#Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal

[nicholasmoorethetwittermigrant]

I love the implication that this in fact the same guy just arbitrarily choosing to look different because he can.

[yourockthebeatofmyheart]

obsessed with this clip (transcript below cut)

Mr. Mxyzptlk: Nice try, sport, but Clark is Superman in almost every reality. This Earth, Earth-12, Earth-50, Earth-508, Weird Earth, the works!

Clark: (stunned) How did you... how did you... was I a crab??

[warrenwaskilledbyadeer]

Watching the beginning of MAWS ep 7 with my brother

My brother: So this is... interesting

Me: Mxyzptlk can look however he wants!

My brother: Well yes but I meant an interdimensional agent isn't who he normally is, right?

Me:

Me: Well he's lying!!

My brother:

My brother: How naive of me to assume that Mr. Mxyzptlk wasn't lying. I'm as bad as Clark

[panda-escapades]

There was a bunch of Easter Eggs and references in the last episode of My Adventures with Superman, Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal. I've gone over most of them on this post, but there was just one moment that had so many that I was unsure of that I wanted to do it's own post so if more people get the references that can be discovered.

I'm not sure if these are supposed to be references/easter eggs or just set dressing, but I'm gonna try to figure it out. It very much pushes that button of hey these seem familiar. Here are my thoughts and guesses on these items, if you know or have something that seems close let me know and I'll update it.

1) 2) 3) 4) Possibly the noisy cricket from Men in Black. This one is hard as there are so many small guns like it. It might be a ray gun of some kind as well. 5) 6) Maybe Fatherbox 7) 8) 9) Thank you @sieglindegrimm for idenitifying this as Homura Akemi's shield from Puella Magi Madoka Magica 10) 11) Thank you @boisonbapple for mentioning the pepper grinder from Alice: Madness Returns as a possibility 12) 13) 14) 15) Possibly referencing Amethyst's upgraded whip weapon from Steven Universe 16) Possibility one of Kyoshi's Fans from Avatar the Last Air Bender, but its also very generic. 17) Gut's sword from Beserk 18) The Sky-Hook from Bioshock Infinite 19) Seems like the Wabbajack staff from Skyrim 20) 21) 22) 23) Sakura's first Sealing Wand from Cardcaptors, though it has dome differences in the details. 24) 25) 26) I think it's a stretch but it might be the Shooting Star broom from Little Witch Academia. But I suspect its some kind of staff from somewhere else. 27) 28)

[soullessjack]

if you guys are excited or interested in the whole evil Superman thing after ep7 you absolutely have to watch STAS Brave New Metropolis and look at the most pathetic sad wet bee / cardboard box cat version of Clark that ever existed. He is absolutely crucial to the entire archetype of rogue evil Superman he is the blueprint

[selkienight60]

Have to say I’m really looking forward to the My Adventures with Superman episode titled: “kiss kiss fall in portal”

[memento-mori-twilight]

Some neat comic-based details from episode 7 of MAWS

(slight spoilers below for the episode, the 00's Justice League animated series, and for certain DC comics)

So,

When the Lois League make their episode debut, they say our Lois and our Jimmy (and by extension, our Clark) are from Earth-12.

That means it canonically firmly falls under the same DCAU universe that Batman: the Animated Series, STAS, and Batman Beyond.

And that also places it firmly into what's called "the Cartoon Rim" of the DC multiverse

Now, when Mxy's cycling Clark through the different design iterations, he calls out more Earths:

Earth-Twelve, Earth-50, Earth-508, and Weird Earth.

Now, I think the animation team switched up the showcase order a bit, and I'll show you why when I describe each Earth as we know them to be in DC Universe.

First:

• Earth-Twelve (or Earth-B): home to Adam West Batman and apparently now the 1940s Superman (who was originally from Earth-2 where, fun fact, Mxyztplk made his first comic appearance/his origin). So making that universe the home of the first mainstream appearances of DC's Golden Staples tracks.

But then,

• He calls out Earth-50 and the image of The Super Friends Superman from the old 70s-80s show appears.

I think this is actually supposed to be representative of Earth-508 Superman, since there is a comic version of the Super Friends that exists and they just used Earth-1956's Superman as an indicator for that. Which is fair, since the actual ones are copyright owned by Fisher-Price lol.

