Review: My Adventures with Superman “Olsen’s Eleven”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Back on Earth, Jimmy and Lois crack a plan to get into space and get Clark back as Waller and Task Force X take over Metropolis.

OUR TAKE

After last week’s episode actually picking me back up after the season has left me feeling a bit cold, I can feel my expectations falling back to Earth, which is appropriate since this episode takes us back there. I usually like episodes where the man hero of the story is out of commission or unable to show up, forcing the other less powerful characters to need to improvise and use what resources and allies they can find. Extra potential points if it gives the involved characters a chance to work out their own respective character arcs, which does happen here with Lois regretting how she treated Clark with their kinda sorta break up. However, I think my main issue here is that Amanda Waller and Task Force X seem to have taken stupid pills the moment Superman left, because if they thought that taking over the city and suppressing any pro-Superman sentiment was going to get their job done…well, I have some notes. My first note being that this is basically a pretty easy way to make pretty much the exact opposite happen and have everyone see Superman as their savior, which even as a fan of the character, I have reservations about. I’d prefer that he earn the public’s trust through his choices and commitment to his ethics, not because those opposing him turn out to be the scum of the earth. It’s not as bad as when BvS did it, but the principal is still basically the same.

As for the Jimmy and Lois part of things, I liked some aspects of it, but others not so much. Related to my issues with Waller, but as much as I like seeing Jimmy be useful on his own, the fact that she was so easy to fool to this degree really undercuts her threat level going into the final three episodes of the season. Likewise, I’m glad to see Livewire and Heatwave return (as much as I am still bored to tears by their character designs), but the only reason I’m glad to see them is because I remember they existed and that they’re being utilized. As for the two of them apparently hooking up in the interim, I…just can’t bring myself to feel anything of substance about it. I’m not mad, I’m not happy, I just don’t care, mainly because even after all this time, I don’t really have a grasp on their characters so I have no idea if this is a good match or not. Ah well, now both sides of this are caught up to present day and the main trio have almost reunited, so we’ll see where that goes next week. Promotional material is leaning towards one more fight between Clark and Kara, while the preview for next time shows Clark talking with Brainiac, so I look forward to seeing the subplot I’m actually interested in continue.