Warning: SPOILERS for the My Adventures with Superman episode “The Machine Who Would Be Empire” are ahead!
Following the My Adventures with Superman Season 2 trailer revealing that Supergirl would appear, and then the Adult Swim series’ showrunners teasing to CinemaBlend that they brought the character in because they “like to keep the hits coming,” Kara Zor-El finally debuted last week in “Most Eligible Superman.” Unfortunately, rather than starting off as her Kryptonian cousin’s ally right off the bat, this Kara, voiced by Kiana Madeira, was revealed to be the Kryptonian warrior who had been working with Michael Emerson’s Brainiac.
Disappointed with Clark Kent/Kal-El’s love for Earth, Kara pummeled him and brought him back to Brainiac, per his instructions. With the release of “The Machine Who Would Be Empire” onto the 2024 TV schedule, we know what sinister plan the super intelligent villain has in motion for Superman, and although things look bleak now, there is some good news for Supergirl by the end of the episode.
Brainiac Requires Superman’s Unique Power
Superman was understandably angry when he woke up at the beginning of “The Machine Who Would Be Empire” and saw Kara had taken him far away from Earth, making it impossible to find his way back home without coordinates. Kara attempted to convince him that her and her “father’s” goal of restarting the Kryptonian Empire and bringing prosperity to other planets was a worthy one, using footage from the last days of Krypton shown through a thought projector to try and make her case. Clark in turn showed her a memory of his childhood on Earth to convince her how great his adopted homeworld is, but she wasn’t convinced… her crush on Jimmy Olsen aside.
Clark requested Kara take him to one of the planets that she and her “father” had brought into their new Kryptonian empire, and she eagerly complied, despite the fact that it defied Brainiac’s order not to deviate from their planned route. Along the way, the cousins started to bond as they played around in a hydrogen state asteroid field, but the good mood was soon spoiled when they arrived to see Thanagar in ruins and devoid of life. Needless to say Clark was taken aback, but Kara was also surprised by the sight, as she remembered the planet prospering under the New Kryptonian Empire.
Eventually Clark and Kara arrived at Brainiac’s ship, and it didn’t take long for the villain to show his true colors. This version of Brainiac was once the artificial intelligence that ran through every ship, computer, city and defense system in the Kryptonian Empire, and after surviving Krypton’s destruction, he found the infant Kara in her ship and raised her to be his daughter/scion. Brainiac also worked with Superman’s Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara, but his vision for the New Kryptonian Empire wouldn’t have aligned with their ideals, to put it mildly.
In order to test Superman’s potential, Brainiac pitted the hero against some holographic adversaries, including a Parademon and a Green Lantern, that were remnants of beings that didn’t comply with the original Kryptonian Empire. The villain was pleased to see Clark’s glowing, enhanced power state that's apparently specific to him rather than all Kryptonians. Determined for the New Kryptonian Empire to continue its predecessor’s war-faring ways, which is how Krypton obtained its advancements in the first place, Brainiac used his robotic minions to overpower Superman, and now he plans to turn him into his “weapon” to conquer more planets.
Supergirl Has Learned The Truth About Brainiac
Even before Kara Zor-El crossed paths with Clark Kent, she had a sentimental side, as she kept items from the planets that she traveled to, despite Brainiac telling her that her “affinity for anything non-Kryptonian is a weakness.” However, now Kara is aware of Brainiac’s true nature, and it started once she arrived on Thanagar and saw what it was really like there. Later on, when Kara walked in and found Brainiac standing over Superman’s unconscious body, her “father” criticized her for straying from his vision, so he erased her memories of Thanagar and her trip with her cousin.
After she woke up, Brainiac pretended as though Kara had done a good job and brought Superman to her as instructed, but the memory erasure didn’t take. After getting glimpses of what really happened, she traveled to the other planets that she’d been to, and not only were they dead like Thanagar, she realized that Brainiac had brainwashed her into laying waste to them.
So despite “The Machine Who Would Be Empire” ending on a bad note for Clark, the upside is that now Kara knows the truth and ready to embark on her journey to becoming Supergirl. But if all this wasn’t enough to screw with Kara’s head, the episode ended with one final twist: a portal opened in front of her out in space, and out of it came a space shuttle containing Lois and Jimmy, as well as Monsieur Mallah and The Brain, who we met in Season 1. These five teaming up for a rescue mission, anyone?
New episodes of My Adventures with Superman air Sundays nights on Adult Swim, and they’re available to stream shortly afterwards with a Max subscription. Although there are only four episodes left to go in Season 2, fans can take comfort knowing this Superman series is returning for Season 3.