Now,

The real interesting part is that would make the Earth that the S:TAS/JLU Superman belongs to Earth-50 if the 508 switchup is true. Which seems like another mistake right?

Except

Earth-50 as it is known originated from the Justice League animated series and was established as a parallel sister world to Earth-12, going through the same events until a major event cascades to turn the Justice League into the Justice Lords, a darker and more authoritarian version of themselves.

But that event doesn't happen until years later.

(Keen eyes will notice we see this Superman reference later in the episode as well)

So, if the timelines are staying equal with Clark/Superman staying around the same age of 22-23 that he has been around the start of his appearance in Metropolis/working at the Daily Planet, then the Earth-50 Superman would still look like the normal S:TAS Superman!

So now, I bet you're asking why would they do the Earth switchup in the first place?

Well, mainly the whole scene exists for a nice timeline callback/easter egg for the animation history of Superman as a whole, and the script writers and animators probably didn't think we would catch on.

BUT

I also think, in-universe, that it is just Mxyztplk playing a little trick on curious viewers who would go lore diving and comic folks who would be paying attention.

That is, if it's all intentional.

Sorry for a super prolonged nerd rant on a pretty harmless scene.

I just happened to see it and my brain latched onto the familiar numbers and made a murder board lol.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

My DCCU: Character Essay - Mr. Mxyzptlk

So...did you see the last episode of MAWS?

I just wrote an essay discussing this series, and without making you read that (although here it is if you wanna), let's just say I love almost everything about it, but the villains have me...nervous. Which, yeah, not exactly a unique take on the series, critically speaking. It is, in fact, the most common refrain about the series amongst Superman fans.

Now, since then, to be fair, we've gotten some very promising characters make their debut, or becoming more prominent. Task Force X - which includes Amanda Waller, the General (who's gotta be Sam Lane, but may also take some inspiration from Wade Eiling; time'll tell on that one, though), and a very cool super-armored version of Deathstroke - are our main antagonists, and I'm excited to see what comes out of them. Their former associates, power couple Brain and Monseiur Mallah (who are also gay in the comics, if you didn't know) are a more sympathetic turn on the characters, but quite satisfying in this form.

But no, there's only one real reason I'm making this post. And that is of course, the villain featured in the most recent episode, as of me writing this post. He's already up above, so let's just get into it.

Fun fact about me: I love a lot of Superman villains, but of all of them, my absolute favorite is Mr. Mxyzptlk. He's a mischief-making, chaos-loving, harmless and harmful menace from the 5th dimension, who obeys no laws of the dimensions below. The origin of legends, past and present, of genies, leprechauns, fey, and imps that tease men with ill-fated wishes. An all-powerful being disguised as a man dressed in a funny little hat.

Mr. Mxyzptlk is the Robin Goodfellow of Superman's world. He appears to amuse himself, no matter the cost to the Man of Steel's day. Usually, you can send him back via making him say his own name backwards, but that's just one of the rules to Mxy's games. And make no mistake, that's what they are: games. Mr. Mxyzptlk has played on the side of angels and devils, and he really only cares about his own amusement. And his relationship with Superman, varied as it can be, helps to fuel his morality.

I could bring up the character's live-action appearances (which are notable in their own right), but those are mostly afraid to really go for it. The closest to the original character would be Michael J. Pollard's version in Superboy, a mostly forgotten series from the late'80s, and a version that actually wears the comic book outfit. There's also the Supergirl version, which was notable, and played by Peter Gadiot and Thomas Lemmon; and there's the version played by Howie Mandel (yes, really) in Lois and Clark: The Adventures of Superman in the '90s, which is a more evil but passable version of the character. Oh, and the Smallville version? Yeah, absolutely doesn't count. If you want a true adaptation for Mxy, you gotta go animated.

The most iconic adaptation of this character was portrayed by the late, great Gilbert Gottfried in Superman: The Animated Series. Now, I say the most iconic, but that's probably a bit biased on my part. In my opinion, this is the most fun and accurate version we've seen of the character, taking from his original design for inspiration. An annoying imp that appears every three months, his debut episode in the series, Mxyzpixillated, is one of my favorite episodes of the series, and goes balls-to-the-wall wacky, as you should with Mxyzptlk.

