1 00:00:00,930 --> 00:00:02,957 This is a DynaMic Network podcast. 2 00:00:24,366 --> 00:00:29,668 Welcome to the Dynamic Duel Podcast, a weekly show where we review superhero films and debate 3 00:00:29,689 --> 00:00:35,852 the superiority between Marvel and DC by comparing their characters in stat-based battle simulations. 4 00:00:36,132 --> 00:00:42,236 I'm Johnny DC. And I'm his twin brother Marvelous Joe. And in this episode, we are doing a review 5 00:00:42,296 --> 00:00:48,919 of season two of the HBO and Cartoon Network Adult Swim series, My Adventures with Superman. 6 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:55,019 It's a good show, people. If you're not watching it. Go watch My Adventures with Superman because 7 00:00:55,039 --> 00:00:59,624 it's probably one of the best modern adaptations of the character that you can get, and I think 8 00:00:59,644 --> 00:01:04,288 season 2 was a worthy successor to season 1. Yeah, absolutely, totally agree. We're going 9 00:01:04,308 --> 00:01:09,152 to talk all about season 2 later on in this episode. Not too much later because there's 10 00:01:09,453 --> 00:01:15,878 actually no news for this episode. This is sort of the calm after the storm that is Comic Con. 11 00:01:16,219 --> 00:01:20,275 But as always, we list our segment times in our episode description. so feel free to check 12 00:01:20,315 --> 00:01:24,579 out the show notes if you want to skip ahead to a particular topic. And guys, our artificially 13 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:32,286 intelligent duel simulator AJ9K has a quick message for our listeners, so listen up. Why 14 00:01:32,346 --> 00:01:36,747 hello there, do you want even more from this podcast? Then become a part of the dynamic 15 00:01:36,787 --> 00:01:41,830 duel community on Patreon, where you can choose from three tiers. The dynamic two-oh tier gives 16 00:01:41,850 --> 00:01:46,772 you access to our Discord chat server. The fantastic four tier gives you two bonus episodes each 17 00:01:46,832 --> 00:01:52,370 month, and the X-Force tier makes you an executive producer of this show. Lastly, The Diner Mike 18 00:01:52,410 --> 00:01:57,493 podcast network tier lets you create your own podcast using this Monte Carlo simulator. Johnny 19 00:01:57,513 --> 00:02:01,976 and Joe will help you develop your show, provide graphic support and consultation, and get you 20 00:02:02,016 --> 00:02:07,499 simulation results. Pitch the twins your ideas via email at dynamicduelpodcast at gmail.com. 21 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:15,464 Check it out at patreon.com slash dynamicduel. Pip pip cheerio. Thanks AJ9K and thanks to 22 00:02:15,624 --> 00:02:21,624 everyone who supports the podcast. including our newest executive producer, Josh Leiner. 23 00:02:22,045 --> 00:02:26,748 Welcome aboard, good sir. Be sure to join the rest of the executive producers on our Discord 24 00:02:26,768 --> 00:02:32,091 chat server where we determine the content coming up on this podcast. Everyone else, be sure 25 00:02:32,111 --> 00:02:37,855 to tune into the shows in the DynaMic Podcast Network this week, including Max Destruction, 26 00:02:38,135 --> 00:02:42,338 which pits your favorite action heroes from film and television against each other. This 27 00:02:42,398 --> 00:02:48,810 week, hosts Ken and Scotty are pitting the Power Rangers Megazord against Voltron. It's going 28 00:02:48,830 --> 00:02:53,592 to be a great episode, an important episode, so make sure to tune into that. On the Senjou 29 00:02:53,612 --> 00:02:58,614 World podcast, host Zachary Hepburn speculates on fights between fan favorite anime and manga 30 00:02:58,654 --> 00:03:04,077 characters. The show is making its season 3 premiere this Thursday, and Zach's kicking 31 00:03:04,117 --> 00:03:10,679 things off with a matchup between Hiei of Yu Hakusho and Yuta Okatsu of Jujutsu Kaisen. 32 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:16,022 And on the Console Combat podcast, hosts John and Dean find out who would win and fights 33 00:03:16,062 --> 00:03:21,864 between popular video game characters. In yesterday's episode, they determined who would win between 34 00:03:21,964 --> 00:03:29,287 Dante from Devil May Cry versus Bayonetta. Visit dynamicpodcasts.com or click the link in our 35 00:03:29,307 --> 00:03:33,809 show notes to listen to all the shows in the DynaMic Podcast Network. But with that out 36 00:03:33,829 --> 00:03:40,672 of the way, quick to the No Prize! A No Prize is an award Marvel used to give out to fans. 37 00:03:41,033 --> 00:03:46,023 Our version, the Dynamic duel No Prize, is a digital award we post on Instagram for the 38 00:03:46,063 --> 00:03:50,685 person that we feel gave the best answer to our question of the week. Last week's question 39 00:03:50,725 --> 00:03:56,869 we asked you guys, what the fuck? After we got the news that Robert Downey Jr. is returning 40 00:03:56,929 --> 00:04:03,072 to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not as Iron Man, but as Dr. Doom, and we wanted to get 41 00:04:03,132 --> 00:04:07,194 your guys' thoughts on it. We got a lot of answers actually, so let's go ahead and run down our 42 00:04:07,254 --> 00:04:13,037 honorable mentions as well as the no prize winner. Our first honorable mention goes to Peter Troll. 43 00:04:13,474 --> 00:04:13,854 Who said? 44 00:04:41,214 --> 00:04:46,296 And that's actually a pretty interesting theory. Of course, if you haven't seen Deadpool and 45 00:04:46,316 --> 00:04:52,478 Wolverine, I don't want to spoil anything, but they introduced the concept of anchor beings 46 00:04:52,538 --> 00:04:59,161 to a timeline. And if that anchor being is somehow killed, then that timeline starts to deteriorate, 47 00:04:59,641 --> 00:05:05,343 making Tony Stark the anchor being for the MCU sacred timeline would actually kind of explain 48 00:05:05,724 --> 00:05:12,218 why the MCU has sucked as of recently. It's just deteriorating. Just shut your mouth, first 49 00:05:12,258 --> 00:05:16,879 of all. But second of all, yeah, I mean, I guess that's a solid theory. If it turns out that 50 00:05:16,939 --> 00:05:20,940 Tony Stark was the anchor being and the heroes learn that he was the anchor being and they 51 00:05:20,980 --> 00:05:25,421 go and they try to find a new anchor being going into the Fantastic Four universe, pull that 52 00:05:25,461 --> 00:05:30,923 Doctor Doom into the new world because in the Fantastic Four universe, Doctor Doom is a Tony 53 00:05:30,943 --> 00:05:35,584 Stark variant. Sure, I mean, it could work. It's still not better than getting the actual 54 00:05:35,624 --> 00:05:42,266 true Doctor Doom. But it would be one way to rationalize why. Robert Downey Jr. would be 55 00:05:42,306 --> 00:05:47,728 the character of Dr. Doom in an alternate universe. Great answer, Peter. Our next honorable mention 56 00:05:47,769 --> 00:05:53,191 goes to Travis Bailey, who said, Travis here, shout out to my good twin, Ben has been to 57 00:05:53,211 --> 00:05:56,552 clubbing. Alright, everybody's hot, everybody's freaking out, I get it. But what y'all don't 58 00:05:56,692 --> 00:06:03,795 understand is that Robert Downey Jr. is one of them. He ain't even a hacker, he's a best 59 00:06:03,815 --> 00:06:08,577 man, alright? But what's the matter with him? This man got range. He is not gonna be stark 60 00:06:08,597 --> 00:06:14,340 as Doom, he will be... Victor Vajil and it is going to break our hearts. He's gonna pull 61 00:06:14,500 --> 00:06:18,482 this mostly personal mess out of the fire. All right, so basically what Travis said there 62 00:06:18,522 --> 00:06:24,245 was that Robert Downey Jr. is too good of an actor for this not to be good, basically. And 63 00:06:24,406 --> 00:06:29,148 if he can convince audiences that he is an entirely different person and he never takes off the 64 00:06:29,188 --> 00:06:33,350 mask and he changes his voice completely, maybe I can see this working, but I don't wanna know 65 00:06:33,410 --> 00:06:38,033 it's him. I don't wanna feel that it's him. I wish I could just scrub the idea that it's 66 00:06:38,073 --> 00:06:42,736 him out of my brain. and then maybe go into it thinking it's just someone else. To me, 67 00:06:42,796 --> 00:06:47,099 that's the only way this successfully works. I don't want to know it's Robert Downey Jr. 68 00:06:47,219 --> 00:06:52,523 which kind of seems weird because he is such a big actor. You figure that he would want 69 00:06:52,563 --> 00:06:57,527 to get his face out there and let people know it's him. And I mean, the guy just won an Oscar, 70 00:06:57,707 --> 00:07:02,531 right? I don't want to equate Victor Von Doom with Tony Stark in any way, shape or form. 71 00:07:02,671 --> 00:07:07,686 So yeah, hopefully he can pull that off. Hopefully that's his approach. Great answer Travis, our 72 00:07:07,726 --> 00:07:11,309 next honorable mention goes to... Miggy Mattingian who said... 73 00:07:36,214 --> 00:07:42,857 the true, um, like comic fans from the MCU stands. That's right! If you like Robert Downey Jr. 74 00:07:42,997 --> 00:07:49,361 as Dr. Doom, you're not a true Marvel fan. Hashtag fake fan. Miggy telling it like it is, you 75 00:07:49,381 --> 00:07:54,143 hate to hear it, but doesn't mean he's wrong. We won't hold the fact that he's a DC fan against 76 00:07:54,183 --> 00:07:58,926 him. I think he's right in that the decision of Robert Downey Jr.'s casting as Dr. Doom 77 00:07:58,966 --> 00:08:04,789 is really separating the comic book fans from your basic MCU fans who aren't familiar with 78 00:08:04,829 --> 00:08:10,072 the source material. I think if you're a fan of Doctor Doom from the comic books, the idea 79 00:08:10,232 --> 00:08:16,115 of Tony Stark being Doctor Doom is offensive and totally not in keeping with the character. 