Upbringing plays a huge role in the formation of one’s character, more so in the world of caped heroes, and the most poignant example of this is none other than the Man of Steel. Superman was raised by the Kents, the kindly rustic couple who helped him believe in the inherent goodness of humanity, simplistic moral values, and all the virtues that contributed to making him the person he is. But on the other hand, irrespective of the iteration of the stories, his elder cousin, Kara Zor El, had a different upbringing, and Clark’s values didn’t come as naturally to her. The major highlight of the fifth episode of My Adventures with Superman is this particular aspect, as Kara’s arrival creates major problems in Clark’s life instead of resolving some.
Previously, Lex Luthor had used the STAR Labs symposium as a pedestal to criticize and blame Superman in front of the nation’s topmost scientific minds and military personnel gathered at the event. Eventually, his attempt to malign Superman succeeded after Task Force X enforcers reached the STAR labs while chasing Sam and Lois and engaged in a fight with Superman, which damaged the state-of-the art research facility. Furthermore, a rift gets created between Clark and Jimmy thanks to Lex’s machinations, and with Lois remaining busy mending her relationship with her father, Clark suddenly finds no one to share his burdens with. Feeling alone and dejected, Clark had decided to activate the Kryptonian beacon to reach out to his cousin, Kara, and the repercussions of this decision are what the fifth episode of the series deals with.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Clark decide to participate in the bachelorette event?
As the episode begins in the Daily Planet, Clark and Lois try to catch up on their respective lives, only to be interrupted by Editor-in-Chief Perry White, who asks the duo to cover the upcoming Metropolis Bachelor and Bachelorette events. Perry shares his speculation that Superman is going to be present at the event, not only due to the fact that he is among the finalists of the event and his presence will bolster the event’s popularity, but also because all the proceedings from the event will be used to build a children’s hospital (Clark agrees to attend the event as Superman soon after learning that). The possibility of Superman attending the bachelorette gala is high, which is why Perry has given the assignment to his best Superman journos, Lois and Clark, instead of Cat Grant, the Daily Planet’s celebrated page three reporter. However, later, Cat pleads with Lois to let her join them to cover the event as well, cryptically mentioning that she knows Superman’s secret.
After reaching the event venue, Cat reveals the ‘secret’ of Superman she had been hinting at earlier: that she believes Superman is not single and is in a relationship with one of the finalists of the event, all of whom are super-accomplished or unique in their own regards. Lois realizes that Superman’s presence in the event will lead Cat to keep a close watch on him, which may end up revealing Clark’s secret identity through Lois’ relationship with him. Lois secretly advises Clark to keep his distance from her while appearing as Superman.
The event begins, and among the rest of the finalists are: fighter pilot and STAR Labs astronaut Hank Henshaw; three-time world champion archer Chandi Gupta (known in comics as the superhero Maya); Dr. Byrna Brilyant (known in comics as the supervillain Blue Snowman), who has scaled Mt. Everest seven times; and Silver St. Cloud, a renowned influencer, philanthropist, and fashion icon. Fans will surely recognize Silver St. Cloud as Bruce Wayne’s prominent love interest in comics and in several animated and live-action iterations. Hopefully, with all the tease regarding Gotham, the makers will decide to bring the Caped Crusader into the mix soon enough. Clark leaves the venue just to return as Superman, and all present journalists get busy getting a scoop from the Man of Steel. During the questioning session, Silver shows her interest in Superman and requests his assistance in Metropolis’ charitable affairs, to which Clark happily agrees. Hank Henshaw’s disdain for Superman comes to the surface (stemming from the last episode) as he tries to frame him as a dangerous alien. However, Silver defends Superman by deciding to leave, which hampers the jubilance of the event a bit. Nevertheless, Cat takes Lois away, as she has gathered everything needed for her report and has come to the conclusion that Silver St. Cloud is dating Superman. Lois feels a bit disheartened and almost reveals her relationship with Clark/Superman. However, Cat discourages her, stating that as a journalist, she is no match for people of Superman’s status, who might find better companionship among the star-studded, celebrated finalists.
Jimmy’s Day Out With Kara: Did Jimmy Learn About Her Secret Identity?