The character had only a few more appearances in the series after his first, but Gottfried's performance was so memorable, he was brought back for multiple incarnations, including the video game DC Universe Online, and the more recent animated series Justice League Action, which would be one of Gottfried's last performances, and therefore his last appearance as the character. He'll be sorely missed for a number of reasons, but the voice he gave to the imp is never going to leave me.

Which brings me to the version of the character we see in MAWS. And yeah, this is obviously a VERY different version of the character, appearance-wise. Outside of the orange and purple color scheme and one other exception, this version has no design similarities with any version of Mxyzptlk, and is obviously very anime-inspired, as is the entire series. I mean, for Chrissakes, the title of the episode is a reference to Ouran High School Host Club. They knew what they were doing.

We meet Mxyzptlk in the middle of a heist, and he already shows his power and prowess by tricking Clark immediately. Amongst a bunch of fantastic DCU references, and a lot of multiverse talk, we eventually stumble upon his actual goal: the reclamation of an ancient artifact stolen from him by the League of Lois Lanes. And that artifact is...his hat. THE hat. And lemme tell ya, I was overjoyed to see that stupid little bowler.

Once he gets it, we get a glimpse of true Mxyzptlk power, as he goes full chaos lord on us. He's eventually defeated through trickery with portals, and NOT through the backwards name gambit. And even then, he's not actually defeated, and returns in the end to annoy his new target: Lois Lane. Yeah. He's haunting LOIS, not Clark. And honestly, I'm...very intrigued.

This Mxyzptlk is, honestly, a faithful version of the character, straight-up. Sure, there are elements missing, and the outfit is completely different, but he also sort of looks like you'd expect an imp or genie to look. Like Alan Moore said in Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel?, why should an extradimensional imp look like a little man in a suit and funny little bowler? I think this works, honestly.

I'm also excited to see him in the future of the series, and see what they do with the character as a result. Mxyzptlk is, as I said earlier, one of my favorites, whether he helps or hurts the Man of Tomorrow. And if I had one complaint, it's that I want him to go wackier. Like, CRAZY. Watch his appearances in Superman: The Animated Series if you haven't, and you'll see what I mean. The potential is quite literally unlimited when it comes to the fifth dimension imp.

But if that's the case...what would I do with Mxyzptlk in my DCCU?

Mr. Mxyzptlk in My DCCU

I would do...not much more than Easter eggs at first. Look, I love Mxyzptlk, but having him as a character in a film or film series is extremely tricky. But instead, Mxyzptlk is both a seen and unseen force in my DCCU, hovering around Superman's world without actually interfering in it directly. Not exactly his bag, I know, but it's a good way to get him to work in a film series. Essentially, I'm turning him into a background character in the first and second films, to be noticed by only the most observant. Disguised as other characters, maybe making odd gestures every now and then as if to manipulate things around him. The ultimate Easter egg character, basically. Until, possibly the very end of the second, or even the third film in the franchise.

Fast forward to the second film's post-credit scene.

A poker game is being played, but we're table level. All we see are the hands and the cards, which get increasingly stranger as the game goes on. Three voices are speaking, and we get the immediate idea that these people are watching our heroes. Eventually, a fourth voice juts in, and we also find out that a fifth one of them has been invited, but chose not to attend. Finally, we pan up, and we see...some dude.

This guy, whoever they are, should've been a face we've seen in the first and second films, usually hanging around the Daily Planet, but also around Metropolis. In fact, they should be visible in every conflict or battle seen in the films thus far. As we look at the others, we should see similar figures that've appeared in Batman, Wonder Woman, and Flash films that've come put by this point. All extras, and all watching our heroes. In fact, it'd be great if the Flash-focused person hasn't appeared yet, because the Flash's film releases after this one.

