My Adventures With Superman S1: Spoilers & Discussion

[Frontier]

Great. Like I said, I'm glad people are digging it, but it feels too middle-brow to have any kind of staying power. Granted, Superman & Lois is equally pedestrian and it seems to be popular enough to justify getting renewed.

I think I was just hoping for something a little more special than this. Honestly, without the Superman name, I seriously doubt anyone would be talking about this series. It just doesn't feel like it's doing anything particularly different or better than other animated fare out there these days.

But, that's just my impression. Perhaps this cartoon will be wildly successful, but I don't believe it's going to make much of a lasting impression unless the quality makes a big jump, which is entirely possible. Lots of shows take a few episodes to find their creative footing.

If that's the case with MAWS, I will certainly revisit the show to see if it's more to my liking, but, right now, I don't think I am the audience for this and I suspect I won't be alone in that assessment.

It feels like a very earnest show in terms of the presentation and execution, which I can respect.

But I also think SM&L is far from pedestrian, writing issues aside, so that's my headspace here.

[Mistah K88]

I'm finding Jimmy to be insufferable. He's far too obnoxious to be endearing.

I personally like some antagonism in Lois and Clark relationship but they going for here with Clark questioning her morally dubious behavior works for me.

I will say that like him or hate him, Jimmy is at least more than a footnote in this series in comparison to most others...the ONLY time I remember him is STAS was getting tricked by some girl who "really likes metal".

As far as Lois and Clark go, I'm glad that we've seen Clark call Lois out in the first episode, AND her being apologetic about it (normally I'd think she'd be justified in that she's right).

[Triniking1234]

Jimmy was also in the Supergirl episodes of TAS but the only adaptations of Jimmy that have gotten full screen time were Smallville (lmao) and Supergirl.

[Vordan]

Great. Like I said, I'm glad people are digging it, but it feels too middle-brow to have any kind of staying power. Granted, Superman & Lois is equally pedestrian and it seems to be popular enough to justify getting renewed.

I think I was just hoping for something a little more special than this. Honestly, without the Superman name, I seriously doubt anyone would be talking about this series. It just doesn't feel like it's doing anything particularly different or better than other animated fare out there these days.

But, that's just my impression. Perhaps this cartoon will be wildly successful, but I don't believe it's going to make much of a lasting impression unless the quality makes a big jump, which is entirely possible. Lots of shows take a few episodes to find their creative footing.

If that's the case with MAWS, I will certainly revisit the show to see if it's more to my liking, but, right now, I don't think I am the audience for this and I suspect I won't be alone in that assessment.

You’re not. The problem you’re having is that you’re coming to this show as a guy who has presumably consumed a ton of Superman media and other anime/animated shows. You’re jaded, you’ve watched so many cartoons to the point you can see where things are going. None of the dynamics or plotlines are fresh or new to you. But this is aimed at all-ages, it’s meant to be the introduction to Superman for kids and people who haven’t consumed a lot of Superman or animation. It’s THEIR first superhero cartoon in other words. BTAS fanboys looked down on The Batman cartoon, deriding it as inferior, but that was my intro to Batman and that’s how I became a fan of the character. MAWS is hopefully going to get some new fans among the younger gen who might have this as their first superhero cartoon, it’s their intro to Superman. A couple podcasts I listen to have had people talk about their kids watching MAWS, loving it and eager to see more. That’s all this show needs to do.

Consider that there hasn’t BEEN a proper entry point for Superman for kids in over 30 years. Everything has been aimed at adults: Superman Returns was Donner nostalgia for old people, the DCEU was for Snyder’s idea of “grown ups” and kids did not enjoy it, there’s no Superman video game outside of Injustice/SS making him evil, this is the first actual Superman product aimed at entertaining kids since STAS. No surprise that he has struggled popularity wise when DC made no effort to get zoomers into the character growing up.

