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My Adventures With Superman S3 Ep 10 Review

It’s all come down to this. The Eradicator is a threat to the entire multiverse and Superman’s family and it needs to be stopped! But the only way to stop is for Clark to get his powers back. And while we all knew he would get them back, I can’t help but feel like he had to sacrifice something that’s going to come back to haunt us in the future. That is, if MAWS has a future!

That is what makes Superman strong

When we last left off, the Kryptonian android known as Brainiac was trying to kill Clark in a fit of rage over his refusal to conform to his people’s brutal ways. But then Bizarro stepped in and saved him, and actually managed to put the fear of death into Brainiac. And then, Clark managed to calm his cloned cousin down, stunning Brainiac, who can’t understand why Clark would risk his life like that. But that moment makes him finally see what Clark’s real strength is: the strength of mercy and compassion.

It sounds corny when I write it, I know. But it’s the truth. Superman’s not the greatest hero because he’s the strongest or the smartest. He’s the greatest hero because he’s willing to help anyone, even if they’re his enemies. And while the heel-face turn feels a little rushed, I’m not complaining. Especially since we learn that the Fortress is powered by the living offspring of Rao, Krypton’s sun! It’s Rao Jr. that has the power to restore Clark’s powers, but there’s no guarantee that it will do so if it doesn’t consider him worthy.

To make a long story short, it does. But that’s the thing: we never actually see how Rao restored Clark’s powers, beyond a brief scene of him being covered in its flames. In addition, at the end of the episode, Clark says that he had to give something up to get his powers back. He plays it off like it’s no big deal, but…I can’t help but fear the worst. What if he had to give up a huge chunk of his lifespan or something else? Something that will come back to bite him in the future? Lois and Jimmy would be heartbroken about that.

The House of El Stands

Meanwhile, the House of El and Task Force X’s last stand against the Eradicator is…well, it’s a massacre. The Eradicator tears through them all like it’s nothing. The Kryptonians are barely able to put a dent in him or his clones. And to make matters worse, the monster (voiced by the incomparable Steve Blum) boasts about how he’s done this across multiple timelines. Who knows how many versions of Superman and his family he’s killed by now?!?! And the best reaction that we get out of him is that he’s irritated that someone always gets away.

And the reason why the Eradicator is doing all of this? Why he’s so driven to kill Clark and his family? Because he’s afraid. He’s the living embodiment of Lex’s fear of that which he can’t control. In fact, fear and dealing with it seems to be the main theme of this entire season. Jimmy’s afraid of taking the next step with Kara. Lois is afraid of the future and how that will change her. And Lex? He’s afraid of something he can’t control or trust. But at least Lex tries to redeem himself by stopping his creation. It’s no use, though. No one is strong enough to stop him.

No one, that is, except for Superman.

Well, just like people on Reddit said, if MAWS was fighting it before, they can’t now: the show’s staff took inspiration from Dragon Ball. Because what’s more Dragon Ball-esque than for the heroes to have to wait for Goku? Or in this case, Superman. He shows up clad in this new golden armor, and just starts beating up the Eradicator. It’s glorious. In fact, the fights in this episode are all glorious. Even more glorious, though, is how Clark calls the Eradicator out for having such a lame motivation! It’s just so pathetic! And in the end, the Eradicator chooses to die rather than accept help from the one he fears the most.

So lame.

Darkseid has to be coming.

So, I’m just going to come out and say it: I don’t think that this season finale was as amazing as the one from Season Two. The Eradicator felt less like a foe that needed to be stopped and more like a reason for Clark to want his powers back. The fight against Brainiac was personal because he destroyed Krypton and killed Clark and Kara’s parents, and it made for an epic final battle. This wound up being not as bad as it could have been, at least for this timeline.

But even now, MAWS is sewing the seeds for what comes next. As Lex is put in prison, Waller asks him why he did all of this. The answer: after Kandor’s destruction, he saw something out in space. Something that terrified him. It’s not confirmed, but with all the hints that have been dropped throughout the show, most fans have guessed that he’s talking about Darkseid and his hordes. Considering what Darkseid can do, I don’t blame him for being scared. Sadly, we may not see what happens if MAWS doesn’t get renewed. Or it might not happen anyway and end up being the focus of a future series in the same universe. Come on, DC! Give us the second coming of the DCAU!

OMG, CLARK AND LOIS ARE GETTING MARRIED!

