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101flavoursofweird · 7 months

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4 with Kipo and someone else for the Little moments prompts?

((tThank you for this, and I’m sure it took so long to write! I needed to brush up on my Kipo knowledge :D))

Set: A couple of months after Emilia’s defeat, but before the five year time-skip. Kipo, Benson and the gang are living in Las Vista.

Spoilers: For most of the series, especially the ending of Season 3.

Warnings: Friends arguinh and reference to major character death.

Note: This was inspired by Rad Sechrist’s official art for the Wolf Movie, which shows Wolf returning home and hugging Kipo after being gone a long time. We see Wolf is present in Las Vistas after the timeskip, but it’s possible she left and returned home sometime during those five years.

Title: Cure for Lonliness

Summary: Wolf wants to leave Las Vistas. Kipo isn’t happy with this development. Benson provides comfort.

Right when the mega jaguar was tearing through Las Vistas— right when Benson needed a lift off Buff Dave— Dave went and transformed into a senior bug.

Benson chucked Dave into the restaurant. “Troy— take care of Dave!” Benson shouted, ignoring Dave’s complaints that he was too old for a babysitter. “Stay inside! This could be bad…”

Was someone attacking the city? Had Kipo gone to confront them? Was Wolf helping Kipo…?

Had mega-Amelia returned to carry out her revenge?

Benson slammed the shutter over the restaurant window and locked the front door.

He scanned the sky, but there was no sign of an air assault. What did catch Benson’s eye was a mega dragonfly— perfect timing!

Though Benson was far from fluent, he had picked up some Dragonfly from Dave.

Frantically waving to the dragonfly, Benson managed to express— through a series of zip sounds and raspberries— that he needed a lift.

The dragonfly swooped down to pick him up and they zoomed after Kipo.

A couple of Las Vistas residents— including the Humming Bombers, the Umlaut Snäkes, and the Scooter Skunks— also tried to follow, but Benson indicated for them to keep back.

Whatever was happening, Kipo could handle it… right?

Benson squinted at the outskirts of Las Vistas— he couldn’t see any attackers— when the mega jaguar suddenly shrank from his view. “Kipo!”

Was she hurt? Had Amelia— or one of her followers— finally perfected a ‘cure’ to take out the mega jaguar?

Or had Kipo decided to talk to an enemy instead of fighting them?

(Benson really hoped it was the latter!)

Benson steered the dragonfly down to the streets below.

No one was living in this part Las Vistas yet (Thankfully!)— expect for some trees, shrubs and flowers escaping from cracks in the concrete.

Benson ran around the street, calling for Kipo, until he found her curled up in a ball on the road.

“Kipo! Are you okay?” He rushed to her side— not caring if there were enemies nearby— knelt beside her, and rested a hand on her shoulder. Kipo was shaking slightly.

“What happened…?” Benson trailed off as Kipo lifted her face, which was covered in tear tracks.

(He hadn’t seen Kipo cry since… since…)

Inspecting Kipo’s limbs for injuries, Benson intoned, “Are you hurt?”

Sniffling, Kipo shook her head.

Gently, Benson released her. “So, we’re not under attack?”

Kipo‘a voice emerged as a croak. “N-no…”

“But you’re still hurting.” It was a dumb observation— of course Kipo was still hurting, after the loss she had experienced— but this pain seemed fresh. New.

Had someone upset Kipo? But who in Las Vistas would want to do that?

“I… I’m… Yes, okay, I am,” Kipo admitted. She pulled her knees up to her chest. “Happy?”

“No, because you’re unhappy!” Benson exclaimed. For a moment, he considered playing some upbeat music to lift Kipo’s mood, but then he thought better of it.

Kipo didn’t need to block out her sad feelings— she needed to work through them.

“That’s.. that’s okay— you’re allowed to be unhappy. Can you just… tell me why?”

“Wolf wants to leave,” Kipo mumbled.

“Uh…” Benson thought he had misheard. “What?”

“Wolf. Wants. To. Leave,” Kipo repeated, grinding her teeth together on each word.

“Like— leave your house?” Benson said, though he highly doubted this was the answer.

Since they had all settled in the city, Kipo and her parents had invited Wolf to live with them— and Mandu. (Their invites had also extended to Benson, but he had decided to stay with Troy and his dad. Dave was bunking with Jamack.)

