My Adventures with Superman 1×10 Review: “Hearts of the Fathers”

My Adventures with Superman season 1 offered a satisfying finale in ‘Hearts of the Fathers’ and set the stage for (I have my fingers crossed!) season 2.

I was provided with free screeners of My Adventures with Superman season 1 for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

With young Clark being put through quite a lot in the recent episodes, it was nice to see him enjoy a bit of calmness with Lois and Jimmy. Time has passed for our characters and they have been promoted to junior reporters (or something of that sort) at the Daily Planet. The biggest worry right now was Lois getting ready to meet Clark’s parents for Thanksgiving dinner and even inviting her father over to the farm to meet the Kents.

As viewers, we know that Lois’s father is the General who had been ordered by Amanda Waller to hunt down and kill Superman. However, our main trio didn’t know that. So, it was exciting to see the episode progress toward the inevitable moment of Clark getting to formally meet the General or Sam Lane.

It’s kind of funny that the writers tried to keep Sam’s identity a secret. But the fandom was able to put two and two together the moment he appeared onscreen. I do think the writers could have tried harder to mislead the audience. The finale even had the trope-y moment of Clark opening the front door of his house and seeing the General as Sam for the very first time. However, the intended surprise of said moment didn’t really hit because again… the viewers were able to uncover the General’s identity being Lois’s father from the start.

Having said that, Clark feeling uncomfortable around Sam and Sam trying to figure out where he had seen Clark before made for a fun interaction. Martha was clearly unhappy about Sam not liking Clark from the get-go. How could anyone not like her sweet boy?

The sense of relief that washed over Lois and the Kent family the moment Jimmy showed up made a lot of sense. You need that one friend who helps to lighten the mood and kind of serves as the mediator during gatherings.

Another moment I liked was Martha appreciating Lois being Clark’s girlfriend. According to Martha, Clark has had a tough time fitting in and finding friends. I would have liked to have seen that being depicted via flashback, but oh well. Also, I think one of Clark’s childhood pictures had Lana in it. I actually want Lana to appear in the second season.

With everyone present on the Kent farm, I liked how the writers didn’t drag the particular storyline of Lois and Jimmy keeping the orb a secret from Clark. Even though Jimmy wanted Lois to tell Clark the truth, Clark found out about the orb by accident. Seeing the footage of a version of Superman wreaking havoc understandably affected Clark emotionally. The poor boy was already having nightmares of an alien invasion killing Lois and Jimmy after what Task Force X had put him through.

However, things escalated when the shard of Kryptonite inside the orb began to hurt Clark and his pain seemed to activate the spaceship buried under the farm. I think the animation team did a good job of showcasing the fear that Clark experienced. His nightmare was about to become true and even though Lois and Jimmy wanted to help, Clark was the only one who could stop the dangerous spaceship and close the portal.

As the name of the episode stated, the finale was about fathers. We got to see Clark ready to sacrifice himself to save Earth. But his father (even though he was a hologram) came through at the last moment to not only offer aid to his son but also to save Clark’s life again. The visuals of Jor-El putting Clark inside a rescue shuttle and having it fly towards Earth as the spaceship exploded, mimicking how baby Clark was saved all those years ago, were quite emotional. Clark couldn’t properly communicate with Jor-El yet, but Jor-El’s love for his son was still there.

Sam, on the other hand, was a different kind of father. One could argue that he loved Lois, but it was a different kind of love. He was more focused on keeping her and the rest of the planet safe instead of always being there for his only daughter. I mean, the least he could have done was read her work and text an occasional congratulations. Heck, I’m even surprised he found the time to show up for Thanksgiving dinner at the Kents. Maybe he thought he should go because he knew the Kent residence was where the previous invasion occurred? Hmmm. 

After Clark stopped the invasion, Lois had no choice but to stand between Sam and an exhausted Clark. She yelled at Sam for not seeing Clark for who he really was. A hero. Clark had just saved Earth and yet Sam was still ready to kill him. I mean, it was clear Sam wasn’t going to shoot Clark because then we wouldn’t even have a show. But it was nice to see Lois speak her mind. Those two have a bunch of issues they should really talk about.

With Sam lowering the gun and walking away, it’s going to be interesting to see for how long Sam can manage to keep Clark’s identity as Superman a secret from Task Force X. I’m also looking forward to seeing how Lois and Sam’s relationship will progress after such a major event. Again, I want to see them talk to each other!

Now, a thing I didn’t like about ‘Hearts of the Fathers’ was the lack of Jonathan Kent. In a way, Jonathan hasn’t had much to do the entire season. He’s supposed to be Clark’s human father. While Martha got to speak some words of encouragement to her son through the course of the 10 episodes, Jonathan’s been silent. And with the finale focusing on fathers, I would have liked Jonathan to share a well-written scene with Clark.

Frankly, you could take Jonathan out of the show and it wouldn’t really change the story. And in my opinion, that’s not good writing, especially when Jonathan’s a huge part of shaping Clark as a character in the comic books. Hopefully, this will change during the second installment.

As for what to expect from a second season, from what I could tell, the Kryptonians aren’t to blame for the initial invasion. There’s a bigger threat on the horizon and he’s still got his sights set on Earth. Here’s to hoping Clark, Lois, and Jimmy find some powerful allies because they are going to need it.

All in all, My Adventures with Superman ended up being a very enjoyable animated take on the long-running IP. I have never been a huge Superman fan, but this show made me really care about him.

With how the narrative progressed, you can say that the title of the show was about not only Lois and Jimmy’s adventures with Superman but Clark’s too, as he tried to discover more of his alien powers and identity as a person and hero. Our trio still has a lot to learn and I will eagerly await their return.

What did you think of ‘Hearts of the Fathers’? Do you want a second season of My Adventures with Superman?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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