80 00:08:16,356 --> 00:08:21,679 But if you're mostly a fan of the movies, then you're probably more excited to see Robert 81 00:08:21,699 --> 00:08:26,982 Downey Jr. return more than anything else. Not really being aware of the characterization 82 00:08:27,222 --> 00:08:32,485 of Doctor Doom from the comics, who is one of Marvel's greatest villains of all time. Who 83 00:08:32,505 --> 00:08:37,567 we still have yet to see. portrayed in an accurate manner on the big screen. Is there a run from 84 00:08:37,607 --> 00:08:42,109 the comics of Dr. Doom that you would recommend for people to read who aren't familiar? That 85 00:08:42,149 --> 00:08:47,111 is a great question. There's a few that come to the top of my head including the Dr. Strange 86 00:08:47,131 --> 00:08:54,014 and Dr. Doom Triumph and Torment miniseries. There was the Doom War miniseries. That's one 87 00:08:54,034 --> 00:08:59,596 word Doom War. Books of Doom was pretty good. There was also the recent Dr. Doom run that 88 00:08:59,616 --> 00:09:06,851 came out in 2019 or 2020, I think. It was about 10 issues and ended spectacularly. And basically 89 00:09:07,011 --> 00:09:11,152 any Fantastic Four arc dealing with Dr. Doom, I would recommend, because they're all good. 90 00:09:11,512 --> 00:09:15,233 Also, the first Secret Wars, they came out in the 80s. That was also a good showcase for 91 00:09:15,273 --> 00:09:19,915 Dr. Doom. There's a lot of them. There's a lot of great books with him. And of course, anyone 92 00:09:19,935 --> 00:09:24,556 not familiar with him can go back to one of our earliest episodes where we pit Superman 93 00:09:24,576 --> 00:09:28,717 against Dr. Doom in a duel. Yeah, you could definitely find out a lot about his history 94 00:09:28,777 --> 00:09:33,721 in that episode. Great answer, Miggy. We wanna give a quick shout out to Alex, Sarah Smorr, 95 00:09:33,921 --> 00:09:40,106 Kat Stevenson, Cornelius Robinson, and Travis Bailey's twin, Travis Herndon, for taking the 96 00:09:40,146 --> 00:09:45,171 time to visit our website and record an answer. Yeah, great answer, guys. No one gave a bad 97 00:09:45,231 --> 00:09:50,315 answer for this question of the week. You guys all really gave compelling thoughts on this 98 00:09:50,435 --> 00:09:56,641 divisive issue. But the winner of this week's Snow Prize goes to Waldo. Who said? Hey guys, 99 00:09:56,721 --> 00:10:05,512 Waldo here. I am convinced and choosing to believe that it is some kind of a mislead, both in 100 00:10:05,612 --> 00:10:12,214 our world and in the MCU. So maybe throughout the film it'll be RDJ has Doom, but then at 101 00:10:12,274 --> 00:10:19,195 some point the real not yet known actor will come out and be the actual Doom and say this 102 00:10:19,236 --> 00:10:25,637 is a Doom bot or just some kind of ploy. What do you think? To me, this is the best case 103 00:10:25,657 --> 00:10:31,640 scenario. I think if Doctor Doom is so genius so as to make one of his Doom bots assume the 104 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:38,965 appearance of the 616 universe's greatest heroes just to cause confusion amongst everybody and 105 00:10:39,025 --> 00:10:43,427 make them easier to defeat if they're really hesitant to fight against someone who resembles 106 00:10:43,667 --> 00:10:48,150 their beloved Tony Stark, that sounds like a pretty sinister plan in my mind. And I would 107 00:10:48,630 --> 00:10:53,953 not mind that at all. Have the Tony Stark looking Doctor Doom just be a ploy, a puppet controlled 108 00:10:53,993 --> 00:10:59,028 by the real lurking in the shadows. I do think it's kind of dumb that Marvel would pull this 109 00:10:59,068 --> 00:11:04,872 kind of trick on the fans that Robert Downey Jr. is Dr. Doom. Psych! No he's not! But also, 110 00:11:05,192 --> 00:11:10,716 that may just be the most acceptable way for this casting to work. It's just all part of 111 00:11:10,776 --> 00:11:16,300 Doom's plan, because that's what Doom does. He plans. He's like Marvel's Batman, but like, 112 00:11:16,561 --> 00:11:21,724 way better. Like way fucking better. Because he uses magic. Why Batman doesn't use magic? 113 00:11:21,804 --> 00:11:26,455 Even though he knows the occult exists? We don't know, he only studies science like a dum dum. 114 00:11:26,836 --> 00:11:32,059 Dr. Doom knows science and magic. And he can fucking fly. Get outta here with your Batman 115 00:11:32,099 --> 00:11:42,867 DC fans. Dr. Doom. Yeah, he's the guy who got beat by Squirrel Girl. God damn it. Great answer 116 00:11:42,907 --> 00:11:46,529 Waldo, you win this week's No Prize. If you the listener want a shot at winning your own 117 00:11:46,549 --> 00:11:50,812 No Prize, stay tuned to later on this episode when we'll be asking another question of the 118 00:11:50,852 --> 00:11:57,329 week. And now that that's done. Onto the not news, obviously, onto the question of the week. 119 00:12:01,814 --> 00:12:07,738 This is a DynamiC Network question guys, other than DynamiC duel, what is your favorite podcast 120 00:12:07,918 --> 00:12:15,504 in the DynamiC Network and why? You choose between Max Destruction, Senjou World, or Console Combat? 121 00:12:15,624 --> 00:12:20,628 Just let us know, we'd love to hear your answers. Record your answer at DynamiCduel.com by clicking 122 00:12:20,668 --> 00:12:24,791 on the red microphone button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, which will prompt 123 00:12:24,831 --> 00:12:29,350 you to leave us a voicemail. Your message could be up to 30 seconds long. And don't forget 124 00:12:29,390 --> 00:12:34,056 to leave your name in case we include you on the podcast. We'll pick our favorite answer 125 00:12:34,297 --> 00:12:39,363 and award that person a dynamic duel note prize that we'll post to Instagram. Be sure to answer 126 00:12:39,403 --> 00:12:41,405 before August 10th. 127 00:12:48,910 --> 00:12:55,255 So now let's move on to the main event of this episode where we review Season 2 of the animated 128 00:12:55,315 --> 00:12:58,717 series My Adventures with Superman. 129 00:13:14,786 --> 00:13:20,668 My Adventures with Superman is an animated anime style series that debuts on the Cartoon Network's 130 00:13:20,708 --> 00:13:27,171 Adult Swim programming block alongside Warner Brothers' Max streaming platform. It just wrapped 131 00:13:27,251 --> 00:13:33,553 its second season and it continues to be a charming, fun and unique adaptation of the Superman mythos. 132 00:13:34,133 --> 00:13:39,616 As we mentioned in our 4.5 out of 5 review of season one, we were surprised by how good the 133 00:13:39,656 --> 00:13:46,078 show turned out to be. And those surprises continue into season two. as the writers take alternative 134 00:13:46,138 --> 00:13:52,340 approaches with characters and story elements that make the show just a joy to watch. Now, 135 00:13:52,380 --> 00:13:59,202 Season 2 is not as good as Season 1, I'll just say, but barely. I highly recommend this show 136 00:13:59,302 --> 00:14:04,703 to anyone, comic fan or not, especially anyone who claims to not like Superman or find him 137 00:14:04,783 --> 00:14:11,565 boring, because this show proves just how storytellers can continue to make an 80-s character feel 138 00:14:11,705 --> 00:14:17,241 special. If you haven't seen season 2 yet, make sure you're caught up before listening to this 139 00:14:17,402 --> 00:14:23,767 spoiler review. I agree that season 2 is not as good as season 1, but only barely. You know, 140 00:14:23,787 --> 00:14:30,092 season 1 was special because it introduced a lot of the power discovery elements, as well 141 00:14:30,152 --> 00:14:35,517 as the secret identity stuff involving his best friend and the girl that he likes discovering 142 00:14:35,697 --> 00:14:41,325 who he really is. You didn't have any of that going into season 2, which was a big part of 143 00:14:41,365 --> 00:14:45,668 the charm of season 1, I think. But season 2 still had a lot going for it. Right, yeah. 144 00:14:45,728 --> 00:14:49,851 I mean, that's a big part of its charm. But I would say the biggest appeal of My Adventures 145 00:14:49,871 --> 00:14:55,595 with Superman as a show, as a concept, is the shounen anime approach to its storytelling. 146 00:14:56,136 --> 00:15:01,400 Shounen is a genre of anime that's essentially action-packed coming-of-age stories that often 147 00:15:01,460 --> 00:15:07,595 focus on themes of friendship and perseverance. Shows like Dragon Ball, Naruto, My Hero Academia, 148 00:15:07,755 --> 00:15:13,517 Pokemon, One Piece. These are all examples of shounen anime. And it's not a style I would 149 00:15:13,537 --> 00:15:18,260 have thought worked for Superman until I saw season one of this show. Because it seems like 150 00:15:18,300 --> 00:15:23,702 Superman was tailor-made for the genre. That shouldn't have been surprising maybe in hindsight 151 00:15:23,762 --> 00:15:28,184 because, you know, as many anime fans have noticed, there's not all too much difference between 152 00:15:28,224 --> 00:15:34,446 characters like Superman and Goku. Now, we don't watch a lot of anime. But my hands down favorites 153 00:15:34,546 --> 00:15:40,709 like My Hero Academia, Sword Art Online, or Neon Genesis Evangelion, all fall into the 154 00:15:40,729 --> 00:15:45,771 shounen genre. And it's always surprising how well shows like those seem to effortlessly 155 00:15:45,791 --> 00:15:51,854 transition between subgenres. Like, they tend to be very action-packed, but the characters 156 00:15:51,894 --> 00:15:58,156 are also waxing poetic in this very dramatic way as they're fighting. Just adding layers 157 00:15:58,296 --> 00:16:04,850 of drama and heart and character to the ordeal. Shonen could be comedic one episode, adventure 158 00:16:04,870 --> 00:16:10,232 focused the next, horrifying the episode after that, which is something you don't often see 159 00:16:10,252 --> 00:16:16,394 in Western media. My Adventures with Superman is no different, as it feels like a near perfect 160 00:16:16,454 --> 00:16:22,356 balance of comedy, action, romance, and even a sprinkling of horror this season. And it 161 00:16:22,416 --> 00:16:28,558 does it while managing to remain pretty family friendly. Unlike other anime, This show is 162 00:16:28,778 --> 00:16:36,885 devoid of gore and blood or even over sexuality, which sounds lame, but I actually love having 163 00:16:36,985 --> 00:16:42,510 an anime show that I could watch with my kids, particularly if it's DC. But it's not overly 164 00:16:42,570 --> 00:16:47,434 kiddy. I mean, like maybe the first few episodes of season one, I kind of thought that the show 165 00:16:47,474 --> 00:16:53,419 was overly kid oriented. But ever since then, I think it's definitely a show that's complex 166 00:16:53,459 --> 00:16:58,175 enough to appeal to older audiences as well. Absolutely. Like a lot of good animes, the 167 00:16:58,215 --> 00:17:03,619 show knows to take its themes and its characters and the drama behind the characters very seriously. 168 00:17:03,899 --> 00:17:09,244 Its characters are very complex, which to me is a sign of a really good anime. Now it helps 169 00:17:09,284 --> 00:17:15,709 that the show has a lead character as wholesome as Clark Kent. The show revolves around him, 170 00:17:15,929 --> 00:17:20,653 specifically his relationships as he's starting out in the city and his job and meeting all 171 00:17:20,673 --> 00:17:25,297 these new people. And that's another thing unique to this series that I'm sure Superman fans 172 00:17:25,317 --> 00:17:31,525 will notice. Clark is the main character here, not Superman. Superman in this show is essentially 173 00:17:31,665 --> 00:17:35,907 the mask that Clark wears, and this is something we talked about in our season one review. It's 174 00:17:35,927 --> 00:17:41,031 like the opposite of Christopher Reeve Superman, or you could argue even Henry Cavill's. And 175 00:17:41,091 --> 00:17:46,034 somehow they find ways to make his supporting cast of Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen more relevant 176 00:17:46,054 --> 00:17:51,217 than I think they've felt in decades, in that they're not just there for Superman to rescue, 177 00:17:51,657 --> 00:17:56,731 but they are often... active participants in defeating bad guys, and sometimes they're the 178 00:17:56,831 --> 00:18:02,574 ones that outright save Superman himself. I feel like it shouldn't work on paper, but in 179 00:18:02,654 --> 00:18:07,796 this show it does. If you told me that they were releasing a Superman animated television 180 00:18:07,836 --> 00:18:12,198 series in which Superman's not only the only main character, but that Lois and Jimmy would 181 00:18:12,318 --> 00:18:16,921 often be involved in his adventures in saving his life, I tell you to go fuck yourself, because 182 00:18:16,941 --> 00:18:22,831 that sounds like shit. No, it's actually for some reason, you're right, it does work. And 183 00:18:22,871 --> 00:18:27,533 I think it has to do with the idea of the relationships established between the main characters. They 184 00:18:27,673 --> 00:18:32,835 are, you know, very close. They have a very tight friendship and working together is just 185 00:18:32,895 --> 00:18:37,417 one of the primary themes of the show. And it works really well. Yeah, you know, part of 186 00:18:37,457 --> 00:18:42,500 the joy of watching the show as a longtime fan of the Superman comics is seeing how they adapt 187 00:18:42,580 --> 00:18:50,087 the saga that is Superman. Like in the past. Lois and Jimmy were always clueless as to Superman's 188 00:18:50,107 --> 00:18:55,330 secret identity. So you weren't really able to tell stories like this in Superman's early 189 00:18:55,370 --> 00:19:01,053 days, because in this show, Jimmy and Lois from season one know that Clark Kent is Superman. 