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My Adventures With Superman Ep 4-6
972 Plays1 year ago
J Scotty and Zuhair continue their adventures with My Adventures with Superman by covering episodes 4, 5 and 6!
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Transcript
Episodes Overview: 'My Adventures with Superman'
00:00:01
Speaker
On another exciting episode of the Animation Deliberation podcast, we are catching up with our favorite Kryptonian as we cover episodes 4 through 6 of My Adventures with Superman, currently streaming on HBO Max.
00:00:18
Speaker
Sing along if you know the words. One, two, three, it's time for animation deliberation. A conversation and a celebration of our favorite action animated series. Yeah.
Meet the Hosts: Zuhair Ali and J. Scotty Sinclair
00:00:34
Speaker
Yeah. Welcome back to another episode of animation deliberation, the podcast where we take action animation and cartoon seriously, but not too seriously. We're your hosts. I'm Zuhar Ali. And my name's Jay Scottie Sinclair.
00:00:44
Speaker
And I can't make it clear enough how genuine we are when we do these recordings for you guys. We don't do any second takes. We accept all of our vocal flaws, mine more than anybody else's, but this is heartfelt. This is genuine. You're getting raw silliness from all of us.
Character Development and Story Building
00:01:03
Speaker
We're a couple of regular Clark Kent's over here, except for hiding the double life and secret identity. We don't do that part.
00:01:09
Speaker
part of it. Yeah. We're stand-up guys. Totally. But I do trip on the staircase getting into the room sometimes, so. Careful. So, how are you liking the show so far? I am still really, really enjoying it. I think the first three episodes that we talked about were a very strong opening, and I think my main takeaway with these four episodes was
00:01:38
Speaker
The show is doing what a show is supposed to do. Every episode gets a little bit better.
00:01:43
Speaker
The writing even seems to be improving.
Feel-Good Nature of the Show
00:01:46
Speaker
The character development is there. It's building the story. So while it is entertaining and kind of light and breezy experience, it's not without its dramatic moments and beats there. So it's still one of my favorite DC things, one of my favorite animated things, and one of my favorite Superman things. I look forward to watching this show every week, and I'm excited to talk about it. How about you? How are you feeling about the series where we're at right now?
00:02:14
Speaker
I'm definitely enjoying it. I think the the general vibe of it compared to other things that we've covered, like young justices. It's it's very refreshing. It's it's a very feel good show. Like I'm not like, oh, my God, I need to watch this episode. But when I see it pop up as available, then I'm like looking forward to like sitting down and watching like I don't want to wait. Right. But it's not because of.
00:02:40
Speaker
you know, cliffhangers or a ridiculously intense story. It's just the overall vibe of it is just so comforting at the end of a long week. It's just really nice to be able to sit down and play and just the comedy is always on point. The reactions between the main characters are always on point.
Superman vs Batman: A Character Exploration
00:02:58
Speaker
And then on top of that, I feel like the action and the storytelling is just a bonus on top of that, if that makes sense.
00:03:06
Speaker
And that's exactly what and who Superman should be. We've seen a lot of different iterations of Superman to differing levels of acceptance or reception, for lack of a better term. And I feel like this series is doing everything you're supposed to do with a Superman series. And that's what makes him so different from someone like Batman. He's not as dark and gritty. He certainly has his harrowing moments.
00:03:35
Speaker
It's just what I'm really enjoying about this series as much as it is about Superman and it's about Lois and it's about Jimmy Olsen, like Clark Kent is also such an important character and I think what kind of came forward in these three episodes, I think it's interesting that we decided to take the approach of splitting these up into three and it actually worked out like
00:03:56
Speaker
more nice, a lot better than I could have anticipated.
Team Dynamics: Lois, Jimmy, and Clark
00:04:00
Speaker
It just feels like there's a nice through line there. And one of the threads that kind of came to the forefront for me without getting too spoiler at this point is just the fact that like how important it is to Clark, to have that aspect of his life and to strive for this normal life. And I feel like while that's been touched upon on various iterations of Superman, I feel like this one is really doing it the best that I've seen in a long time.
00:04:27
Speaker
Yeah, there's definitely a lot of attempts and a lot of different variations. But one of the reasons that this works with Lois and Jimmy as well is because we're seeing them as they're all interns and they're all like, you know, coming into their own and they all have something to prove for themselves right now. Like it's not as much as a lot of it is around Superman, like
00:04:50
Speaker
You don't feel like it's just them focused around that story because they're just trying to
00:04:59
Speaker
take off their careers together at the same time and this is just kind of like a means to do so. So it doesn't feel redundant and that it's like we're doing Superman and these two people are getting in the way or always happen to show up. It's the fact that like, this is just kind of like something that they're doing together and the fact that they have all three of these characters are very similar place in their lives is what makes the synergy of it all really well.
