REVIEW: ‘My Adventures With Superman’ Season 3 Episode 9 — “Vae Victus”

Only one question remains at the end of the narratively explosive My Adventures with Superman Season 3 Episode 9: how on earth do they wrap things up? The penultimate episode soars to absurd heights in an effort to bring together time, space, and Kyrptonian lore which largely pays off despite such a condensed runtime. “Vae Victus” might succumb to some sillier moments (training montage!), but the overall effect is immensely satisfying as it forces our characters to confront either their impact on the world, their legacy, and how the pair intertwine. 

The storyline is split into two in My Adventures with Superman Season 3 Episode 9. The first is the battle readying pull of Earth, as Amanda Waller (Debra Wilson) scrambles together a team to face down the threat of the Eradicator, who remains lost in the timeline.

This includes Lois (Alice Lee), who Waller tasks with reining in her future children, Jon (Darren Criss) and Lara (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport); a knocked-out Supergirl (Kiana Madeira); and Lex Luthor (Max Mittelman), the man responsible for the rampaging monster. And while Lois is defiant in the face of forcing Jon and Lara – basically children – to engage in a battle that already leveled Supergirl, she understands there’s no real alternative. 

The pacing in “Vae Victus” is relentless as characters sprint to save the day. 

“Vae Victus” plays for the life-or-death stakes and convinces us that people who don’t get along would work together. There’s a nice note too in Jimmy’s confrontation with Lex, and not just because Ishmel Sahid remains the MVP of the series, his voice synonymous with the character and a constant reminder of how a really tremendous voice performance can stick with you. It’s reminiscent of characters like Sokka in the original Avatar: The Last Airbender. Comedic relief until the point where the mood changes, and the depth of the performance announces itself with exacting clarity. 

He calls Lex out for, once again, trying to bail and save his own skin. And when Lex tries to push back, to blame the aliens and otherworldly figures, Jimmy tells him that it’s time to either live up to being the hero he thinks he is or realize he’s the villain of the story. 

It’s a superb bit of writing and it’s only just one standout moment in My Adventures with Superman Season 3 Episode 9. The writing is in top form, weaving together the many ongoing plots while setting up a new version of the big bad and revealing major secrets to Clark. Even Jimmy and Kara get a moment of development, albeit brief, when she awakens to find him sitting next to her. 

Throughout all timelines, Kara remains a pivotal figure for Jon. 

Kara also has an important moment with this version of Jon, angst-ridden and haunted by the knowledge that, in his future, he’ll never be seen as enough in the wake of Superman’s death. He wants to rise to the occasion, to be the hero that defeats the enemy with a single swing. Kara appeals to him, forever, an active, guiding light no matter the future wrought. 

And it all comes to a head as the group assembles, bringing back different antagonists and allies that span the course of the series in an effort to ready themselves to fight the Eradicator once it appears in the timeline. The montage has it’s cheesy moments but it also revels in the art style the series has long established. The sketchbook quality of the background designs sing against the burnt oranges and array of character designs. Jon, Lara, and Kara all wear similar colors, but their distinct personalities make the trio engaging to watch. 

By the time the enemy shows up, they prove why there was such a rushed effort to assemble a team of worthy fighters. Because it’s not the Eradicator we first met, but another mysterious figure, one who can speak and contort itself, piecing back together even after Jon manages to slice him in half. The battle stakes are raised and Superman has still yet to arrive. 

My Adventures with Superman Season 3 Episode 9 forces Clark to confront the past.

Because Superman (Jack Quaid) is busy having a battle of self-realization and faith. Faith in himself to make the right decisions no matter the greater powers that be trying to warp him into a figure he doesn’t recognize. Because his trip to the Fortress of Solitude reveals that Brainiac remains active, it’s not the one we met. The androids say that this is the purest version of Brainiac, the ones first established by Krypton. And they’re willing to give Superman his powers back, but only if he proves to them that he’s worthy of the power. 

Because Kryptonians didn’t always have the power to take flight or impossible strength. Instead, the original version of Superman was born, they say, from adversity, forced to fight for their lives in a way that unlocked that heroic potential. But all of this is conjecture, a means to wrangle and manipulate. And it doesn’t work. 

Clark Kent is Superman on his own terms, and so much of it is based on his humanity and his general distaste for fighting. He knows that to die in these trials means dying in real life. But that doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone else. The writing explores that thread, watching as he succumbs briefly to bouts of violence but only in moments of self-defense, Brainiac’s powers gaining control the same way they did for Bizarro Superman. 

Superman’s power is his humanity. 

His true colors burst out in his efforts to save a lone alien. Instead of attacking him, Clark instead tries to help. The sword he’s equipped with becomes a splint. He is a hero who seeks to save, rather than dominate. He has no desire to conquer.

That is what makes him human and it’s his greatest strength and his Achilles heel. In his efforts to bring the alien home, he realizes that he is not, as Brainiac said, an adversary, but someone whose community has been displaced. He’s a refugee. A refugee who, along with the rest of his people, end up being transformed into the androids that rule the Fortress of Solitude. 

It’s a shockingly devastating blow, as the Brainiac system works to force Clark to conquer, to live up to the atrocities his people are complicit of by forcing him to change who he is. By not, he serves as a symbol of hope, a means of change, while also infuriating Brainiac because to have succumbed to his lineage would’ve been proof of his people’s actions. By showing his kindness and compassion, Clark builds on the overarching theme of the season of what it means to face each day knowing that each choice you make alters the threads of fate. There is no set course. 

My Adventures with Superman Season 3 Episode 9 sets the stage for a thrilling finale.

Bizzarro Superman shows this too, refusing to shoot down Superman despite Brainiac’s manipulations. The entire story at the Fortress of Solitude showcases the series’ artistry. Between the new character design for Clark as he is donned in the ancient Kryptonian attire (very little), and the red markings on his skin, to the plumes of blues and grays on the wintery world he traverses, the contrast of vibrant sparks of light and overwhelming darkness visualizes Clark’s role in the universe as Superman. To guide people home, to keep them safe. 

My Adventures with Superman Season 3 Episode 9 is an excellent penultimate episode that ups the ante in both the personal and battle stakes. The characters are all facing crucial moments that will define their fates. With immersive worldbuilding and edge-of-your-seat thrills, there’s no guessing how it will all resolve, setting the stage for an adrenaline rush of a finale. 

My Adventures with Superman Season 3 Episode 9 is out now on HBO Max.

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