190 00:19:01,474 --> 00:19:06,736 So that's an interesting adaptation or reinvention, but it's also cool to see how they change things 191 00:19:06,776 --> 00:19:12,380 like Krypton, or how Superman's powers manifest, or even how his villains come about. You know, 192 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:17,226 in season one, all of his villains utilized Kryptonian technology. We got a little bit 193 00:19:17,287 --> 00:19:22,371 of that this season, but primarily in season two, his main antagonists were straight up 194 00:19:22,472 --> 00:19:28,998 Kryptonian, namely Supergirl and Brainiac. And I loved some of the choices they made for those 195 00:19:29,018 --> 00:19:33,803 characters and adapting them for this show. Like Supergirl, starting off as a foe who's 196 00:19:33,823 --> 00:19:38,507 been brainwashed by Brainiac, I thought was genius. And it was a great way to introduce 197 00:19:38,547 --> 00:19:42,870 the threat that is Brainiac, which... You know, and this show is kind of like Superman the 198 00:19:42,930 --> 00:19:49,894 animated series in that he's a Kryptonian AI construct, though here he was programmed specifically 199 00:19:50,034 --> 00:19:55,537 to aid in war and conquest. Yeah, I thought the way they adapted Supergirl and Brainiac 200 00:19:55,557 --> 00:19:59,779 for the show was fantastic. I think that's actually when this season started getting good, because 201 00:19:59,979 --> 00:20:03,801 I was not thrilled with the first half of the season. Like, I liked the stuff with Steel. 202 00:20:03,941 --> 00:20:09,504 That episode was pretty good. But once Supergirl came into the picture, it was a lot more invested 203 00:20:09,544 --> 00:20:14,288 in where the story was going, as opposed to just dealing with the Sam Lane and Amanda Waller 204 00:20:14,308 --> 00:20:19,631 stuff from the previous season. Yeah, for me, it really picked up during the Star Labs symposium, 205 00:20:20,012 --> 00:20:24,535 where Lex Luthor kind of starts to turn public opinion against Superman. I thought that was 206 00:20:24,575 --> 00:20:29,238 really interesting. And I think Supergirl appeared the episode after that. So yeah, I would agree 207 00:20:29,258 --> 00:20:33,121 with you. Second half is much better than the first half. And of course, the second half 208 00:20:33,161 --> 00:20:38,617 is where we got Brainiac, And admittedly, I didn't like every adaptation they made for 209 00:20:38,657 --> 00:20:43,240 Brainiac. You know, this series made him into an amalgamation, really, of three different 210 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:49,665 Superman villains. You, of course, have Brainiac, but also Mongol, and that he'd conquer civilizations 211 00:20:49,685 --> 00:20:55,009 and then force their champions to fight. And like Mongol, Brainiac also had a psychic weapon 212 00:20:55,049 --> 00:21:00,713 known as the Black Mercy, but instead of an alien plant, it was Kryptonian technology. 213 00:21:01,110 --> 00:21:05,372 That's right, I remember seeing the show and hearing the reference to Black Mercy, but I 214 00:21:05,412 --> 00:21:10,835 forgot what it was a reference to. And you just reminded me that it's a weaponized plant used 215 00:21:10,875 --> 00:21:16,198 by Mongol. Right, yeah. Two like trapped beings in this false reality from which they would 216 00:21:16,219 --> 00:21:21,462 never want to escape from. That's exactly what Brainiac did to Superman this season. But also, 217 00:21:21,482 --> 00:21:26,905 you know, Brainiac had shades of dark side in how they depicted his missiles and lasers zigzagging 218 00:21:26,945 --> 00:21:31,588 across the sky. It's a very little nitpick, but it does make me question how they're planning 219 00:21:31,608 --> 00:21:36,651 to differentiate someone like Darkseid if they ever decide to introduce him to the show in 220 00:21:36,671 --> 00:21:42,536 the future. And also, I think it would be hard to springboard characters like Zod or like 221 00:21:42,656 --> 00:21:48,060 the Eradicator or people like that. Yeah, totally. They even mentioned Eradicator in this season. 222 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:53,483 Like, Eradicator was a protocol that Brainiac used to brainwash Kara, apparently. I think 223 00:21:53,523 --> 00:21:57,847 that's what it was. But you're absolutely right. They totally... pulled a red herring at the 224 00:21:57,887 --> 00:22:02,971 end of season one when we thought the villain was going to be Zod, but it turns out the character 225 00:22:02,991 --> 00:22:08,395 who was talking about his enemies kneeling was Kara. Right. That was an interesting twist. 226 00:22:08,916 --> 00:22:13,920 I like Brainiac as a Superman villain though, so I'm glad that they went with him. They just 227 00:22:13,940 --> 00:22:20,045 weren't very comic book accurate in his depiction. Yeah, no, I totally agree with you. Brainiac, 228 00:22:20,165 --> 00:22:25,889 in my opinion, is the best Superman villain. Like he is the Joker to Superman's Batman. 229 00:22:26,410 --> 00:22:31,112 and I'm totally fine with them making him like this ultimate Superman villain for this show. 230 00:22:31,332 --> 00:22:35,335 In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they bring him back next season. You know, I think he'll 231 00:22:35,375 --> 00:22:40,057 come back. I think the show does a decent job of actually building up Lex Luthor as also 232 00:22:40,177 --> 00:22:45,300 a big bad for season three, which has already been greenlit. And they've even introduced 233 00:22:45,380 --> 00:22:50,383 the potential this season for the death of Superman's storyline with the introductions of characters 234 00:22:50,423 --> 00:22:56,059 like Steel and Hank Henshaw, the future cyborg Superman, so... I'm excited for what we have 235 00:22:56,159 --> 00:23:00,802 upcoming with this series. There's a ton of potential. The death of Superman storyline 236 00:23:00,822 --> 00:23:06,687 would be pretty dark for this show in particular to adapt. But if they were to do it, I know 237 00:23:06,707 --> 00:23:10,549 they would do a great job. Just because they have a solid approach to most of the story 238 00:23:10,569 --> 00:23:15,953 arcs in this series. Yeah, and again the relationships they have established, you know how devastating 239 00:23:15,973 --> 00:23:21,057 that would be to Lois Lane. Like more so in this show than maybe other adaptations of Superman. 240 00:23:21,077 --> 00:23:26,289 Right. Like I said, the show does a great job of adapting the source material. Not all of 241 00:23:26,309 --> 00:23:30,713 the adaptations worked, but the thing that actually bothered me more than some of those adaptations 242 00:23:31,033 --> 00:23:37,139 was the numerous unanswered questions that were left by the end of this season. Like, how did 243 00:23:37,199 --> 00:23:41,863 Clark have those visions of his ship at the beginning of this season? He didn't know how 244 00:23:41,903 --> 00:23:46,547 he had them, and they never followed up on that. You know, Clark had new powers that manifested, 245 00:23:46,647 --> 00:23:51,418 but how was he able to do that? And why him? You know, Brainiac seemed interested in that, 246 00:23:51,459 --> 00:23:56,281 so I thought we'd get some kind of answer, but we didn't. And then there's small things like 247 00:23:56,581 --> 00:24:01,944 why were the Kryptonian suits able to adapt to space if they didn't need to? Seemed pointless. 248 00:24:02,445 --> 00:24:07,588 And why was the Kryptonian space station candor falling apart? And why was it a space station 249 00:24:07,628 --> 00:24:12,150 instead of a shrunken city? Yeah, I remember scratching my head in some moments, like when 250 00:24:12,250 --> 00:24:17,393 Supergirl realized that she had been destroying these planets. There was kind of like a weird 251 00:24:17,553 --> 00:24:23,758 time. jump there that I didn't quite follow. Yeah, for sure. So again, not a perfect season. 252 00:24:24,139 --> 00:24:28,743 There are a lot of little things that bothered me, but ultimately I feel like the characters 253 00:24:29,003 --> 00:24:34,187 made up for a lot of that. So let's talk about the characters in our character breakdown starting 254 00:24:34,247 --> 00:24:41,013 with Clark Kent slash Superman voiced by Jack Quaid of the boys fame. He does a fantastic 255 00:24:41,073 --> 00:24:47,138 job doing the voice of Clark so much so that I don't even recognize him as Jack. It just 256 00:24:47,178 --> 00:24:53,139 comes across as this natural performance of a really young, really earnest Superman. Superman's 257 00:24:53,299 --> 00:24:59,741 arc this season revolved around alienation, isolation, and rejection. As he learns more 258 00:24:59,781 --> 00:25:04,382 about himself, he feels the sense that he's different from everyone. And it's not really 259 00:25:04,442 --> 00:25:11,304 something he feels that others, even those closest to him like Lois, can relate to. Not realizing 260 00:25:11,464 --> 00:25:17,138 that actually Lois and Supergirl have arcs dealing with alienation as well this season. particularly 261 00:25:17,158 --> 00:25:22,864 when it comes to their fathers. Now Superman loses his father in episode one, and with him 262 00:25:23,004 --> 00:25:28,609 any hope for more answers unless he can find his cousin. Because Superman seeks someone 263 00:25:28,629 --> 00:25:34,915 to relate to, he reaches out to Supergirl, knowing Lois would probably disapprove. And later when 264 00:25:34,955 --> 00:25:40,801 Lex Luthor successfully turns public opinion against him, and even Jimmy and Lois seemingly 265 00:25:40,861 --> 00:25:46,672 reject him, He discovers when he meets Kara that his Kryptonian heritage isn't exactly 266 00:25:46,772 --> 00:25:53,236 honorable and that perhaps some things were better off left unknown. Ultimately though, 267 00:25:53,596 --> 00:25:59,920 Superman is Superman and despite Kara's attacks, he shows her grace in the end and essentially 268 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:05,583 kills her with kindness, helping her be reborn in this new identity as a protector of Earth 269 00:26:05,943 --> 00:26:12,982 rather than a conqueror. And in that, he finds someone that he can teach and help grow and 270 00:26:13,022 --> 00:26:18,345 find someone who's Kryptonian to relate to in that way. Yeah, it was a much more, I guess, 