Finally, as we pan back around to the Superman-focused character, who is smoking a cigar, the conversation turns to what's coming. Mxyzptlk is aware of what's coming for Superman, but the rest refer to "the first Crisis". Mxyzptlk sort of brushes it off, even as they're saying things that hint at the first big even film to come in the DCCU. And these should be vague yet intriguing clues to this event. But Mxyzptlk insists that his guy'll be prepared, and that he has a lot of money riding on that outcome. With that, the mysterious figure looks directly at the camera.

Yeah, realizing that we're peering in on the game, he probably berates the nerds in the audience for knowing who he is without it being said (possibly by turning into a more comic-accurate version of himself) , then confirms that he'll be back in the next one, but not as the big threat. Maybe he'll be there to help, maybe not; depends on his mood that day. After a few more snarky remarks, he gives us a look and tells us to buzz off. We may even get a glimpse at the other imps in the room, those being Bat-Mite, Wondermite, and Mopee. And with that, he snaps his fingers, and the film ends officially.

Yeah, I basically pulled an Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to bring in Mxyzptlk. And, since that scene is one of the best of the film, I don't think that's a problem! In the next film, we know what Mxyzptlk's identity looks like, and he may even give us a wave from the background in his first appearance in the next film. He won't interfere directly, but in the last post-credits scene of this trilogy, he'll finally get caught by Superman. Over time, Superman's had some experience with magic users, probably via Wonder Woman. And magic, in my universe, has a distinctive smell of some kind.

Knowing that Mxyzptlk's been watching him throughout the films, Clark finally confronts him on it, and asks what he wants. And Mxyzptlk actually replies and shows himself, explaining that the battles to come are pretty intense. He won't help or harm, but he just wanted to give a heads-up, mostly because it's fun. With that and a bit more conversation, Mxyzptlk leaves having given this ominous warning.

Does he return? Maybe during a Crisis on Infinite Earths movie, maybe in the Darkseid-based Justice League film to come, who knows? This version of the character is basically a Watcher, maybe throwing in some fun chaos here and there. It's sort of hard to add Mxyzptlk into a film series, because he's not a plotter. He's an all-powerful one-off character who, were he to be introduced as a genuine threat to the films, could just kill Superman immediately. It wouldn't make sense. So, make him neutrally bent, and keep him as a fun Easter egg character.

That take may be disappointing to some, but...like, c'mon, guys, he's a pretty big gun. Having him as the ultimate threat of a film also wouldn't make it very fun, because we don't want to see him get killed, but he also can't really win. It'd just be unsatisfying. I like the idea of making him this greater, scarier presence, while also making all of the imps these all-powerful observant beings that watch over our plane with fascination and/or reverence. And maybe, just maybe, we can squeeze some mischief in there somewhere.

Any other ideas on how you would introduce Mr. Mxyzptlk to a cinematic universe (if you should at all)? Reblog! Comment! I'm extremely curious, frankly. This was one of, like, three ideas I had, but the one I thought worked best.

And if you liked this, check out my other Superman essays here!

[bicokun]

I watched the latest episode of My Adventures with Superman, and that Mr. Mxyzpytlk has me wondering. He’s supposed to be a 5th dimensional imp, and that could mean he transcends time, which should mean that regardless of what 4th dimensional universe he shows up in he’s the same guy. Given that an entire League of Loises has to team up to (temporarily) imprison him, that seems to be the intention, but why does he look and act so different from usual? Is he just doing that specifically to fit in with the MAwS aesthetic? And why is his attitude so different from other appearances? I suppose it could be that we’re simply seeing him at a different point in his life, which given he’s unbound by our concept of time means we can see younger or older versions of him in seemingly random order.

Of course, it could also be that DC’s 5th dimension also has alternate universes and each Superman deals with his own version of Mr. Mxyzptlk. Of course, that also means that this one probably isn’t the one native to MAwS since he apparently just escaped to that universe due to Mallah and Brain, which then leads to the question of what kind of universe he came from? A lot of questions that probably will not be answered, but, hey, unanswered questions are part of the fun sometimes.

Oh, also, I saw that Ouran Highschool Host Club reference in the title and frickin’ guffawed.

[waterfire1848]

Clark and Lois in the new episode:

Somehow I knew I would get to use this joke but I thought it would be for Lois during episode 4 and not both her and Clark for episode 7.

