My Adventures with Superman Season 3, Episode 5 Recap: “The Death of Superman”

My Adventures with Superman Season 3 is pushing Clark Kent (Jack Quaid) to the limit. Initially, Clark thinks it’s going to be a happy few days, especially after the arrival of his son, Jon Kent (Darren Criss), from the future. But that dream is quickly dashed by Hank Henshaw (Max Mittelman). The former Air Force pilot goes into kill-mode as the Cyborg Superman. As Hank unleashes hell, the status quo changes dramatically for Superman’s crew.

Now, it’s very intimidating seeing such a harrowing villain come to life. One who’s unbridled and ready to punish Superman in a flurry. Superman, though, is no slouch, nor will he back down. He had his baptisms of fire already that prepared him for this unexpected rivalry. Season 1 uncorked an array of tech tyrants courtesy of General Sam Lane (Joel de la Fuente), Amanda Waller (Debra Wilson) and the American government’s Task Force X. However, that military faction was grounded; a test the Man of Steel could pass quite easily.

Season 2 ramped Clark’s rite of passage up. It focused on Kal-El battling Brainiac (Michael Emerson), trying to ensure neither Clark nor Kara Zor-El (Kiana Madeira) got co-opted to conquer Earth. Luckily, they broke free of Brainiac’s possession and turned on the iconic DC villain, opting to be heroes rather than cultural custodians seeking dominion.

Sadly, that apocalyptic, cataclysmic feeling is back in droves, thanks to an unhinged Lex Luthor (also voiced by Mittelman) and Slade Wilson / Deathstroke (Chris Parnell) running experiments at LuthorCorp. They reconstituted Hank’s mangled body after the Brainiac invasion left the pilot near death.

Rather than become a paragon of virtue, Hank wants Superman and the world to bow at his feet. He thinks humanity has betrayed him by endorsing a Kryptonian hero, so he craves vengeance. To make matters worse, Cyborg Superman has escaped Lex’s grip. As Episode 5’s title, “The Death of Superman,” implies, something drastic has happened. This “death” occurs with a unique twist, albeit a shattering one, indeed. As usual, the implications will be dire.

My Adventures with Superman Gives Cyborg Superman a Deadly Arsenal

This episode is reminiscent of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel where that iteration of Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod (Michael Shannon) tore through Metropolis. In this case, Hank batters Superman through the city. Innocents are at risk. Hank even tries to drop the Daily Planet globe on Kal and bystanders to remonstrate about how pissed he is.

Everyone who supports Superman must suffer. They’re traitors in Hank’s eye. Hank hacked Lex’s robotic drones, so he uses their body parts as well anytime his machine frame gets damaged. And make no mistake, Hank levels up with each pass. He’s faster, stronger and better in every sense of the word. Throw in his lasers and the Kryptonite core that allows him to poison Superman and Supergirl, he’s very much unstoppable with his superiority complex.

The vindictive, sadistic Hank enjoys watching Superman and Supergirl squirm. As a bonus, this techno-god gets to pummel Jon. He’s quite jealous upon learning Superman has a family in the future. But if Hank can take that dream away from Kal, it’ll make up for the fact Hank can’t have kids of his own.

The more he sees his monstrous robotic reflection, the more intent he is on culling the House of El. With the Kryptonite poisoning negating Clark, all’s going according to plan. All hail Hank the Great, Hank the Haughty, Hank the Magnificent!

My Adventures with Superman Reiterates The Important Of Lois Lane

Lois (Alice Lee) is left at the Kent farm while turmoil consumes her family. Jon doesn’t want her in the city because he fears she’ll die. His mission is to save Clark and avert the future where Superman isn’t around to stop Hank’s drones from taking over. Lois, as disobedient as ever, jumps into Pa Kent’s van with Jimmy (Ishmel Sahid) and makes a beeline for Lex. Fast and furious, to say the least.

Granted, Lex is damaged after Hank roughed him up. That doesn’t deter Lois from decking him and Slade from enjoying it. Hey, that’s what you get for playing the ultimate creator, right? Anyway, Lois is adamant they need to fix things ASAP. If Lex doesn’t curb his war hound, the world will be at stake. Lex loses his cult of personality, accepting he was wrong.

But when they try to hack and dominate Hank’s body again, things go awry. Lex can’t crack the code and corral the algorithm in time. A wary Hank detects the cybernetic intrusion and attacks them to let them know he’s the boss. Thankfully, Jon slings some construction beams from afar to wound this thriving piece of deviant machinery.