Wolf had accepted and, for a while, things seemed to be working out, as far as Benson was aware. But lately, he had noticed how Wolf was hanging out with Kipo less and less…

One reason for this was that Kipo had resumed her school studies with some of the former burrow kids. (Troy had decided he was done with school after prahm.)

Wolf hadn’t wanted to attend school— not even Lio’s classes— and no one had forced her to do so.

While Kipo was busy learning, Wolf had been spending some time with Benson, Troy, Dave and Mandu… but Benson wasn’t sure what Wolf did with the rest of her time.

They didn’t need to fight or forage anymore, now that everyone was coexisting in Las Vistas.

Yes, there was still the occasional squabble between humans and mutes (Just last week, Dave had ‘borrowed’ Benson’s backpack without permission!) but for the most part, they were resolved peacefully.

What was a survivor meant to do in an environment where you no longer had to survive?

“She wants to leave home,” Kipo said. She threw out her arms, gesturing around them. “Leave Las Vistas!”

Benson frowned. “Have you asked her why—?”

“Of course I have!” Kipo sat up straight. Benson also shifted with a wince. (It wasn’t exactly comfortable on the hard ground!)

He watched as Kipo did her best Wolf impression— complete with a scowl, narrowed eyes and a tense voice.

“Kipo, I know how much your mom is trying, but it’s been months and she hasn’t made any progress with an anti-cure!”

Kipo replied as herself, “I’m sorry! Mom’s been struggling since we… since the funeral, but she’s still been doing everything she can with the limited resources she has—“

“Maybe it’s time we looked for other resources, outside the city…”

“That’s not a bad idea! You, me, Benson, Dave and Mandu can search for resources and bring them back here. It’ll be just like the good ol’ days!”

“…No, Kipo. It won’t be US…”

At this point, Kipo dropped the impression. She growled and tore a tuft of grass out of the road.

“Wolf doesn’t want any of us to go with her! She’d rather go with… with…” Kipo chucked the shreds of grass into the air. “Her old pack!”

“Margot and Rupert?” Benson breathed as the grass drifted away on a light breeze. “But they’re…”

Kipo gave him a jerky nod.

Wolf’s determination to find an anti-cure suddenly made a lot more sense.

There has been sightings of two young wolves— quadrupedal ‘cured’ wolves— roaming around the edge of Las Vistas.

Did Wolf fear these could be her former pack members? Or, even if they weren’t, did she still want to find them? To help them…?

“They’re not like they used to be,” Benson said sombrely.

None of the ‘cured’ mutes had shown any signs of improvement yet. They hadn’t returned to their original sizes, and most of their memories were still out of reach.

Clearly, there were some things they remembered, like Brad’s love of canned cheese, and Yumyan’s penchant for chasing butterflies. And they were all still fond of their old friends!

None of the ‘cured’ mutes were aggressive— not even Bad Billions, who had once threatened to make a meal out of Benson and Co at the Observatory… and that was before he got hit by a ‘cure’ dart!

Just the other day, Bad Billions had happily let Kipo pat him on the head.

Would Wolf’s former pack members— if they had been ‘cured’— behave in the same way? Would they accept Wolf if she approached them?

“They might be harmless now,” Kipo grunted, “but what if Wolf does find a way to cure— I mean, anti-cure them? What if Margot and Rupert betray her again…?”

Honestly, Benson had had similar thoughts when Margot asked for Wolf’s help to rescue her brother.

Margot hadn’t just abandoned Wolf all those years ago— she and the rest of their pack had hunted Wolf like prey!

But despite everything, Margot had claimed she still cared about Wolf— that she’d always cared— and she had only betrayed Wolf because her parents hadn’t given her a choice…

Just like Emilia hadn’t given her a choice. Emilia had threatened to ‘cure’ Rupert unless Margot led Wolf into a trap.

Benson couldn’t condone everything Margot had done— Of course he couldn’t!— but he could… understand that part about wanting to save her brother— to survive.

Heck, if Dave’s life was on the line— and if Benson hadn’t befriended Wolf and Kipo— Benson might have done the same thing.

(He and Dave had tried to con Kipo and Wolf when they first met… but that was a long time ago!)

“What if Wolf needs backup, but she’s all alone out there?” Kipo finished in a whisper.

