A key aspect of classic Superman stories is the way his optimism, inherent goodness, and other inspiring qualities seem to transmit into associated characters as well, which is so well exemplified in the third episode of the second season of My Adventures With Superman.
Previously, Clark was able to learn the truth about his origin from Jor El’s consciousness—stationed on a Kryptonian ship that made its way onto earth, which brought Amanda Waller-led Task Force X into a conflicting course with him in the process. Jor El had also informed Clark about the arrival of his cousin, Kara Zor El, on earth, and later, as Superman, he had managed to obtain a beacon from the Task Force X facility on Stryker Island, which could help him find Kara. With the help of Lois and Jimmy, Superman broke out Sam Lane from the Task Force X facility and rescued other prisoners who were being used as test subjects. In the current episode, cheekily and aptly titled “Fullmetal Scientist” (obvious allusion to the legendary Shounen anime Fullmetal Alchemist), we meet or find reference to two iconic tech heroes as a classic Superman villain finds his way into the narrative in a new form.
Spoilers Ahead
Which Kind of Secret Was Being Hidden at Amertek?
The episode begins with Superman rescuing scientist Dr. Silas Stone from a burning apartment. Just like in the first season, Superman unlocks a new power after being put in a tense situation—this time a tactile protective shield, which protects the scientist from fire. As Superman flies off to save others, the supervillain Livewire emerges from the shadows and threatens Silas with his son’s life unless he cooperates. Silas deletes some evidence from his phone (more on that later) and promises to keep his mouth shut to ensure his son remains safe. Fans of DC comics will surely remember Dr. Silas Stone as the father of Victor Stone, aka Cyborg, and with hints like these, My Adventures With Superman continues to posit itself in the larger DC universe.
Eventually, with an advertisement for the Amertek manufacturing plant, we get introduced to an iconic Superman ally, Dr. John Henry Irons, the lead scientist of robotics at the cutting-edge tech plant. The scene shifts to Jimmy and Clark’s apartment, where Lois’ father, Sam Lane, is living with them to stay away from Waller’s radar for a while, and Clark finds it difficult to maintain his secret life with Sam present. On the other hand, Jimmy is finding it hard to convince his kid reporter of Flamebird, Flip Johnson, that it is totally unsafe for an eleven-year-old to cover news using an RC helicopter with a camera and glitter gun attachment, not even if she gives it a fancy name like the Flying Newsroom.
Clark, Lois, and Jimmy go on their way to cover their daily reporting assignments for the Daily Planet. Clark tries to inform Lois about the beacon of his cousin, Kara, which he managed to obtain from the Stryker island facility of Task Force X, but Lois is too busy at present. She is going to the press conference at Amertek, where company CEO Thomas Weston will demonstrate their fusion-core-powered robotic giants named Metallo, which will allegedly use their destructive firepower and hulking stature to ward off crime from Metropolis. Powered by the central fusion core of the Amertek plant, the Metallo robots are seemingly safe and clean as well. However, amidst the flashy presentation, Lois notices the absence of lead robotics scientist John Irons, questions Weston about it, and finds no solid answer. Lois’ idol, Vicki Vale from the Gotham Gazette, was also present at the conference, and a bit of a cold war ensued between the two to get the scoop on the secrets of Amertek. Eventually, both of them find their way inside the plant and find the main lab to be totally devastated. Along with the absence of the lead scientist and seeing the demolished condition of the lab, there is something problematic going on at Amertek, and both Lois and Vicki start rushing on their way to reach John Henry Irons to know the details of it.
How Did Clark and Jimmy Learn About the Metallo Crisis?
On the other hand, Clark is having a hard time writing his pending report because, having to deal with too many things at the same time, he is out of ideas. Jimmy suddenly arrives to ask for his help, as he thinks that Flip is in trouble after finding her intercepting a cryptic voicemail from Flamebird about killer robots in Metropolis.
