It’s safe to say that Superman has experienced a resurgence in popularity in large part to last summer’s movie. With production currently underway for the much-anticipated sequel set to soar into theaters next summer, fans can still get their Man of Steel fix thanks to the third season of the My Adventures with Superman animated series this weekend. With its anime inspired aesthetics and inspired modern reinterpretations of the classic mythology, the series has struck a chord with a swath of fans. One could argue that the restoration of Superman’s status in pop culture truly began with this animated series.
Ahead of the premiere of My Adventures with Superman Season 3, the Beat had the pleasure of chatting with producers Jake Wyatt and Brendan Clogher. As fans are likely aware, the crux of this season takes its cues from the seminal ’90s comics storyline “Reign of the Supermen” which saw a quartet of imposters attempt to take over the mantle. Despite some deviations from the original story arc, the producers still found the opportunity to tap into the ’90s. During our conversation, Wyatt and Clogher revealed some of the specific pop culture influences as well as tease what’s to come this season.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity and potential spoilers.
Taimur Dar: At this point, I make it so secret how much I love the James Gunn Superman film. I have no doubt you and Gunn are on similar wavelengths in regards to the character. In particular, I noticed this season the iconic trunks have returned to his costume. I never previously had strong opinions on the Superman trunks debate until that article where it was revealed David Corenswet advocated for the trunks because he believed they helped make people not be afraid of him. What led to the decision to bring back the trunks?
Jake Waytt: So, the end of Season 2 outfit was only ever meant to be almost like a post-Kryptonian Superman. He gets captured by Brainiac and gets changed. Brainiac turns him into evil Brainiac Superman. The end of Season 2 costume was the idea he’s reclaiming his Kryptonian heritage and changing it. [For] Season 3, we’re going back to day in the life. Day in the life Superman doesn’t want to look like a god. Day in the life Superman is approachable like you said.
Brendan Clogher: I think that’s it. Once he’s like, “I’ve conquered my heritage but let’s be me again. I need pants.”
Jake Waytt: Ma Kent was going to let him run around [like] that.
Brendan Clogher: “Nice suit sweetheart!”
Jake Waytt: Truly we just love to redesign that costume. We’re going to keep playing with the costume as often as we can because it’s fun for us and the artists and it’s fun for the fans.
Taimur Dar: One of the standout moments from My Adventures with Superman Season 3 that will undoubtedly get fans talking is the Lois Lane and Supergirl song sequence. Alice Lee, the voice of Lois Lane, knocked it out of the park which was no surprise given her extensive singing background. How did this musical sequence come about?
Brendan Clogher: Yeah Jake, how did that happen? [Laughs]
Jake Waytt: We had a new co-producer for Season 3, Karen Graci. She has an improv background. She was in Second City for years and she teaches improv still. She brought this “Yes, and…” ethos to the whole room and really activated everybody. That’s why Season 3 is so extreme. All bets were off. We would do anything. That’s an insanely crowded episode. If I remember correctly, it’s the Jimmy/Giganta episode. It’s the one where Clark first fights Hank Henshaw. It’s got the whole W.O.R.M.S. subplot and Kara singing with Lois and then the Superboy reveal at the end. When we finally cut that, I was like, “Holy s**t! How is all this in here? Karen!” Nothing got dismissed out of hand. We ended up doing a lot of things we would have previously dismissed as not producible.
Jake Waytt: Kara is a space princess and so that was the joke. We were going to give her a space princess musical and then we really did it.
Brendan Clogher: I still can’t believe it.
Jake Waytt: [It was] part Karen, part the writers, and part the determination of the art team to actually get it through.
Taimur Dar: Fans loved the little Easter Egg last season of Supergirl wearing Android 18’s outfit from Dragon Ball Z. Obviously Dragon Ball and anime in general is a big inspiration for the series. For My Adventures with Superman Season 3, I’m sure many will pick up on the Dragon Ball Z “Android Saga” vibes. Was this season indeed crafted as an intentional homage to the “Android Saga” storyline?
Jake Waytt: Yes. [Laughs]. The Android Saga itself is inspired by Terminator and Superman and a bunch of great ‘80s and ‘90s art. We were inspired by it and wanted to remix a lot of those influences back into our show.
Brendan Clogher: It’s a fun exercise to look at what movies were coming out next to the shōnen cycle in the ‘80s. It’s reciprocal. I think it’s great because that’s how generations absorb and create their own art [by] pulling from the things you love.
Jake Waytt: That was maybe the first or second week Brendan and I were even talking about the concept [of doing the “Android Saga”]. But our way and Superman’s way. We don’t want to copy anybody’s work, but we wanted to bring some of those ideas home.
Brendan Clogher: Yeah, like Flash Gordon is to Star Wars. You take the thing you love but say and do it in your own way.
Taimur Dar: That’s a perfect segue into my next question. Much like the James Gunn film, My Adventures of Superman Season 3 is a huge love letter to the Silver Age comics and stories and approaches it much like the seminal All-Star Superman miniseries. So it’s rather fitting that the Subterranosauri, the underground dinosaur race introduced in All-Star Superman, appear this season. Their look reminded me of the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park like the frill of the Dilophosaurus as opposed Frank Quitely’s designs. What went into adapting the Subterranosauri for My Adventures with Superman Season 3?