00:05:24
Speaker
Yeah, they're really well-formed characters. They don't feel like accessories.
The Bechdel Test in Animation
00:05:28
Speaker
They have agency and they have their own things going on. And as you were bringing that point up, it made me think there's this concept. It's usually reserved for live action TV and movies. I don't know if it's been applied to animation so much, but it's called the Bechdel test. Are you familiar with that at all?
00:05:48
Speaker
Okay, so it's this test that basically you can take any form of media or content and so whether it passes or fails the test is based on whether or not you have a scene where two women characters do something other than talk about like the male protagonist in a scene. And if they accomplish that, it is said to have passed the Bechdel test and it is astonishing how many
00:06:16
Speaker
pieces of media that we consume, especially back in the day that did not pass that test. I think it's been getting better and better as representation and diversity and
00:06:29
Speaker
just having the care and attention for that has, has come to the forefront. But even, even removing it from having to be women characters in particular, it's like you go into a show about Superman. Yeah. Superman is the main appeal, but when you have these characters like Lois and Jimmy, the fact that they do have their scenes where they're not fixated or their actions and, and emotions aren't completely dictated by what's going on with Superman. It just makes the show that much more enjoyable and makes the characters feel that much more real.
00:06:59
Speaker
Yeah, great writing, great animation, great storytelling, and three great episodes. I think I'm ready to talk about.
Investigating Dr. Ivo's Gala
00:07:05
Speaker
Okay. So yeah, let's get a little spoilery here and we'll do that by going over these synopses. So we'll start with episode four, which was titled, let's go to I've, let's go to Ivo tower. You say, I don't know if that's a reference to something, but, uh, if you, if you know, write in and let us know animation deliberation podcast at gmail.com. So.
00:07:27
Speaker
Perry tasked the interns with covering a gala held by Dr. Anthony Ivo, the CEO of Amazotec. Familiar with the allegations of Amazotec's illegal activities, Lois discovers several attendees she believes to be corrupt while Clark stumbles upon Ivo in the midst of an argument with an Amazon, tough to say, Amazon being out there an Amazotec, Amazotec chairman regarding the board of directors desire to vote him out. Clark attempts to interview Ivo,
00:07:55
Speaker
But he has security throw him out. Impressive. What's that? Impressive. For sure. That's a good security squad there. After Lois helps Clark sneak back in, they find a secret room containing similar technology that Livewire and Intergang used. They later glimpse Ivo demonstrate the Parasite 1.0 armor and attempt to drop his company's chairman.
00:08:20
Speaker
out of a window. Clark becomes Superman to save Curtis, who is the chairman, while Ivo traps the attendees in the Amazo panic room so he can fight Superman. Realizing the armor absorbs energies from his attack, Superman stops directly fighting Ivo with Lois and Jimmy's help, draining the suit's power, before removing Ivo from it for arriving paramedics after the armor drains his own energy, leaving him deformed.
Clark's Secret Unveiled to Lois
00:08:44
Speaker
The interns return to the secret room but find it empty. Later, Lois reworks her Superman evidence board using articles involving sightings in Kansas and starts to believe Clark is Superman. Pompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompompomp
00:09:06
Speaker
Uh, so the Richard Donner Superman movie, the first Superman movie that came out in the seventies, that was like one of the tag lines. You will believe a man can fly. Like that was one of the things they promoted. So you will believe a man can lie as a nice little reference there. Clever. I like it. Yeah. Hoping to confess his burgeoning
00:09:28
Speaker
Oh, thank you. Hoping to confess his burgeoning feelings for Lois, Clark asks for help in developing a story about the stolen military technology spreading throughout Metropolis and a mysterious individual kidnapping anyone using them. However, she sees it as an opportunity to expose them as Superman. Using an old dispatcher scanner, she chases down Superman as he foils various crimes before eventually meeting him after he defeats Heatwave, another criminal empowered by the stolen technology.
00:09:55
Speaker
While Superman is distracted, Heatwave escapes, believing he is behind the kidnappings. After he drops off Lois at the Daily Planet to keep her safe, he re-confronts Heatwave and discovers the true culprit, the abducted criminals, is an armored Wilson, aided by similar robots that Livewire used. Their subsequent fight soon endangers civilians, leading Wilson's superiors to General and Amanda Waller ordering him to withdraw so Superman can save them.