As Clark and Jimmy reach Flip’s coordinates, they reach the apartment of Dr. Irons and find out Natasha ‘Flip’ Johnson is actually his niece. In comics, Natasha Irons is actually the second superhero to adorn the moniker of her uncle, Steel, and this was a nifty way of combining two classic Superman allies (Natasha and Flip) into one character. Anyway, Clark recognizes Dr. Irons, and it is revealed that he sent the cryptic message to the Flamebird community in the first place by following the advice of his niece. Irons reveals that his tenure at Amertek began with him building a rugged, tough mech suit, known as Steel, which was made for first responders to wield, as it could withstand severe external conditions. However, the CEO of the company, Weston, insisted on building the rider-less, flashier Metallo robotic armors, which were powered by fusion core technology, and it turned out to be extremely unstable to the point where the presence of more than one Metallo robot in a vicinity resulted in vicious destruction, which is what happened in the Amertek lab previously. Dr. Irons and Dr. Silas Stone (also an Amertek employee) tried to warn Weston about the consequences, as they stated the plant’s main fusion core could potentially result in a destruction three hundred times stronger. They maintained that the Metallo program should be shut off unless Weston wants to consign the entire city of Metropolis to oblivion. However, a power-hungry Weston was too busy to seize the opportunity to become the top tech plant in the absence of Amazo Tech, and he pushed forward with the operations. Silas and Irons recorded their interaction and other secretive information that could expose Weston, and they were eventually fired and later targeted, as seen in the beginning of the episode when Livewire, paid by Weston, threatened Silas to ensure his silence. Irons fears that he is next in line on Weston’s hitlist, and right at that moment, Lois and Vicki arrive in his apartment for their scoop as well.
Did Superman and Steel End the Threat of Metallo?
Moments later, Livewire crashes the apartment as well, with the intention of ending Irons, but Superman’s presence ruins her plans, and she rushes off after destroying the evidence. Realizing that the hit was a failure, a desperate Weston turns on the plant’s fusion core and launches all the active Metallo robots to end his main hindrances—Superman and Dr. Irons. After Weston destroys the reactor controller, the only way to turn off the fusion reactors is to access them manually, and Irons rushes to shut them down while Superman engages all the Metallo robots. However, Irons accesses his Steel mechasuit, complete with the iconic kinetic sledgehammer, and lends Superman a hand to battle the Metallo robots. Eventually, the plant’s core absorbs all the Metallo cores and grows increasingly unstable, as catastrophic nuclear destruction seems imminent. Superman tries to use his newfound ability of tactile shielding to contain the pulsating fusion core, while Irons tries to destroy the reactor pillars. The Metallo robots still continue to be a nuisance, and Jimmy makes the right call by allowing Flip to use the Flying Newsroom, aka the RC helicopter, to distract the giant robots. Eventually, Superman and Steel manage to shut the reactor down just in time to save the city, and the Metallo robots become inactive without their energy supply as well.
Weston gets arrested, and Jimmy is seen getting some advice regarding leadership from Dr. Irons. He realizes that aside from providing commands and ensuring the security of his associates, as a leader, he needs to trust them and bring out the best in them, even if it means facing occasionally dangerous situations. As for the race for the scoop, Lois actually emerges as the winner by reporting on the Amertek crisis before Vicki Vale. Impressed by her astounding journalistic skills, Vicki offers her a position in the Gotham Gazette, and it’s a dream-come-true proposition for Lois, who has always wanted to work alongside her idol. However, this also means leaving Metropolis, Clark, and the life she has in the city behind her, and she seems conflicted at the thought. On the other hand, Clark seems a bit down, as he blames himself for thinking about the threat too late, but Lois assures him that with everything he has to handle on a daily basis, what matters most is that he saved the day at the end and had help to do so. Clark gets excited as he finally has the inspiration to jot down a perfect report, and he writes on how the spirit of Metropolis is exemplified by the heroics of Dr. Henry Irons.
However, by the end of the episode, a reminder is given that not everyone shares the noble ideas of Clark, as Amertek Security asks Dr. Irons to relinquish control of his steel suit and leave the plant permanently. Lex Luthor emerges and reveals that, as of now, he has bought Amertek and all its associated IPs, which is why he can command to have the Steel suit taken away from Dr. Irons. As the episode ends, Waller and Lex are seen standing in front of an entire lot of Metallo robots, and their vile intention of using these against Superman becomes quite clear. The way Lex and Waller have been gathering means to take down Superman already, and it is quite clear that in this season at least, Superman will need allies to stand a chance against them. With the inclusion of John Henry Irons and the eventual arrival of Kara Zor El as well, the Man of Steel will also have strength in numbers in upcoming episodes.
