense Corps is patrolling the streets with tanks and huge robots. She’s shutting down questions on television and branding Superman as the enemy. Doesn’t look like Clark is coming home to a warm welcome.
Olsen’s Millions
Lois has a plan to find Clark and make things right. Hire Livewire to steal a spaceship from S.T.A.R. Labs! Jimmy’s first offer to Livewire is a check made out to cash for $500K leaving him with $2,001,089. After the date with Kara he had $2,998,784 where did that other $500K go? Livewire is a shrewd negotiator and asks for some more zeros. Olsen’s net worth is now zero. He’s spent $5,497,386 over the course of basically six episodes.
When Lois and Jimmy show up to see Livewire, Heatwave is there too! I like the Rory/Leslie relationship. They are a great couple, but Captain Cold would be jealous.
Olsen doesn’t quite get a crew of eleven, but we do get a heist with the tropes. Rounding out his crew is returning guests Mallah and Brain. They traveled the multiverse, but it turns out every dimension has its own Mallah and Brain. So they are back to do brunch with Jimmy on the weekends. I wish our dimension had a Mallah and Brain.
We get the obligatory explanation of the plan. Back entrance, stolen finger prints, looped cameras, guard change overs. Classic. As happens in all good heist movies, it doesn’t go according to plan and Jimmy is left to do some social engineering to get them in. Let this be a lesson to everyone in security. Don’t trust anyone!
There’s always another way
Livewire’s plan B is to go in guns blazing and Lois’s plan is to start punching Kara with Kryptonite. Jimmy ain’t having it. They aren’t hurting anyone. Love hearing Jimmy drop Clark’s line. What a pal.
They may not have much of a chance though because Waller and Deathstroke are at S.T.A.R. Labs too. Luthor is working on Project M which is working to power the Metallo robots with Kryptonite. It’s strange that Waller is putting so much effort into more robots when they already have their Brainiac/Kryptonian robots patrolling the city streets. Seems like a way to just give the story Metallo instead of something that Waller actually needs.
During their heist Brain and Mallah separate to get components for their portal. Livewire zaps away leaving Lois and Jimmy alone. Livewire of course had an ulterior motive for breaking in, she wanted new weapons.
Being alone gives Lois and Jimmy more time to talk about Kara. Jimmy defends her saying that Clark has the two of them and Kara had no one. She’s not a lost cause. Love this and I look forward to them getting back together.
They find the ship, but it needs some work. Mallah and Brain show up and after some Millenium Falcon style shenanigans they launch the ship. Livewire and Heatwave arrive to clear out the rest of the Metallos. She was inspired by Lois fighting to get to Clark. Love is not for cowards. Does this mean Heatwave and Livewire know Clark’s identity now?
One Metallo survived and is now Lex’s top priority. Will it be getting a human operator?
Lois, Jimmy, Brain, and Mallah take their spaceship through a portal to find Clark and are stopped by Kara. Now we are at where we left off last week. Only three episodes left! Hopefully the wait isn’t too long for season three. It feels like an eternity since Superman & Lois ended.
July 1, 2024
MAWS
The Machine Who Would Be Empire
Okay, we are now in the back half of season two moving towards our finale. Rather than focus on our core trio this episode shifts to a very different trio: Brainiac, Kara, and Superman.
Kal-El No!
We start our episode with Clark waking up in space with Kara. Clearly he isn’t happy with being kidnapped, but he’s not getting back to Earth without some help. I think Kara is pretty funny here. The dynamic is a fun almost sibling back and forth, but of course with a galaxy domination back drop. Every time she says that his brain is bad gave me a chuckle. Especially because she is the one who is being mind controlled!
“Evil” Superpeople doesn’t particularly interest me. It’s been done over and over again, even with Kara. She was a Red Lantern, she was controlled by Darkseid. I know that just because something has been done before doesn’t mean that it can never be done again, it’s just never exciting for me. That said I like the Kara they’ve got here when she isn’t under Brainiac’s control. Especially the little Jimmy Olsen crush she’s got going on. I will say that if they ever bring in the Legion giving her a relationship with Brainiac 5 would be weird. Considering she thinks of Brainiac as her father.
Helmets!
I think the space scenes looks awesome. I’ve really dug the promotional art for this season and now we get to see it in all its glory.
I like how Clark didn’t think for a second he could be in space without a helmet. He’s Kryptonian! Obviously this varies from adaptation to adaptation. For toy reasons the animated series gave him a full space suit! Speaking of when are we getting MAWS toys?
Speaking of headgear, the headband Kara uses to show memories was a nice touch. Anytime we see Kryptonians with headbands I smile.
During their space snowball fight Clark finally acknowledges he gets more powerful when he someone he loves is in danger. This is the most Superman thing ever. Obviously it’s interesting to Brainiac who wants to control him, but I bet Kara will get it too. The snowball fight of it all reminded me of the Morrison take on Superman. He does the same things we do like playing catch with your dog, except with his dog he uses a full tree and throws it out into space.