“Come on…” Benson nudged Kipo’s arm with his elbow. “This is Wolf we’re talking about! Our girl escaped from the whole pack years ago— and that was before she became a hardened, staff-wielding surface-survivor. And, despite your best efforts to melt Wolf’s heart…” (Kipo smiled ever so slightly.) “I’m sure she could handle Margot and Rupert if they turned on her— which they won’t.”

“I’m not sure I can handle Wolf leaving,” Kipo confessed. She sniffed and clutched at her T-shirt. “I just don’t want to lose her like… like…”

“It won’t be easy,” Benson murmured, “but it won’t be like that. Wolf will come back…” He hugged Kipo. “…and we’ll all be waiting right here with you till she does.”

The pair of them found Wolf waiting at the edge of the Dog Park.

Benson held back as Kipo crept towards Wolf and sat down beside her, leaving a small space between them.

Kipo said something about how much the Mega Dogs were going to miss Wolf. Wolf’s shoulders became hunched.

Then, she threw her arms around Kipo’s waist. Kipo readily returned the hug with a bittersweet sob.

Benson smiled at the both of them. No matter where Wolf ended up— no matter how long she was gone for— he knew they were all going to be okay.

#kipo and the age of wonderbeasts #kataow #kipo #kipo oak #Benson Mekler #wolf oak #(I know that’s not Wolf’s official name but I’m using it for tagging purposes)#Wolf Kipo #Benson kipo #Kipo fanfic #Karaoke fanfic #My fics #my writing #hurr/comfort #I’m sorry Dave got shafted here #At least he gets to live with Jamack?#Answers #prompts

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historyhermann · 7 months

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My Adventures With Superman Season One Spoiler-Filled Review [Part 1]

My Adventures with Superman is animated superhero series which mixes the romantic comedy, action-adventure, and sci-fi genres. It's the latest adaptation of Superman, a DC Comics character. DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation produce the series. Studio Mir was contracted for animation services. Studio Mir, a South Korean animation studio, is known for its work on The Legend of Korra, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Dota: Dragon's Blood, and Harley Quinn season 3. Jake Wyatt, Brendan Clougher, and Josie Campbell developed the series, with Campbell as producer. Wyatt and Clougher are executive producers along with Michael Ouweleen and Sam Register. This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, My Adventures with Superman being reviewed here wouldn't exist.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the forty-ninth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on September 21, 2023.

The first episode begins with a bang. As a little kid, Clark Kent (voiced by Jack Quaid) discovers he has superpowers. In the present, he tries to be "normal." He and his his friend Jimmy Olsen (voiced by Ishmel Sahid) go to The Daily Planet. Along the way, he meets Lois Lane (voiced by Alice Lee) and develops a crush on her. As it turns out, Lois is also applying to be an intern. All three get the job. Their boss, Perry White (voiced by Darrell Brown) shoots down Lois' ideas for stories. Lois ignores this. She meets her "source," a newspaper girl named Flip Johnson (voiced by Azuri Hardy-Jones). The reality is more terrifying: Livewire activates robots which Clark barely defeats. He only survives due to his powers and Lois's quick thinking.

At the end of the episode, Lois declares she wants an exclusive interview with Superman, where she will expose all his secrets, terrifying him. That's only the first episode! In later episodes, Clark tries to find out more about his past. He talks to Jor-El (voiced by Jason Marnocha), who speaks Kryptonese. Despite the fact he is Superman, he works with Lois and Jimmy on an investigation into Superman. He even has a magical transformation sequence. Some said it was inspired by magical transformations in Sailor Moon. Other fans argued it resembled Pretty Cure.

Storyboarder Diana Huh confirmed that Superman's transformation sequence was based on the part of Kaido Minami's transformation into Cure Mermaid in Go! Princess Pretty Cure, "specifically the part in her transformation when her back ribbons and hair were formed." She noted that she watched it on "repeat for inspiration." As for Clark, he grows closer to Lois. In fact, she even gives Superman his name. Clark's adopted mother puts together his superhero costume. All the while, those who call themselves "good guys" torture people.

This focus on identity is not unique to My Adventures with Superman nor is the relationship between Lois and Clark. The latter is key in many Superman series, including Justice League Unlimited. In that series, their romance is even known by other superheroes. They never kiss in that series, from what I remember, but the closeness between them is apparent. Another difference is that Jimmy is a Black man and Lois is a Korean woman. She also calls Clark by the nickname "Smallville."