[crabpeach]

I’m not sure if anyone cares but I’ve just caught up with the latest episodes of My Adventures with Superman and I wanna talk about it! Hopefully without spoilers.

So I’ll be honest, the first episode was fairly off putting. I thought everything was over the top and didn’t like the relationship dynamics set up of the main three. I wasn’t sure how the relationships were going to develop but I was willing to give it a chance!

Thank goodness I did because wow! The most recent couple of episodes (I think episode 8 is the most recent as of this post. I’m geeking at the episode title and hope the Ouran HSHC reference is intentional) really showed that they want to do something and I’m here. For. It. I’m so glad they addressed my issue with the trio dynamic (at least it’s a start to addressing) and that the show is smarter than I initially gave it credit.

[nicholasmoorethetwittermigrant]

Ooooooh the last few minutes of this week’s #MyAdventuresWithSuperman has my SO fucking excited.

This show is putting a thematic moratorium on “Evil Superman” and I’m. Here. For. It.

Also, Clois in that opening scene???

Fucking adorable. They were just perfect this whole episode.

[fushsiaelectrica]

Not Lois Lane league material? Participation trophy Lois?

Yah… say that about one of the only Loises (Loei?) to figure out and prove Clark Kent was Superman on her own right off the bat!

Not even Lois prime did it that fast!! I feel like if she dropped that Titbit it would have been a whole different episode.

[panda-escapades]

Easter Eggs/references from Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal

I wanted one place where all of this was together so I'm putting it together. I was hooked when I saw that the episode title itself was a reference to Ouran Highschool Host Club. I primarily enjoy DC content through their animated works, please let me know if I'm missing something from the comics, live action, or something else.

First we get Superman from Earth-F aka Superman from the Fleischer Superman Theatrical Shorts(1941–1943) (Mxy calls it Earth 12, this seems to be a typo in the script as Earth 12 is the MAwS earth and mentions that earth just before in the list, or there are multiple Earth 12s.)

Then we get Superman from Earth 50 aka Superman from Super Friends (1973-1985)

Then we get Superman from Earth 508 aka Superman from Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000)/ Justice League (2001-2004) / Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006)

Then the final Superman from this scene Superman from Weird Earth. I think this is first instance of this kind of variation with superman as doing a quick search links the DC character 'The Weird' But I also love when multiverse productions just do weird and silly versions of things (looking at you hot dog hands Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Our next batch of References is to and to the League of Lois Lanes, founded by Lois Prime, the first Lois to discover (and based on how she is talked about communicate and or travel to other universes). Our introduction to them has he League of Loises asking Lois lane and Jimmy Olsen of Earth 12 to come with them. While discussing the situation The League of Loises tell us that Earth 12 was a previously unknown universe to them (until Monsieur Mallah and the Brain opened it up last episode) and Mr. Mxyzptlk has used that opportunity to get MAwS Superman to help them. (We know that the League of Lois Lanes has lied to our MAwS Lois and Jimmy, and that Lois Prime didn't trust everyone. The very foundation of the organization could be fabricated to some degree as they all could be considered unreliable narrators but I can't see why they'd like about that big of world building so for now I'm taking that exposition as is). Lois Prime is also always refereed to in the past tense so we as the audience are supposed to assume she's dead.

For the Time Being I'm not going to discuss the League memebers as I am trying to just focus on the easter eggs (or so I told myself) But in the credits they are listed without an earth number and as Leader Lois; Grizzled Lois Lane; Robotic Lois; Lewis Lane; Jalana Olsen

Here are the images we get of Lois Prime. She appears to also be from the Fleischer Superman Theatrical Shorts(1941–1943) just with the art style blended a bit with MAwS.

The next batch of references are the ones from the museum, which is said to be on earth prime.

First we get some establishing shots with a Big Mace (Thanagarian Mace) aka Hawkgirl's next to a Mother Box. This version of the mother box is based on Jack Kirby & Mike Royer's design.

The Next Establishing shot we see a green lantern Power Battery, a T-Sphere, and a leather bound book with a that has a circle with a triangle in it. I'm just not sure what it is. The Book of Black does have a circle with a triangle on it, but it's black so I figure it's probably not that.