00:10:22
Speaker
After returning to Lois, she forces Clark to reveal his secret identity to her and is left distraught. Meanwhile, Jimmy is disappointed to learn Clark and Lois failed to attend a pre-planned camping trip to investigate Bigfoot sightings with him. He goes alone, but a large gorilla kidnaps him.
00:10:39
Speaker
This was one where I was like, do we want to record early? I kind of need to talk about this. Sure. But it worked out. Yeah, indeed, indeed. And finally, episode six titled My Adventures with Mad
Adventure at Area 52
00:10:52
Speaker
Science. And I don't know if that's any kind of reference other than referencing the title of the series, My Adventures in Superman.
00:10:58
Speaker
After failing to locate Jimmy, Clark reaches out to Lois for help. Despite still being mad at him, she agrees. Scouring the woods, the pair find an abandoned military installation called Area 52. But upon crossing the fence, Clark's powers falter due to the area being exposed to red solar radiation before they are chased by OMAC robots.
00:11:22
Speaker
Meanwhile, inside Area 52, Jimmy meets and befriends the gorilla Monsieur Malat and his partner, The Brain. The pair reveal they originally worked for Project Cadmus, a branch of Task Force X that focused on developing futuristic technology before the latter organization betrayed them and raided Area 52.
00:11:41
Speaker
ever since the Brain and Mala have been attempting to create a wormhole to access other dimensions where they will be accepted. Eventually breaching Area 52, Clark and Lois reconcile with each other and Jimmy, who reveals he knew of Clark's secret identity before joining the Brain and Mala in defeating the Omax. Successfully opening their wormhole, the Brain warns Clark that Task Force X is after him before leaving with Mala. Concurrently, the General recruits Ivo to help him use Cadmus' technology to kill Superman.
00:12:12
Speaker
It's all coming together. All these little pieces, all these little fragments from each episode, all the stuff in the mystery. Like we have our groups, we have the names that we've seen before, like Cadmus and Task Force X. All these little fragments are coming together and I'm excited to see it with these last, what, four episodes.
00:12:30
Speaker
Have for it. Yeah, it should be a 10 episode season here. So part of the reason we do the synopses on episodes like this, I think is hopefully for you, the listener, it serves as much of a refresher as it does for me personally. But before we get into the nitty gritty, spoilery thoughts here, speaking of refreshers, I think we have an ad partner that can offer some refreshment.
00:12:55
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00:14:50
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00:15:15
Speaker
I kind of alluded to the fact how I liked how we paired these off into episode into three episode arcs and
00:15:23
Speaker
I think that worked out really well for this set of three episodes in particular because I feel like there were multiple seeds that were planted that we kind of got to see come to fruition. The first of which being I noticed in the episode four when they went to the Ivo Tower, so Clark and Lois were having their cute interactions like they do where they were talking about the prospect of doing this assignment together.
00:15:47
Speaker
they're getting ready to say something like, oh, should we think of this as a date? But they don't get to say date because Jimmy pops in there and says like a perfect night with three best friends. He is such a cock block. Yeah.
00:16:00
Speaker
I love how unabashed he is about it. He's just so enthusiastic. But that being said, it kind of planted the seeds that Jimmy was going to start feeling like a little bit of this third wheel. And we saw that come to a head in episode two where he gets stuck with Steve Lombard. And I got to say, we talked about all of our protagonists having to face these various challenges. And I really think Jimmy had the worst of it by having to deal with Steve Lombard.
00:16:30
Speaker
But yeah, and so then, yeah, finally for it to come to the end where, you know, he was going on this journey of like not feeling like he was a part of, you know, his friends didn't care about him as much as he cared about them. Meanwhile, Lois and Clark are not doing that intentionally. They're just so consumed with, you know, their own ongoings. But it was really satisfying in episode six where they all basically got to have that reconciliation, like,
00:16:59
Speaker
Like I alluded to, Clark, they ask him, why did you cut us out of this big part of your life? And it's like, I wanted to be your friend. I didn't want you to think of me as an alien. I wanted to be your friend. And that just really struck a chord with me and helped me identify with all three protagonists even more.
00:17:17
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know how much more to add to that. It's just a beautiful relationship. And like I said earlier on, they're very, they're at very similar points of their life, like, whether their end goals be different, to see things drift at that point from people that they've known for so long, it's just kind of like a difficult thing and this, you know, growing time to have to deal with.