Clark struggles with his powers. In other depictions he is older and fully aware of his superpowers. In this series, his identity struggle is complicated when Lois calls Superman a liar. It weakens Clark's resolve to tell her the truth about himself. Clark continually tries to cover his tracks that he is Superman, even ripping out a key piece from the tabloids. After she tells him that she hates being lied too, he chickens out, again, in telling her the truth. Their relationship development is better paced than dragging it out across the season. It gives them more time together.

The push-and-pull between Lois wanting to find out about Superman, and Clark's determination to ensure that Lois doesn't realize the truth defines the early part of the first season. Both have identity crises. In fact, in the second episode, he is traumatized by his adopted parents almost being killed when he visits a spaceship which is supposed to show his origins. They face challenges along the way. They fear that The Daily Planet's star reporting team (Steve Lombard, Cat Grant, and Ronnie Troupe) will scoop their story. These characters are voiced by Vincent Tong, Melanie Minichino, and Kenna Ramsey respectfully. Even so, Lois is persistent. She swipes the keycard of the warden (also voiced by Minichino), allowing them to see a prison cell.

At first it seems that the fifth episode might not be the big confrontation between Lois and Clark. He shows Lois his "murder board"/investigation board, and plans to say he likes Lois. She even goes to the extreme and chains herself to him, but he breaks free. This is dashed quickly. Later, she falls off a building to see if he will catch her! While this generated some online discourse about how she was "wrong" and Clark was "right," the truth is simple. Clark was lying to her and her reasoning makes sense. At the same time, Clark understandably held back, as he was afraid.

Social media has a key role in the series. Jimmy has a secret YouTube channel named Flamebird which covers conspiracies in Metropolis and beyond. This comes to a fore in the fifth episode: Jimmy gets a response video for every single video he has posted. Some internet troll attacks him, and it turns out that star reporter Steve is behind it all! This focus also gives Jimmy character depth, as a sort of social media influencer, and makes you sympathize with him when Lois and Clark leave him behind.

There an interesting secondary plot in My Adventures with Superman. Mist/Kyle (voiced by Lucas Grabeel) and Rough House/Albert (voiced by Vincent Tong) break out Mist's sister, Siobhan/Silver Banashee (voiced by Catherine Taber), the leader of Intergang. They accomplish this thanks to weapons Livewire (voiced by Zehra Fazal) and are able to escape. Using these weapons, they rob Metropolitan City Bank. Superman saves them all when one of their machines goes haywire. This is interlinked with the tech plan of Ivo (voiced by Jake Green), the founder of Amazo Tech. He creates a super suit named Parasite and markets it as something which turns people into their own personal Superman. Of course, this doesn't work, since the prototype is unstable.

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Superman takes extreme risks to protect those he cares about and support justice. Often, he saves people across Metropolis. He fights villains like Heat Wave (voiced by Laila Berzins) and supposed "good guys" like Agent Wilson (voiced by Chris Parnell). The latter only stops at the urging of Amanda Waller (voiced by Debra Wilson). The General (voiced by Joel De La Fuente) wants Agent Slade Wilson / Deathstroke (voiced by Chris Parnell) to eliminate Superman once and for all.

While writing this review, I can't avoid comparisons between My Adventures with Superman and previous series, like Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. The latter's end marked the end of the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). Some fans call DCAU the Timmverse, after animator and director Bruce Timm. It comprised eight animated series, four feature films, four short films, and two digital series between 1992 and 2006. While I haven't watched all the series within DCAU, I see some similarities, especially with the two Justice League series, when it comes to Amanda Waller. She's a Black woman who's continually skeptical of superheroes. She even partners with Lex Luther to fund a research center supporting a superhero-hating metahumans.

In this series, Waller gives Task Force X one mission: to take down Superman. This differs from the two Justice League series, where her goal is broader. She intends to ensure that Earth can defend itself if the superheroes go "bad." Waller, in this series, along with the General and Agent Wilson, believe that Superman will bring the end of the world. They remember how someone like him killed many during an event they call "Zero Day." This military slang means a day in which a Basic Combat Training company "picks up Soldiers." I think The General meant it to be equivalent to a D-Day or "Invasion Day." The General is misguided. Superman is not like the marauding Supermen he (and Lois) sees on a record from the League of Lois Lanes.