With that, everything goes back to normal. Jon and Lara return to their time to await the future. Oh, and Kara friendzones Jimmy. She decided that as punishment for what he did to her, she’s going to make him work for a relationship. Honestly, I think it’s for the best. Neither of them was ready for a romantic relationship yet. If we get another season, maybe that will be the payoff. But that means we can focus on the real OTP of the series, Clark and Lois.

Having come to accept what the future may or may not hold, Lois isn’t afraid of settling down anymore. And, in a moment that I wasn’t expecting but is totally in character for her, she’s the one who asks Clark to marry her! SQUEE!

To the people in charge of this show at DC, I swear to all that I hold holy, if you do not give us another season with Clark and Lois’ wedding, I WILL RIOT!!!

Seriously, DC. Just give season four. I don’t care when. I need more of the House of El!

I Give “The Return” a 4/5

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One Piece Chapter 1190 Review/Recap

Just when I think that Luffy and the other Straw Hats are starting to get on the level of the Roger Pirates, even if only a little, what does Oda do? He pulls a stunt like this to show us just how much growing they have left to do! While Luffy is left helpless against the might of Imu, Scopper Gaban shows up out of nowhere to save his butt. And in doing so, he gives him a reality check that, honestly, I don’t exactly approve of. Even if it is tough love.

Review

On the last piece of One Piece, Luffy was about to die at the hands of Imu. Thankfully, he gets saved by Gaban, who tanks the hit while remarking how ugly Imu is. To the demon’s surprise, he then turns around, goes to Luffy, and tells him to get ass off the ground. In a display of tough love, Gaban bluntly tells Luffy that if any part of him even THINKS becoming Pirate King is still gonna be easy, then he should quit right now.

After that’s done, Gaban resumes his clash with Imu, taunting him about how much Luffy reminds the demon king of Joy Boy. He should know: he as part of the Roger Pirates and learned everything from Joy Boy’s own words. Thus, he wants to ensure that Roger’s own dream is fulfilled by ensuring Luffy lives. That, and the World Government making such a big deal about him pretty much convinced everyone in the know that Luffy was the one Joy Boy was waiting for. Imu actually acknowledges this point.

The two titans’ clash begins to tear up the land, or wood, around them, sending entire sections of branches of Adam falling into the Underworld, crushing mountains underneath like they’re nothing. Luffy starts to recover just enough to see the aftermath. To his shock, he finds Gaban lying on the ground, bloodied, hurt, and missing one of his arms.

Review

Damn Oda! You didn’t need to go that hard with this! But I’m glad you did it anyway!

So, a lot managed to happen in this chapter that I think needs talking about, but like most chapters of One Piece, I liked it.

It took me a moment to understand it, but I was able to realize that what Gaban was telling Luffy wasn’t done out of malice. He was just giving him some tough love by telling him what he needed to hear: he ain’t invincible. Most of his fights since Onigashima have been a cakewalk thanks to Gear Five, but as most of us have realized, he’s still got a ways to go. If he really wants to surpass Roger, he’s gonna need to get stronger and overcome the limitations of his new form. Because even as an old man, Gaban is still way above Luffy and the others!

Speaking of Roger, that one line that Gaban dropped about his captain’s dream was pretty big. I’ve talked at length about how Roger deliberately started the Golden Age of Piracy to ensure that the heir to Joy Boy would appear. This pretty much confirms that theory. Also, shoutout to the image of Whitebeard being included amongst the people who knew the truth about the Void Century and Joy Boy. It’s easy to forget that Roger told him before he died out of respect for his rival.

Again, I don’t exactly approve of Gaban’s tough love on Luffy. I think Luffy already knows that he needs to get stronger, so he doesn’t want to hear about it. That being said, he did it because he knew that he wasn’t going to win against Imu, while Luffy could. That point is made blatant by the chapter ending with Gaban losing an arm. I did appreciate the meaning behind it being his left arm, though. It’s symbolic of the fact that the left arm of the Pirate King’s time is over, and he knew it. I don’t think that Luffy is going to get another save like that, though. If he wants to drive Imu out of Elbaph, it’s up to him and the others.

