DC Officially Debuts Its Newest Version Of Superman
Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for My Adventures With Superman season 3, episode 2
While the DCU has debuted exciting live-action versions of Superman and Supergirl, an even newer Man of Steel has just debuted on HBO Max. Introducing fresh takes on familiar heroes and villains, the lore of My Adventures With Superman continues to be all kinds of fun. This includes the introduction of a new Superman rivaling Clark Kent himself in the show’s third season.
In its first two seasons, the DC animated series has some pretty cool new ways to adapt certain characters and events, while still honoring the original comic book source material. Now, My Adventures With Superman season 3 is kicking off what will likely be one of its most interesting reinventions with its dark new Superman: Hank Henshaw.
My Adventures With Superman Season 3 Debuts Hank Henshaw As The Cyborg Superman
At the end of My Adventures With Superman season 3, episode 2, STAR Labs’ Hank Henshaw makes his season debut looking nothing like he did in the prior two seasons. Flying in with a new red-and-blue suit resembling Superman’s own costume, Hank’s suit replaces the classic “S” emblem with an “L”, signifying his allegiance to Lex Luthor (who’s yet to become follically challenged in this DC continuity).
At the end of My Adventures With Superman season 2, Hank Henshaw’s jet was shot down during Brainiac’s invasion of Earth. Having embraced Lex’s “Earth belongs to Earthlings” rhetoric earlier in the season, Hank’s body looks to have not only been restored by Luthor, but also significantly upgraded as a new superhuman likely rivaling the power of Kal-El himself.
Before he was Clark Kent, Superman was born Kal-El on a distant planet doomed to destruction. His parents Jor-El and Lara placed him in a rocket ship as an infant, sending him across the cosmos to Earth. What is the name of Superman’s home planet?
✓ Correct! Krypton was a scientifically advanced planet that exploded due to its unstable core. Jor-El, Superman’s father, was the only scientist who foresaw the catastrophe and managed to save his son by launching him toward Earth in a small spacecraft.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Krypton. Thanagar is Hawkman’s homeworld, Apokolips is Darkseid’s domain, and Oa is the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps. Krypton’s destruction is the defining event of Superman’s origin story.
02
Superman’s greatest love is a fearless, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who works alongside Clark Kent at the Daily Planet. She’s known for her relentless pursuit of the truth and for being one of the few people who sees both the hero and the man. Who is she?
✓ Correct! Lois Lane has been Superman’s primary love interest since her debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938. A brilliant investigative reporter, she’s as iconic as Superman himself — tough, smart, and unafraid to chase the biggest stories in Metropolis.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Lois Lane. Diana Prince is Wonder Woman, Lana Lang is Clark’s high school sweetheart from Smallville, and Cat Grant is a gossip columnist at the Daily Planet. Lois Lane is Superman’s iconic partner.
03
Despite being nearly invulnerable under Earth’s yellow sun, Superman has one famous weakness — a radioactive mineral from the remnants of his destroyed homeworld. Exposure to it drains his powers and can even kill him. What is this substance called?
✓ Correct! Kryptonite is the irradiated remnants of planet Krypton. Green Kryptonite is the most common and deadly variety, but there are many other types — Red Kryptonite causes unpredictable behavior, Gold Kryptonite can permanently strip his powers, and Blue Kryptonite affects Bizarro.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Kryptonite. Vibranium is from Marvel’s Black Panther universe, Nth Metal is tied to Hawkman, and Red Sun Ore isn’t a real DC substance. Kryptonite is the iconic green-glowing mineral that is Superman’s ultimate weakness.
04
In 1978, a then-unknown actor donned the cape and made the world believe a man could fly. His portrayal of Superman became the gold standard for superhero films and he starred in four Superman movies. Who is this legendary actor?
✓ Correct! Christopher Reeve’s portrayal in Superman: The Movie (1978) is widely regarded as the definitive live-action Superman. His performance perfectly balanced the heroic confidence of Superman with the endearing clumsiness of Clark Kent, setting the template every Superman actor has followed since.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Christopher Reeve. Henry Cavill played Superman in the DCEU starting with Man of Steel (2013), Brandon Routh starred in Superman Returns (2006), and Tom Welling played young Clark in TV’s Smallville. Reeve was the original big-screen Superman.
05
Superman’s greatest enemy isn’t a superpowered alien — he’s a brilliant, ruthless human billionaire who believes Superman is a threat to humanity’s potential. This bald-headed genius has been Superman’s archenemy for over 80 years. Who is he?