Conquered Easter Eggs
Euphorix and H’lven are good deep cuts, but Thanagar is one more casual fans might recognize. I especially liked the hieroglyphic style portait on the wall on Thanagar showing Kara devastating the planet.
I’m not sure what Green Lantern Clark was fighting in Brainiac’s training room, but I’m certain that was a parademon. Lends credence to my theory that Apokolips is the one planet Krypton couldn’t conquer.
I am not a weapon!
Iron Giant reference? I’m here for it.
Brainiac may think Clark is weak and will be easy to control, but he’s going to have a big surprise when he’s defeated by Clark and Kara.
After Kara realizes what she’s done she calls him Clark for the first time. Maybe she’s been wrong about Krypton all along. Then Jimmy, Lois, Mallah, and the Brain show up in a spaceship. How much did this cost our Flamebird billionaire?
June 24, 2024
MAWS
Most Eligible Superman
Can I start with how much I love that we are getting a new weekly animated Superman show that is full of so many surprises? This character has so much potential for new great stories 80+ years into his existence. Let’s talk my thoughts on this latest episode.
Kara not Zod
I admit, I was wrong. Last year for the season one finale I assumed the character next to Brainiac was Zod. I’m willing to bet they had planned for it to be Zod too, but when writing season two they had a good pitch for it to be Kara. I also assumed that the Kryptonian figure hovering above Earth last week was Brainiac.
The show threw a curve ball and surprised me! Kara seems to have been raised by Brainiac! She calls him father, he’s the Primus, she’s his Scion. She wants Earth to kneel before the new Kryptonian Empire! I assumed there would be some adversity when Kara shows up. Not silver age buddies immediately, but this isn’t how I expected they’d do it.
We heard early on that season two was made right after season one. My initial assumption was that they produced the two seasons together. But in a recent podcast interview with show runner Jake Wyatt, he mentioned that they had a much bigger writers room for season two. Feels like this change was something the writers came up with later and it works.
I did really like Kara’s time with Jimmy. I think it will be a major part of Clark showing Kara the error of her ways. She already seems ready to defy Brainiac. Plus she loves ice cream as much as Wonder Woman does! Who would subjugate a planet that makes something as wonderful as ice cream?
Last notes on Kara this week: I dig her Ramona meets Android 18 look. Anj at Supergirl Comic Box Commentary did not like this take on Kara, saying that this is an overdone trope. I’m not certain I completely agree, but I do know what it’s like to see evil Clark constantly and how frustrating that can be.
Easter Eggs keep coming
The contestants in the most eligible contest Chandi Gupta, Byrna Brilyant, Silver St. Cloud, and returning guest Hank Henshaw were good DC deep cuts. Although Henshaw was married in his initial appearance only a few episodes ago so I don’t know how he’s an eligible bachelor. Of the new cameos only Silver and George Taylor really get to do anything. The others were just winks to people who know obscure characters. I am loving the continuing expansion of the universe.
Truth, Justice, and Hope on Bluesky thinks that Henshaw is a red herring:
Couple of thoughts on MAWS s2 so far:
I think this is a great prediction. The show loves to subvert expectations and this would be highly motivating for Kara. I do think they’ve used too much Henshaw and set him up in such opposition to Superman that it would be a waste to not amp that up. Maybe not as Cyborg Superman, but at least as an adversary of some kind. Maybe he’ll get stretch powers to mirror his introduction as a Reed Richards-type character.
Lois & Clark (and Jimmy)
The “A” plot of the episode was the Lois and Clark relationship. Maybe the show feels like they got them together too early because it seems like now they are trying to keep them apart.
Last week I said that I liked the way they kept Lois & Clark separate and pushed their character’s insecurities to heighten the drama. I liked it a bit less this week. Superman being the most eligible bachelor as a way to make Lois jealous didn’t ring true for me. She knows Clark. She knows what he is interested in. She can be afraid he’s going to leave like the General without her being jealous of Silver St. Cloud. She knew the whole reason he was there! It was her idea to get suspicion off them! It fell flat for me.
It did work as a way to make Kara think he was weak and maybe for that reason it was worth it.
I’m a big fan of secret identity excuses especially when Clark being a terrible liar makes bad ones. When Lois is in on the secret she usually has better excuses for him, but it’s still fun to hear the bad ones. I loved it when Lois used the feeding the meter excuse twice this episode. Cat is so oblivious to Clark and would never assume he’s Superman. I definitely don’t want Batman on this show, but it would be funny if Silver was dating Bruce leading Cat to think that Bruce is Superman.
Jimmy and Clark were the same way as Lois and Clark this week. Jimmy avoiding Clark after the Symposium didn’t connect for me. It just felt like a way to make Clark feel alone again rather than something this Jimmy would actually do.
Days til Jimmy is insolvent
Last episode he ended at $3,204,002. Between then and now he’s spent $204,804! On his day with Kara he spent at least another $414 ending with $2,998,784. Side note: I’d love a FlameBird credit card.
We’ve hit the halfway point with another great episode. It lokos like Brainiac has some plans for Clark so we’ll see what happens when they meet. Come back next week for “The Machine Who Would Be Empire”
June 17, 2024
MAWS