In another major difference, My Adventures with Superman depicts Cadmus more positively. Lois and Clark go through the forest to save Jimmy. He was kidnapped by Monsieur Mallah. The latter is an intelligent ape, voiced by Andre Sogliuzzo. He is working with Brain (voiced by Jesse Inocalla). Like the two aforementioned Justice League series, Cadmus is a secret government project. In this series, it was begun 20 years before. It is where Mallah and Brain fell in love. However, Task Force X came to eliminate them. The Task Force believed that no one survived the unstable Black hole.

The reality, obviously, is very different. Mallah and Brain are almost trapped. A nearby minefield, drones, and a protective bubble stop anyone from leaving, or reaching, Cadmus. Task Force X wanted to ensure that no one could discover Cadmus. At one point, Lois and Clark are chased by robots. They are only saved when mutants, created by Mallah, attack. Thanks to Clark's actions, the black hole maintains its power and a containment field stabilizes it.

In a heart-felt scene, Mallah and Brain step through the wormhole, wanting to reach a world where they can live freely. The Brain warns them that once the person who is trying to get Superman (The General) sees him as a threat, they will never stop. This is clear from a final scene, in that episode. The General asks Ivo to help him figure out where the technology is, and to help him take down Superman. The Brain nor Mallah is evil. The former is exclusive to the continuity of this series and is an adaptation of a character which first appeared in Volume 1 of the comic book Doom Patrol.

The sixth episode of My Adventures with Superman is one of the strongest not only because of the action-packed sequences or the romance between Lois and Clark, with Clark saving Lois from dying. It shines because Clark tells Lois the truth. He admits to her (and Jimmy) that he didn't want to reveal his true nature due to a fear that Jimmy and Lois would see him as an "alien" and treat him differently. Instead, he wanted to be "normal." Jimmy, who already knew Clark was Superman, reassures him they are friends because of who he is. Lois says they want to be open with him. In the next episode, he declares there will be no more secrets, so he brings them to a spaceship, the same one which brought him to Earth, which surprises Lois and Jimmy.

By the seventh episode, it seems that the romance of Lois and Clark, is moving forward. Both lose their minds over a date, having charts, maps, and other ways to ensure it goes perfectly. These plans never come to pass. A so-called international "peacekeeper," Mxyzptlk (voiced by David Errigo Jr.), asks for Clark's help and declares that Clark is a Superman is in every universe. Meanwhile, the aptly named League of Lois Lanes, peacekeepers tasked with saving the Multiverse, come to save Lois. They declare that Clark is in danger, and Jimmy comes along. In the process, Lois and Jimmy become skeptical of the League. Clark realizes that Mxyzptlk lied to him and only wants chaos. Clark tries to do the right thing and stop Mxyzptlk from stealing.

The episode focuses on what Lois sees on a computer screen: a restricted file about Superman only accessible at League headquarters. Not only is this suspicious, but the centrality of a classified record drew me into the story. I say this is a person who indexes such records for my day job and someone who has written about archives and archivists in popular culture for many years. I liked how Lois even works with Mxyzptlk to get to the League headquarters, despite being wary of him. While there, she accesses a mainframe and gets the restricted record. Of course, her temporary ally-of-sorts is only there for his own benefit. He gets what he wants, allowing him to villainous "again." On the whole, the episode is so absurd, it's a bit funny.

The League sees Superman as evil, shooting him with guns filled with kryptonite. In some ways, the episode ends well. Lois, Jimmy, and Clark work together to take down Mxyzptlk. However, he later escapes prison. He sees Lois looking at the file which has the "truth" about Superman. He soon leaves, declaring it will be "more fun" to watch her figure it out. Lois doesn't consider possible manipulation of the record or that it only shows one "truth."

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The eighth episode goes a different direction. It begins with Ivo collecting former villains and saying they need to fulfill their "debt" to society. Lois and Clark both face villains of sorts. Lois meets a reporter she idolizes, named Vicki Vale (voiced by Andromeda Dunker). She soon sours on Vale. It is revealed that Vale has an anti-Superman bias. Clark becomes obsessed with finding The General, thanks to his new power of super hearing. He ignores the pleas from Lois and Jimmy, going off on his own to face "the evil." In a local park, he takes a beating. He is kidnapped and The General calls him the "end of the world." Due to the splintering of the typical friend squad (Lois, Jimmy, and Clark), the ending sequence is different. It features the cityscape and none of the characters.