✓ Correct! Lex Luthor is the ultimate foil to Superman — where Superman represents hope and selflessness, Luthor represents ambition and ego. Despite having no superpowers, his genius-level intellect and vast resources make him Superman’s most persistent and dangerous adversary.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Lex Luthor. Brainiac is an alien android who collects cities, Darkseid is the god-like ruler of Apokolips, and Doomsday is the monster who famously killed Superman. But Lex Luthor is the definitive archenemy — Superman’s dark mirror.
06
After crash-landing on Earth as a baby, Kal-El was found and adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, a kind farming couple. They raised him with strong moral values in a small rural town. Where did Clark Kent grow up?
✓ Correct! Smallville, Kansas is the quintessential American small town where Jonathan and Martha Kent raised Clark with heartland values of honesty, compassion, and humility. It’s the foundation of who Superman is — not the powers from Krypton, but the character instilled by his Kansas parents.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Smallville, Kansas. Gotham is Batman’s city, Metropolis is where Clark moves as an adult to work at the Daily Planet, and Coast City is Green Lantern’s home. Smallville is where the Kents raised Clark on their farm.
07
As Clark Kent, Superman disguises himself as a mild-mannered reporter working at Metropolis’s most famous newspaper, alongside Lois Lane and photographer Jimmy Olsen. Their editor-in-chief Perry White runs the newsroom. What is the name of this newspaper?
✓ Correct! The Daily Planet, with its iconic globe on the rooftop, is one of the most recognizable fictional newspapers in pop culture. Working there gives Clark Kent both a cover identity and a way to stay informed about threats to the city and the world.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is the Daily Planet. The Daily Bugle is Spider-Man’s Marvel universe newspaper, the Metropolis Star and Gotham Gazette are lesser DC publications. The Daily Planet — with its spinning globe — is Superman’s journalistic home.
08
This Kryptonian military commander was banished to the Phantom Zone for treason before Krypton’s destruction. He escaped and came to Earth seeking vengeance, famously demanding that others “Kneel before” him. His iconic portrayal by Terence Stamp cemented him in pop culture. Who is this villain?
✓ Correct! General Zod is one of Superman’s most terrifying foes because he has all of Superman’s powers but none of his morality. Terence Stamp’s portrayal in Superman II (1980) made “Kneel before Zod” one of the most quoted villain lines in film history. Michael Shannon later reimagined the role in Man of Steel (2013).
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is General Zod. Bizarro is a flawed clone of Superman, Parasite drains powers through touch, and Metallo is a cyborg with a Kryptonite heart. General Zod is the Kryptonian military leader whose cry of “Kneel before Zod!” echoes through decades of Superman stories.
Mission Complete Your Kryptonian Record
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Are you the Man of Steel — or still stuck in a phone booth?
Of course, the rise of Henshaw’s Superman closely mirrors the character’s dark origins as the Cyborg Superman. In the original comics, Hank Henshaw was an astronaut and the sole survivor of his crew after they were all exposed to cosmic radiation. And his body rapidly fell apart, Hank managed to upload his altered and twisted mind into digital systems before eventually creating a robotic body using Kryptonian technology from Superman, all while wrongly blaming the Man of Steel for his accident. Following Superman’s death at the hands of Doomsday, Cyborg Superman even posed as the Man of Steel himself.
As such, My Adventures With Superman season 3 appears to be adapting those same general concepts alongside some unique twists (like Hank getting his new robotic body from Lex). Likewise, it looks as though Lex wants to position Hank as a human alternative to Superman while the Kryptonian is still alive, presumably before deploying his new living weapon to take him out in future episodes.
My Adventures With Superman Is Creating Its Own “Reign of the Supermen”
Although Clark Kent is still alive, My Adventures With Superman seems to be building toward its own version of “Reign of the Supermen”, the classic DC storyline that occurred in the aftermath of Clark Kent’s death fighting Doomsday, and the facsimiles that rose in his place.
Naturally, one of these replacements was Cyborg Superman, while another was Superman’s teenage clone Conner Kent aka Superboy (who will also appear in My Adventures With Superman season 3). There’s also John Henry Irons’ Steel, who debuted in season 2, and the Kryptonian AI known as The Eradicator, also adapted in the second season as the protocol Brainiac used to control Kara Zor-El’s Supergirl.
Beyond the established “Reign of the Supermen” roster, BZ-1 aka Bizarro debuted in My Adventures With Superman season 3’s premiere, another clone of Superman who was inspired by the Man of Steel’s heroics. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that the OG Superman’s days are numbered, it’s going to be very exciting to see how all of these heroes and villains with comparable power levels to Clark all collide in future episodes, especially now that Cyborg Superman is in the mix.
New episodes of My Adventures With Superman season 3 release Saturday nights on Adult Swim and streaming next day on HBO Max.