I Give “One Whose Death is Celebrated” a 4/5

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House of the Dragon S3 Ep 8 Review

Tumbleton. For a good portion of its third season, House of the Dragon has been building us towards the pivotal battle that’s supposed to take place at this otherwise unimportant town. The Greens need it to retake King’s Landing, while the Blacks want it to deny them that threat. And while it’s final seasons did have its flaws, Game of Thrones was very good at building us up to these turning points in the story. The season opened with one of the coolest fights in the franchise, the Battle of the Gullet. For it’s finale, it gives us an equally stunning climax with the Treasons at Tumbleton. And while the battle itself only takes up a portion of the episode’s 70-minute runtime, the buildup is just as nail-biting…and the aftermath all the more heartbreaking.

Rhaenyra is crashing out

At this point, I think that it’s safe to say that Rhaenyra is in full crash-out mode. She tried to do things the way she thinks her father would have. She wanted to convince everyone that she was the rightful ruler of Westeros and win the hearts and minds of the people. But the events of the season have made her slowly abandon the morals and principles that would have made her a great Queen. And once word gets out that Aegon is alive, and people are proclaiming this a sign of his divine right to rule, Rhaenyra has reached her breaking point.

Honestly, I don’t blame Rhaenyra for getting to this point. We as the audience know that Viserys never wavered on having her as his heir, and that the Greens are usurpers. But there’s only so much adversity one person can take before they snap. The only reason I even consider this episode to be her tipping point is because she at least tried to take the moral high ground, even after she lost Luke. But she’s reached the point where she doesn’t care about making people love her. She is Queen, and she will kill anyone who says otherwise.

Now, I liked the way that Rhaenyra ordered the death of the High Septon for refusing to annoint her as Queen. That’s the equivalent of killing the Pope, and if the Seven are in any way real, then that just earned her a ticket to Hell, though I doubt she’ll care. However, what I don’t like is her speech to the people of King’s Landing. Having her tell everyone about Aegon’s dream and the Prophecy of Ice and Fire might make sense on paper. However, in practice, it just makes her sound crazy. The only reason we even know she isn’t is that we know what will happen almost two hundred years in the future. Otherwise, the whole thing feels incredibly clumsy!

At least there was one supernatural aspect of the episode that got handled better: Alys.

Alys is Immortal, Huh?

The show has made it no secret that Alys Rivers is some kind of witch. The fact that she disguised herself as Alicent last episode pretty much removed any remaining ambiguity. According to the books the show is based on, there are even rumors that she’s an unaging witch. Not only does the show confirm this, but it takes it a step further. She tells a poisoned Aemond a story that is, rather quickly, revealed to be her own. She was the wife of Harren the Black, the builder of Harrenhal, and mother to one of his children. She survived Aegon the Conquerer’s Burning of Harrenhal, and tried to use the power of the Old Gods to save her infant son. It failed, and seemingly cursed her with immortality that ties her directly to Harrenhal, forced to serve whoever claims it.

That is…honestly brilliant. I don’t know much about the Seven, but we’ve seen plenty of instances of how other deities and magic like that of the Old Gods are real. And, at least in this time period, Harrenhal has this era of dark magic around it that I really enjoy. It also explains why Alys wants Harrenhal so badly: she wants to be master of her own destiny once more, hence her attempts to use Daemon and Aemond. With Aemond, she almost succeeds. But it seems that fate has other ideas.

Having recovered his dragon, Aegon has made his way to Harrenhal and a repentant Aemond. He is very tempted to take his revenge on his brother, but ultimately decides against it. He needs him, and more importantly, he need Vhagar, to bring the Greens into line. We don’t actually know Aemond leaves Harrenhal or not, so we will have to wait until the next season. For now, our focus must turn to Tumbleton.

The Tragedy of Tumbleton

The Battle of Tumbleton is the moment that the show has spent half the season building up to. On one side, we have the Greens led by the mad Ormund, determined to make Daeron his puppet king. On the other side, we have Daemon, the Tullys, and the Winter Wolves aiming to take the town. And now Ulf the White has become a wildcard thrown into the mix. All told, Tumbleton is the sight of one of the most important battles of the war, and, in my opinion, the moment that will seal the fate of House Targaryen.

The Battle of the Gullet opened up the season with the most impressive naval battle in Game of Thrones history, and the Battle of Tumbleton ends it with the most impressive set battle since the Battle of the Bastards ten years ago. Whereas Danaerys’ sacking of King’s Landing in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones had a notable lack of it, the Battle of Tumbleton has a more grounded depiction of an actual sacking of a town. The battle formations look and act pretty accurate to medieval warfare, the choreography is fast-paced and frenetic in the streets. And most importantly, the dragons are used in a strategic fashion. I especially liked the way Daemon used Caraxes to force open one of the gates, then had him kill any of the Green soldiers in range while keeping his body out of harm’s way.