00:17:40
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And it's one of those things like I'm glad they didn't drag it out too long, like having Clark with his secret identity hiding it from both Lois and Jimmy. That's something like I could see other shows dragging that out through the duration of the season or having only it be revealed to one of the characters and another one of them being left in the dark.
Clark's Emphasis on Justice
00:18:00
Speaker
But again, I think that's a credit to the show. It's called My Adventures with Superman. And I really do think that's a reflection of
00:18:08
Speaker
Jimmy's Adventures with Superman, Lois's Adventures with Superman. We, the audience, are Adventures with Superman as well as Clark himself is Adventures with Superman. He's just getting to know who Superman is and discovering all that.
00:18:21
Speaker
I guess another thread that kind of stuck out to me in terms of like these three episodes kind of being paired nicely together is, so we had Dr. Ivo introduced in episode four, he makes the transformation into Parasite, and then at the very end of episode six, we do have that tease that he is going to be working with this mysterious general figure to, I don't know if he's gonna be the big bad, but he's definitely gonna be squaring off with Superman again.
00:18:49
Speaker
Oh, I kind of remember the point that you were making off the last one with shows like sorry, I'm like backtracking a little bit. My brain just went blank. All good. With shows like Bad Batch, there was a lot of like, if you know that this is going to be eight to 10 episodes, like why are you giving us these like filler episodes that don't add up to anything? I think this is a good example of just kind of like every episode having something that like builds up to like where we feel this endgame is going. Like I don't feel like
00:19:18
Speaker
any of this has been wasted and it could be because of the nature of the show where I was saying like it's a feel good show that just happens to have good action and building up. But that could be because it's building up that it's a feel good show and it could be getting more intense down the road. Yeah, I think that's a good point. I think in like a lesser show like episode four specifically might have felt like a detour. It's like, okay, let's move away from like the big things that are happening this season and just have a little one off adventure. And
00:19:48
Speaker
that this show just
Dr. Ivo vs Tony Stark: A Villain's Journey
00:19:49
Speaker
doesn't do that. There's no room for filler. It's very, very streamlined and I appreciate it for that. But with Anthony Ivo, I...
00:19:59
Speaker
I was a little mixed on how I was receiving him at first, but I do think that's what the show wanted. The show wanted me to not like him. It accomplished its goal in that regard. On the other hand, he was so different from previous iterations of Ivo that I've seen that I didn't know how it was jelling with me. There were certain points where it was like, okay, the fact that his name is Anthony Ivo and they're calling him Tony and he's got the ridiculous
00:20:22
Speaker
goatee that's been like carved like a certain way i was like i see what you're doing with the comparisons to tony stark here he's basically an anti tony stark in which case he's like a justin hammer oh multi-verse yeah yeah i ended up uh i ended up liking it and uh this was definitely a different take on parasites but i thought it ended up being pretty satisfying especially the fact that like he ended up being his own undoing and uh like
00:20:50
Speaker
he has that moment with Clark where he's like, I don't get it, man. What's your angle? Like, why are you doing this? And Clark's like, is it really that difficult for you to believe that people are just good and want to help? Yeah. And I will say it makes a lot of sense. Like he was our, Ivo was already so unlikable, but it just makes even more sense that his chair would be trying to force him out of his own company because like he may have the aptitude for the tech
00:21:15
Speaker
but he clearly does not have a brain for marketing because even if his, I don't know if a suit could give me superpowers, calling it a parasite, parasite 1.0, not putting that in my body. It's like, where'd it go? It is living up to the name. Right. Got a little bit of a green goblin vibes there. Oh, sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Lois' Mysterious Past
00:21:40
Speaker
It's a trouble you start get kicked out by the board in the first movie. Did he?
00:21:46
Speaker
Yeah, the bill that went iron monger after he brought him his pizza and did a little song thing in his ear. Right, right. They were questioning. Yeah, that's right. That's right. Good call. Good call. Like shut down all the military programs and this guy just shut down his own face because he did not come out of this episode looking great.
