My Adventures with Superman: Trust is Everything

My Adventures with Superman episodes 4 and 5 work well as a pair thematically for how Clark’s secret life as Superman affects his relationships with Lois and Jimmy. “Let’s Go to Ivo Tower, You Say” is more focused on the relationship with Lois, with a great change to the Superman mythos that separates this show immensely from its predecessors. “You Will Believe a Man Can Lie” deals with the ramifications of this revelation while also putting a greater emphasis on the (so far underutilized) Jimmy Olsen who starts to feel his own disillusionment with Clark (and Lois), albeit for different reasons. As a group, these episodes delve into the interpersonal relationships between the main cast, and realistically depict how hard it would be to maintain a secret identity in today’s world.

An excellent aspect of this show that is on full display here is the emphasis on character over plot. The overarching story of the stolen tech with a mysterious connection to Krypton is always kept at an arm’s length, allowing the rest of the aspects of the show to grow in fun ways. Superman’s story is important, but this world’s focus on the supporting cast and their interpersonal relationships makes it wholly unique in its own right. Lois and Jimmy often have the reputation of working as a foil to Superman’s grandiose adventures, yet, here Superman feels like the foil for the greater story.

The best aspect of this show continues to be Lois Lane and the performance from Alice Lee. Lois has more agency than ever, with the showrunners allowing her intellect to deduce Superman’s identity almost immediately. Lee does an excellent job conveying the frustration and anger that Lois feels when she knows that Clark is lying to her. In contrast, she also delicately expresses Lois’s care and support for Clark, pushing the dynamic in a direction that is unbecoming of her previous iterations. The other standout performance is in episode 5 with Ishmel Sahid’s Jimmy Olsen finally getting an arc of his own. Sahid does a great job portraying a larger than life character while also showing the deep underseeded sadness once Jimmy realizes that his friends aren’t interested in his plans. This also sets up a plot for the following episode which will hopefully build upon this characterization in a fun way.

By the end of episode 5, everything changes for the dynamic of the trio, Jimmy feels like an outsider, Lois has forced a confession out of Clark, and Clark’s feelings for Lois have been extinguished as the trust falls apart. This is the perfect spot for all of this to go down, as this is also the midpoint of the first season. The villains motivations are slowly growing more clear but the focus on character allows there to be several compelling arcs going on at once. 

Fans of Superman will recognize the two big bads of this series being Amanda Waller and Lois Lane’s father General Lane. With the understanding that the revelation that Lois’s father has been the one giving Superman so much trouble, there’s a ton of anticipation for how this is all going to unfold. Since this show’s main focus is on the characters, it’s great to see all of the plotlines slowly tying together to create an immense drama for Superman. This personal drama also lays the groundwork for characters like Lex Luthor to show up later on down the line and shake up all of the established relationships. This is the kind of drama that keeps people coming back every week, with the action and superheroes acting as an added bonus.