Superman is boring. The second I voiced this opinion, my colleague Eric Switzer quickly tried to recommend some comic books that best showcase his character to change my very wrong mind. That’s partly the problem, since the only mainstream take🉐s on the character I’ve seen during my lifetime are either edgy, dull, or entirely devoid of charm. My parents tried to show me the Christopher Reeve films as a child and they were innocent fun, and the less said about Superman Returns the better. But in the here and now at least, Superman is boring.
While I imagine the comic books delve deeper into the Man of Steel’s flawed character, the films and shows this century depict him as overpowered, old-fashioned, and rather dull. Henry Cavill is incredibly handsome and does all he can with Zack Snyder’s mediocre material, but the inconsistency of Superman’s moral compass throughout his films made it hard to feel anything for the character, let alone fall in love with him. Returns is the same, and I think ဣthe most exciting part was when Superman struggled to li🌸ft a plane that Kevin Spacey tried to shoot out of the sky for some reason. Once again, it’s kinda boring.
Modern media has always had trouble with Superman because, on a fundameওntal level, he is designed to be an all-ౠpowerful being with a laundry list of powers engineered to save the world. His only apparent weakness is magical rocks, which are pretty easy to avoid most of the time. Because of this, outsiders like me aren’t interested enough to bother diving into comic books that present more nuanced stories, since everything we’ve seen thus far never ignited enough interest to keep me invested. Like I keep saying, Superman is boring.
But what if this boring quality was used to his advantage? Clark Kent - Superman’s laughably obvious alter ego - is beloved by fans most when he’s a massive dork. Upcoming animated show My Adventures With Superman seems to embrace t🍸his facet of his identity in all the right ways. Clark Kent is literally just Superman wearing glasses, and somehow this disguise is foolproof enough to trick an entire city into believing he’s just a regular dude. One with massive muscles, a killer jawline, and super strength, but otherwise just a regular dude.
The first✱ two episodes will debut on July 6, and a new trailer provides our greatest look yet at the animated series’ intended vibe. Sporting an aesthetic not dissimilar to other shows like Harley Quinn, Voltron, and She-Ra, My Adventures With Superman looks cutesy without ever sacrificing the design of its world and characters. When it was first announced, a certain subset of 🀅fans decried it as woke after glimpsing Lois Lane with a different skin tone and shorter hair, believing she’d been shot with some sort of SJW-laser and now we were all coming for their favourite superheroes. The reality is very different, and so is her character.
She is a young, spunky, and energetic reporter who appears to be saved by Superman as the two burst into a shower of blushes around one another. Shortly after, it seems our boy Clark Kent begins as an intern at th꧂e Daily Planet with his photographer friend in tow. Lois takes them under her wing and so begins a bunch of wacky adventures. This is the perfect setup for a show like this. It presents a new take on established characters with chances at comedy and drama which, if the writing and perforꦗmances are strong, can easily co-exist.
I’m also a hopeless romantic, and signed up for this rollercoaster ride the second I saw how much himbo energy was radiating ♚from Clark Kent as he destroyed alarm clocks and saved a girl he clearly has an adorable little crush on. Let them flirt. Let them kiss. Let them spend entire seasons awkwardly teetering on the romantic precipice before a schmaltzy admission of love. I swear this isn’t the only reason I’m into this show, but it’s a pretty big one.
It turns out the biggest reason I struggled to fall in love with Superman is because the modern era doesn’t know how to make an alien from another planet with seemingly𒉰 unlimited powers a relatable protagonist. My Adventures With Superman appears to address that flaw by turning Superman into a dorky, lovable intern trying to balance saving Metropolis with a 🍌new job, fitting in, and winning over a girl. As the title suggests, Lois Lane is the main focus here, and through her eyes we can slowly view Superman as a far more interesting hero.