00:22:06
Speaker
No, he did. He was F-ed up. You did this to me. You started the fight, dude. Yeah, right? Yeah. Entitled much? Yeah. I guess another thing, because it seems like we've kind of been focusing on episode four specifically here. We can open it up and talk about the other episodes, but I did want to make mention that another through line that kind of
00:22:29
Speaker
really stuck out to me and that I appreciated was learning more about Lois and it started in this episode where Clark has ripped his jacket which they have that nice moment on the steps where she sews his jacket for him and she tells like I had to learn how to you know do all these various things
00:22:47
Speaker
because my dad instilled that in me. And then in episode six, I think it's when she's tracking Jimmy through the woods. He's like, how did you learn how to track people through the woods? And she wilderness camp. It's like, oh, that sounds intense. So you get these little seeds planted about Lois's background and her relationship with her father, which makes Clark's betrayal and her distrust of him just ring a little bit more true. But I kept finding myself wondering. So we've got this character of the general, and that's all he's been credited as, but
00:23:17
Speaker
He looks like he's of a similar like ethnic background to Lois especially with the get-up. She wore at the gala I'm wondering if the general is her father and that's a big thing that we're moving towards All right, August 8th. You're calling your shot. I am calling my shot You heard it here first. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have said that but
00:23:40
Speaker
But we're the ones that matter, so it's okay. That's right. Did you ever watch I Am A True Mother?
00:23:48
Speaker
I watched it in its entirety. It's been a few years, but I did. As you were describing all of this, it reminded me how much of Lois Lane is like Robin Shubotsky. Do you remember for her 16th birthday how her dad had him on the helicopter and gave him a knife, threw her out of the helicopter and was like, you have to survive in the woods for the weekend? Yeah, it's coming back to me now.
00:24:13
Speaker
The fact that she's a reporter and like Robin was on an anchor and everything just like oh my god, it's there Yeah, I Like it when you first started to bring up how I met your mother my mind immediately went to the fact that I kept talking about the General and I remember they had that ongoing joke where like wherever they said like, you know, it was a general misunderstanding or something like do the salute
Jimmy's Reconciliation
00:24:42
Speaker
Nice. Nice. I was just eating popcorn before this too. Nice. So, aside of that, the last big takeaway from episode four that I have is when Superman was like being insistent on like sticking with the cards and just like asking the lamest questions and not getting anything out of people. But like, he finally found out like,
00:25:07
Speaker
what being a reporter and a journalist like meant to him when he was talking to was a Curtis and like there was something that triggered him and he was like, all right, screw this. Like, why are you doing X, Y and Z? And it's like you could tell like this is what really mattered to him. This is what he wants to pursue. This is the type of like justice that he really wants to push for. And that's worth, quote unquote, like breaking the rules for looking outside of the system for. So I really like that growth and just the delivery
00:25:38
Speaker
What's the name, Quaid? Jack Quaid? Yeah, Jack Quaid. Jack Quaid. Just the delivery that he had because it was really emotional and just the way that all that was portrayed. Yeah, I agree. It was strong characterization, strong motivations, and it seemed like the natural reaction that just was so in keeping with Clark's character. Yeah, he's a little shy and can be timid, but when push comes to shove, he's going to stand up for the little guy.
00:26:08
Speaker
Yeah. All right. Well, I suppose just talking about the three episodes as a whole, I'm curious to hear what your take is on some of like these DC villains that we've seen and other properties. Like we got Heatwave, we got to see Slade Wilson Deathstroke again. We had, excuse me, we had Monsieur Malat and The Brain.
00:26:32
Speaker
What is like some of your experience with these characters and what was your take on these interpretations? I'm not sure that it clicked to me that it was Heatwave on this episode. Malaw and Brain was interesting because I haven't seen like enough of Brain, but it mostly is like a supervillain thing. But I like that it was just like just like a cranky old man just wanting the kids to get off his property.
00:27:02
Speaker
Sure. And sure, they have this relationship with him and Mala. I don't know too much about Mala to him just because of the flash series. I guess I've seen more Gorilla Grodd. Yeah. And I haven't seen Mala like.
00:27:18
Speaker
Sorry to cut you. I just think Malah, like if I'm not mistaken, they were always like a background character in Young Justice. And that was like one of my earliest exposures. I was like, it looks like Gorilla Grob, the beret. Yeah. That's one of those characters where it's like, because Young Justice is a lot of like, you have to know the background. It doesn't take away from anything if you don't know, but there's a benefit to knowing.
00:27:42
Speaker
And when I was watching this episode, I was thinking, I was like, is that who that gorilla was? Because I know it wasn't gorilla Grodd. So I didn't really have too much outside of the show to really relate to, but enough that this re picturing of the characters was really interesting to me. Like I missed Wade Wilson.