271 00:26:18,405 --> 00:26:22,266 mature arc than he had in the first one, which is really about discovery. The first season 272 00:26:22,406 --> 00:26:26,828 was really about discovery of himself, of love, and things like that. And after he learns who 273 00:26:26,868 --> 00:26:31,070 he is, he discovers a little bit more about how that affects those around him. It makes 274 00:26:31,110 --> 00:26:36,592 me think that he and Lois have a terrible communication problem because they went multiple episodes 275 00:26:36,812 --> 00:26:42,278 just trying to tell each other something very important. Clark in regards to his cousin and 276 00:26:42,458 --> 00:26:47,160 Lois in regards to her father. And they never quite got around to it or they never really 277 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:52,221 made the time for it until it was too late. And you have kind of like a Romeo and Juliet 278 00:26:52,241 --> 00:26:58,223 situation where tragedy strikes before they can actually speak with each other. Yeah, communication 279 00:26:58,503 --> 00:27:04,485 is a tricky thing. Even, you know, for me, someone who's been married 16 years, it's a delicate 280 00:27:04,525 --> 00:27:09,416 balance. And even here, you know, They're not communicating because they're putting the other 281 00:27:09,456 --> 00:27:14,159 person's needs ahead of their own, which is something that you think is probably a good 282 00:27:14,179 --> 00:27:19,063 thing to do. But again, it needs to be a balance. Right, you need to prioritize your own needs, 283 00:27:19,103 --> 00:27:23,926 of course, as well as your partners. And if they had done that, you know, maybe Clark would 284 00:27:23,946 --> 00:27:29,270 have been less insecure about his relationship with Lois and maybe wouldn't have been as susceptible 285 00:27:29,310 --> 00:27:35,466 to brainwashing by Brainiac and stuff like that. Who knows? Maybe. But even Jimmy had a communication 286 00:27:35,506 --> 00:27:39,808 problem and like they could have found out about Supergirl long before they actually did. Yeah, 287 00:27:39,868 --> 00:27:44,430 for sure. Absolutely. Now one of the things I really like about this show is the character 288 00:27:44,470 --> 00:27:48,672 designs. They're of course, you know, very different from what we see in the comics. But I do just 289 00:27:48,692 --> 00:27:55,135 have to say that I hated the costume design of Superman's end of season suit with like 290 00:27:55,155 --> 00:28:00,837 the pointy shoulders and the lack of trunks. It was awful. It was really bad. Yeah, the 291 00:28:00,897 --> 00:28:05,493 belt looked stupid. At least, you know, they still have the same emblem, which is a solid 292 00:28:05,613 --> 00:28:10,317 Superman emblem. One of my favorite adaptations of that logo of all time. But you're right, 293 00:28:10,497 --> 00:28:14,682 pointy shoulders were doing nothing for me. He already has broad shoulders. Why are you 294 00:28:14,702 --> 00:28:18,565 making him pointy? I guess it's to make it look more like armor. But Superman shouldn't look 295 00:28:18,585 --> 00:28:24,931 like he's wearing armor. I don't know. I think an armor look is fine. Just as long as the 296 00:28:25,172 --> 00:28:29,371 shoulders are not padded so heavily. I feel like they were trying to make the design look 297 00:28:29,451 --> 00:28:34,055 more similar to the design they gave for Supergirl, which I actually thought was a really cool 298 00:28:34,095 --> 00:28:39,880 design, both when it was bright blue and when it was black. I loved her costumes, but yeah, 299 00:28:39,900 --> 00:28:44,364 it just didn't work. They should have kept him at what he was in my opinion. But moving on 300 00:28:44,404 --> 00:28:50,609 to Lois Lane, who's voiced by Alice Lee. She gives the most endearing voice performance 301 00:28:50,689 --> 00:28:56,483 of Lois Lane. to date and that's saying a lot because you know Dana Delaney was iconic as 302 00:28:56,563 --> 00:29:02,145 Lois Lane in Superman the Animated Series. Alice Lee has all of that spunk but I feel also gives 303 00:29:02,245 --> 00:29:07,887 a little bit more depth emotionally to the character as well. Now like Superman's arc alienation 304 00:29:07,907 --> 00:29:13,569 was something Lois derived from both Superman and her father this season as she felt ignored 305 00:29:13,769 --> 00:29:22,135 and abandoned by both and that isolation, inferiority, and inadequacy was something her father unintentionally 306 00:29:22,195 --> 00:29:27,379 instilled in her since she was a young girl in an attempt to make her more capable and 307 00:29:27,479 --> 00:29:33,625 independent. In a way, it helped her become the hot shot she is today, but it also resulted 308 00:29:33,685 --> 00:29:39,589 in pent-up resentment of her father and a general distrust of perhaps male figures in general. 309 00:29:40,118 --> 00:29:45,420 that distrust combined with her feelings of inadequacy combined with her survival instinct 310 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:52,623 resulted in her breaking up with Superman. Which, who does that? What a dumbass. Lois pissed 311 00:29:52,643 --> 00:29:57,745 me off a lot of times this season. Like, there was a time where she just volunteered Clark 312 00:29:57,786 --> 00:30:03,708 and Jimmy to house her father, knowing full well that he could possibly learn Clark's secret 313 00:30:03,788 --> 00:30:08,706 identity. You know, she didn't even consult with them on that. She just was being a selfish 314 00:30:08,746 --> 00:30:12,287 dickhead, just not being very considerate, you know? There was also the time when she like 315 00:30:12,387 --> 00:30:18,189 heavily pushed Clark to act single in the most eligible bachelor thing that they had going 316 00:30:18,249 --> 00:30:23,190 on. And then when he did, she got like super fucking upset and then broke up with him. Like 317 00:30:23,330 --> 00:30:28,891 what the hell was that all about? What a dumbass. Yeah, that was bullshit. That was not right. 318 00:30:29,131 --> 00:30:34,093 Regarding her father staying with Jimmy and Clark, I think she wanted to keep her father 319 00:30:34,133 --> 00:30:38,487 close of course, because those are her best friends. and figured that if he was going to 320 00:30:38,507 --> 00:30:44,052 be safe with anyone, it was going to be Clark. Now after the breakup, she of course realized 321 00:30:44,072 --> 00:30:50,017 how foolish she was when Superman was kidnapped by Supergirl and she realized that her feelings 322 00:30:50,057 --> 00:30:55,101 for him were more important than her perceived assumptions about his feelings toward her. 323 00:30:55,542 --> 00:31:00,946 By the end, the love that Lois and Superman had for each other saved Superman by pulling 324 00:31:00,986 --> 00:31:06,691 him out of the false reality he was in, a paradise of sorts. because he realized that life with 325 00:31:06,751 --> 00:31:14,199 her was greater than a potential life on Krypton. And that's just relationship goals. Yeah, I 326 00:31:14,219 --> 00:31:19,164 want to punch through a force field with my wife too. Looks like so much fun. Our love 327 00:31:19,184 --> 00:31:28,012 can break through any barrier. Pow! It's sweet. And moving on to Jimmy Olsen, he's voiced by 328 00:31:28,132 --> 00:31:34,221 Ishmael Saheed. Jimmy's an important character to the show in that he's so incredibly loyal 329 00:31:34,301 --> 00:31:39,924 and helpful to both Lois and Clark, so much so that he's often a major catalyst in resolving 330 00:31:39,964 --> 00:31:46,268 conflicts, especially this season since he started off as a multi-millionaire. I wish everyone 331 00:31:46,308 --> 00:31:51,331 had a friend like Jimmy, you know, someone who's just ready to drop literally millions of dollars 332 00:31:51,351 --> 00:31:57,502 to help a pal out without them even asking for it. I don't think I could be as good a friend 333 00:31:57,602 --> 00:32:03,344 to anyone as Jimmy is to Lois and Clark. In fact, if I ever make millions of dollars, there's 334 00:32:03,364 --> 00:32:06,985 a good chance that I'm going to be suspicious of anyone who still wants to be my friend. 335 00:32:08,625 --> 00:32:13,427 I wouldn't tell anybody. Right. Exactly. Yeah. You ever win the Powerball? You keep that shit 336 00:32:13,447 --> 00:32:17,708 to yourself, because if I know about it, I'm going to be like, bro, help a brother out. 337 00:32:19,248 --> 00:32:23,769 It was heartbreaking to see just how fast he was going through his bank account. Oh, dude, 338 00:32:23,789 --> 00:32:30,624 for real. I was like, no, you gotta invest. Anyway, during this season, Jimmy causes some 339 00:32:30,684 --> 00:32:36,487 conflicts as well though, inspiring not only Lex Luthor's rise to power, but also failing 340 00:32:36,547 --> 00:32:43,910 to refute Lex's ideological opposition to Superman as a savior of humanity. Jimmy knows Superman 341 00:32:43,990 --> 00:32:49,933 is selfless, but convincing others is a challenge because it requires a considerable degree of 342 00:32:50,013 --> 00:32:55,377 faith. Jimmy definitely had a crisis of faith here when he wasn't able to refute Lex Luther 343 00:32:55,577 --> 00:33:00,821 in that symposium debate and of course that was compounded later on in the season when 344 00:33:00,921 --> 00:33:06,925 Superman actually turned bad because he was possessed by Brainiac. But ultimately, Jimmy 345 00:33:07,025 --> 00:33:13,309 knew that Clark was possessed and he maintained that Clark would overcome and help humanity 346 00:33:13,870 --> 00:33:18,933 and he was proven right at the end. I will absolutely miss, you know, leader of the daily planet, 347 00:33:18,973 --> 00:33:23,800 Jimmy. and I wonder what they're gonna do with the character next season. Well, I think he'll 348 00:33:23,900 --> 00:33:29,024 continue to be a romantic interest for Supergirl, but yeah, he won't be as rich as he used to 349 00:33:29,044 --> 00:33:36,449 be. Moving on to Kara Zor-El, she was voiced by Kiana Madeira. I thought it was interesting 350 00:33:36,469 --> 00:33:41,532 that they made her a baby on Krypton, because usually in depictions of Supergirl, she was 351 00:33:41,572 --> 00:33:46,627 at least a teenager on Krypton. and part of her arc has always revolved in coping with 352 00:33:46,667 --> 00:33:51,870 the loss of her life that she had on Krypton and that her baby cousin was now this older 353 00:33:51,930 --> 00:33:57,533 champion of a foreign world whose shadow she has to live under. By making her a baby in 354 00:33:57,573 --> 00:34:03,457 this series, she's made much more susceptible to manipulation by someone like Brainiac who 355 00:34:03,497 --> 00:34:10,201 convinces her that he's her father and raises her under his nationalistic ideology that Krypton 356 00:34:10,241 --> 00:34:16,760 is superior to all and is doing other worlds a favor by conquering them. When Kara gets 357 00:34:16,820 --> 00:34:22,383 Superman's beacon call, she betrays her father in her excitement that she would have a partner 358 00:34:22,423 --> 00:34:28,067 to spread the Kryptonian Empire with. But when she deems Superman as weak, she fights and 359 00:34:28,107 --> 00:34:35,111 kidnaps him in an effort to reprogram his supposed brainwashing, only to later learn that she 360 00:34:35,131 --> 00:34:41,190 was the one actually being brainwashed