My Adventures With Superman S3 Ep 7 Review
So, where were we? Ah yes: Clark is having an existential crisis now that he’s lost his superpowers. Jimmy is in hot water with Kara for how badly he’s treated her all season. And before they can talk things out, they’re all abducted by Mr. Mxyzptlk for another one of his crazy schemes. And the entire gang is in swimsuits this episode.
This is going to be both fun and annoying!
Mr. Mxy is at it again!
So, after getting kidnapped by Mr. Mxy and changed into beach attire, the gang finds themselves in another dimension. The reason why is because he’s getting divorced from his wife, Glitzy! And according to him, their divorce proceedings are settled by a series of platformer-style games. Clark, Lois, Kara, and Jimmy play for Mxy, while alternate versions of Kara, Lois, Jimmy, and LEX play for Glitzy.
Now, the whole reason Mxy chose them, besides simply trolling, is that he thought Clark still had his powers. But for all his power, he didn’t know that Clark lost his, much to his dismay. And my amusement! All that power and he still doesn’t know that!
I don’t why exactly, but I like impish and chaotic characters like Mxy. Maybe it’s because I have a troublemaking streak of my own, or because they don’t care about the rules of reality, but they’re so entertaining to watch. But that doesn’t blind me to the fact that they are also super sus, and given our past experiences with this version of Mxy, I was on my guard. Especially when we saw what his wife looks like. I prefer personality over looks, but I think the best of both worlds can be ideal if necessary. Plus, Glitzy does seem like plenty of fun.
The Alternate Gang was Cool, I guess
In any event, I wouldn’t call this episode filler. There doesn’t seem to be any filler in this series, with every episode moving the plot forward a little bit. More importantly, seeing our heroes interact with their alternate counterparts is eye-opening at what their lives could look like. Given how the whole theme of this season is what the future can bring, it’s a source of great distress for them.
Firstly, we have Lois and her counterpart, General Lois Lane. It seems that in her timeline, things panned out similarly to what we’ve seen so far, with Clark eventually losing his powers. She, Jimmy, and Kara could handle that. But then, Clark died when Earth was invaded by enemies that, while I didn’t recognize them, I think the fandom should be worried about. Losing her lover led Lois to become just like her father: a cold-hearted soldier who hides their grief by throwing themselves into their job. It goes to show us that Lois always had it in her to be like.
Kara seems to be no better. Losing her cousin seems to have made her slide back into who she was serving under Brainiac, making our Kara fear the worst for herself. And alternate Jimmy? He became a tokukatsu-style superhero called Flamebird and is acting like everything is fine, but it’s isn’t. He’s just in denial about losing his best friend and, while he doesn’t say it, he never fully mended things with Kara.
The most interesting interaction, though, was between Clark and Alternate Luthor. Like in Jon Kent’s future, Superman’s death made him realize how pointless his hatred for him was. This is pretty telling, by the way. That makes it two times now that we’ve seen a Lex become capable of being a good person. It shows that it is possible for Lex to change, which only makes seeing our Lex fall down the rabbit hole of villainy all the more disappointing.
There is no One True Path
Ultimately, the contest comes down to the groups being forced to find their “one, true path” to the future. Lois and Clark stumble, and so do Jimmy and Kara. But then Jimmy, bless his heart, has a moment of emotional intelligence and apologizes to Kara for being an ass and promising to change. And then, it all clicks for her. The future is always changing and never set in stone. It is within their power to decide who they want to be! And that helps all of them stop worrying about who they are or what they might become.
For a moment, a part of me thought that this was all part of one big lesson that Mxy had for our heroes, but that would require him actually caring. He doesn’t, and neither does his wife.
In a twist that, I’ll be honest, part of me expected since it’s Mxy, the imps weren’t getting divorced. This was just them role playing for date night. And they were just using everyone to get access to the Cosmic Anvil, said to be capable of rewriting reality. They try to bribe everyone with the promise of changing their universes to whatever they want, but Clark is smart enough to not play their game. Instead, he lets the clock run out, meaning that no one wins.
Also, it led us to get this scene where Lex finally figures out that Clark Kent is Superman. The self-proclaimed smartest man ever, and he couldn’t figure that out. At least he had enough humility to take it with grace.
Keep Moving Forward
I know that this episode is going to feel a little like filler to some people, but in a show this tight-knit, filler isn’t really a thing. The whole point of the episode is having the gang get over their problems. Clark finally realizes that his powers don’t define him; Kara realizes that she can choose not to be what Brainiac wanted her to be; Lois learned to not fear the future as much. And Jimmy realized how much of a bonehead he’d been to Kara. But he’s going to have a lot of work to do if he wants to make things right.
Of course, the episode ends with us getting another curveball, as either Jon or another version of Jon appears before them. And there’s a girl with him that I’m pretty sure is his sister.
The future is still not safe!