00:28:05
Speaker
Slade. Slade wasn't, excuse me. DC version. I miss Slade the first time. So when he came up with this, I'm just like, oh, that's right. Yeah. So I just like how they're repurposing them because I feel like how we talked about in the opener, like we haven't been seeing as much of
00:28:24
Speaker
Superman lately and other content whether they just can't get the story right or they a lot of people just don't understand that He doesn't need to be the overpowered force that he is right sure like I like when the This is why I like Superman in Young Justice And this is why I'm loving Superman here is because he's not invincible like the fact that robots and supervillains with high-tech can cause him problems is super important and
00:28:47
Speaker
The fact that in the first Avengers movie, Tony Stark was fighting Thor. That's how tempered Superman needs to be. Like obviously it's amazing that he can lift a car and nobody can actually physically push him and you need this heavy tech to do it. But this show is finally getting it right. And I think that's why people are going to start paying attention to the character and to the villains and such more, even if they're just, which I respect, just saying, screw everything we know about these guys. This is a story that we're telling.
00:29:17
Speaker
Yeah, sure. One thing you said there like brought to mind to me, like thinking back on the first three episodes, one of the things that like it kind of felt like it was falling into the pattern of, and I didn't mind it in those three episodes, but like talking about like Clark not being invincible and, you know, robots and stuff like that, being able to cause him some harm and set him back. It felt like those first three episodes, like they were establishing a motif, like he was going to learn a new power at the end of every episode.
00:29:45
Speaker
and I'm kind of glad that they moved away from that so it wasn't as formulaic and instead I think they focused a little bit more on the character development. Like there was that moment when they were running through the booby trapped encampment in area 52 and the turret comes up and you know Clark's weakened at that point by the red solar energy and takes all the bullets and Lois asks him like
00:30:08
Speaker
how did you know you were bulletproof? And he says, I didn't, I just wanted to keep you safe. Yeah, such a good moment, gives me goosebumps here. But bringing it back to the villains, I think was Slade in particular.
00:30:22
Speaker
There's not, I'm not, you know, saying this to be super critical, but we haven't really spent enough time with him one on one to get too much of his personality other than the fact that he's kind of like this hired dog that kind of relishes in the opportunity to inflict some harm and whatnot. And when he's like kind of told to retreat, you get a little bit of an attitude there. Like he does it, he complies, but you can tell he wanted to keep going.
00:30:44
Speaker
I think with his character and his design, like, first of all, I love the fact that Chris Parnell is getting the chance to do something so different from what he normally does. And I think he's doing a good job because normally he plays kind of, you know, like, oh, fish characters, like.
00:30:57
Speaker
he's Jerry on Rick and Morty or in Archer, he's Cyril Figgis. So always these kind of like put upon characters that are a bit of punching bags. So for him to be able to be a cool bad-ass I like, but I do feel like that his character and his design and his action sequences and his weaponry is where the series is really embracing like that anime element. So I think that's pretty cool.
00:31:24
Speaker
As far as the brain and Malago, again, yeah, characters that I'm not super familiar with, but I did do a little bit of research and apparently they're more often than not, they're Doom Patrol villains. And the fact that they were a couple- Oh. Yeah.
00:31:39
Speaker
I remember brain now. My bulb just went off. Yes, that's where else I see them. Okay, yeah. But this idea of them being a couple is not new to the series. Apparently, that's been established in the comic books for a long time. I like the fact that it's subverted expectations.
00:31:57
Speaker
This whole time I was just waiting, I was like, okay, what is Jimmy gonna do that sets them off and ends these pleasantries? And it just never happened. They were just always very cordial. And I gotta say, the moment I really loved is when Mala and the brain, they go back inside to let the three protagonists hash it out. And the brain's like, but Mala, I want to watch them fight.
00:32:22
Speaker
And then later on, Malat interrupts on the intercom. It's like, they're robots on Zué. And he's like, hey, what happened about giving us a moment? He's like, I'm sorry, Jimmy. I love drama. You nailed it on capturing, man.
00:32:41
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, it was it was fun. It was a lot of fun. Between the two of them and Jimmy's dialogue about knowing Superman, like we know that DC and especially with Young Justice has been targeting, not targeting, but bringing light to social issues and Young Justice has done in a really beautiful way. That's kind of like made you appreciate and kind of understand things.
00:33:07
Speaker
So without directly going into anything, the fact that there was dialogue of brain and mala trying to find a place where they can be an accepted and find more people like them and find that community for themselves. And Jimmy saying that I knew all along, but that was a venture for you. I'm going to I was going to wait for you to be comfortable to come out and tell me. Yeah, just little dialogue like that, where it's not like directly talking about anything, but
00:33:35
Speaker
depending on what place you are in life, you can take words like that and just really get something out of it. I love how DC always does that. And that dialogue is just really beautifully done. Yeah, I think it was...
