My Adventures with Superman Season 3, Episode 4 Recap: “Guess Who's Slammin' to Dinner”

Season 3 of HBO Max and Adult Swim’s My Adventures with Superman continues to create a slew of surprises for Clark Kent (Jack Quaid). He’s loving life in Metropolis, especially with Lois Lane (Alice Lee) beside him. They’re enjoying being reporters at the Daily Planet, despite Lois’ commitment issues popping up. Clark knows to give her time to adjust to his longterm vision. But a couple of new wildcards are throwing their literal existence into disarray.

Season 1 tormented the Man of Steel with adversaries such as General Sam Lane (Joel de la Fuente), Amanda Waller (Debra Wilson), Slade Wilson / Deathstroke (Chris Parnell), and the American government’s Task Force X. Superman persevered and helped members of the Suicide Squad cut ties as military pawns. Sam eventually saw the light and switched sides, too.

But Season 2 kept having humanity second-guess if Superman was a force for good. Thankfully, Kal-El was able to fend off Brainiac (Michael Emerson) and stop his cousin, Kara Zor-El (Kiana Madeira), from becoming corrupted by the villain. Together, Superman and Supergirl stood tall with the House of El sigils on their chests. They flew the banner of their people high, defended Earth, and assured everyone they would repel any future invasions.

Unfortunately, that kickstarted a series of macabre dominoes. It all led to this season where Lex Luthor (Mittelman) is branching out on his own. He’s using LexCorp for sadistic military experiments following the fall of Waller and Task Force X. In the process, My Adventures with Superman is now unleashing Hank Henshaw (also voiced by Mittelman) as Lex’s jealous, lethal enforcer, Cyborg Superman.

Come Episode 4, “Guess Who’s Slammin’ to Dinner,” Lois and Clark are faced with another massive conundrum: the arrival of their son, Jon (Darren Criss), from the future. And make no mistake, it paints a bleak picture of what’s going to happen to Team Kent if they can’t stop Hank as a terrifying weapon.

My Adventures with Superman Confirms Jon Kent Is Superboy

In DC lore, Superboy is usually affiliated with Conner Kent or Kon-El: the clone Lex conjured up once Superman died fighting Doomsday. Some cartoons such as Young Justice and shows like Titans subverted the source material and had Superboy as a duplicate seeking Superman’s approval. In these stories, Superboy would break out on his own and become a hero in due time.

This backstory created vagueness from the last episode where all fans saw was Lex sending Superboy back in time to save a future overridden by robots. In the present, Jon seeks out Lois and Clark. Lois needs a break from helping Kara acclimate to dating in the city. Thus, Lois wants to have brunch at her favorite desert spot and eat poundcake. Clark agrees, citing that he won’t indulge in any “super-business.”

He wants to keep the romantic flame going, cognizant that Lois is scared of rushing into starting a family too soon. Considerate, right? Well, Jimmy phones in using his Flamebird watch to let them know he’s dating yet another mad scientist after last episode’s fiasco where Giganta turned him into a werewolf boy-toy. This new suitor has suspicious vials so he’s scared, once more. Clark hangs up to avoid the drama. Jimmy’s made his own bed.

As Clark and Lois enjoy their desert, they’re reading for anything the future throws at time. That is, until Jon shows up and grabs some of their cake. He’s a master pickpocket, playfully teasing his parents. Now, cynics would wonder if he’s telling the truth. But from his look, he’s Kal’s son, and from his mannerism’s, he’s Lois’ child. As for why he’s in the blue, yellow and red suit, well, more on that later.

My Adventures with Superman Proves Jon Kent Is a Hero

Modern fans would remember Jon became DC’s Superman for quite some time. He aged past his Super-Sons era with Damian Wayne, while going through other personal journeys such as experiencing his bisexual identity. He had a relatable coming-of-age story, which is distilled differently here.

When Jimmy and Kara show up at the diner, Lois gets stressed out more. Jimmy has to remove porcupine spikes, while Kara wants to train Jon to be a warrior. Clark insists they do normal stuff, though, which starts with a visit to STAR Labs to heal Jimmy. There, Jon’s inquisitive about everything. His boyish wonder mesmerizes Clark, who’s glad to have a son. Jor-El didn’t get to raise him after shooting him off in a rocket to Earth when Krypton exploded. So, Clark wants to pass down the endearment he got from the Kents in Smallville.

It barrels into a montage fit for ’80s and ’90s teen movies. It’s what Jon deems “slammin'” — aka, cool. The crew goes shopping, which results in Jon getting his iconic jacket look from the lore. Jon even saves a kid in the mall when tremors cause a giant float to almost fall on the child. Yep, he’s definitely Clark’s son.

Sidebar: there is a sentimental moment where Jon picks up a plushie and it seems like he’s into the sales guy. But it’s too quick a scene and doesn’t really amount to anything. It’s disappointing because it would have fit his character in the books and the overall essence of this cartoon, which doesn’t shy away from queer romances.

Anyhow, they all then go to the Planet where an overwhelmed Lois wants to work and create her typo-laden stories. Truthfully, she wants time alone to process today. She doesn’t get that, however. The entire party eats ramen with her on the roof. Some good does come of this. It enables her to bond with Jon and accept she is fit to be a mother. Sadly, this hearty session gets interrupted by new villains.