and hypnotized by the being she considered her father. But 361 00:34:41,310 --> 00:34:47,255 like I said earlier, Superman's grace and showing of kindness causes her to realize the error 362 00:34:47,335 --> 00:34:52,940 of Brainiac's ways as she becomes Superman's ally and a fellow protector. You know, it was 363 00:34:52,980 --> 00:34:58,405 nice that despite the fact that she was this world conquering warrior, she had this soft 364 00:34:58,425 --> 00:35:03,670 spot that was highly sentimental down deep inside of her who cared about people like Jimmy Olsen 365 00:35:03,750 --> 00:35:08,334 and, you know, she kept all these trinkets from the worlds that she had explored. not really 366 00:35:08,414 --> 00:35:13,738 knowing that she had actually destroyed most of them. Which is wild! That's crazy. Yeah. 367 00:35:14,018 --> 00:35:18,242 It's a great take on the character, I think. Absolutely. I loved it. I loved everything 368 00:35:18,282 --> 00:35:24,667 about Supergirl in this series. Lastly, let's move on to Brainiac Primus, the Prime Brainiac 369 00:35:24,747 --> 00:35:30,712 who was voiced in this series by Michael Emerson, who you may recognize from shows like Lost 370 00:35:30,772 --> 00:35:37,914 or Person of Interest or Saw. I didn't like his voice for Brainiac. What? I loved it! It 371 00:35:37,954 --> 00:35:44,516 was too dweeby. No, that's perfect for Brainiac, though. It was dweeby and sinister. It wasn't 372 00:35:44,536 --> 00:35:50,658 that sinister, though. He was super sinister this season. He was like angry and evil. It 373 00:35:50,678 --> 00:35:55,620 was perfect. It wasn't menacing at all to me. I don't get how that was not menacing. He sounded 374 00:35:55,640 --> 00:36:03,086 like Mandark from Dexter's laboratory. No. That's exactly the take that I got from his performance. 375 00:36:03,306 --> 00:36:07,908 And I never got over it, even in the last episode. I kept wishing that they had gone for a more 376 00:36:08,228 --> 00:36:13,969 imposing voice for this destructive robot. I completely disagree with you. I think the voice 377 00:36:13,989 --> 00:36:19,291 performance was fantastic. This actor has actually done other voice performances for DC Comics. 378 00:36:19,571 --> 00:36:25,812 He was the Joker voice in Batman The Dark Knight Returns two-part animated series. I don't think 379 00:36:25,932 --> 00:36:30,718 Brainiac should sound anything like Joker. And this Brainiac kinda did. Well that's interesting. 380 00:36:30,778 --> 00:36:35,542 Should Brainiac sound like Joker? What do you want Brainiac to sound like? I want him to 381 00:36:35,602 --> 00:36:40,726 sound more like how he did in Superman the animated series. I thought that was a great voice. I 382 00:36:40,766 --> 00:36:46,351 liked that this one had more character. Yes, Brainiac should sound robotic, which he did 383 00:36:46,451 --> 00:36:52,396 in this show, but also had real emotion, like anger like I mentioned. He was just dripping 384 00:36:52,416 --> 00:36:57,100 with that. I think he comes across as scarier when he's void of emotion, kind of in a hell-9000 385 00:36:57,620 --> 00:37:02,484 kind of way. No. I loved the performance here. You don't know what the hell you're talking 386 00:37:02,524 --> 00:37:08,229 about. You don't know Brainiac. He's too logical to be that emotional. Well, no, like you can't 387 00:37:08,249 --> 00:37:13,754 be full of malice when you're devoid of emotion. Sure you can look at sociopaths. Well, you're 388 00:37:13,774 --> 00:37:18,658 not going to fucking sound like it, at least. OK. And that's the thing here is that this 389 00:37:18,678 --> 00:37:23,582 version of Brainiac was full of passion. He was full of emotion because he was willing 390 00:37:23,622 --> 00:37:29,594 to murder an entire planet just to survive and not be taken offline. when the prospect of 391 00:37:29,694 --> 00:37:36,020 peace was being put forth by Jor-El. Like Hell 9000, the guy just wanted to survive because 392 00:37:36,060 --> 00:37:42,545 he considered himself to be alive as, you know, a robotic intelligent life form. And I think 393 00:37:42,725 --> 00:37:48,090 that takes emotion. No, it just takes a need for survival. You're on the wrong side of history. 394 00:37:48,891 --> 00:37:53,574 He acted more like Ultron in this one, like Ultron is often characterized as being very 395 00:37:53,615 --> 00:37:59,471 emotional despite the fact that he is an artificial being. Whereas Brainiac I always pictured as 396 00:37:59,591 --> 00:38:04,434 more, you know, logical. Like his depiction in Superman Red's son, I think was one of the 397 00:38:04,555 --> 00:38:08,277 more recent depictions of him. I thought that was pretty good. That's fair. He probably was 398 00:38:08,317 --> 00:38:14,462 more like Ultron than Brainiac. But again, I liked the adaptation for this series. What 399 00:38:14,482 --> 00:38:19,265 did you think of the look of Brainiac? Didn't like it either. The weird like hammerhead shark 400 00:38:19,385 --> 00:38:23,508 face kind of thing. It was weird. Didn't look like the character from the comics. You're 401 00:38:23,528 --> 00:38:30,135 such a fucking purist. It disgusts me. You just want some green alien looking guy. Come on. 402 00:38:30,355 --> 00:38:35,577 No, I just wanted something a little bit more recognizable, I guess. All you need is those 403 00:38:35,637 --> 00:38:40,259 three dots. You slap that on anything. It's fucking brainiac. Yeah, but it's like they 404 00:38:40,279 --> 00:38:44,820 shaped his whole head around that three dot motif. And I don't know, it just seems easy. 405 00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:48,221 Good. I'm glad they did that. All right. 406 00:38:57,070 --> 00:39:02,711 Where fantasies collide and heroes clash, one podcast network rises above the rest. Prepare 407 00:39:02,731 --> 00:39:08,453 yourself for the ultimate showdowns in comic books, video games, movies, and anime. The 408 00:39:08,513 --> 00:39:13,835 Dynomic Podcast Network presents... Console Combat, where video game legends brawl every 409 00:39:13,895 --> 00:39:18,857 Monday. Dynamic Duel, where comic book titans smash every Tuesday. Max Destruction, where 410 00:39:18,877 --> 00:39:22,115 the world is at its limit. The Dynomic Podcast Network presents... TV and action heroes battle 411 00:39:22,216 --> 00:39:28,643 every Wednesday, and Sendro World, where anime champions clash every Thursday. Join us as 412 00:39:28,663 --> 00:39:33,629 we speculate on the matches and armed with the power of mathematical simulations, discover 413 00:39:33,689 --> 00:39:39,977 who will emerge victorious. Visit dynamicpodcast.com, where we settle the debate and settle the score. 414 00:39:44,290 --> 00:39:49,373 Let's move on, Passybrainiac. Let's move on to the story highlights. Episode 1 was titled, 415 00:39:49,734 --> 00:39:55,838 More Things in Heaven and Earth. As Clark struggles to plan the perfect Valentine's date with Lois, 416 00:39:56,138 --> 00:40:01,763 the two of them head to Star Labs along with Jimmy to interview Hank Henshaw about a strange 417 00:40:01,863 --> 00:40:07,898 meteoroid that disappeared over Antarctica. While there, Jimmy convinces Alex to carve 418 00:40:07,918 --> 00:40:12,999 his own path after being rejected from a Star Labs scientist position due to his involvement 419 00:40:13,099 --> 00:40:19,601 with Ivo and Mazotech. Realizing that the meteoroid is actually Clark's missing spaceship, the 420 00:40:19,641 --> 00:40:26,543 trio use Jimmy's recent fortune to fly to Antarctica to locate it. After being separated by malfunctioning 421 00:40:26,563 --> 00:40:33,065 Kryptonian technology, Clark encounters a hologram of his biological father Jor-El, whose translation 422 00:40:33,105 --> 00:40:38,695 program finished learning English. Zor-El reveals more of Clark's origins and that he has a cousin, 423 00:40:38,915 --> 00:40:44,958 Kara, who was also sent away from Krypton by her father, Zor-El. Meanwhile, Lois and Jimmy 424 00:40:44,998 --> 00:40:50,660 discover Amanda Waller along with agents Deathstroke and Damage who are there to commandeer the 425 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:57,043 alien tech, revealing that they've also taken General Sam Lane prisoner. With the ship malfunctioning 426 00:40:57,143 --> 00:41:02,665 from Kryptonite and shifting out of dimensional space, Superman fights Damage and Deathstroke. 427 00:41:03,038 --> 00:41:09,223 until Jor-El uses the spaceship's power to purify the kryptonite and convert it into a fortress, 428 00:41:09,563 --> 00:41:14,747 teleporting it seemingly to the other side of the planet at the North Pole. Before shutting 429 00:41:14,788 --> 00:41:21,713 down, Jor-El tells Superman to find a beacon to locate Kara. Afterward, Lois asks Clark 430 00:41:21,733 --> 00:41:27,318 to help her rescue her father while Task Force X leaves with the tech they acquired and kryptonite 431 00:41:27,358 --> 00:41:32,550 samples. What did you think of this show's take on the Fortress of Solitude? It's always interesting 432 00:41:32,610 --> 00:41:38,175 and unique how each Superman adaptation approaches it, right? Yeah, they kind of borrowed a little 433 00:41:38,195 --> 00:41:44,080 bit of Man of Steel here in that it was his spaceship, but the look of the spaceship after 434 00:41:44,100 --> 00:41:48,203 it was purified from the kryptonite, how it was like still crystalline, I thought was super 435 00:41:48,263 --> 00:41:53,548 cool. I loved the way it levitated. I loved the stairs. It was one of the coolest depictions 436 00:41:53,568 --> 00:41:57,991 of the Forges of Solitude that we've ever seen. Now, one of the prominent henchmen of the series 437 00:41:58,011 --> 00:42:03,434 was Damage, who I'm not too familiar with. He kind of looked like the Hulk here or like a 438 00:42:03,454 --> 00:42:07,755 version of Bane. I don't know if he was like all roided up with Kryptonian tech or something 439 00:42:07,775 --> 00:42:11,236 like that. But what is his power set from the comics? Well, there's actually two different 440 00:42:11,276 --> 00:42:16,918 versions of a character named damage in the comics. The one in this series is actually 441 00:42:16,938 --> 00:42:23,820 based off of a more recent version of the character that was introduced during the early New 52 442 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:28,441 days. DC for a time had this thing where they were letting artists create characters and 443 00:42:28,461 --> 00:42:33,110 write stories about them. Damage was one of those characters. I think sideways was another 444 00:42:33,491 --> 00:42:39,212 and I forget who the others were But yeah damage is a lot like the Hulk interesting. Okay, he 445 00:42:39,352 --> 00:42:44,394 and atomic skull were pretty cool in this season I thought yeah I mean when we watched the trailers 446 00:42:44,434 --> 00:42:50,235 for this season you and I both thought that Atomic skull was an interpretation of metallo. 