But you know what I liked even more? Seeing Ormund die. I’ve hating that pompous fool from day one, and seeing Roddy the Ruin shove a dagger up his butt is the kind of death that he deserves. It only gets better, though, when Ulf kills them both with Silverwing.

Ulf the Rogue

I knew from the start that Ulf the White was going to go rogue, as that is what happens in the books. What I like about his character in the show, though, is that it gives an explanation for him turning on everyone. He is a drunkard, but Ormund made the mistake of treating him just as badly as Daemon. And that mistake cost him his life.

By the time the dust settles, I can’t say that anyone actually won the fight for Tumbleton. The Blacks are forced to retreat; Hugh finds his wife and her family dead; the only real winner is Ulf, and he’s now going to be labeled an outlaw. And the shots of the carnage were just the icing on the cake. A harsh reminder of the fact that war has no real winners.

And that’s not even the saddest part of the episode.

RIP Helaena. You were too Good for this World!

Poor Helaena. I knew what her fate was ultimately going to be, but that didn’t make it any less painful to watch. All she wanted was to leave the ugliness of King’s Landing behind, but the world would not let her. Rhaenyra wouldn’t even let her die. And the child in her belly would either be used as a hostage or killed outright. She was never going to be free, so she chose to end her own life. Everything that Alicent did has ended up being for naught.

The worst part of it, though? It’s the way that Rhaenyra closes the windows to Helaena’s room afterward. It was symbolic of her closing off the last remaining portal to her heart. The last bit of innocence left in her.

This entire episode was nothing but one great tragedy as the stage is set for the endgame. The next, and likely final, season is going to be nothing but heartbreak as we see the death of the dragons. And I don’t know how I’m going to get through it, but I will try. But at this point, no one is worthy of the Iron Throne.

I Give “Treasons at Tumbleton” a 5/5

House of the Dragon S3 Ep 7 Review

You know, in a perfect world, Rhaenyra Targaryen would have been able to become Queen and stay as such without problems. That is what her dad wanted, and that is the oath that all the lords and ladies of Westeros swore to uphold. But while she now rules from King’s Landing, everyone is out to get her! She is surrounded by liars and people taking advantage of her, and this week, she has the biggest shock of her life as she learns the truth about Sheepstealer’s rider. And to be honest, I’m surprised that she shows as much restraint as she does with Rhaena in this episode. And meanwhile, Ormund continues to be the biggest d**** in Westeros since his relative, Otto, died.

Oh, and some racy scenes take place.

Why, Rhaena. WHY?!?

So, Rhaena once again proves how bad a decision-maker she is. Rather than accept living in hiding forever in the foothills of the Vale or flying into exile somewhere, she gets it in her head that if she hunts down and kills Vhagar, Rhaenyra will forgive her. I could only chalk this up to her guilt and lack of sleep, because any rational person would tell her that this was a stupid idea. Even if she tracked down Vhagar, there was no way Sheepstealer could kill her. That’s not even counting the fact that Sheepstealer refuses to listen to Rhaena! And she was still responsible for Jace’s death, so Rhaenyra won’t forget that.

Seeing how Rhaena’s storyline has played out in the show, it really makes me wish we had gotten Nettles. In the books, Nettles was a peasant girl who cleverly earned Sheepstealer’s loyalty by feeding him sheep every day. Not only that, but she was the only one of the major dragon riders of the war to walk away with her life and her dragon, fleeing to parts unknown. Unfortunately, Rhaena has proven neither clever nor as fortunate, and her luck ends up running out. After her sister and Addam spot Sheepstealer, Rhaenyra realizes Daemon lied and goes out to deal with the problem herself.

Once again, the characters on the show keep making the wrong decisions! Baela probably didn’t even realize that she had damned her sister. And Daemon is in full panic mode as he knows that his daughter’s life is in danger. When you hear him say “please” to Lady Jeyne Arryn, then you know that he’s desperate. He’s only able to get to his daughter for a brief moment, but in that moment, he shows off a vulnerable side to himself as he admits that he didn’t have a dragon of his own for a long time. It’s clear that he’s fully aware of how bad a father he’s been, and he is trying his damnedest to make things right. But it’s already too late: Rhaenyra and Addam soon come upon them.

