Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!
While we wait until next week for the next episode of My Adventures with Superman, "Pierce the Heavens, Superman!", let's discuss how the second season of My Adventures with Superman should end some more.
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In this season finale, we go to the year 2001, where Kara was babysitting Kal-El when Brainiac attacked Krypton, forcing her and Kal-El to evacuate into space, only for Krypton's explosion to knock Kara's pod off-course into the phantom zone where she remained in suspended animation until 22 years later.
After the opening sequence, we flashforward to the present, where Lois successfully rescues Superman from Brainiac's mind control after much struggle with Kal-El's alternate past. Then, Superman and Lois regroup with Jimmy, Kara, Monsieur Mallah and Brain on the rooftops of Metropolis, where Lois's father, General Samuel Lane, is taken hostage. When Lois calls out to her father, General Lane, that she is coming to rescue him as well, the already-disgraced General replies that he doesn't want to be saved and orders her to go home and forget about him and everything he did to protect her from harm, saying that he just wants to die.
This emotional conversation between father and daughter catches the attention of Task Force X (currently consisting of Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, Alex 'Lex' Luthor, Ethan Avery/Damage, and Joseph Martin/Atomic Skull), who become agitated and therefore not happy by the presence of Lois, Jimmy, and the others, and finally, Brainiac, who is surprised to finally meet Superman, Lois, Jimmy, Kara, Monsieur Mallah, and Brain altogether.
At the same time, General Sam Lane's full past is revealed, as well as his last reason for being unwilling to return to his daughter's arms: having been betrayed so many times in the past, he's terrified that one day his own daughter Lois will see him as a burden, and also betray him. The General screams that he would rather put himself out of his misery than reconcile with his daughter in the end, leaving Lois herself an orphan. Superman, Lois, Jimmy, