My Adventures with Superman Has a Common Theme With Superman & Lois - But With a Twist

My Adventures with Superman Season 1 has a big parallel with The CW's Superman & Lois, but there's a dangerous twist that comes into play.

Throughout My Adventures with Superman Season 1, fans have been speculating over the identity of the mysterious General hunting the Man of Steel so relentlessly. He's been working with Amanda Waller, directing Task Force X, and making it clear he hates aliens. Avid viewers did speculate he was General Sam Lane -- Lois' father from so many comics, cartoons and TV shows.

Episode 9, "Zero Day: Part Two," does confirm he's indeed Sam, who has just reason to go after Superman. Interestingly, while Sam is initially painted as a complete tyrant, the series makes a major U-turn, draping him with the energy of Sam from Superman & Lois. However, there's a darker twist added into this new story that portends massive trouble to come for Clark and the Lanes.

My Adventures with Superman Gets Sam Fired

My Adventures with Superman finds Sam chiding an imprisoned Superman. After the Suicide Squad beat Superman down, Sam is hoping he'll confess how he's part of an infiltration and invasion scheme. Superman is adamant he has no ulterior motive, but Sam shows him footage of Kryptonians attacking his base the same day Clark arrived on Earth.

The Kryptonians fired through a rift, sending robots to thin out the human army. Sam and Waller alone survived, rising up the ranks and then using the machines to create the OMAC legion. It's all about steeling up the defense for the next wave, but when Sam sees Superman crying, uncertain and broken how his people attacked, he begins to feel sympathy. Sam starts to think Superman does have humanity inside of him and that maybe he was wrong about the alien.

Pushing the motion that Superman is a hero angers Waller. She's adamant they lost too many good soldiers to go soft. It leads to her turning on Sam, going behind his back and getting him fired. to Waller, the mission comes first. She has Deathstroke and his deadly arsenal, as well as the new tools Parasite (aka Dr. Ivo) made. There's no denying Waller is planning to hunt down Superman following his escape. Waller has no compassion or empathy, which now has Sam worried about the military monsters he's unleashed.

My Adventures with Superman Creates a More Human Sam

This show of concern affirms this iteration of Sam Lane is indeed along the lines of Superman & Lois' Sam. There, the general, played by Dylan Walsh, had a special unit keeping tabs on Superman. They even stored Kryptonite weapons in case the alien ever went rogue. This secret angered Clark and Lois, who thought Sam finally learned to trust Superman. In time, Sam would shut the division down, realizing Superman was really someone who loved their planet.

Even though other Kryptonians would attack, such as Tal-Rho, they didn't have to worry about Superman. That flipped the script on the version of Sam Lane that's always depicted as an antagonist in other media. He even sacrificed his own fatherhood with Lois and Lucy at times to pursue Superman's death. However, Superman & Lois had him focusing more on being a friend to Clark, and a grandfather to Jordan and Jon. My Adventures with Superman now has this human take on Sam. He's now understanding the situation better, and no longer wants to treat Clark like an enemy anymore.

While My Adventures with Superman's version of Sam bucks convention, there is a twist to differentiate him from Walsh's. The new Sam doesn't have Lois with him to guide and advise him. In fact, he doesn't seem that much into family, which informs why Lois dropped hints she cut him off in the past. Thus, there's a chance Sam can change course or take much longer to warm to the idea that Lois and Superman are in love. He's a lot more gruff, confrontational and antagonistic, but he's also showing signs of hope that he could end up like Walsh's Sam fully: as an ally.

My Adventures with Superman's Sam Arc Endangers Clark More

​​​​​​​In Superman & Lois, Walsh's Sam still looked after Clark. The military left Sam to his own devices, so he protected his family, worked with Superman and ensured no one would threaten the alien again. Even when the Supermen of America tried to hunt Clark, Sam worked against them using his sway in the military. In My Adventures with Superman, however, Sam is out in the cold. He's not a soldier anymore, which means Waller and her team can go to the extreme. It puts Superman at a greater risk, taking away the safety net that an inside man could provide.

Once Waller's Task Force X gathers its villains -- in this case, Livewire, Heat Wave or Silver Banshee -- and figures out which of them wants to remain on board, it's easy to see tons of destruction occurring. The show already nodded to Man of Steel's collateral damage in Metropolis when Task Force X went on the warpath, which means Jimmy and Lois (who are close to Superman) will be in danger. While Sam might have been humane towards them and ensured they'd be safe, Waller won't offer that same reassurance. She has no emotive tissue in the game, which makes Waller an even more dangerous foe. She wants blood so Clark and his friends are in a bad spot against a squad that is not going to hold back.

Hopefully, this will bring Sam and Lois closer together, and have him work with Clark, so he can realize the alien is truly a hero. While this new alliance is being teased, fans are praying they survive the impending onslaught. They won't have as many resources like Walsh's Sam, so their backs are up against a wall. Ultimately, this development leaves fans optimistic Sam can talk Waller out of it after they were in the trenches for so long. Either that, or he'll have hidden aces up his sleeve to fix a mess he started with his blood vendetta from decades ago -- one that's now spiraling way out of control.

My Adventures with Superman's Season 1 finale will debut Aug. 31 on Adult Swim, with the episode available to stream the following day on Max.