The look on Rhaenyra’s face when she realizes that Rhaena was the one responsible for Jace’s death was absolutely superb. Emma D’arcy has really grown into playing the role of the dragon queen, showing just how more and more unhinged she’s become as time passes. But their acting in this episode was some of the best they’ve given all show. And to top it off, we get to see Syrax, Caraxes, and Seasmoke all fight Sheepstealer as the dragon goes berserk! We’ve already seen what dragon fights look like in the sky, but when they’re confined to the ground, they’re even more vicious. Seeing the maiming that Sheepstealer gets is just absolutely brutal; it’s a miracle that the dragon was even able to limp away intact. But it takes a lot more to kill a dragon.

What were the Show writers thinking?

Speaking of trying to kill a dragon, Alicent manages to make it to Harrenhal as part of Rhaenyra’s suicidal plan to kill Aemond. But before that happens, we apparently get yet another example of disturbing incest in the Targaryen family. We are led to believe that Alicent has come to find her son, and then we are treated to a scene of her and Aemond almost having s*x. It was even more disturbing than the kissing scene from earlier in the season. The only saving grace is that it was really Alys disguising herself as Alicent. Still, that’s messed up, even by Targaryen standards.

And then, when the real Alicent does meet her son, things don’t go well. Firstly, Aemond kills her escort out of fear that Alys is messing with him. Secondly, when Alicent tries to poison her son, he’s able to make it to Alys, which means he’ll likely survive. As for Alicent, she’s had to flee Harrenhal, and if she knows what’s good for her, she’ll head back Oldtown and stay there. But she won’t.

At least her one good son considers doing just that.

Ormund Has to Go!

Where do I even begin with Ormund? Even though the Winter Wolves are about to storm Tumbleton, he’s still acting like he’s going to have the last laugh. He arrogantly tells Gwayne that he’s got a secret trump card to use, but leaves everyone in the lurch about what it is. It isn’t until the end of the episode that we find out that it’s Ulf the White. He’s convinced him to turn on Rhaenyra in exchange for rule over Driftmark.

Full disclosure: I knew that Ulf was going to do this thanks to the wiki and the books. What I appreciate the show doing was giving some justification for why Ulf turned on his Queen. He thought he was going to become a Lord and someone important, only to instead be denied that and even the right to go drinking with his friends. The sad thing is, I think that if he had stayed loyal, she would have given him both after the war ended.

The crowning moment of this entire episode, though, has to go to Aegon. His plans to flee to Essos are dashed thanks to an army of Riverlanders bearing down on him, Larys, and Tyland. And while Larys opts to flee, Aegon decides that if he’s going to die, he’ll die fighting. It’s probably the first genuinely badass thing that he’s done in his life. At least, he tries to make it badass with that speech of his. But it turns out that the enemy was really just scared of the dragon behind him.

I KNEW Sunfyre was still alive!

Yes, against all odds, the show keeps with the book canon. Sunfyre is still alive, and arrives just in time to save his rider. And he looks absolutely hideous now! It’s hard to see from the darkness, but you can tell that Sunfyre has been just as maimed and scarred as his rider, to the point where I don’t even know how he’s still alive at all. But then he and Aegon get the last laugh as they set fire to their foes, symbolizing the return of the king. The fake king, at least!

What a crazy episode this was. Dragon-on-dragon violence abounds, Sunfyre rises from the dead, and Rhaenyra has no clue what to do with Rhaena. And next episode is supposed to be the last one of the entire season! With so much left to cover before the break as we await what is almost certainly the final season, I’m guessing as to who’s going to die. And I hope that it’s Ormund!

I Give “The Dragons in Winter” a 3/5

My Adventures With Superman S3 Ep 9 Review

Well, this is quite the mess, you guys! Thanks to Lara and Jonathan, the children of tomorrow, and Lex, there is a MENACE to the space-time continuum now loose in the universe. Kara is in a coma, the kids have PTSD, and everything is going to hell. The one good thing is that Clark has returned to the Fortress of Solitude to try and regain his powers. The bad news? He has to go through a trial that will have him go full barbarian warrior to do so. Well, that’s not bad in and of itself, but it’s the lesson he’s supposed to learn.

Oh, and Brainiac is back.

How did it Get to this?

