Superman’s origin and the connection he shares with the cosmic side of DC comics due to his alien ancestry are important aspects of his characterization, and the sixth episode of the ongoing season of My Adventures With Superman perfectly highlights that. Previously, while attending the Metropolis bachelorette gala event, Clark and Lois had a falling out, while Kara arrived in Metropolis, responding to the Kryptonian beacon activated by Clark, and befriended Jimmy. The long-awaited first meeting between Clark and his Kryptonian cousin, Kara Zor El, didn’t go as planned in the previous episode, as Kara seems to be working with a certain Primus to rebuild a New Kryptonian empire through galactic domination. Under Primus’ orders, Kara tries to coerce Clark into joining her cause, but to no avail, and disgusted by Clark’s heroic/savior persona, she decides to knock some sense into him by giving him a beatdown.
From the farthest corner of the galaxy, Primus takes notice of Clark’s unique powers and asks Kara to bring Clark to him. Jimmy and Lois need to find a way to save their best friend before it’s too late. The seventh episode, titled “The Machine Who Would Be Empire,” shows a glimpse of Primus’ capabilities, and the larger DC cosmology gets teased in the process.
Spoilers Ahead
Kara and Clark Finally Bond on Friendlier Terms
As the episode begins, Clark wakes up in the captive cell inside Kara’s spaceship and finds out they have drifted deep into outer space, far from earth. Kara tries to convince him to join in the mission of rebuilding New Krypton, but Clark is adamant about heading back to the planet he considers home. Kara pleads with Clark to stay and offers to show him a glimpse of their birthplanet, Krypton, which she has been trying to restore with her father, Primus, through the years. As Clark disgruntledly agrees, Kara shows him the technological, prosperous world of Krypton through a memory projector. It is revealed that even though the Kryptonians were a colonizing, conquering force, they provided the colonized planets with opportunities for advancement and assimilated them into their own culture. Clark is amazed by the glimpse of his birth planet, and to clear up the past misunderstanding Kara had with him, he offers to show her a peek into his childhood memories of his other home back on earth.
Kara is not impressed, as she thinks the humans close to him liked the restrained, tamed version of him, and she questions whether anyone ever loved Kal El as the person he is. Clark’s memory briefly shows Lois to be that person, but due to the estranged relationship Clark has with her at the moment, he quickly removes the memory projector. While going through Kara’s prized collectibles gathered from different worlds, Clark stumbles upon a photograph she had with Jimmy, which suggests Kara might have feelings for him. After all, after spending her adulthood alone and under the control of Primus, Kara was lonely, and Jimmy was the first person she bonded with.
Kara believes that by bringing other planets under the light of the Kryptonian Empire, which is Primus’ mission, they are saving them, and she questions Clark as to why he doesn’t wish the same for Earth. Clark shares his wish to see one of these planets, and Kara decides to take him to Thanagar, which DC fans will surely know as the Hawkworld. En route, Kara and Clark spend some quality time as siblings as they play in an asteroid field. For the first time, Clark is able to let himself go without being hindered by earthly constraints, and he also discovers that, as a Kryptonian, they can breathe in space.
What Was the Truth About New Krypton’s Foundation?
Clark and Kara arrive at Thanagar, only to discover a dead planet where Thanagarian architecture and constructs remind them of a distant past, much to Kara’s shock and horror. A mechanism installed on the planet nearly hypnotizes Kara until Clark snaps her out of it and questions her about what’s really going on under the guise of building the New Krypton empire. Kara is confused as she remembers the planet to be a thriving one, and flashes of Thanagar’s devastation start flashing in her mind as she tries to recall the last time she arrived here. Before they can continue their discussion, Primus’ assault droids arrive at Thanagar and take them to Kandor. The city, which once was the capital of Krypton, has now been turned into a floating spaceship in the debris of the destroyed planet, from where Primus operates.
Clark is surprised to find that Primus, whom Kara referred to as her father, is not Zor El; instead, he is a sentient artificial intelligence, Primus Brainiac, who controlled the Kryptonian empire before its doom and afterwards took command of whatever was left of the destroyed planet, including Kara Zor El. From Brainiac, Clark gets to know the name of his birthmother, Lara Lor-Van. Brainiac dismisses Kara and takes Clark to test the limits of his powers by pitting him against the mind-scanned holographic forms of an Apokoliptian Parademon (New Gods reference), a Thanagarian, and an expert martial artist alien/Green Lantern—all built upon the assault bots of Brainiac.
Brainiac reveals the ugly truth behind his attempt to restore New Krypton, as he had mind-wiped Kara to make her his perfect enforcer to take over other thriving planetary civilizations and decimated all who opposed his command. With Clark’s unique physical traits, Brainiac wishes to control him to create an even superior soldier and conquer earth. Clark unleashes his superior powers to take down all the assault bots and tries to stop Brainiac, but as the sentient robot activates the Red Son protocol, Clark is weakened and easily subdued.
Did Kara break free from Brainiac’s mind control?
Kara returns and is surprised to see Clark subdued by the Brainiac bots, and Primus Brainiac manipulates her emotions to make her feel guilty about not complying with his direct commands. Brainiac once again hypnotizes Kara to assert his control over her and deludes her into thinking that everything is alright and that she has worked for the greater good of New Krypton and the worlds in its control. However, later, as Kara takes a look at her collectibles and Jimmy’s picture with her, her memories start to return once again, and Clark’s questions about the fate of the colonized worlds come to her mind. Now skeptical of Primus’ intentions, she decides to venture to the planets she knows to be under New Krypton’s control: H’lven, Euphorix, and Thanagar. On all those planets, she sees no sign of life and finds all of them ravaged beyond recognition. In a mural in Thanagar, Kara remembers that she herself erased all these planets from existence under Brainiac’s command, and devastated, she breaks down in tears.
In her mind, a confused, grief-stricken Kara tries to seek counsel from her cousin Kal, and for the first time, she refers to him by his earthly name, Clark. Almost like a wish fulfillment, a portal opens in front of her, and in a spaceship—Lois, Jimmy, Monsieur Mallah, and Brain are seen together—they have arrived to rescue Clark. Kara and Jimmy get surprised after seeing each other, and the episode ends right there.
Monsieur Mallah and Brain, two pivotal Doom Patrol members, made their appearance in the first season of My Adventures With Superman, and seeing them return was a pleasant surprise. With the futuristic tech they had previously created for Task Force X, it makes sense why Jimmy and Lois have chosen to seek help from these former allies in order to save Clark. Speaking of Clark, he is in danger of being mind-controlled by Brainiac, just like his cousin, Kara, has been for all these years, and before that happens, Kara needs to join hands with Jimmy and co., clarify past misunderstandings, and rescue Clark from Brainiac’s clutches. In comics, the stories of Kara and Brainiac have often been interlinked (The “Injustice 2” game, for example), and this new twist taken by My Adventures With Superman still managed to amaze us. Hopefully, all the teased cosmic frontiers get explored later in the series, and using this as a foundation, an animated series universe gets made in the near future.