In the ninth episode, everything goes off the rails. Lois and Jimmy enlist the help of the Newskid Legion to find Superman. In actuality, he is in custody of The General. Falsely, The General believes that Superman is the enemy. He tortures him with electricity and declares that he won't let any more of "his kind" invade Earth. While Superman tells him what he knows, this isn't the "right answer." There is a powerful scene in this episode in which Clark sees what happened on Zero Day, 22 years before, as The General terms it. Many of Superman's kind come through, attacking people on Earth, until a light shines and the attack ends. Due to this incident, it makes sense he, and Waller, created Task Force X, and used the tech left behind to create new U.S. government weapons.

Superman empathizes. He realizes that not all Supermans are good, and asks why Supermen would do this. His responses takes The General back and makes him realize that he is making the wrong call. He begins to ask if Task Force X is wrong. Arrogantly, Waller shows her commitment to the task force: she claims that it is never wrong. As The General even admits, Superman was too young to be part of Zero Day and implies he is innocent. To make matters worse, Waller deactivates a camera, encouraging the villains to get out of their cells, including Ivo, who wants to "finish off" Superman, in revenge for what happened in the past.

He somehow escapes in a weakened state. He makes his way back to Lois and Jimmy. Thanks to assistance from his two friends, he defeats the Ivo Kaiju monster, which is attacking Metropolis. They call on everyone in town to turn off their power so that Ivo cannot suck in any more electricity. As a result, Superman is victorious. Jimmy lets Lois and Clark have time alone, together. Clark proceeds to carry Lois into the sky and kiss her. The General stands against Waller. She relieves him of his duties. Waller becomes head of Task Force X. The General gets a new mission: to track down and terminate Superman.

The season one finale of My Adventures with Superman goes further than showing Superman as the immigrant, "the adoptee living in a world that says being different is bad." He embraces his differences every day, with his weirdness and strangeness as his strength, as Campbell put it. Everything comes full circle. Clark becomes a full-time reporter with Lois and Jimmy. He dreams about being an evil Superman and learns something about The General: he is Sam Lane, Lois' dad! While Clark is, understandably, nervous about telling Lois this reality, Jimmy pushes him to do the right thing, causing Lois to come to his aid.

This all happens during Thanksgiving. There's family drama between The General and Lois. Clark's adoptive parents are also there. This all falls to the wayside when kryptonite inside the record weakens Clark. Although none of them are entirely sure what kryptonite is, Jimmy rightly realizes that the rock is causing the problem and puts it back. The entire scene echoes part of the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power series finale. Clark risks his life to ensure that the portal can be closed. He puts the kryptonite on the ship core, causing it to explode, and Jor-El saves him. Lois also saves his life, after he ensured that she (and everyone on Earth) wouldn't die. She stands in front of her dad, stopping him from killing Clark.

While The General listens and follows the pleas of Lois, he does not stay for Thanksgiving. It is only Lois, Jimmy, Clark, and his adoptive parents. In a funny scene, Jimmy announces that he sold Flamebird to the Daily Planet for $5.6 million and is "super rich now," surprising them all. The series ends with one final scene:, a kryptonian warrior declares they have found a new planet (presumably Earth). One commander tells him that it doesn't matter whether they destroy the ships and close the portals, saying they will kneel ultimately. That sets the stage for a season 2, which Campbell confirmed.

My Adventures with Superman somehow survived corporate fuckery. It had an uncertain future through various corporate mergers, the pandemic, and a thin budget. But, the passion of the writers and crew showed through, as Campbell noted. Such a message can't be more apt, considering the continued twin strikes by writers and actors, regardless of efforts by some to break the strike and fill their fat pockets with wads of cash. Previously, Drew Barrymore withdrew her plan to restart her show after intense criticism. Bill Maher sneered at the strike by writers. Thanks to backlash, he decided to put his show on pause. He has made Islamophobic and anti-Chinese statements, supports NSA surveillance, dislikes critical race theory, and opposed accepting Syrian refugees into the U.S., in the past.

A second season will include more moments between Clark and Lois, shipped by fans as Clois, generating fanart and fanfics. In fact, many of the over 130 stories on AO3 focus on this ship. In the words of Campbell, the second season will "blow people's minds." It will consist of 10 episodes, like Season 1. It is likely that the Kryptonian warriors will attack Earth. Spider-Man, Lux Luthor, and Lana Lang might appear. Hopefully, a second season has more outward LGBTQ+ representation in the main case. In this season, there is only, directly, a lesbian couple helped by Superman (he returns their child) and a gay couple (Mallah and Brain).