In the aftermath of the Eradicator’s escape into the timestream, Amanda Waller has taken charge. I didn’t touch on it before, but we got to acknowledge the fact that Waller is now willing to see the Kryptonians as allies and protectors of Earth. She’s finally learning from her mistakes. However, she’s still Amanda Waller, a no-nonsense soldier. And even though she doesn’t know where Jonathan and Lara come from, she doesn’t hesitate to draft them into her anti-Eradicator plan. Except Lois isn’t happy about that.

Lois has spent this entire season trying to come to terms with her future with Clark. She accepted that she’ll be a mom one day, and now she’s learning that she could become the kind of parent her dad was to her, and it scares her. She also makes things worse when she rightly calls Jonathan and Lara for making Luthor wake up the Eradicator before it was ready. And for Jonathan’s disrespect to her in general. He tried to shame her for not actually fighting. WHAT DOES HE EXPECT?!? Unless there’s some tech lying around that can give Lois Kryptonian powers, or some power armor, she can’t do much!

She at least has better luck with her daughter. Through Lara, Lois learns that her future self does care about her kids enough to give her a pep talk. But it’s ultimately Kara who has to talk some sense into Jonathan.

KARA! YOU’RE OKAY!

Thank heavens, Kara is not dead. She’s left in a coma for several days, and when she wakes up, Jimmy is asleep by her side. He stayed there the entire time because he cares that much. I know that their relationship has been a problem this season, and we only have one episode left. But I hope they become an item in that time. And if we get a fourth season, I would love to see them act like a couple.

So, Kara finds Jonathan moping on the Moon, angsty about how he can’t live up to his dad’s reputation. So Kara tells him the truth: he’s not perfect. Everyone sees him like that because he never gives up. So Jonathan reconciles with his family and agrees to help. But, honestly? I don’t really like this version of Jon that much. I get why he is the way he is, but his personality gets a little grating. Hopefully, when Lois and Clark do have kids, they’ll have a better life.

So, everyone comes together to fight the Eradicator. The Kryptonians, Steel, Slade and the other agents of Task Force X. Even Luthor.

Yeah, when Luthor tries to duck and hide like a coward, Jimmy calls him out on it. He was the one who set Lex on his current path, and he is so disappointed in how he’s turned out. Especially since he’s seen that Lex can be a hero for himself. So he tells him to either shape up and be a hero, or just admit that he’s the bad guy. And it works!

But where does this leave Kal-El the Barbarian?

Kal-El the Barbarian

So, as many of us probably guessed, Brainiac is technically not dead. The version we met in season two is dead, but the version that helped run Krypton remains active in the Fortress of Solitude. And he is unimpressed with how Clark lost his powers and seeks to teach him a lesson on strength. Thus, to get his powers back, Kal-El has to relive Krypton’s ancient history and the start of their Empire. He has to be a barbarian conqueror.

From the second I heard what Brainiac was telling Clark, I saw the red flags. It’s obvious that that ship of invaders was just people who crash-landed. The Kryptonians told themselves that lie to justify their tyranny. And despite Brainiac trying to force him to give in to Krypton’s past, Clark isn’t playing his game. He stays true to himself, choosing to befriend the aliens and help them, because that is what real strength is like.

And Brainiac just loses it as we get the big twist. It turns out, Brainiac was one of those stranded aliens, forced to serve the Kryptonians until the day their empire collapsed while being converted into an AI. And he’s justifying the entire thing like it was right for Clark’s ancestors to do that! This was some insane levels of Stockholm Syndrome at work, and it made me sick to my stomach. How broken do you have to be to justify your terrible lot in life like that?!? Even worse, Brainiac takes Clark’s sympathy for the Coluans fate as an insult! He cannot compute the fact that things could’ve been different, and so tries to kill Clark. Thankfully, Bizarro is able to save him, but…what now?

Oh, no! He’s Voiced by Steve Blum!

The Eradicator returns from the timestream, and now looks like an anime version of General Zod, more dangerous than ever. We only have one episode left of the season, and possibly the series, and we have no clue how Kal-El can get his powers back, let alone stop the Eradicator! Can we please get a happy ending for the final episode? Please!?!

Hopes aside, I liked the barbarian aspect of this episode and I hope that we get more seasons of the show. That, and I think Lois would love the outfit!