Then we have Mxy and Superman enter and Mxy drops the act and admits he just wants to steal and knocks off a golden helmet. The gold helmet that is Doctor Fate's Helmet. Then in the background we have some metal objects, a sword, and a blue cloak. The silver and gold metal objects could be shields, but there's just not enough details for me to sink my teeth into looking deeper. The sword is very generic, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Excalibur as that shows up from time to time. Another Option could be the Vorpal Sword as its in the same display case with a blue cloak which could be Blue Boy's Witching Cloak. Though its also possible to be Raven's Cloak, or anyone who used a blue cloak.

Next are named objects by Mxy Cosmic Rod aka Stargirl's staff.

And the Flight Ring aka Legioneer flight ring. In the background we can also see Wonder Woman's gauntlets as well as her lasso of truth. The flight ring also blocks the view of a triangle on a staff as well as some metal tubes.

Then Mxy Passes by the Soultaker Sword (The Katana) before grabbing the tape recorder he came for and that's the last of any clear objects in the museum.

Then we get a cute bonding moment with Jimmy and Jalana where she shows off meeting Comet the Super-Horse.

While that happens Earth-12 MAwS Lois sneaks into the locked room to see files on other Loises. The first we see is Lois Lane from Earth-52 who's an award winning reporter.

Then we see Lois Lane from Earth-24. She's sporting a key to the city, but with her style of fashion is very kingdom hearts. They even have the detail of using one of Utada Hikari's hairstyles for her as has been done for Kairi.

Then we get the last computer file Lois Lane from Earth-1 who is "Ready to meet with Dad" I personally think this is another foreshadowing moment that in this iteration of the characters her dad is going to be "The General" that we saw back in episode 2.

Next bit we get is the meet up in Earth 14, which could have them landing in an uninhabited area, or it could be fully desolate. While everyone else is there Mxy steals the ship with Earth-12 MAwS Lois and go Headquarters. The entrance of Headquarters has holograms of several Loises.

The front most Lois lanes we get include Lois from Earth-F aka from the Fleischer Superman Theatrical Shorts(1941–1943) (just like the first other Superman we saw). And across from her we get the another Lois paired with one of the other Superman we saw. Lois Lane from Earth 508 from Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000)/ Justice League (2001-2004) / Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006)

Next to Lois Lane from Earth 508 we see a Lois Lane as Superwoman.

Next to Lois Lane from Earth-F we see a woman with a Hijab and Labcoat. There are 3 more holograms on this side of the hall, but we don't get a close up and the other Loises.

We do get a few more details of the others as Mxy and Lois of MAwS walk through the hall. We see one black woman and an indigenous woman.

The Last bit of HQ potential Easter Eggs we get is this shot of Mxy opening storage for weapons. However, if they are references I think they're to things outside of DC. The biggest sword in there is Gut's sword from Beserk. I would love to hear from people if they recognize any of these objects. I'm going to make a second post focusing on just that shot here.

The the last ones we get are Lois reviewing the Superman File X

The first Superman we see doesn't have any kind of chest logo is Overman from Earth 17

The second Superman with white cape is Superman is a villainous Justice Lord called Lord Superman.

The Last Superman we see with the face scar doesn't seem to have any counter part so my money is he's a Superman from one of the League of Loises Earths.

I'm really enjoying My Adventures with Superman. The team seems to really get what a Superman story is supposed to be about and how there is supposed to be fun and love in it. I do wish we could have a longer season because the pace is just so fast and it would be nice to settle in. But that's a bigger issue with the industry right now with studios ordering seasons to be short mini series instead of the traditional 26, but that's a conversation for another post and not a reflection of the team making the show.

[animatedminds]

Catching up on "My Adventures With Superman"

I've been watching this one but doing it in the stints thing where I take a break for a couple weeks and then binge a few episodes at once. Just did one of those to catch up to the present and thought I'd share my reactions to the latest episode... seeing as it features my favorite of all of Superman's villains: the illustrious Mr. Mxyzptlk.

