REVIEW: ‘My Adventures with Superman’ Episode 5 — “You Will Believe a Man Can Lie”

While we saw the setup in Episode 4, My Adventures with Superman Episode 5 steers us in the direction of the main trio being at odds. Lois (Alice Lee) is upset over Clark’s (Jack Quaid) lies, and Jimmy (Ishmel Sahid) feels abandoned by Lois and Clark as they miss their meet-up for their planned camping trip.

While this rift is likely a mere blip in the overall series, it’s effective primarily because it highlights their insecurities and hang-ups about being left behind, kept in the dark, or exposed. “You Will Believe a Man Can Lie” is the best episode to date, both because of the character development as well as two action set pieces that utilize the abilities of our heroes as well as those of the antagonists they’re facing. 

There’s only one small blip in the episode. The drama stems from their relationships, so even though, as the audience, we have greater context as to why Clark has been so MIA with Jimmy due to his Superman obligations, we also understand his hurt. Both Lois and Clark ask Jimmy to cover for them as they pursue their own side projects, and from the start of the episode, their forgetting about the camping trip is telegraphed.

That said, even though we feel for Jimmy, his storyline is lacking in comparison to the main push as Lois tries to convince Clark to admit to him being Superman. Jimmy’s voice actor, Ishmel Sahid, is hilarious, his voice becoming more erratic as his main company of the week, main sports reporter Steve, continues to compare the two, much to Jimmy’s horror. 

Clark is undergoing some major growing pains as Superman. 

Lois, meanwhile, is in fine form in general this week. She keeps trying to lead Clark into confessing because once she knows it all becomes obvious. And her attempts only mount in desperation. She chases him around the city to force another interview, a strong indication of her resolve (and stubbornness)

She handcuffs them together, a hilarious move since he could easily break out of them, but instead, in a moment of confusion, forgets to as the two fight the villain of the week in a feat of fun and swift action choreography. Her biggest action, though, is to put her life on the line, falling off the building he’d deposited her on to keep her safe, to force his hand in saving her, to prove his powers. 

It might be the confirmation she needed of the truth of his powers as he holds them both airborne, but it comes after a scene that demonstrates Clark’s immense growing pains. The drama surrounding the tech that had been dispersed by Livewire to other local thieves and petty criminals culminates in a standoff between Deathstroke, who is working with Amanda Waller, and a mysterious figure known as The General. Deathstroke says that they’re “the good guys,” but there’s little doubt they’re anything but — especially when it comes to Clark/Superman. 

Deathstroke proves a mighty adversary in My Adventures with Superman Episode 5. 

Using all the tech we’ve seen so far — ice ray, robots, etc — Deathstroke has been tasked to stop and “contain” Superman. The General states, “I’m the one keeping the earth safe”—determined to capture Superman, though we don’t know what motivates him beyond an arbitrary warning of “Net Zero.” The battle between

Deathstroke versus Superman reaches its peak when it threatens civilians, and Superman hitting the highway structures causes them to begin crumbling. That, it would seem, is a step too far for The General, though Waller and Deathstroke seem perfectly fine to lose a few lives to ensure capturing Superman. 

The bruising — literally — fight scene further demonstrates how this is all so new for Superman, and since he’s still in the throes of figuring it all out — his powers and how to use them — it makes him more vulnerable. The injuries stick this time too, making him seem even more exposed as those fighting him are coming at him with an attack plan, armed with motivations he’s none the wiser of. It’s the worst possible time for him to have a fallout with Lois, too, who accuses him of lies, saying: 

“Secrets are just another type of lie.”  

On the one hand, we understand why Lois is so hurt by this, especially as she and Clark had been at the start of a romantic relationship. That said, when Clark tries to explain to her that he’s still new to this and was worried, especially when she’d told him she planned on exposing all of Superman’s secrets, our hearts go out to him. Again, this is a vulnerable version of the hero. With no idea who he is or where he came from, of course, the idea of having his entire identity deconstructed for the sake of news would be terrifying. 

Jimmy goes missing, though that’s a bit of an afterthought and more of a setup for next week’s episode. 

My Adventures with Superman Episode 5 is demonstrative of the series’ ability to build emotionally impactful moments of high tension and stakes, all the while keeping it PG. The show doesn’t need to go the Harley Quinn or Peacemaker route of DC television and, instead, offers Superman’s story with little bloodshed and swearing.

It might seem old-fashioned, even childish, to some. Still, the showrunners are managing to create some of the very best versions of these characters to date, with beautiful animation and production from Studio Mir, a consistently rousing score, and strong writing that emboldens and embellishes on these existing, iconic characters. 

My Adventures With Superman Season 1 is available to stream on Max.

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