Meanwhile, Jimmy is having a tough time gathering the resolve to reconcile with his best friend, Clark, as he is too nervous and ashamed after what happened during the STAR Labs symposium. While walking down the street, Jimmy notices a seemingly lost girl (whose outfit is a homage to Android 18 from Dragonball Z) and saves her from an oncoming bus. The girl introduces herself as Kara and states her reason for arriving in Metropolis: to find someone close. Already trying to avoid interaction with Clark, Jimmy decides to give Kara a tour of the city and help her find the person she is looking for. It is no secret to viewers that she is actually Kara Zor El, who has responded to Clark’s beacon and arrived on earth.
As Jimmy shows Kara around Metropolis, she enjoys engaging with human affairs a great deal, and it seems like it has been a long time since she has been allowed to be on her own as well. At the end of the day, as Kara and Jimmy seem to get close, Jimmy acknowledges that he shouldn’t have avoided Clark by using the excuse of helping Kara. Jimmy decides to go to the bachelorette event to meet Clark and takes Kara along with him as well.
Where Did Kara Take Clark?
Just as the winner of the bachelorette event is going to be announced, Jimmy and Kara reach the venue, and Kara recognizes Superman as her cousin from the house El emblem in his costume. Jimmy is quick to recognize her as Clark’s surviving Kryptonian relative, and by then Kara has already moved forward to meet with him. As Superman is announced as the winner, Silver shares a congratulatory kiss with him, which leads to an already hurting Lois tearfully exiting the venue. Clark follows her and ignores Kara in front of him in a rush, who was really excited to finally meet with her cousin up to that point.
In the last couple of episodes, Lois and Clark haven’t gotten the chance to speak with each other or even share what is happening in their lives. She didn’t have the chance to share the news about the job offer by Vicky Vale with Clark, and on the other hand, Clark’s repeated attempts to share the update about the beacon didn’t reach Lois. Coupled with her father’s abandonment, Lois was already feeling pretty insecure, and the events during the bachelorette events have aggravated that feeling badly. Lois shares her fear that their relationship isn’t working out, letting a shocked Clark question whether this means they are breaking up.
However, even before Lois could have answered it, an enraged Kara confronts Clark, stating that she traversed galaxies in search of her only surviving cousin, expecting him to be a warrior, but to her disappointment, she has only found a mockery of the Kryptonian heritage. After all, in this iteration, Kryptonians were the world’s most technologically advanced species, and Kara apparently spent her formative years training in the colonizing efforts. Clark’s naivety and simplicity aren’t appreciated by Kara because she is unfamiliar with most of such feelings, and this key distinction has been translated well in the animated series. However, Kara remarks that her cousin, Clark, or as she knows him, Kal El, has grown too soft on earth and presents him with two choices: either to join her in conquering the planet for a new Kryptonian Empire or kneel. Clark tries to convince Kara that Krypton’s mission ended with their homeworld’s destruction, but a menacing AI presence referred to as Primus commands Kara through the comms of her newly transformed armor suit to take Kal El down.
Kara starts pummeling Clark around, and to avoid collateral damage, Clark at once takes her outside the venue. As Kara continues to unload a vicious beatdown on Clark, the latter tries to convince her to stop, and for a moment, Kara hesitates as she looks at the scared faces of the citizens of Metropolis. However, Primus commands Kara once again to continue her assault, and it seems he has some kind of mental hold over her. Clark unlocks his freeze breath powers while countering Kara’s heat vision, which makes Primus really curious about him as he commands Kara to bring Kal El to him.
Eventually Kara manages to overpower Clark and takes him into captivity as she travels to meet Primus, who is revealed to be seemingly a disembodied AI presence of her father. Lois and Jimmy can only watch from a distance in a news chopper and wonder about Clark’s fate as the episode comes to a close. It seems like Kara, the only surviving Kryptonian except Clark, has been brainwashed or manipulated by Brainiac and Zod (teased in the final moments of the first season finale) with the promise of the creation of a new Krypton, which explains her rampage on earth and abduction of Clark. Kara’s actions in Metropolis will allow Lex to libel against Superman even more, as the prospect of an alien threat is more real than ever at this moment. As for Clark, nothing seems to be going his way lately, and the troubling first meetup with his cousin has just made the situation worse for him. In the upcoming episode, the narrative will focus on Clark’s fate and Kara’s past, and hopefully the cousins find a way to mend their relationship after getting off on the wrong foot.