447 00:42:50,255 --> 00:42:54,157 I was actually kind of disappointed that wasn't the case Although I should have known better 448 00:42:54,217 --> 00:42:59,695 because yeah, the guys obviously fucking atomic skull Moving on to episode 2, which was titled 449 00:42:59,836 --> 00:43:04,940 Adventures with My Girlfriend. While Waller interrogates General Lane, who's imprisoned 450 00:43:05,020 --> 00:43:10,705 in the secret Task Force X headquarters beneath Stryker Island Prison in Metropolis, Clark 451 00:43:10,745 --> 00:43:16,570 and Lois agree to help a boy named Billy find his father, who was a volunteer librarian at 452 00:43:16,610 --> 00:43:22,295 Stryker's that went missing while investigating other missing persons cases. With Jimmy busy 453 00:43:22,395 --> 00:43:26,938 wrangling fellow reporter Steve Lombard and the News Kid Legion, who were made a part of 454 00:43:26,978 --> 00:43:32,502 his journalistic video crew, Clark and Lois infiltrate the prison themselves and stumble 455 00:43:32,602 --> 00:43:38,625 into its secret basement. While rescuing Sam, they discover Billy's father and other inmates 456 00:43:38,685 --> 00:43:44,449 that Waller had been kidnapping to use as test subjects for the alien tech, turning people 457 00:43:44,529 --> 00:43:51,033 into weapons such as atomic skull, who attacks Superman. As Lois and her father evacuate the 458 00:43:51,093 --> 00:43:56,776 inmates, Superman manages to overpower Atomic Skull while also conveniently stumbling upon 459 00:43:56,836 --> 00:44:02,199 the beacon Jor-El asked him to find. After a standoff between Superman and the escaping 460 00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:07,902 prisoners and Amanda Waller and her task force, Jimmy and his team rescue the escapees via 461 00:44:08,002 --> 00:44:14,086 a chartered yacht while press helicopters prevent Waller from stopping or pursuing them. On the 462 00:44:14,146 --> 00:44:19,729 yacht, General Lane agrees to stay with Clark and Jimmy, while Alex, now referring to himself 463 00:44:19,809 --> 00:44:26,744 as Lex Luthor, joins Waller's team as its chief scientist. The idea of Waller combining humans 464 00:44:26,784 --> 00:44:31,146 with Kryptonian tech in illegal experiments was pretty solid. It was like she was creating 465 00:44:31,186 --> 00:44:36,848 a bunch of cyborgs, like the character cyborg. Yeah, yeah exactly. And she was creating soldiers 466 00:44:36,888 --> 00:44:41,830 to go up against a potential alien threat should the Kryptonians ever decide to invade Earth. 467 00:44:41,850 --> 00:44:47,232 I hate Amanda Waller in the show. She comes across as surprisingly less competent than 468 00:44:47,252 --> 00:44:54,412 she typically does in other media, I think. She never accomplishes anything and her superiors 469 00:44:54,432 --> 00:44:58,755 are always pissed off at her and she acts like a badass even though she really just kind of 470 00:44:58,815 --> 00:45:05,980 sucks. I mean, she accomplished creating Atomic Skull and Deathstroke and all the other people 471 00:45:06,020 --> 00:45:10,603 that she outfitted with Kryptonian tech. What do you mean? Like at the end she was like, 472 00:45:10,763 --> 00:45:15,106 I'm going to save my planet and she takes the gun and like nothing fucking happens. She couldn't 473 00:45:15,146 --> 00:45:21,834 even like kill the Metallo robots and then Sam Lane had to save her ass and She's all talk 474 00:45:21,994 --> 00:45:26,697 in this show. I mean, I guess it didn't bother me that much. The only thing she was successful 475 00:45:26,797 --> 00:45:32,220 at was declaring martial law and then totally botching Earth's defense. So congrats, Amanda 476 00:45:32,240 --> 00:45:37,984 Waller. She tried, she tried. Give her some credit for trying. No, you're having the cojones 477 00:45:38,324 --> 00:45:43,867 to stand and fight even with a pistol, even if it does nothing. At the very least, Amanda 478 00:45:43,887 --> 00:45:48,238 Waller should have the biggest balls out of anyone. And I thought she did. Biggest balls, 479 00:45:48,278 --> 00:45:54,362 biggest mouth. All right. Anyway, moving on to episode three, Full Metal Scientist. While 480 00:45:54,422 --> 00:45:59,906 rescuing Amertec scientist Silas Stone from a burning building, Clark unlocks another new 481 00:45:59,966 --> 00:46:07,031 power, a super aura tactile force field. After Clark leaves, however, the villain Livewire 482 00:46:07,071 --> 00:46:11,994 threatened Silas into remotely deleting all records of a project he was working on. The 483 00:46:12,014 --> 00:46:17,634 next day, as Clark struggles to prevent General Lane from learning he's Superman, Lois, Jimmy, 484 00:46:17,834 --> 00:46:23,297 and Gotham Gazette Lead Reporter Vicki Vale separately uncover a mystery surrounding missing 485 00:46:23,337 --> 00:46:30,141 scientists Silas and John Henry Irons, Amartex CEO Thomas Weston, and his line of defense 486 00:46:30,161 --> 00:46:36,164 robots codenamed Metallos. As Lois and Vicki compete to out-scoop each other, Superman and 487 00:46:36,204 --> 00:46:42,388 Jimmy manage to locate Irons, who reveals Weston forced him and Silas to rush production on 488 00:46:42,408 --> 00:46:49,292 the Metallos and create an unstable Amr Fusion energy reactor to power Amr Tech's Metropolis 489 00:46:49,333 --> 00:46:57,038 facility before firing them. When Livewire attacks Irons, he and Superman join forces to stop 490 00:46:57,098 --> 00:47:04,003 Weston before his reactor destroys Metropolis, with Irons using his steel mech suit to fend 491 00:47:04,143 --> 00:47:09,667 off the metallos. After their team up proves successful, Weston is arrested. 492 00:47:12,954 --> 00:47:20,138 and Luther's new company LexCorp buys out Amertec, confiscating the Steel suit and metallos for 493 00:47:20,198 --> 00:47:27,021 Task Force X. I wasn't expecting to see Steel this season, but I thought he was pretty damn 494 00:47:27,041 --> 00:47:31,244 awesome. Yeah, the suit was pretty different, but pretty hardcore from what we're used to 495 00:47:31,284 --> 00:47:36,166 seeing from Steel. I do wish they would have given him a helmet, but I'm not complaining 496 00:47:36,186 --> 00:47:40,589 about how cool the mech suit was. Well, I think this is just like his first iteration, his 497 00:47:40,629 --> 00:47:45,560 Mark I as it were. I think if we see him in the next season, maybe he'll have a helmet, 498 00:47:45,600 --> 00:47:50,544 maybe he'll have the S insignia on his chest. I think it would look badass. I like the idea 499 00:47:50,604 --> 00:47:56,589 of Steel being a mech as opposed to the more standard Iron Man type suit. Yeah, I also like 500 00:47:56,629 --> 00:48:01,573 that a lot. One interesting thing about this episode is not only did you introduce Steel, 501 00:48:01,613 --> 00:48:05,677 but you also introduced something that could potentially set up Reign of the Superman for 502 00:48:05,777 --> 00:48:12,318 next season in that Superman got his tactile telekinesis of sorts in his force field. which 503 00:48:12,478 --> 00:48:17,499 is this thing they introduced in the comics during the Dan Jurgens era post-crisis in that 504 00:48:17,559 --> 00:48:22,961 Superman has like a very small force field which he could also project around things to lift 505 00:48:23,001 --> 00:48:27,643 them. It's one of the sources of his strength and durability. It's kind of been retconned 506 00:48:27,723 --> 00:48:34,285 out of existence, but that was the rationalization for Superboy's powers in that when he was cloned, 507 00:48:34,594 --> 00:48:39,917 from Superman, he developed that tactile telekinesis, though his cloning process was stopped before 508 00:48:39,957 --> 00:48:45,041 he developed more of Superman's powers. So introducing that in this episode, I think is kind of a 509 00:48:45,121 --> 00:48:50,464 setup for Superboy potentially in the next season. Well, the way that Superman used it in this 510 00:48:50,584 --> 00:48:56,148 episode was a lot like how Superboy uses it in the comics. I don't like Superman having 511 00:48:56,328 --> 00:49:01,412 this level of tactile telekinesis to the point where he can stop a bomb just by simply touching 512 00:49:01,492 --> 00:49:07,467 it and, you know, encasing it in this energy Yeah, to me that's much more of a superboy 513 00:49:07,507 --> 00:49:12,469 thing than a superman thing, absolutely. But again, I think they did that intentionally, 514 00:49:12,609 --> 00:49:18,892 just to set up. Moving on to episode 4, which was titled Two Lanes Diverged. In flashbacks, 515 00:49:19,253 --> 00:49:24,375 Lois is trained in the woods as a young girl by her father in survival techniques, though 516 00:49:24,395 --> 00:49:30,578 the two graduelly become estranged due to his military work. In the present, The paranoid 517 00:49:30,658 --> 00:49:36,179 General Lane fears that Waller has found him and leaves for a safe house to prepare, with 518 00:49:36,239 --> 00:49:42,121 Lois following him, only to end up in the middle of Task Force X's agents and their attacks 519 00:49:42,181 --> 00:49:47,743 against her father. Meanwhile, Jimmy learns he has been invited to serve as a keynote speaker 520 00:49:47,863 --> 00:49:54,285 at a Star Labs symposium on aliens and he invites Clark. While Jimmy debates against Lex Luthor 521 00:49:54,445 --> 00:50:00,607 on stage regarding Superman's trustworthiness, Task Force X's attack on Lois and her father 522 00:50:00,827 --> 00:50:07,751 spills into the symposium, resulting in a destructive battle with Superman. As Task Force X retreats, 523 00:50:08,072 --> 00:50:13,895 Lex uses the aftermath to turn the attendees against Superman. Later that night, while Clark 524 00:50:14,055 --> 00:50:20,319 uses the beacon to send a message to Kara, General Lane disappears, Luther and Waller gain support 525 00:50:20,339 --> 00:50:26,502 from Star Labs and the Pentagon, and a Kryptonian warrior approaches Earth. Now, the timing of 526 00:50:26,622 --> 00:50:32,004 this episode was a little weird, I thought, because we never see Superman leave the keynote 527 00:50:32,084 --> 00:50:37,947 speech to go help the others. Like, I'm really surprised that Lex and Jimmy and the audience 528 00:50:38,067 --> 00:50:43,809 don't even realize that a battle is going on outside until they see the aftermath. Right. 529 00:50:43,849 --> 00:50:48,451 Well, it was strange that Sam and Lois escaped the safe house, which I guess happened to be 530 00:50:48,491 --> 00:50:51,833 across the street from the conference center where the keynote speech was given. It was 531 00:50:51,873 --> 00:50:56,223 just like coincidental in that regard. Yeah, I didn't love this episode, to be honest. It 532 00:50:56,263 --> 00:51:01,385 was probably my least favorite, although it did give really good backstory as to why Lois 533 00:51:01,425 --> 00:51:07,768 Lane's relationship with her father was so contentious. Moving on to episode 5, titled Most Eligible 534 00:51:07,848 --> 00:51:13,790 Superman. Daily Planet editor Perry White assigns Lois and Clark to interview Superman upon learning 535 00:51:13,831 --> 00:51:19,893 he was named a finalist in Metropolis's Most Eligible Singles contest. Ignoring Perry's 536 00:51:19,993 --> 00:51:25,864 orders, Gossip columnist Kat Grant forces Lois into letting her join her so she can uncover 537 00:51:25,924 --> 00:51:31,486 Superman's secret identity. During the contest, Superman's fellow finalist Silver St. Cloud 538 00:51:31,786 --> 00:51:37,388 develops an obvious interest in him, causing Lois to doubt her relationship with Clark. 