Not to defend the show’s flaws, I doubt MAWS is going to convince people that Supes Rogues are great (a few outliers aside), but it is offering a Superman who has a personality that’s endearing and likeable, and isn’t mired in naval gazing about what Superman meaaaannnnnns or portraying him as evil/a god.

[Vakanai]

I'm going to give it until the Mxyzptlk episode. He's designed like a supreme kai and I'm curious if that's what they will lean on. If not then the classic interpretation would be a great fit for the show.



I'm finding Jimmy to be insufferable. He's far too obnoxious to be endearing.

I personally like some antagonism in Lois and Clark relationship but they going for here with Clark questioning her morally dubious behavior works for me.

Really? What's wrong with Jimmy?

[Frontier]

You’re not. The problem you’re having is that you’re coming to this show as a guy who has presumably consumed a ton of Superman media and other anime/animated shows. You’re jaded, you’ve watched so many cartoons to the point you can see where things are going. None of the dynamics or plotlines are fresh or new to you. But this is aimed at all-ages, it’s meant to be the introduction to Superman for kids and people who haven’t consumed a lot of Superman or animation. It’s THEIR first superhero cartoon in other words. BTAS fanboys looked down on The Batman cartoon, deriding it as inferior, but that was my intro to Batman and that’s how I became a fan of the character. MAWS is hopefully going to get some new fans among the younger gen who might have this as their first superhero cartoon, it’s their intro to Superman. A couple podcasts I listen to have had people talk about their kids watching MAWS, loving it and eager to see more. That’s all this show needs to do.

Consider that there hasn’t BEEN a proper entry point for Superman for kids in over 30 years. Everything has been aimed at adults: Superman Returns was Donner nostalgia for old people, the DCEU was for Snyder’s idea of “grown ups” and kids did not enjoy it, there’s no Superman video game outside of Injustice/SS making him evil, this is the first actual Superman product aimed at entertaining kids since STAS. No surprise that he has struggled popularity wise when DC made no effort to get zoomers into the character growing up.

Not to defend the show’s flaws, I doubt MAWS is going to convince people that Supes Rogues are great (a few outliers aside), but it is offering a Superman who has a personality that’s endearing and likeable, and isn’t mired in naval gazing about what Superman meaaaannnnnns or portraying him as evil/a god.

I'm glad the late premier isn't preventing kids from watching it, because that's the most important thing in my opinion.

I was really hoping this show would do a B:TAS/Spectacular style rendition of the Rogues but that is...definitely not the case, but not necesarilly a dealbreaker.

[Ascended]

I'm with Vordan on this; MAWS isn't for us, it's for the future fans we'll be arguing online with in ten years. I can't speak beyond my household but my anime-loving daughter is all over this. When they did the 'sparkly costume twirly thing' she totally geeked out. She loves the shonen type stuff like My Hero Academia and the quick wit, slice of (weird) life dramadies, and so far MWAS is riding both vibes. Only downside in her mind is the villains aren't very good and Clark doesn't have a BFF/rival.

I myself think the show is pretty basic so far, but it's doing 'basic' really well and they're competently telling the basic story they want to tell. It's not anything I would watch myself, but my little girl likes it and the show is good enough that watching it with her isn't a chore. I suspect my teen son has found a couple scenes humorous too, but he won't say it out loud.

[superduperman]

Honestly, the show's not my cup of tea. But it's not supposed to be. Part of maturity is letting some of your favorite things move on without you.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

Watching some more, and this seems like a quality comfort show, which i can appreciate. Whenever I'm having a bad day, watching Bob's Burgers usually perks me up. This seems to have a similar wholesomeness + comedy. The villains suck though, i agree. Deathstroke is fricking Jerry from R&M. lol.

[manwhohaseverything]

That's the thing.kids today have options to watch whole other content as well.If they could easily find this mediocre or boring(i am talking about young boys especially).this is put on adult swim to boot.Honestly,i feel these guys don't know who their target audience is or are comfused. What they should have done is target older female audience.Because that feels like what they want to target.