Brendan Clogher: Our assistant director Stanley Medvey helped with those designs. We were doing the ‘90s and so ‘90s dinosaurs is Jurassic Park. I’m also a gamer and I really love Turok. So the the Tyrannko design is a blend of Jurassic Park, Turok, and our show.
Jake Waytt: Those are Brandon’s babies and a lot of fun. We wanted to have the most fun during the Superboy episode.
Brendan Clogher: Jake always looks at me whenever we watch those sequences and says, “That is the most ‘90s I’ve ever seen our show.”
Jake Waytt: That’s how Brendan explained it to me. Superboy gets to be Saturday morning. And then the next day is miserable. Episode five is nothing like Saturday morning. But Superboy’s episode is Saturday. He’s got his hat on backwards and his sunglasses and his Trix cereal. He’s having a great time.
Brendan Clogher: I watched so many cartoons as a kid, it’s ridiculous. I remember the Godzilla cartoon from 1998-2000. That creature design in 2D is amazing. I love those shapes and wanted to bring them on screen.
Taimur Dar: During the press junket for the second season, I mentioned how the series made me think about the current issues of Generative AI. That was still the case for this third season. But rather than be reminded of how so many notable entertainers are embracing AI, My Adventures with Superman Season 3 actually gave me a better appreciation of the incredible work of your production team.
I have to specifically mention a scene in the second episode where a character raises her hand to ask a question but then lowers it slightly before her grandmother takes her arm and raises it back up. That’s such a brilliant bit of visual storytelling and I’m not afraid to admit it actually moved me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on that moment or any others this season that could only be brought by the brilliant production team of human artists you had?
Jake Waytt: That moment was interesting and that team was really strong. That was a [director Chris] Palmer episode?
Brendan Clogher: Yeah.
Jake Waytt: That moment was great. We’re trying to set that particular character up. Her struggle is going to be one between anxiety and courage and a struggle with fear. We were trying to introduce her and show that Supergirl had given her a desire to be brave. She admired Supergirl’s bravery but she had not yet learned to see what courage was in her life. The team did a great job with that. Our writers and artists got really into where our characters were coming from.
The Jimmy and Kara relationship is one of the places where I think their work really shines. It’s a struggle to have characters behave badly and make poor decisions but still remain both likable and understandable to your audience. You need to know why Jimmy is world historically fumbling here and making these choices. Both our writers and artists really found their way in through the performance and the actors. Part of what sells that scene is [the actor] and a huge part of what sells Jimmy and Kara is Ishmel [Sahid] and Kiana [Madeira]. Everyone is contributing with visual animated performance and vocal performance, so you understand where those characters are coming from and love them even as they fail and make the mistakes that drive them apart.
Brendan Clogher: As far as the AI of it all, film is art. TV is art. Art is a way for humanity to interpret our world and recontextualize it for ourselves. To make truly good art, you need to be connecting with your audience’s humanity. As long as our audiences are human, you need human hands to make good art. There’s just no way around it. That’s the only way you’re going to get the specificity of experience of that moment you described. That’s the only way you get these little details that will hit someone in a different way than another person. That’s you being spoken to through whichever artist decided to put that in because they probably experienced that in their life. We’re sharing moments of our lives through film. If you’ve never lived life, you can’t do it.
Jake Waytt: The whole Jimmy/Kara dating arc was in part inspired by Brendan going back and having to date again and going, “What has happened to dating!”
Brendan Clogher: I got to experience it myself. It’s bad.
Jake Waytt: He got turned into a werewolf and a turtle and a porcupine! But no one can do that for you. Have to go out and live life and then figure out how to share with other people what you learned or what you felt. Even if you don’t have wisdom, your feelings and experience. You need artists and writers and actors to do that.
Brendan Clogher: When you go to Writing School 101, it’s write what you know.
Jake Wyatt: Write what you feel.
Taimur Dar: I could go on with my questions and praise for My Adventures with Superman Season 3. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. On that note, I know from an interview that a Season 4 hasn’t been technically renewed yet. I’ll refrain from spoilers, but the way this season ends has me extremely excited for what a fourth season would entail but if the series does end with Season 3, it is a satisfying conclusion? How did you approach the ending for this season?
Jake Waytt: The endings of stories are hard because the ending in a lot of ways determines the meaning of everything that came before it. That has to be the case. You can’t avoid that. So we always try to end in a way that gives closure and meaning to what came before but leaves us a little room to tell another story.
There are problems for Clark, Lois, Jimmy, Kara, and Lex in a Season 4. We’ve got those in the wings. But they got through this one. They confronted their problems and they all changed. We’re proud of them and they did good. We will hurt them again if given the opportunity.
Brendan Clogher: I remember seeing an interview a long time ago with a showrunner and what they said was every season they end in a way that could be the end. Like Jake said, you just leave enough so that if you have more [seasons] you can keep going. Afterall, our business is what it is. We’d love to make more show but we do want to give emotional satisfaction and catharsis to the end of something even if there can be more story. We’d like to have this job longer but we understand that you as the audience deserves a good product. It’s a balance.
My Adventures with Superman Season 3 premieres Saturday, June 13 at midnight ET/PT as part of its Toonami anime/action block and next day on HBO Max.