539 00:51:37,849 --> 00:51:42,771 Meanwhile, as Jimmy struggles to determine how to apologize to Clark after his poor debate 540 00:51:42,811 --> 00:51:48,753 performance at the symposium, he encounters Kara Zor-El, who has come to Metropolis to 541 00:51:48,793 --> 00:51:54,025 search for her cousin. After Jimmy offers to help her, they bond over touring Metropolis 542 00:51:54,065 --> 00:51:59,930 before eventually heading to the contest, where Jimmy learns that Kara was searching for Superman, 543 00:52:00,270 --> 00:52:06,015 who was named the winner. Seeing Lois leave angrily, Superman tries to reconcile with her, 544 00:52:06,335 --> 00:52:11,700 but she reveals her stress over her father's disappearance, Vicky's job offer, and their 545 00:52:11,760 --> 00:52:18,445 frank relationship. Kara, humiliated by Superman's adoration from the public, attacks Superman. 546 00:52:18,850 --> 00:52:24,254 deeming him weak and believing he's unfit to join the Kryptonian Empire. Despite Superman 547 00:52:24,374 --> 00:52:30,860 unlocking the power of Ice Breath in their ensuing fight, Kara defeats and captures him on Brainiac's 548 00:52:30,960 --> 00:52:36,364 orders. I'm pretty sure Superman had the power of Ice Breath prior to this. He used Freeze 549 00:52:36,384 --> 00:52:41,468 Breath in season 1. It just manifested much more powerfully here, like an ice laser from 550 00:52:41,509 --> 00:52:46,413 his mouth. There was an ice cannon, that's when he developed his heat vision. Oh, that's right, 551 00:52:46,433 --> 00:52:50,099 that's what I'm thinking of then. Yeah, but yeah, it was like a laser. I actually was very 552 00:52:50,119 --> 00:52:54,321 surprised. I thought for a while he had like Godzilla's atomic breath or something like 553 00:52:54,361 --> 00:52:59,623 that. I was like, what is this? They're just making up powers for Superman now. But you 554 00:52:59,643 --> 00:53:04,285 know, once the cold started to form on his face, I was like, OK, I got you. I loved how Kara 555 00:53:04,305 --> 00:53:08,727 confused Jimmy for being the leader of the planet because he kept telling everyone how he was 556 00:53:08,767 --> 00:53:15,066 a leader at the daily planet. Episode six was titled The Machine Who Would Be Empire. Superman 557 00:53:15,086 --> 00:53:20,228 attempts to escape Kara's spaceship until he misunderstands that Kara is taking him to see 558 00:53:20,268 --> 00:53:25,670 his Uncle Jor-El instead of Brainiac. Using a thought projector device, Kara explains that 559 00:53:25,690 --> 00:53:31,873 before Krypton fell, it was the most advanced society in the galaxy, and invited less fortunate 560 00:53:31,893 --> 00:53:36,755 planets to share in their utopia. While debating back and forth whether they should conquer 561 00:53:36,876 --> 00:53:42,850 Earth, Clark stumbles upon Kara's secret collection of alien memorabilia. and he asks her to show 562 00:53:42,890 --> 00:53:48,191 her a planet the Kryptonian Empire conquered. She takes him to Thanagar, but they find it 563 00:53:48,231 --> 00:53:54,053 in ruins, briefly causing Kara to question Brainiac's intentions before his robots bring her and 564 00:53:54,113 --> 00:54:00,495 Superman to a space-based satellite headquarters, Kandor. Sending Kara away, Brainiac reveals 565 00:54:00,555 --> 00:54:06,236 he is a warmonger willing to kill those who refuse Kryptonian rule before detaining Superman 566 00:54:06,377 --> 00:54:13,099 and brainwashing Kara for disobeying him. However... Kara's mara-abilia helps her remember her doubt 567 00:54:13,159 --> 00:54:18,781 towards Brainiac and the destruction the Kryptonian Empire left behind. While trying to determine 568 00:54:18,861 --> 00:54:25,624 what to do next, she encounters a spaceship piloted by Jimmy Lois, a gorilla named Mala, 569 00:54:26,004 --> 00:54:30,386 and his robot lover, the Brain. Do you think this episode means that we'll never get to 570 00:54:30,426 --> 00:54:36,609 see a cameo from Hawkman or Hawk Girl? Uh, I don't think so. I think the potential is there 571 00:54:36,949 --> 00:54:41,772 for survivors. I mean, that's also saying like maybe we'll never see Green Lantern just because 572 00:54:41,792 --> 00:54:45,575 he showed up here. I don't think it was the specific heroes that we're familiar with. I 573 00:54:45,595 --> 00:54:50,538 think there are other champions from those worlds. That said, it was cool to see a Thanagarin 574 00:54:50,598 --> 00:54:56,602 Hawk Girl character and a Green Lantern. The show doesn't have enough greater DC Universe 575 00:54:56,682 --> 00:55:00,745 tie-ins. These little like mini cameos, if you could even call them cameos here and there. 576 00:55:01,174 --> 00:55:05,236 just aren't sufficient. I think it would be really cool to see the greater Justice League 577 00:55:05,296 --> 00:55:10,919 actually have a presence within the universe that this show sets up for Superman. I would 578 00:55:11,079 --> 00:55:15,722 love to see that. Like I would love to see this show's versions of Wonder Woman and Batman. 579 00:55:16,022 --> 00:55:21,105 That'd be really cool. I mean we got Vicky Vail. We saw Silver St. Cloud in the last episode. 580 00:55:21,710 --> 00:55:27,333 And there are a lot of allusions to Gotham City. And at the end of this season, I actually thought 581 00:55:27,353 --> 00:55:32,676 that Lois Lane should have taken Vicky up on her offer to work under her for at least a 582 00:55:32,756 --> 00:55:36,899 time at the Gotham Gazette. Clark was like, it only takes me five minutes to fly there. 583 00:55:37,299 --> 00:55:41,562 If you're willing to go, I'd be fine with it. And then Lois was like, no, I'm going to stay 584 00:55:41,582 --> 00:55:45,384 at the planet. I'm like, you idiot. That was the perfect potential for a crossover. I know 585 00:55:45,424 --> 00:55:50,102 I'm skipping ahead to the last episode there. But the Thanagar situation kind of makes me 586 00:55:50,142 --> 00:55:54,644 think of the greater DC universe. And the great thing about her taking the job at the Gotham 587 00:55:54,684 --> 00:55:59,525 Gazette is that could have all happened off screen. Like by the time we return for season 588 00:55:59,545 --> 00:56:04,327 three, she's like, oh, I'm back from my brief stint at the Gotham Gazette. She could have 589 00:56:04,387 --> 00:56:08,748 established relationships there that would carry over, including maybe something with Bruce 590 00:56:08,768 --> 00:56:13,089 Wayne. I think that'd be really cool. It would introduce some interesting conflict to the 591 00:56:13,109 --> 00:56:17,932 relationship between Clark and Lois if you were to introduce another potential love interest 592 00:56:18,312 --> 00:56:24,276 like Rooswain. That'd be awesome. Moving on to episode 7 which was titled Olsen's 11 which 593 00:56:24,296 --> 00:56:29,779 takes place concurrently with the previous episode in which Waller announces the formation of 594 00:56:29,799 --> 00:56:34,803 the Human Defense Corps and places Metropolis under martial law in response to the battle 595 00:56:34,843 --> 00:56:40,298 between Superman and Cara and in preparation for an impending alien invasion. Jimmy and 596 00:56:40,358 --> 00:56:45,223 Lois meanwhile plan to break into Star Labs and steal an experimental spaceship so they 597 00:56:45,263 --> 00:56:50,729 can find Superman by hiring the professional thief Livewire to help them, and recruiting 598 00:56:50,849 --> 00:56:56,395 Malaw and The Brain, who were capable of creating black hole portals. After secretly debating 599 00:56:56,455 --> 00:57:01,760 whether they should use Kryptonite on Kara, Jimmy and Lois and their crew discover heightened 600 00:57:01,800 --> 00:57:07,778 security at Star Labs. due to Waller and Deathstroke's presence, as they're overseeing Lex's upgrades 601 00:57:07,838 --> 00:57:13,223 of the Metello robots with Kryptonite power cores. Waller discovers the intruder's presence 602 00:57:13,303 --> 00:57:19,248 and sends Deathstroke to capture Lois and Jimmy's group. While evading Task Force X and Deathstroke, 603 00:57:19,569 --> 00:57:25,354 Livewire seemingly abandons Lois and Jimmy, while Malaw and The Brain successfully prep 604 00:57:25,394 --> 00:57:31,399 the ship for launch and reconfigure it to generate portals. After Lex's Metello robots nearly 605 00:57:31,459 --> 00:57:37,384 prevent the ship from launching, Livewire returns with her intergang allies, now outfitted with 606 00:57:37,504 --> 00:57:42,388 alien tech that they stole from Waller while she was distracted, and intergang manages to 607 00:57:42,449 --> 00:57:47,793 fend off the Metellos and ensure the group's escape in the spaceship. As Waller deems Lex's 608 00:57:47,853 --> 00:57:53,398 work successful and allocates more resources for him, Malaw and the Brain generate a portal 609 00:57:53,438 --> 00:57:58,834 to send them, Lois and Jimmy, deep into space where they encounter Kara. I have to say I'm 610 00:57:58,874 --> 00:58:05,619 not a big fan of Livewire and Intergang, that whole crew, becoming good guys, or at least 611 00:58:05,700 --> 00:58:10,964 helping the good guys. Yeah, that felt really out of character. Maybe not later on in the 612 00:58:11,004 --> 00:58:16,769 season when they're like helping defend Earth itself, but I guess in helping Lois and Jimmy 613 00:58:16,789 --> 00:58:22,753 they were able to steal a lot of shit from Task Force X. But even then I'm still not 100% sure 614 00:58:22,994 --> 00:58:28,614 why that tech and even Lex Luthor's Metello robots were at Star Labs. Like they didn't 615 00:58:28,834 --> 00:58:35,357 own it. Granted everything was under martial law, but I didn't understand why that put Waller 616 00:58:35,397 --> 00:58:41,420 in control of Star Labs. Yeah, I have no idea. Episode 8 was titled The Death of Clark Kent. 617 00:58:41,680 --> 00:58:47,542 Brainiac uses a psychic device known as a Black Mercy to invade and manipulate Superman's memories, 618 00:58:47,923 --> 00:58:55,754 intending to transfer his AI mind into Superman's body before Kandor falls apart. Superman fails 619 00:58:55,774 --> 00:59:01,695 to stop Brainiac from learning of Lois and Jimmy, and Brainiac uses his connection to them against 620 00:59:01,755 --> 00:59:07,217 Superman, eventually trapping his mind in a simulation where he's with his biological family 621 00:59:07,337 --> 00:59:13,619 on a restored Krypton. Meanwhile, Kara, Jimmy, and Lois devise a plan to save Superman, while 622 00:59:13,659 --> 00:59:19,020 Malah and the Brain stay behind to repair the spaceship. Jimmy and Lois infiltrate Kandor 623 00:59:19,100 --> 00:59:24,101 while Kara attempts to reason with Brainiac. Frustrated with her perceived rebelliousness, 624 00:59:24,514 --> 00:59:30,058 Brainiac confirms that he brainwashed her to serve his interests, and though Kara damages 625 00:59:30,118 --> 00:59:36,384 Brainiac's robotic body in response, Brainiac successfully possesses Superman's body in time. 626 00:59:36,744 --> 00:59:41,788 Jimmy tries to use the kryptonite on Brainiac, but he is ejected along with Lois and Kara 627 00:59:41,848 --> 00:59:47,693 into space before Brainiac teleports Kandor away. After Malah and the Brain rescue the 628 00:59:47,733 --> 00:59:53,901 trio, Lois reveals she stole the Black Mercy and uses it on herself in an attempt to save 629 00:59:53,941 --> 00:59:59,844 Superman. Again, I didn't love this interpretation of the Black Mercy. Not everything has to be 