My Adventures With Superman Season 2 Reinvents Supergirl By Borrowing From A Classic Anime
Before James Gunn brings a unified, streamlined vision of the DC Universe to life (taking some of the uniqueness and variety out of DC's titles with it), "My Adventures With Superman" season 2 is here to remind us that there is still a lot of life left in these characters if artists are allowed to experiment and bring their own fresh perspectives to the table. "My Adventures With Superman" brings a clear anime influence to the eponymous character and his world, with direct nods to everything from "Neon Genesis Evangelion" to "Dragon Ball."
Indeed, this is an utterly delightful show — one that makes Clark Kent a charming, bumbling dork with a huge heart and relentless optimism, and tells a story that cares just as much about the people that make Clark human as it does about the adventures that make Superman super. We've seen anime-inspired DC titles before, but they tend to look at action anime for inspiration, like in "Young Justice" or "Teen Titans." What makes "My Adventures With Superman" stand out is that it is essentially a shojo magical girl anime, drawing inspiration from slice of life and romance shows as much as it does action shonen anime.
The show has also done a good job of reinterpreting the DC mythos and its many characters, like giving Lex Luthor a new origin story (tied to Jimmy Olsen!). Now, season 2, episode 5, "Most Eligible Superman," has introduced the series' version of Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, and she's inspired by the iconic anime and manga "Dragon Ball Z."
Supergirl the Super Saiyan
After spending the early part of season 2 debating whether to reach out to his long-lost cousin, Clark activates a Kryptonian beacon in episode 4, "Two Lanes Diverged," and an episode later, we're introduced to Kara Zor-El, and immediately the "Dragon Ball Z" influences are apparent. For one, she wears an outfit identical to the one Android 18 wears when fighting Cell. Kara kind of acts like her, too, being initially cold and threatening before softening up once she meets the unlikeliest of human partners. Yes, I'm saying Jimmy Olsen is DC's answer to Krillin.
Things take even more of a turn toward the Super Saiyan when Kara finally meets Superman ... and immediately kicks his ass. Turns out, this Kara is not a loving cousin looking for a nice family reunion; she's a "scion" of the Kryptonian Empire looking for a warrior to join her in her conquest of the universe, or die by her hand. That's right! This show is doing its own Saiyan Saga from "Dragon Ball Z," with Kryptonians being the new Saiyans (i.e. ancient evil conquerors who are now mostly extinct). This would make Kara this world's Raditz, a family member of our protagonist who seeks our hero to recruit them into conquering planets.
Of course, Kara won't stay evil forever, as it seems she is being indoctrinated and Brainiac manipulated her into thinking of him as a father figure — meaning, we'll likely see Kara turn on Brainiac later in this season. When that happens and Kara becomes Supergirl, does this mean she'll be the Vegeta to Superman's Goku? This would be far from the first reference to that series on "My Adventures With Superman"; the whole Clark/Lois/Jimmy dynamic has shades of Gohan's Saiyaman arc, with Superman getting all those Goku-like transformations.
Superman and Goku are going full circle
What makes "My Adventures With Superman" pulling from "Dragon Ball Z" as an influence so special is that it brings things full circle. You see, renowned manga creator Akira Toriyama was a huge Superman nerd. Toriyama even included several nods and references to the Man of Steel in both early "Dragon Ball" and his earlier series "Dr. Slump."
Of course, Toriyama's biggest homage to Superman came in "Dragon Ball Z" with Goku himself. In the earlier days of the manga, Goku was clearly inspired by Sun Wukong the Monkey King and "Journey to the West." But with the Saiyan Saga of "Dragon Ball Z," Goku's story was retconned and he became an alien from a distant planet. More specifically, he became a member of a race of super-beings who come from a planet that was destroyed. Looking at the Saiyan Saga, it's easy to spot the many parallels between Frieza/General Zod and Goku/Superman. Much like the Man of Tomorrow, Goku constantly gained new power-ups — not just in terms of the shiny Saiyan transformations, but also in learning how to fly, how to teleport, and even how to fuse.
Seeing "My Adventures With Superman" now being inspired by "Dragon Ball Z" brings things full circle, with Toriyama being a Superman fan eventually getting to influence Superman in return. The only question that remains is: Who will serve as the Piccolo to Superman's kids?
"My Adventures with Superman" airs on Adult Swim and streams on Max.