[Mantis-Ray]

I'm with Vordan on this; MAWS isn't for us, it's for the future fans we'll be arguing online with in ten years. I can't speak beyond my household but my anime-loving daughter is all over this. When they did the 'sparkly costume twirly thing' she totally geeked out. She loves the shonen type stuff like My Hero Academia and the quick wit, slice of (weird) life dramadies, and so far MWAS is riding both vibes. Only downside in her mind is the villains aren't very good and Clark doesn't have a BFF/rival.

I myself think the show is pretty basic so far, but it's doing 'basic' really well and they're competently telling the basic story they want to tell. It's not anything I would watch myself, but my little girl likes it and the show is good enough that watching it with her isn't a chore. I suspect my teen son has found a couple scenes humorous too, but he won't say it out loud.

Heh I like how your daughter thinks, she's smart.

Assuming its not Lex, Clark will prolly get a rival/antagonist friend in the next season or near the end of this one. At the moment this season is focused on establishing his relationship with Jimmy and Lois as a trio. So they won't majorly uproot that with new cast additions until a while in when everything is fully stabilized and you can start getting creative with the character interactions.

In terms of villains I have a feeling Ivo will be when it starts picking up. Tech-suit and man-bun aside I feel like he'll have a motivation that grants him a level of agency we've been lacking at the moment. With like Intergang the issue is that they are a bunch of random thieves who just stumble into their equipment so they have little build-up aside from being obligatory bad guys. Ivo though especially since the trio seem to be investigating him might get that sort of build-up that makes him a stronger character. Plus while the suit may be Kryptonian based, he presumably built it himself which is another stroke of agency more than Livewire and Intergang stealing/getting their stuff offscreen.

[JBatmanFan05]

Honestly, the show's not my cup of tea. But it's not supposed to be.

Yes, I'm in this boat. I watched most of the first ep, but that's it...it wasn't working enough for me.

[Immortal Weapon]

You’re not. The problem you’re having is that you’re coming to this show as a guy who has presumably consumed a ton of Superman media and other anime/animated shows. You’re jaded, you’ve watched so many cartoons to the point you can see where things are going. None of the dynamics or plotlines are fresh or new to you. But this is aimed at all-ages, it’s meant to be the introduction to Superman for kids and people who haven’t consumed a lot of Superman or animation. It’s THEIR first superhero cartoon in other words. BTAS fanboys looked down on The Batman cartoon, deriding it as inferior, but that was my intro to Batman and that’s how I became a fan of the character. MAWS is hopefully going to get some new fans among the younger gen who might have this as their first superhero cartoon, it’s their intro to Superman. A couple podcasts I listen to have had people talk about their kids watching MAWS, loving it and eager to see more. That’s all this show needs to do.

Consider that there hasn’t BEEN a proper entry point for Superman for kids in over 30 years. Everything has been aimed at adults: Superman Returns was Donner nostalgia for old people, the DCEU was for Snyder’s idea of “grown ups” and kids did not enjoy it, there’s no Superman video game outside of Injustice/SS making him evil, this is the first actual Superman product aimed at entertaining kids since STAS. No surprise that he has struggled popularity wise when DC made no effort to get zoomers into the character growing up.

Not to defend the show’s flaws, I doubt MAWS is going to convince people that Supes Rogues are great (a few outliers aside), but it is offering a Superman who has a personality that’s endearing and likeable, and isn’t mired in naval gazing about what Superman meaaaannnnnns or portraying him as evil/a god.

A Superman kids show that airs at midnight on the adult swim block. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Immortal Weapon]

Really? What's wrong with Jimmy?

What's right with him? He's a conspiracy theory weirdo who's over the top by default with too dumb to live tendencies. He is annoying.

[Frontier]

That's the thing.kids today have options to watch whole other content as well.If they could easily find this mediocre or boring(i am talking about young boys especially).this is put on adult swim to boot.Honestly,i feel these guys don't know who their target audience is or are comfused. What they should have done is target older female audience.Because that feels like what they want to target.

I think that's where the romance and Clark aspect come in.