How My Adventures With Superman Is Making All Of The Right Decisions With Supergirl

My Adventures With Superman is back for its third season, and I’m already obsessed. I love how it turned the story of Clark Kent and Lois Lane into an adorable romantic comedy while still having time for meaningful character drama and compelling villains we know and love.

In a world where James Gunn is currently rebooting the DC Universe with new takes on the likes of Superman, Supergirl, Clayface, and more, it appears the animation slate is receiving just as much attention. We even caught a glimpse at this future during this week’s episode in which Jessica Cruz is introduced ahead of her role in My Adventures With Green Lantern.

Annecy Festival in France this week is also poised to deliver a bunch of news on the upcoming slate of animated shows, so keep an eye out for that!

But I don’t want to talk about or theorise on all of that stuff today. Instead, I want to touch on the redemption arc of Kara (AKA Supergirl) and her developing romance with Jimmy Olsen. They’re potentially perfect for each other, but the show is choosing not to rush into things and asking viewers to strap in for the slow burn. This is the correct choice, and here’s why.

Why I’m Glad Supergirl Is Pursuing A Slow Burn Romance

If you aren’t familiar with the events of the second season, it introduces Kara/Supergirl as a pawn of villain Brainiac, who brainwashes Kara and uses her powers to enslave planets and ultimately end billions of innocent lives. It’s a horrific existence that Kara is soon freed from with the help of her cousin Superman, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen.

But there are a handful of moments in the second season where we watch her explore Earth alongside members of our main cast who are, in that moment, oblivious to her motivations. She’s a fish out of water, blown away by the wonderful taste of mint ice cream and kindness of strangers like Jimmy. I loved watching her appreciate the potential kindness of humanity for the first time, and how it felt to interact with living beings who aren’t trying to use her as an emotionless weapon.

Instead of turning to intergalactic benders to deal with the trauma of losing her people, it seems this version of Supergirl was hit directly with a cutie patootie beam.

But she is one of the last surviving Kryptonians and has spent most of her young existence as a brainwashed soldier, while Clark Kent was fortunate enough to have a family who loves and supports him to this day, learning to use his powers for good while being oblivious to his true purpose. My Adventures with Superman takes inspiration from romantic anime, so most of the more dramatic moments are eventually brushed aside to focus on character dynamics, but that doesn’t make the background lore any less powerful.

There is an adorable scene in the second season where Superman discovers that Kara has been keeping photos of herself and Jimmy Olsen, having clearly become infatuated with him after their time spent together on Earth. Watching her blush and deny that she ‘likes’ Jimmy as more than a friend is so saccharine, especially when her concept of romance is fresh and untainted.

Fast-forward to the end of the season and Kara is freed from Brainiac’s grasp and a full-time member of the crew, while the third season appears to skip ahead a few years, so Supergirl is established as a new saviour for the hero of Metropolis.

Despite everything that has changed during this time, however, her romantic feelings toward Jimmy haven’t wavered. The show could have infantilised Kara’s feelings and swiftly offer up a boyfriend, but has instead chosen to view things from a more nuanced perspective.

This is someone who is still discovering everything the world has to offer and also figuring out who it is she wants to be, and Jimmy, even if he so desperately wants to sweep Kara off her feet, understands all of that.

Jimmy and Kara Are Going To Get Together, It’s Just Going To Take Time

Aside from the continued development of folks like Lex Luthor and the eventual introduction of Superboy, so far this season has largely revolved around Jimmy and Kara. Lois and Clark keep on encouraging their best friend to ask Kara out and stop beating around the bush, and it’s laughably obvious to anyone who watches the two interact that there is a spark. But he’s cautious about rushing into things, especially when you consider the kind of person Kara is.

So, when Kara confesses her love to Jimmy at a local comic convention and asks to be his mate, Jimmy doesn’t happily accept, but lets her down gently. He doesn’t deny his feelings, but rather informs Kara that she still has so much to learn about the world, and it wouldn’t be wise to settle for the first person of the opposite sex willing to show her kindness. Kara takes this with the utmost literalness possible though, and shortly after a panel asks every potential suitor in attendance to line up at her booth to confess their admiration.

I am curious to learn if the show will spend any serious time with Kara coming to terms with the horrific acts she performed on behalf of Brainiac. She had no control over her awful actions, but that doesn’t mean the guilt isn’t there.

The rest of the episode — alongside Lex Luthor being up to his old tricks and trying to screw over Superman — builds on the fallout of this conversation and how it affects both Kara and Jimmy. The Daily Planet reporter is clearly jealous as other people approach Kara, and it is so obvious he wants to throw aside his good nature and pull the girl into his arms, but he’s also aware it wouldn’t be right. In five episodes or more, I can see them being sweethearts, but the true excitement will come from watching them embark on their own journeys only to realise they’ve been staring their true love in the eye this entire time.

While I’m a hopeless romantic and love what My Adventures With Superman does with its relationship themes, it has at times been criticised for going too fast or not allowing things to breathe. This was especially true with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, as they fell deeply in love with each other in just a few episodes, but Jimmy and Kara’s bond feels like a chance to take things slow and narratively dissect how complicated such relationships can be.

Jimmy and Kara are going to fall in love, it’s just going to take time as they both figure out who they truly are before entrusting their entire being to somebody else.

Cast

• Jack Quaid Clark Kent / Superman (voice)
• Alice Lee Lois Lane (voice)
• Ishmel Sahid Jimmy Olsen (voice)
• Chris Parnell Agent Slade Wilson (voice)