I know I'm Super late on this (ha), given that this is six episodes in, but I think I'll just give my thoughts on the two-parters coming up as they come/conclude and then my final thoughts on the show as a whole when its over. You can already get a bit of that towards the end of this, though. Episode 6: "Kiss, Kiss, Fall in Portal." So, this one reminded me of Spider-Verse. Not the movie. The original comic. And not in a good way. It has that same "we'll introduce the multiverse to give every bit of continuity ever made an established place so that we can homage everything... but actually devalue everything by forcing it to fit into a very rigid and contrived paradigm" feel.

For a while I've been starting to think the people who make this show don't actually see Superman's world and characters as especially interesting, which is why they've mostly been turning them into imitations of other things. The Legion of Lois'es, especially, really brought that feeling out: so the ultimate evolution of every prominent Lois Lane in every previous Superman property we've ever seen is... to cease to be Lois Lane and become Flash Gordon instead? It's such a jarring contrast for the primary Lois in this series to be someone whose main motivation is to become a reporter and help people by getting answers, only for the show to say "once you become the best you can be you won't even need to be a reporter anymore - then you'll be a cool sci-fi hero and do cool sci-fi hero stuff!" - and it then feels like Lois feeling insecure falls flat because none of these characters even do the things she or any other Lois we've ever seen cares about. I think it mostly hit me this way because this doesn't really get a resolution. The characters give the Multiverse Police the slip (which I do love, see below), but there isn't really a "I'm going to be the best I am because that's who I am, not what you think I'm worth" moment from Lois. She (and thus, the show) just kind of internalizes it.

I might be being harsh on it, I think. But it's comes off an idea that was intended as a homage on paper but ceased to work as one in execution - and instead maybe felt a bit like the opposite. On top of that "we love these characters and put them on a pedestal through nostalgia, so what if characters in-universe actually had the same reactions to those same characters and treated them the same way" is pretty much an idea I've never seen work out - it always just ends up turning characters into reflections of fan reactions, instead of allowing them to be... well... characters.

I'm explicitly not getting into the Clark implications, firstly because everyone overreacts the hell out any time an evil Clark or Clark-like character shows up in anything these days, second because the issues with the concept are evident even before Clark comes into it, and third because - due to the first - I think people are focusing too much on Clark specifically and not enough on how the concept as a whole wasn't great to characters involved (except Jimmy / Jalana because this show's versions of any Olsen continue to be a treasure).

And fourth because the "the characters discover some versions of their friend went bad" does actually line perfectly well up with the season's overall plot about Lois' dad being a paranoid nutter, but the Kryptonians maybe being evil and Clark being an unclear cog in the gears of this strange mystery. It's a plot decision I really liked in this show: I'm suspecting we might end up with something Iron Giant-esque, where all evidence points to the hero being a monster, but the hero refuses to fall into expectation as their friends refuse to fall victim to the fearmongering.

But... overall, all that is why I really liked how the main characters' ultimate response to the judgmental multiversal police squad was a "screw you guys, we're going home" without even a goodbye. Screw that noise. Presumably the Lois'es from other continuities who pointedly aren't among the Lois'es actually in the judgmental multiverse police squad did something similar. Live your life as yourself. Good message, though I think show could've been more overt about delivering it.

On the flipside, Mxy was fun. He was a tread to Lois & Clark's "more malevolent Mxy who wants to be a god" idea, which is... hate to repeat myself... fun. But being fun it what's most important where Mxy is concerned. It's a little less interesting to have a Mxy who needs power because he wants to be a god vs a Mxy who already has power and finds concepts like godhood boring, but I don't think traditional Mxy is in line with how this show envisions threats, and regardless he was delightfully tricky and - let's face it - is one of the two big things absolutely carrying the episode (the other being Clark and Lois' relationship, as usual).

All in all, the show continues to hit me two ways at once: I really love the way it's interpreting the characters and their relationships - again, Jimmy is fantastic and Lois and Clark's relationship is nuanced, adorable and continually keeps me invested - but the plot decisions that surround those great characterizations keep missing, often feeling like they're wasting good concepts.

I hope I'm wrong about the feeling I'm getting that the writers maybe have some overall apathy for Superman's world and characters, but bit by bit the show keeps making me wonder - I just wish the show would start feeling excited to reinterpret these characters rather than flippant.

Either way, though, fun episode. More Mxy is always a treasure.

[graciousk]