My Adventures with Superman Unleashes Tyrannko and the Subterranosauri

Tyrannko and the Subterranosauri debuted in All-Star Superman from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. The dino-people invaded the surface, only for Superman to make peace with the leader, Tyrannko, and get the czar to admonish his rebels and son, Krull, for the incursion in that story.

Here, Tyrannko leads the invasion, rising up from the core of the Earth. This explains all the quakes. Jon tells Kara he’d like to handle this one with Clark and bond. Superboy tries to get the dino-men to chill, pointing out they’re all cool in the future. That doesn’t go according to plan, unsurpisingly. Superman and Superboy are left with no choice but to throw hands and deliver an array of non-deadly blows. Jon is impressed by Clark’s freeze-breath while Clark adores how agile his boy is. It’s going according to plan, until Tyrannko arrives.

Superman expects more war. But Jon is filled with belief and hope. He offers his hand as an olive branch. Tyrannko is shocked to see the youngster willingly extending this peace token. The leader admits he hates how Earth’s drilling down below and harming the planet. However, if people up top are like Jon, he doesn’t mind an alliance. So said, so done. The Subterranosauri form a pact with Metropolis to work through their issues diplomatically and render prejudice extinct.

Jon quickly realizes he’s causing butterfly effects. Him coming to the past is part of a closed loop. Peace was made because of him, allowing him to experience it years later. Sure, it’s something to celebrate now, but if he makes errors, there could be dire repercussions down the line — something the naive Kent crew doesn’t realize in the now.

My Adventures with Superman Makes Cyborg Superman the Ultimate Killer

The parallel-running side story revolves around Hank wanting autonomy. Hank hated how Lex shut his cyborg body down in Episode 3 after he got extreme in public. He’s further seething after seeing Lois’ news broadcast on how this decorated, adulated and lionized Air Force pilot is no longer someone to pity. He is not a maverick or a hero, he is a monster to be feared.

As a result, Hank apologizes to Lex and Slade. Deathstroke is skeptical, nursing wounds from when Hank roughed him up. But Lex, egoistical as ever, laps it up. Lex thinks he has power over Hank, not sensing Hank is copying the code from the killswitch control Lex possesses.

Cyborg Superman eventually attacks Lex and lets him know he’s in charge now. A frightened Lex agrees to help Hank with his independence if he spares him. The fact Slade doesn’t intervene says it all. They created a machine god they can no longer control. They must now abide by his wishes.

Hank heads into the heart of Metropolis and uses his lasers to terrorize the city. He burns down the statue of Superman that was erected as tribute. To him, the statues of Superman and Supergirl aren’t homage, they are disrespect. He’s riled by Lex, who urges him to kill the aliens rather than him.

This scene ties into the time-jumps seen previously where Metropolis was a decaying city under siege. The future was like Terminator, ravaged and decimated beyond imagination. Now, we know why. Hank has the same robot drones from the future under his command after hacking them from Lex’s lab. They’re on the warpath in the present, leaving people shrieking rather than cheering.

The sadistic Hank sends a message for Superman to come fight him. It portends doom and gloom. While the Kents bonded, played baseball and had dinner on the Kansas farm, Lois pickpocketed a picture Jon kept of them as a family. It confirms they are blood and that they were ripped from their son’s lives. As Jon surveys the damage in the present, he admits he needs more time.

Hank’s campaign of blood will kill everyone that Jon loves. It remixes the Death of Superman arc, turning Cyborg Superman into the new Doomsday, metaphorically. It leaves fans eager to see how Jon plans to save his family and prevent that inevitable apocalypse. If the future’s anything to go by, Jon will require the services of Lex and Deathstroke to accomplish this mission. It promises friction, tension and conflict if they’re to form this coalition and survive against a very bloodthirsty, narcissistic Hank.

My Adventures With Superman Season 3 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:

My Adventures With Superman Season 3 will officially premiere Saturday, June 13 at midnight ET/PT on Adult Swim (technically Sunday at Midnight, but whatever), and later that day on HBO Max — meaning Sundays, likely at 3am ET. The season will be 10 episodes long, with one episode dropping per week until the finale.

Here’s the full list of episodes in My Adventures With Superman Season 3, with premiere dates (and as a note, we’ve included the Adult Swim premiere date; once again, it technically debuts Sunday on Adult Swim at night, and debuts on HBO Max on Sunday morning).

Saturday, June 13, 2026: My Adventures With Superman Season 3, Episode 1
Saturday, June 20, 2026: My Adventures With Superman Season 3, Episode 2
Saturday, June 27, 2026: My Adventures With Superman Season 3, Episode 3
Saturday, July 4, 2026: My Adventures With Superman Season 3, Episode 4
Saturday, July 11, 2026: My Adventures With Superman Season 3, Episode 5
Saturday, July 18, 2026: My Adventures With Superman Season 3, Episode 6
Saturday, July 25, 2026: My Adventures With Superman Season 3, Episode 7
Saturday, August 1, 2026: My Adventures With Superman Season 3, Episode 8
Saturday, August 8, 2026: My Adventures With Superman Season 3, Episode 9
Saturday, August 15, 2026: My Adventures With Superman Season 3, Episode 10 *Season Finale*