Fans who enjoy Clois are undoubtedly looking forward to another season. As for others, they may believe that the second season will reveal the truth behind Clark's birth father or infuse strong sci-fi elements "with heart," and make viewers love Superman all over again. Whether viewers see Lois as adorable, enjoy the fluid animation, humor and character designs; see Superman for gays and girls, or compare Lois with Luz, there are many reasons to enjoy this series, especially for those who like shonen action or shojo romance. Furthermore, it is relatable that Superman has been training, but doesn't have hold of his powers.

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My Adventures with Superman is very animesque, from opening and closing credits which resemble anime series in more ways than one. Clark's voice actor, Jack Quaid, described it as "some anime influence...that is just so fun." Along with the aforementioned magical transformation of Superman, some said there was a reference to Ouran High School Host Club opening sequence ("Kiss Kiss Fall In Love") in the title of the seventh episode: "Kiss Kiss Fall In Portal."

As part of a thread on X/Twitter, producer Josie Campbell confirmed this. She noted other influences on the series from Pokemon's Team Rocket, the anime Gurren Lagann, and many other media. While Sailor Moon likely didn't influence the series, the fact that a Pretty Cure transformation influenced Superman's transformation has caused interesting results. For instance, some social media users called on people to watch series within the ongoing anime franchise.

In a strange coincidence, this series is airing at a time that a character, Sora Harewata-ru, in Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure, transforms into Cure Sky in a manner which resembles Superman's transformation. Cure Mermaid's transformation likely inspired both. The My Adventures with Superman ending sequence is meant to resemble "old anime EDs with the softer palette and slow pan while time passes." In Crunchyroll News, Briana Lawrence wrote an article about the similarities between Usagi Tsukino in Sailor Moon and Clark. Others pointed to Dragon Ball and Kill la Kill references, and anime tropes.

The anime influence isn't the only factor influencing My Adventures with Superman. While fans have pointed out that some of the Crew-Ra, the name for the crew of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, worked on the series, this was more limited in reality. Campbell, a co-producer, was a story writer and staff writer on She-Ra. Writer and co-executive producer of one episode, Brendan Cougar, was a storyboarder on She-Ra. He also storyboarded on Young Justice and on The Legend of Korra. Storyboarders Jasmine Goggins, Karen Guo, Diana Huh, and Jessica Zammit all worked on She-Ra.

More of an influence on this series could be, in some manner, Harley Quinn. 17 crew members of this series worked on that series, including animator Yew Yung, writer's assistant Sari Cooper, production executive Audrey Diehl, and executive in charge of production Jay Bastian. In addition, nine crew members did work on Young Justice, including prop designer Austin Reinkens and storyboarder Chris Palmer. Another eight worked on DC Super Hero Girls. The latter included effects animator Jason Plapp and storyboarder Michael Nanna. Other crew members worked on Dogs in Space, The Casagrandes, Glitch Techs, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, and the Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen Part 1 film.

The co-executive producer for My Adventures with Superman, Jake Wyatt, was a background designer for Steven Universe. Art director Jane Bak was a background designer on the same series. Bak did the same on Steven Universe Future and Adventure Time: Distant Lands. Animator Edward Artinian worked on Steven Universe too. Online listings show that some crew members were part of the crew of Pantheon and Final Space. Series composer worked on Nomad for Nowhere. Others contributed their time and labor to series ranging from Chicago Party Aunt to Invincible, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal to High Guardian Spice. The title sequence animator, Yves Bigerel, better known as Balak, is the director and writer of Peepoodo & The Super Fuck Friends.