00:33:51
Speaker
a beautiful moment, a very heartfelt moment, and really demonstrated their friendship and the understanding and the care that was there, even if it wasn't spoken. It was just something that existed between them. So I really appreciated that. But I also loved, I love some of the humor behind it too. He says, the first day I met you, you ripped the doorknob off the door. And he said, you said it was the screws. And then Clark's just like, could have been the screws.
00:34:16
Speaker
It was like it was the other half of the door. That does make me wonder though, so like this version of Jimmy, he's got his flame bird account, which is like, you know, the conspiracy theory, YouTube channel and whatnot. I wonder.
00:34:33
Speaker
since he's known about Clark for so long or known something was different about Clark, did his relationship with Clark fuel his interest and fascination with uncovering these things? Or was it already there prior to meeting Clark? And that's what made him so already accepting and open to the idea.
00:34:54
Speaker
The big one we're going to get an answer for later. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I just really think Jimmy had some great
Jimmy's Intelligence: Beyond Comic Relief
00:35:02
Speaker
moments. And I think that was one of my big takeaways from this three episode arc as well is I think it would have been very easy again for a lesser show to relegate Jimmy to just the third wheel
00:35:16
Speaker
only comic relief or anything like that. But they don't treat him like an idiot. Sure, he's got quirks. Sure, he's funny. But he's actually really smart and has strong observation skills. And he's a talented photographer. So I'm sure, you know, I think you talked a little bit about it when they talked about the first three episodes. But him having that moment where he's like, you know, blacklight photography is not only cool, like it serves their purpose. You see these fingerprints and everything like that.
00:35:45
Speaker
I just have shopping for all these tools. It's like, I'm taking everything. It's like, you know, me too. But I appreciate that because that's exactly what I do too. Why do I have microphones in my backpack when I'm a photographer? I don't know, but I bring them anyways. It's better to have and not need than need not have.
00:36:01
Speaker
I do want to give credit to the voice actor Ishmael Sahid because one part in particular that like stuck out to me is when he's captured by Malah in the brain and at first they're coming across as very foreboding and nefarious and he just lets out this yelp that is like that guy put his all into that yelp like I am completely sold on his terror there.
00:36:28
Speaker
And then what was his dialogue about like, you know what, if I'm going to go to science and go with the hands of aliens and at the hands of Sasquatch, I'm fine. Take me. Yeah. At least someone cares what I'm thinking. Yeah, that was so sad. At the end of the episode five, when he was at the bus stop by himself, bummed me out so much. It was sad. It was sad. Nobody was calling back.
00:36:53
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I'll speak from personal experience, but I've been there before where like you get that dejected feeling where it's like, all right, who needs them anyway? It's like, you know, that's just coming from a place of hurt. Yeah. Yeah. I do. I like, there's a couple of friends that I have and they're always like, Hey, we should FaceTime after work. And I'm just like, all right, when you're done with your last meeting, I'm sitting in one spot for the next three hours. Like give me a call.
00:37:20
Speaker
I was like, should I text? Should I call them first? Did they forget? Do they not care? This is blowing me out. Okay, I'm going to go home and get you now. Right, right. Yeah. Again, Superman has this reputation of being the golden infallible boy, but this just shows the nuance of his character. He's a good friend, but he's not incapable of failure and he failed Jimmy in that way, but they had the chance to reconcile.
00:37:51
Speaker
Two highlights from episode five that I want to bring up is the way that they opened is when he had the radio. Oh, the police scanner? Yes, thank you. Okay.
00:38:04
Speaker
the opening part of that or like something would come up on the scan and be like, I'm gonna get a bagel comes and comes back. Oh, I forgot the cream cheese comes and comes back. Oh, I need to go get this comes and comes back. And she's like looking at the scan and the look on her face because she knows like we just talked about how great like Jimmy and Lois his relationship because they Jimmy's always down to just get into mischief with her, but she's just like,
00:38:23
Speaker
Determined with it and he's just like out to have a good time. But like her delivery on everything is just so so wonderful I love the way this character is written so much. Oh, yeah a little highlights of that moment and when she thinks that it's smart to like handcuff Clark and he like
00:38:41
Speaker
entertains it for a little bit. So as soon as she handcuffs him, I'm thinking like he can just break out of that. But then from like a combat perspective, it was easier for him to keep her close to make sure that he wasn't in harm's way, that someone didn't take her as a hostage, that she didn't get hurt, that she could defend her and stuff like that. So just little things like that. Like I care about you so much that I'm just going to like bring I'm just going to keep you close and, you know, take care of you. And then it's like, OK, I can't play this anymore. Break it back. Right.