However, Cyborg Superman salivates at the challenge. He knows Jon’s staying away because of the Kryptonite, so he goes to the boy. But, as with most villains, this ego will be Hank’s downfall.

My Adventures with Superman Gives Supergirl a New Role

When Jon and Supergirl unite in the heat of battle, she’s angry that he doesn’t want to partner up. But this obstinance comes from a place of grief, trauma and loss. Jon confirms Kara took care of him in the future when Hank killed Lois and Clark. This surrogate mother taught him to fight and be a wholesome warrior. In addition, she educated him on being a good man.

Unfortunately, Supergirl also expired in the war. Thus, Jon doesn’t want to live through her demise again. Kara is heartened to know she becomes this legend and teacher. But the present is what counts. Therefore, she begs Jon to fight alongside him in the now. The fate of the world rests on their bruised shoulders. Jon obliges, using the Kryponite body shield he and a redeemed Lex conjured up in the future.

However, the shield isn’t rigid when split into two. With half a body suit on each hero, they’re not as impervious. It results in Cyborg Superman thrashing the duo while the Kryptonite renders Clark near-death. Just as Hank is about to kill the teen in front his aunt, Clark activates his last jolt of power in desperation.

My Adventures with Superman Unleashes Superman Blue to Kill Cyborg Superman

In this series, Clark can tap into his Superman Blue form from time to time. It grants him extra cosmic energy, but it drains a lot out of him. When he sees Hank about to kill his son, this form comes to life, burning out the Kryptonite on and inside him. Clark attacks Hank and beats him senseless.

Clark rips Hank’s body to shreds and tears out the Kryptonite core. But rather than kill Hank, Clark tries to appeal to the last vestige of humanity within. Clark pleads with him not to self-destruct or fight back. There’s still time to be the hero he always wanted to be. That part of Hank still exists, ergo why Hank pondered if he wanted to kill Lois at Lex’s lab when Lex hid behind her.

It plays on Hank’s crush on Lois. And the fact he may have some good within. But when Hank reconciles that Superman and the alien’s kin are the future, he feels obsolete. Learning Jon is half-human shows him that he was wrong in judging both species and thinking they didn’t have Earth’s best interests at heart.

As a result, Cyborg Superman powers down and “dies.” In that sense, one Superman is very much dead. It remixes the Death of Superman comics where Superman perished fighting Doomsday. A tale where Hank, Steel, Superboy and the Eradicator took over the Superman mantle.

But this cartoon holds a more haunting twist, speaking to the death of morals and values. Hank’s spirit extinguishes, riffing on that age-old adage where you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Christopher Nolan, Aaron Eckhart and Christian Bale would be proud, not so?

My Adventures with Superman Takes Away Clark Kent’s Powers

In the comics, Superman’s body went into stasis and took time to regenerate after fighting Doomsday. Thus, he was comatose. Alas, Clark is due his own grim destiny here. Lois helps him back to the van, grateful her beloved soulmate is still around. But when Clark points out his vision is blurred, you can tell something’s amiss.

Clark confesses his Blue turn burned his powers out. He can’t feel them. As such, he’s Superman no more. With this Superman “dead,” Clark is worried about how he’ll protect Lois, his other loved ones and Earth, itself. Lex and Slade are still loose. Plus, new villains show up every day in Metropolis like clockwork. A panicking Clark is now going to have to adapt.

Jon won’t be around to help, either. His time gauntlet officially loses power, taking him back to the future. That said, he is happy knowing he saved his parents. Now, he can go to a paradise and not the bleak timeline he lived in prior. Right? There’s no more Hank. No more drones. It’s all peachy and hunky-dory. Right?

My Adventures with Superman Reveals the Eradicator Timeline

Jon gets home to a rude awakening. A flash-forward shows him being taken prisoner by Deathstroke and the Eradicator army. This arc riffs on the Eradicator being a dangerous Kryptonian weapon in the comics. One that ended up being used for death and destruction rather than preservation and rebuilding.

Notably, this Jon is called ‘Jon Lane’ by the new overlord: a Lex-Brainiac hybrid. The cliffhanger ending leaves fans wondering how this Lex came to be, where he got his Eradicator army from, and how this new scarred Jon fared. Clearly, a butterfly effect changed him from Jon Kent. The costume alteration compounds this.

On an equally-critical note, many are curious to learn what happened with Clark, Kara, Lois and the other heroes in the absence of Hank. Assuredly, it’s pure chaos and yet another intriguing tease to continue a rollicking, breakneck-paced Season 3. One where the House of El constantly has to rebound in the face of adversity and temporal threats who keep cultivating an unpredictable, unforgiving plot.

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*