REVIEW: ‘My Adventures With Superman’ Season 2 Episode 9 — “Pierce The Heavens, Superman!”

The blatant anime references continue to stack up in the spectacular My Adventures With Superman Season 2 Episode 9. Bursting with gleeful energy that thrills with sincerity that refuses to be beholden itself to anything perfunctorily grounded, “Pierce the Heavens, Superman!” is an absolute delight. The creative team is firing on all cylinders as it demonstrates everything that makes this iteration of the character so effective.

Over the years, much has been said about how best to adapt the Superman character. Many find his do-good nature boring; his seeming impenetrable strength and kindness detractors rather than positives. But to see “good” as boring is to miss the character’s point, something that My Adventures With Superman tackles episodically. Superman’s kindness isn’t just seen as a weakness by specific audiences in this world but by other characters. But tackling that fear from the hero’s perspective shows how wrong those naysayers are (though plenty of us have already believed as much). His heart is what makes him a hero—it’s what makes him super at all.

My Adventures With Superman Season 2 Episode 9 builds on Clark’s (Jack Quaid) character through Lois’s (Alice Lee) turbulent spin through the Black Mercy. Through her escapades in this make-believe Kyrpton created by Brainiac to trap Clark, we witness what makes Clark and Lois tick. Lois, in particular, is given a highlight reel of what makes this version of the character so winsome. While there are elements of past iterations of the character in her build, this Lois is also hilariously her own.

We see this multiple times throughout the episode, delivering some of the most significant laugh-out-loud moments. There’s her first meeting with Clark, and she towers over him while he tries to offer her something to eat. Later, Brainiac realizes that Lois will be a much tougher hurdle in their plan, as she wickedly brags that she can be much more annoying if she tries hard enough. Her steamrolling through this version of Krpton demonstrates her herculean impulsive personality. She refuses to leave Clark behind. She refuses, more than anything, to lose or be told what she can and can’t do. And this relates to Clark as well.

Lois spends every moment with Clark desperately trying to jog his memory and break out of Brainiac’s control. His biggest hurdle in the end is having to rewrite the memories that Braniac hijacked, as he tells her he can’t believe she’s real because why would Lois come for him? Lois’s indignant fury is perfectly in character, too, as she tells him of all of the exploits she and Jimmy (Ishmel Sahid) worked through to reach him, her brazen attitude being the thing to cut through the fog. Because this level of insanity is precisely something that his Lois would do.

For an episode as jam-packed as My Adventures With Superman Season 2 Episode 9, it’s amazing that it’s not just Lois who gets these big, character-driven moments. In a stunning sequence, Lois can stop Brainiac from attacking Clark. She doesn’t understand how until Clark tells her that all of this exists in his head. To him, she isn’t just another human. She’s his hero, someone just as capable of taking down the bad guys as him and more than capable of protecting him from his demons.

Sincerity isn’t an easy feat in storytelling, and it’s easy to laugh off corny one-liners that are far too earnest in certain respects if done poorly. But My Adventures With Superman excels in it. We see it in the Gurren Lagann-inspired climatic moment as Lois and Clark work together to “pierce the heavens” to break through the Black Mercy control. We see it when Jimmy gives Kara (Kiana Madeira) a pep talk, and Perry, Vicky Vale, and other Daily Planet reporters swoop in to save Jimmy, Kara, and Lois from Waller and Co. The heart of this series is immense, and to play it off as anything but would be a shame and go against the DNA of the series.

“Piece the Heavens, Superman!” captures the right tone and thrilling pacing of an excellent penultimate episode. My Adventures with Superman Season 2 Episode 9 allows little time for the characters to catch their breath. With Brainiac’s descent upon earth, even an awakened Superman isn’t enough to face the battle immediately head-on. The combination of Superman and Kara’s heroics is immense, and both have crucial moments where they stop the onslaught of his firepower. Still, the episode ends on a cliffhanger as both lay immobilized on the ground.

Beyond the story, the episode delivers some of its best animation to date. The action and earth-shattering power of the combatants are felt through the ground-level direction as we watch these all-powerful beings fight along the skyline. The colors of the Black Mercy Krypton dip into the well of previous episodes, with blaring reds and darker hues that work to deliver the ominous tone this setting presents. The score by Dominic Lewis and Daniel Futcher is a particular highlight, especially during Lois and Clark’s escape. The moment feels all the more epic due to the blaring score that lives up to its superhero roots.

My Adventures With Superman Season 2 Episode 9 delivers the heightened emotions, high-octane action, and drama that are the makings of great superhero stories. This is what we want when watching stories about Superman — reasons to care about these characters and the relationships as they face impossible odds, strengthened by their bonds and resilience.

My Adventures with Superman Season 2 is available now on HBO Max.

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