I Give “Vae Victis” a 4.5/5

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My Adventures With Superman, S3 Ep 8 Review

So, the second we saw what the future looked like in “The Death of Superman,” we knew we were in for more time-travel shenanigans. Cyborg Superman may have been stopped, but that only led to an even worse future where Lex Luthor ruins everything. Granted, Lex Luthor tends to do that a lot, but this future is even more messed up. Not only does another version of Jon come back to the past with a sister, but they were there to basically…pull a Terminator. And…I think it may have cost everyone everything.

There’s two of them now?

Picking up right where we left off, Clark and Lois are stunned, not only by the apparent return of their son, Jon, but the fact that he is not alone. He now has a sister. In most iterations where Clark and Lois marry, they tend to only have the one son, so having a daughter is a big surprise. At any rate, her name is Lara Lane, emphasis on Lane being her and Jonathan’s last name.

The Kids were asked to Re-enact Terminator?

Right off the bat, the show confirms what many of us were afraid of: that by stopping Hank Henshaw and altering the future, Clark and the others overwrote it with an entirely different future. And, depending on whether multiverse theory is in effect for time travel here, that means the Jon Kent we came to know no longer exists. That alone is enough to scare Clark and Lois, but it’s nothing compared to how their kids are. Firstly, this other Jon goes by Jonathan and acts like he’s a 90s anti-hero, abrasive attitude and all. Even worse, though, is why they came back in time in the first place: to kill Lex Luthor. They were ordered by General Lane to go back and pull a Terminator on Lex Luthor. The scariest part, though, is that the “General Lane” in question is future Lois. She sent her own kids back in time to go Terminator on Luthor.

This revelation naturally has Lois shaken. She had just learned that she could turn out like her dad in the last episode. Now, a future version of her did turn out like that. For someone who’s just come to terms with the future, that is a scary prospect. And that’s not including the fact that her future self sent them back in time to kill Luthor.

The reason why Luthor is now marked for death is simple: he didn’t learn his lesson with Cyborg Superman. Instead, he’s decided to double-down on creating a Superman clone by creating an even bigger, badder, and meaner one called the Eradicator. In this bad future, he uses them to conquer the world. However, in an ironic twist, the siblings mission may not have even been necessary. In strolls Amanda Waller, who’s apparently no longer a fugitive and working for the Government again. Except this time, she’s actually learned her lesson about Superman being a good guy. Thus, she tells Luthor she’s shutting his project down, as well as Lexcorp.

Part of me wants to feel sorry for Lex in this scenario. All he wants to do is prove himself to the world, but he keeps being the worst version of himself. He’s the architect of his own undoing, hence why it’s ironic future Lois sent her kids back in time to kill him. All that manages to do is make Lex panic and wake up the first Eradicator before he can establish control over it.

What happens next feels like a nightmare.

Is this DOOMSDAY?!?

In keeping with MAWS Dragon Ball inspiration, this version of the Eradicator feels like an expy of Cell mixed with Doomsday. He’s smart, can regenerate at an alarming rate, and is just plain stronger than the Kryptonians. Lara and Jonathan are barely able to hang on in their fight against it, forcing Kara to step in. But not even she, a full-blooded Kryptonian with years of combat experience, is able to put a dent in the Eradicator. And then we get that moment where she recreates that iconic scene where Piccolo takes a ki blast to protect Gohan!

She doesn’t wake up after that. There is the very real chance that Kara may have just been killed, and that almost left me in tears! She and Jimmy were starting to patch things up, with Kara reiterating how she wanted to be more than friends. I haven’t liked how the show has handled their relationship this season, but now? Now it may never happen since Kara might be dead. And to make matters worse, the Eradicator steal’s Jonathan’s Time-Band thing and escapes into the timestream. In other words, there is a monster capable of causing castrophic damage to history loose in the space-time continuum! All because future Lois wanted her kids to pull a Terminator!

Ultimately, seeing what happens to his family proves to be the last straw. Clark needs to get his powers back to stop this madness! Which means he has to return to the Fortress of Solitude to do so.

No Terminator, You Guys! It Never Works!

This was a very dark episode, you guys. Brainiac invading the Earth was one thing, but now we have someone who could destroy history altogether on the loose. Which means that Clark is going to have to become Superman ASAP to stop this. That, and he needs to make sure his future kids don’t turn out like what they are now. No Terminator!

I Give “It’s Reigning (Super)Men!” a 4.5/5

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