‘My Adventures with Superman’s Showrunners Tease a Final Villain Who’s Scarier That Darkseid
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Published Aug 15, 2026, 12:01 AM EDT
The final villain may already be hiding in plain sight
My Adventures with Superman’s showrunners tease a villain far more dangerous than Darkseid
Image: HBO Max/Everett CollectionMy Adventures with Superman season 3 reimagined the controversial ‘90s comic arc "Reign of the Supermen!" as a fusion of Dragon Ball Z and The Terminator, delivering an incredibly rich story filled with big emotional arcs and plenty of sci-fi action. While the Adult Swim series hasn’t been officially renewed yet, co-showrunners Jake Wyatt and Brendan Clogher tell Polygon they have ideas for the next two seasons — and tease the show's ultimate villain.
[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for My Adventures with Superman season 3 finale]
Reign of the Supermen followed multiple heroes and villains competing to be Superman’s successor after the Man of Steel was killed by Doomsday. My Adventures with Superman softened that premise. Instead of killing off Superman, Clark Kent (Jack Quaid) loses his powers after pushing himself too hard in a fight with the cyborg Superman Hank Henshaw (Max Mittelman).
According to Wyatt, this change isn't just about sparing Kal-El's life; it's about reframing the question at the heart of the original story.
Image: Adult Swim“The death and return of Superman pose different interesting questions now in the world of our show, in the world that we live in, than they did in the '90s,” Wyatt says. “‘What do you do when bad people control the levers of power and you yourself are powerless?’ is a relevant question to us in a different way. Superman's the guy who knows what to do, so what would he do?”
While his friends battle Eradicator (Steve Blum of Cowboy Bebop and Star Wars: Rebels), an adaptive clone of Superman created by Lex Luthor (also Mittelman), Superman follows mysterious visions that bring him to the Fortress of Solitude. He finds a descendant of Rao, the living sun of Krypton, a godlike being who could restore his powers — or kill him.
Superman takes the risk, showing up to the fight against Eradicator in the nick of time with new solar powers and a new gold-accented suit. It’s reminiscent of the bizarre aftermath of Reign of the Supermen, where the resurrected hero got new energy-based powers and an all-blue outfit. He eventually split into two beings in the 1998 comic Superman Red/Superman Blue before recombining and returning to his classic look and power set.
Image: Adult Swim“We were trying to explain to [DC Comics executive editor] Mike Carlin that Superman's blue electric thing was his Kryptonian body, and he's like, ‘Everybody hates Superman Red/Superman Blue. You should never mention that. Never bring that up again,’” Wyatt says. “I was like, ‘Weren't you the editor?’ He was like, ‘It was a mistake.’ I was like, "OK, we thought it was cool, man. We liked that stuff.’"
Carlin can rest easy. Superman is back in his old suit by the end of the episode, but there will be more consequences to come. Clark explains to Lois Lane (Alice Lee) that he got his powers back by making a deal, and that the cost was, “Nothing I wasn’t willing to pay.” A flashback shows him burning up in the sun’s energy. That’s a lot like the setup for Grant Morrison’s seminal 2005 series All-Star Superman, where Superman flies too close to the sun, absorbing an immense amount of solar radiation that increases his strength but eventually kills him.
“The way things end in season 3 sets us up for a bigger, more structured conflict in 4 that is sort of an All-Star Superman situation that pulls Lex back in,” Wyatt says.
Image: Adult SwimLuthor ended the season in prison, explaining that he tried to create a Superman he could control because he was terrified of the new stars and galaxies that have appeared since Brainiac invaded Earth in season 2. That’s also in line with the plot of All-Star Superman, where Superman has to fight both Luthor and the sentient artificial sun Solaris.
Beyond next season, Clogher has a plan for the end of the series that’s “an absolute curveball,” though the final threat may already be hiding in plain sight. Alan Moore’s 1986 story Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? served as the last Silver Age Superman story. It ended with Superman losing his powers after killing the interdimensional trickster Mister Mxyzptlk, who had decided to become a true villain. Wyatt confirms Mxyzptlk has a key part to play in the series’ endgame.
“There’s these three extremes in the DC Universe of power and how it’s used,” he says. “Superman is the most powerful of the heroes and is, ‘What if power cared about you and was kind and always wanted to do the right thing?’ Darkseid is, ‘What if God was real and evil?’ Mxy is, ‘What if power didn’t give a shit? What if power was indifferent to your life’s happiness, suffering, whatever, and completely self interested?' To me, he’s the real opposite of Superman.”