Continued in part 2

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straightbaittournament · 8 months

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only the option with the LEAST votes will be eliminated. propaganda under the cut (and more always welcome!):

tyler rake and nik khan:

They’re very close, have lots of chemistry, but have never been acknowledged in canon. At this point they are just work friends who save each others’ lives on the regular.

lisa cuddy and gregory house:

The show spends 7 seasons hinting that House is going to end up with Cuddy, and then writes her out in season 7. In the finale, he has a flashback of people who impacted his life and she doesn’t even show If House and Wilson can’t be together, then House and Cuddy should

kipo oak and benson mekler:

It only lasts a few episodes, but this is a very clear INTENTIONAL straight bait from the writers, as it's a female main character with a male major supporting character, and Benson even takes Kipo to a carnival, which Kipo interprets as a date, until she confesses attraction to him, where he tells her he's gay and just wants to be friends.

tan:

ok so it's complicated? like he's the lead love interest in a show that was very explicitly marketed as queer but I'm calling him straightbait because he literally straightbaits like every character in the show? So there's this girl (Jane) and everyone jsut assumes that he's dating her? Like she gets (spoiler!) murdered in ep 1 and the police are like "the body was found by the victim's boyfriend" and they mean Tan. Bun the main character drunkingly kissed Tan in the first episode as well and then saw Tan and Jane at an event holding hands and he was like....... wow this is awkward and also is he cheating on her with me??? (he was best friends with Jane). Anyways like this continues with Tan being under suspicion for Jane's murder because he's was her lover apparently and Bun is like living with this guy now and Tan is like laying it on thick about his attraction towards Bun but Bun is still suspicious and then Bun's talking to one of the kids that Jane and Tan taught and the kid is like "yeah so Miss Jane's boyfriend...." and Bun is like "right, Tan." and the kid is like "what??? mr tan never dated miss jane she was with this other guy." and Bun is confused (rightly) until like a few episodes later or so they're staring at their red string board and Tan is like "yeah so I was literally never with Jane we were just good friends" and is then also implied to be like gay as well so he's not even bi. Which ok straightbait over right? Wrong! Jane's actual boyfriend gets murdered and Tan gets arrested for it and he's like "what motive do I have to kill him??" and the police are like "well you two were fighting over Jane's love clearly" and he just kinda scoffs and smirks with a whole "these idiots have no idea that i'm currently planning on how to propose to my boyfriend of like a week" but just doesn't say anything?!?!?!?! he actively makes himself more suspicious and a greater target by pretending to be straight instead of just being like hey guys you know I was just buddies with Jane right? and i'm currently hooking up with the doctor who keeps giving you guys problems?? Anyways he's not straightbait in the sense that it was any surprise to the audience that he ended up with a boyfriend. but he did pretend to be straight for no real reason and literally endangered himself by doing so (this universe didn't seem to have like any actual homophobia stuff)

bruce wayne and selina kyle:

So a while back there was a whole thing about their wedding with SO much buildup. Like a whole mini series, a couple arcs in the main batman run, Superman and Nightwing threw him a bachelor party. Then when it was time for them to get married Selina fuckin left him at the altar. She left him at the altar man

himmel and frieren:

https://official.lowee.us/manga/Sousou-no-Frieren/0030-015.png https://official.lowee.us/manga/Sousou-no-Frieren/0030-016.png https://official.lowee.us/manga/Sousou-no-Frieren/0030-017.png https://official.lowee.us/manga/Sousou-no-Frieren/0030-018.png https://64.media.tumblr.com/ccb9c16bab47d917d2e11dd22c9b88e7/828182d720d735af-ea/s500x750/210c55d7128139c2ce032383b34ad487df067514.jpg

hardwon surefoot and moonshine cybin:

They’re DnD characters so they’re bi disasters canonically. Just not for each other The best way to describe Hardshine is this: “They’re soulmates” “Platonically or romantically?” “Yes” Literally they care so much about each other. Moonshine cured Hardwon’s vampirism by reincarnating him into a half elf and he told her “I’ve been half elf ever since I met you”. Moonshine is a high level elf druid which means she’ll basically live forever and literally the most emotional scene where she asks her mom “How long do half-elves live?”. Hardwon was always a fish out of water who never really fit in until he found Moonshine and the Crick. Are they dating? Queerplatonic partners? Siblings? Idk man they’re just in love it doesn’t matter how.

willow park and hunter:

THEY ARE NOT STRAIGHT THEY R BI4PAN BUT IT IS AN M/F RELATIONSHIP They are an M/F relationship in The Gay Show and they are hinted and teased but never confirmed

tim drake and stephanie brown:

Tim and Steph are a thing for most of their history. Then stuff happens and they break up and soon after that Tim is confirmed to be bi and starts dating Bernard (former random side character who nobody thought would ever be relevant again)

rowena macleod and sam winchester:

Their relationship was clearly going in that direction before the writers killed Rowena.

good luck everybody! now go vote!

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