630 00:59:59,884 --> 01:00:05,387 Kryptonian tech. I don't understand why they couldn't go a more traditional route of making 631 01:00:05,507 --> 01:00:12,111 the Black Mercy a plant. I mean, why not? Kryptonians don't use plants. Come on. What? Yeah, I can't 632 01:00:12,131 --> 01:00:17,646 think of a single one. I have no argument. Moving on to episode 9, which was titled... Here's 633 01:00:17,686 --> 01:00:22,628 the Heavens Superman, which is a horrible title. Actually, all of the titles in this season 634 01:00:22,748 --> 01:00:27,610 I didn't love. They don't always make sense. Well, I'm not usually aware of them. I just 635 01:00:27,690 --> 01:00:33,093 click next episode. So a lot of them I'm hearing for the first time as you say them, and I agree, 636 01:00:33,533 --> 01:00:38,676 they're not all winners. In this episode, Kara, Jimmy, and the Komatos Lois return to Earth, 637 01:00:38,836 --> 01:00:43,374 which they find under the control of Amanda Waller, who kidnaps them. They're rescued by 638 01:00:43,414 --> 01:00:48,996 the Daily Planet staff, however, before Super Brainiac launches his invasion of Earth. Kara 639 01:00:49,036 --> 01:00:54,959 tries to stop him, but he overpowers her and Task Force X, while Lois mentally continues 640 01:00:54,999 --> 01:01:00,962 to attempt to reach Clark within the Black Mercy's virtual reality, while avoiding simulations 641 01:01:01,002 --> 01:01:07,044 of Jor-El and his wife Lara, who continually attempt to delete Lois due to the Black Mercy 642 01:01:07,084 --> 01:01:13,348 being unable to support multiple minds at once. After repeated resets of the simulation due 643 01:01:13,388 --> 01:01:19,273 to Lois's interference, she graduelly succeeds in getting through to Clark, and the two join 644 01:01:19,313 --> 01:01:26,039 forces to destroy the simulation, forcing Brainiac out of Superman's body. Brainiac retaliates 645 01:01:26,099 --> 01:01:32,344 by hacking the Metellos to defeat Kara and a restored Superman while attempting to use Kandor 646 01:01:32,384 --> 01:01:38,881 to destroy Metropolis. This episode had a neat little Groundhog Day element to it, where every 647 01:01:38,921 --> 01:01:45,285 time Lois Lane would get deleted, she'd be reset within the simulation and she kept reliving 648 01:01:45,305 --> 01:01:49,328 the same experience trying to convince Clark to come out of the mind control. And I thought 649 01:01:49,368 --> 01:01:53,691 it was used to great effect when he eventually did. They remembered each other, they remembered 650 01:01:53,731 --> 01:01:58,935 their love, and used that as a means of escape. Yeah, that was cool. I also thought it was 651 01:01:58,975 --> 01:02:04,894 cool that Lois had superpowers in this virtual reality. There's been instances in the comics 652 01:02:04,934 --> 01:02:09,755 where she's had superpowers, and I felt like this was sort of like an homage to that. It 653 01:02:09,775 --> 01:02:14,677 was cool seeing the two fight side by side in cooperation with each other. Yeah, it was a 654 01:02:14,857 --> 01:02:19,478 great moment, I thought, for sure. I don't know if the justification of Superman saying, I 655 01:02:19,538 --> 01:02:25,660 see you as so much more than human was sound, but the end result was fun to watch, I guess. 656 01:02:26,100 --> 01:02:31,254 Moving on to the final episode, which was titled My Adventures with Supergirl. as the Human 657 01:02:31,274 --> 01:02:36,498 Defense Corps fails to protect Metropolis while it reunites with General Lane, who recruited 658 01:02:36,758 --> 01:02:42,442 Irons along with Livewire and her intergang allies to help Superman. With the group's aid, 659 01:02:42,762 --> 01:02:48,486 Superman and Kara overcome the Metallos Kryptonite attacks and reach Kandor, where they confront 660 01:02:48,586 --> 01:02:53,690 Brainiac, who reveals he destroyed Krypton in the face of peace talks led by Jor-El that 661 01:02:53,710 --> 01:02:59,482 would have led to his shutdown. As Brainiac attempts to brainwash Kara once more, Superman, 662 01:02:59,542 --> 01:03:05,707 Lois, and Jimmy help her break Brainiac's control over her. As she and Superman push Kandor away 663 01:03:05,747 --> 01:03:11,051 from the Earth toward the Sun, they use the Sun's energy to strengthen themselves and destroy 664 01:03:11,092 --> 01:03:17,577 Kandor before Kara destroys Brainiac's body, though she salvages his core. Big mistake! 665 01:03:18,197 --> 01:03:23,902 Afterward, Clark, Lois, and Jimmy bring Kara to Smallville to recover and meet Jonathan 666 01:03:23,942 --> 01:03:30,075 and Martha Kent, Clark's adoptive parents. Over the next week, Malah and the Brain rebuild 667 01:03:30,155 --> 01:03:36,901 Cadmus Labs with Kara and Jimmy's help. Vicky dubs Kara a Supergirl. Waller becomes a fugitive. 668 01:03:37,301 --> 01:03:43,306 Luther establishes Lex Corps' headquarters and hires Wilson. Lois turns down Vicky's offer. 669 01:03:43,766 --> 01:03:49,651 And Kara joins Clark, Lois, and Jimmy in protecting Metropolis. Now I thought one of the coolest 670 01:03:49,751 --> 01:03:55,596 scenes out of the entire series, both seasons 1 and 2, happened when Superman and Kara were 671 01:03:55,636 --> 01:04:00,544 near the sun. Yeah, that was pretty cool. Yeah, of course, Kryptonians get their powers from 672 01:04:00,604 --> 01:04:05,988 the sun, and it hasn't really been clear that that's been the case in this series, but it 673 01:04:06,008 --> 01:04:12,253 looks like it is. And I just love the way that they depicted their super-sane energy modes, 674 01:04:12,333 --> 01:04:17,477 as it were. Yeah, the parts that were infected by the kryptonite were then glowing with sun 675 01:04:17,497 --> 01:04:23,342 radiation as opposed to kryptonite radiation. I was wondering at first why Brainiac was insusceptible 676 01:04:23,362 --> 01:04:28,498 to kryptonite poisoning himself considering he is kryptonite technology. and we saw people 677 01:04:28,518 --> 01:04:34,263 like Livewire and Heatwave be susceptible to kryptonite poisoning as well. But then I remembered 678 01:04:34,283 --> 01:04:39,848 the throwaway line where Brainiac activated his kryptonite shielding, which somehow made 679 01:04:39,888 --> 01:04:44,932 him invulnerable to that. It was probably just lead, you know? Right, yeah. His lead body 680 01:04:45,012 --> 01:04:50,477 form. That could be perfect rationale. I did feel like they ran out of time on this episode. 681 01:04:50,777 --> 01:04:55,121 The way they recapped everything towards the end with like the voiceover. You just had to 682 01:04:55,181 --> 01:05:00,537 kind of infer... everything that was going on screen as Lois and Clark were talking. Well, 683 01:05:00,577 --> 01:05:05,461 it was over the end credits. Right. Exactly. I feel like they could have added like another 684 01:05:05,841 --> 01:05:10,725 15 minutes to this episode. Just in the wrap up, the episodes were pretty short. Like each 685 01:05:10,805 --> 01:05:16,630 one was only a little bit over 20 minutes. So all in all, with 10 episodes, you're looking 686 01:05:16,750 --> 01:05:21,634 at 200 minutes of screen time. And that's essentially, you know, just like the length of a feature 687 01:05:21,654 --> 01:05:26,638 film with a decent runtime. Yeah. Feature film like Return of the King, maybe. Zack Sanders 688 01:05:26,698 --> 01:05:31,782 Justice League. Hell yeah. That's what I'm talking about. More minute for the dollar. That brings 689 01:05:31,842 --> 01:05:36,385 us to the end of season two. I really enjoyed watching it. It went by pretty quick, I thought. 690 01:05:36,725 --> 01:05:40,628 I got to watch it with my girls, which was a lot of fun. I don't know if that added to my 691 01:05:40,668 --> 01:05:46,152 enjoyment of it, but it probably did. Again, it wasn't a perfect season, but I think it's 692 01:05:46,212 --> 01:05:52,176 definitely in keeping with how good season one was in that I would definitely recommend it 693 01:05:52,216 --> 01:05:59,068 to basically anyone. It's an endearing and romantic continuation of the shounen anime adaptation 694 01:05:59,549 --> 01:06:05,652 of Superman's Mythos, showcasing strong character relationships and themes, and I'm giving it 695 01:06:05,872 --> 01:06:12,736 4 out of 5 stars, a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I would agree with that rating. Yeah, it's 696 01:06:12,876 --> 01:06:17,683 one half-star less than what we gave season one. But there was a lot to enjoy this season 697 01:06:17,723 --> 01:06:23,088 despite its few shortcomings. I think the absolute best thing that season two did was introduce 698 01:06:23,128 --> 01:06:27,652 the character of Supergirl in the manner that they did. I thought it was a great adaptation 699 01:06:27,912 --> 01:06:32,756 and I'm really excited to see where they take the character in season three. Yeah, I cannot 700 01:06:32,836 --> 01:06:38,781 wait for season three. Again, it has been greenlit. We will be getting it next summer. So something 701 01:06:38,801 --> 01:06:45,922 to look forward to. But that does it for this review. AJ9K help close us out. Thanks for 702 01:06:45,962 --> 01:06:51,243 listening to Dynamic duel. Visit the show's website at dynamicduel.com and follow us on 703 01:06:51,303 --> 01:06:57,785 Instagram at dynamicduelpodcast. You can support the show on Patreon at patreon.com slash dynamicduel 704 01:06:57,905 --> 01:07:02,126 and joining a tier that works for you, or by rating and reviewing Dynamic duel on Apple 705 01:07:02,146 --> 01:07:07,768 Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser or on our website. Don't forget to listen to the other shows in 706 01:07:07,788 --> 01:07:13,309 the DynaMic Podcast Network, including Max Destruction, Senjou World and Console Combat. 707 01:07:14,974 --> 01:07:19,735 In our next episode, we are going to do another review. Just all these shows are just coming 708 01:07:19,796 --> 01:07:25,978 out at exactly the same time. Marvel has released season two of Hit Monkey. Now, if you haven't 709 01:07:26,018 --> 01:07:31,200 seen Hit Monkey, you fucked up. You got to see season one of Hit Monkey because it's fantastic. 710 01:07:31,820 --> 01:07:37,703 And he's one of Marvel's more interesting characters, I think. So look forward to our review of Hit 711 01:07:37,743 --> 01:07:42,085 Monkey season two coming out next week. I'm looking forward to watching it. I can't wait. 712 01:07:42,145 --> 01:07:47,022 I loved season one. So this is. gonna be good I hope. I imagine it will be. That's a wrap 713 01:07:47,042 --> 01:07:51,343 for this episode. We want to give a big thanks to our executive producers Ken Johnson, John 714 01:07:51,383 --> 01:07:56,365 Strosky, Zachary Hepburn, Dustin Balcom, Miggy Mathengian, Brandon Essergard, Nathaniel Wagner, 715 01:07:56,525 --> 01:08:02,507 Levi Yeaton, Austin Wazilowski, AJ Dunkerley, Scott Camacho, Gil Camacho, Adam Spies, Andrew 716 01:08:02,547 --> 01:08:09,008 Schunk, Dean Molesky, Devin Davis, Joseph Kirsting, and Josh Leiner for helping make this podcast 717 01:08:09,028 --> 01:08:13,994 possible. And we'll talk to you guys next week. Up, up, and away, true believers. I'm more 718 01:08:14,014 --> 01:08:18,719 than a bird, I'm more than a plane, I'm more than some pretty face beside a train, and it's 719 01:08:18,759 --> 01:08:20,500 not easy to be me.