00:39:10
Speaker
Yeah, so those were two highlights of that episode for me. I just I love all the lowest scenes Yeah, she continues to be I I love her so much and I think I don't know how Strong the conversation is and it just might be one of those things where it's like a vocal night minority But I I've seen a little bit of backlash to the reception of her character in social media is I think the show as a whole has been very positively received but I have seen a couple of detractors like
00:39:36
Speaker
pointing her out specifically and making note of some of the hypocrisy, how she's not above gaslighting and lying to give herself that opportunity to be the reporter she wants. But then she gets so offended by being lied to by Clark. But I personally don't feel that's there. I really like this version of her character. And she's got the agency. She's spunky. She keeps Clark on his toes. And I think it just helps to highlight how
00:40:04
Speaker
I don't want to call them like a full on klutz, but again, just like the timid and like a little bit shy nature of Clark. Like I think it's a great balance between he and Lois like opposites attract and I'm definitely getting that from them.
00:40:19
Speaker
One more thing, just kind of spinning off here, but when you mentioned highlights from episode five, it started coming back to me. We didn't see a lot of Perry in these three episodes, but one of the little moments I loved was when Steve came in and told Jimmy that he was going to be his photographer, and then you just see Perry in the window for a second and the blinds come down super quick.
00:40:44
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know if I have too much more to say. How about you? Anything you want to bring up? Nah, it's just been a super fun show and I'm loving it, man. Can't wait for Friday to roll around. I'm actually going to be sad when it's over. I know we're on content overload right now and there's just a lot of stuff to watch every week, but I'm going to be bummed.
00:41:03
Speaker
I'm right there with you. And then bringing up content overload, I did want to make mention that Harley Quinn, still ongoing. I hope to cover that in batches of three as well. And then Futurama, the revival there.
00:41:19
Speaker
I'm up to date with that one, but I haven't exactly decided how I'm going to go about covering that one. I don't know if it's worth covering every episode individually, but maybe talk about the season as a whole once it's, uh, once it's out. But how about you? How are things going over in a jujitsu Kaizen world? Yeah, I missed last week's episode just because I got a little burnt out, but
00:41:42
Speaker
The five episodes that are of Gojo's past are finally concluded. There's going to be a few episodes back in the present timeline. It's just going to be like foundation setting and kind of tying all the pieces together. And then there's an arc that thankfully the manga readers haven't spoiled for me in any way.
00:42:01
Speaker
but they told me it's just batshit crazy and it's coming out next month. So it should be arc is coming soon. And I'm, I'm ready to just have all the, Oh my God moments every Thursday. Sweet, sweet. Look forward to it. All right. Anything else you need to let the people know about before we get out of here?
00:42:20
Speaker
Let's see. So we have the jiu-jitsu Kaizen coverage. Me and Haley Hobbs from source pages are doing a Ahsoka primer by covering the main storylines from seasons one through four of Rebels because Ahsoka is basically Rebel season five. Nice.
00:42:38
Speaker
I will be featuring on Peeves Gap Fest, that's Saturday's Harry Potter podcast in a couple of weeks. I'm basically the go-to person for the guy who watched all the movies before he ever considered reading any of the books. So I'm just going to be sharing my perspective from there, but that show is basically
00:43:01
Speaker
comparing the books to the movies and what they want to see out of the series that Max is going to be doing soon. So that's all I can think
Future Content and Collaborations
00:43:12
Speaker
of right now. I'm sure I'll be on 3-2-3 with Reed Murphy as the football season starts back up next month. So for now, it's just all the different little subs shows we have going on here.
00:43:22
Speaker
For sure. Good stuff. Good stuff. Staying busy. I like it. As for me, in addition to animation deliberation, you can catch me over on Multiverse News. And I'm going to be making my debut on Bill and Ashley's Terror Theater to talk about the A24 horror film. Talk to me. So excited to do that. And I just want to thank everybody for all the support.
00:43:44
Speaker
Continue to support us, like, subscribe, give us a review, share us with a friend. All of those things are tremendously helpful and appreciate you. So with that being said, keep tuning in. That's T-double-O, and I in. And as always, stay well.
00:44:02
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Animation Deliberation Podcast, a proud member of the Strandepanda Network. If you would like to contact us, you can email AnimationDeliberationPodcast at gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at AnimationDelib1. For this and other great shows, you can visit Strandepanda.com or join the great community that is the Strandepanda Chat Facebook group at facebook.com slash groups slash spchat. Tune in next time and remember, stay well.