The latest episode of My Adventures With Superman has reimagined Superboy’s origin story. The Adult Swim series has given a version of the character that blends comic book history with surprising sci-fi influences, creating something genuinely unexpected.
My Adventures With Superman just rewrote Superboy’s origin story
The show, which remakes the Man of Steel mythos through a vibrant anime lens, revealed that this Superboy is Jonathan Kent. While Jon being Superman’s son aligns with the comics, the similarities largely end there. This iteration hails from a ravaged alternate future where he is the child of Lois and Clark. That future lies in ruins, destroyed by the Cyborg Superman, and Jon receives his mission to save the world from an unlikely source: Lex Luthor.
Showrunners Jake Wyatt and Brendan Clogher acknowledged the difficulty of crafting this new take for My Adventures With Superman. “Jon was one of the most challenging parts of this new season because we were changing so much of ‘Comic Book Jon,’” Clogher explained to ComicBook. “We wanted the look of the ’90s, but we knew that people would be like ‘that’s not the look of the guy!’ We were doing something different and that part of it was a challenge.”
The creative team members didn’t limit themselves to a single comic book inspiration. Instead, they fused elements from multiple eras of Superboy lore. Wyatt noted that the character pulls from the 1990s Conner Kent, the black t-shirt version from Young Justice, and the fully realized Jon Kent from recent comics. “We thought we need a Superboy this season who gives problems to every member of the cast,” Wyatt said. “So we borrowed a lot of parts from different Superboys.”
Beyond comics, the showrunners looked to iconic time-travel stories. Wyatt cited Terminator’s John Connor and Kyle Reese as influences, alongside Dragon Ball Z’s Trunks.
Now, fans can watch how this blending and inspiration have led to Superboy’s origin story as My Adventures With Superman airs weekly on Adult Swim and HBO Max.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on SuperHeroHype.
