Review: My Adventures with Superman “Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Clark takes Jimmy and Lois to his home and whatever he can show them of the Kryptonian ship, both to be as transparent as he can, but also so he can as Lois on a date. Both of them end up obsessing about how to make the perfect date, but then Clark is whisked away by Mister Mxyzptlk, a fifth dimensional imp up to no good. Similarly, Lois and Jimmy are captured by the League of Loises, an organization of multiversal Loises (and one girl Jimmy) who are hunting the imp, but also have files on Clarks from other universes. Eventually Mxyzptlk finds his hat, which he can channel power through, but Lois and Clark are able to distract him and take the hat back so the Loises can detain him. Lois, Clark, and Jimmy are taken home, but Lois snagged a file from the League’s computer showing footage of several evil Supermen, as well as a shard of Kryptonite that she saw one Lois use to incapacitate Superman earlier.

OUR TAKE

First off, there was some hubbub about Mxyzptlk’s design when it was revealed because of course there was, so let’s address that first. I can’t say I’m too fond of the design myself, mainly because it’s so much of a departure from the more iconic look he has in other material. I’d be fine with it if they stuck to the orange and purple color scheme at least, though they did end up making use of his usual bowler hat in a unique way. As for how the character is portrayed, it’s not gonna beat previous versions such as the one voiced by the late great Gilbert Gottfried from Superman: The Animated Series, but it’s a fine first appearance. Though I hope in future episodes, they make use of the more typical aspects like his weakness to someone saying his name backwards, or even tap into his more chaotic nature like in some grimmer versions. Much like other characters in this show’s style, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this Mxy, but there’s not a whole lot that really stands out either aside from just looking very different.

The League of Loises on the other hand were actually a pretty pleasant surprise, for quite a few reasons. For one, jumping straight into a multiverse plot when you’re not even past a full season can feel a bit desperate to follow trends. Even when I see a new take on a multiverse story that I LIKE, I end up more sick of multiverse stories. But bringing in an organization of Loises as opposed to Clarks or heck, even Jimmys, felt like a novel move somehow. Frankly, this whole show has been hitting the gas on a lot of stuff that other versions of Superman would hold off on for a lot longer, like having Clark show Lois AND Jimmy his Kryptonian ship before he even knows what a lot of it is. I can see a little bit of missed opportunity with Lois and Jimmy investigating things on their own while being in the dark about Clark, but maybe we’re en route to see a lot more interesting stories with Clark being out in the open with his friends. And now that Lois has some Kryptonite, which is also introduced in a unique way, will she doubt Clark’s ability to avoid becoming a despot? Maybe for like a little bit, but it will at least be a pretty intriguing little bit, like she might talk to her dad about it! We’ll find out as Part 1 of Zero Day approaches, next week!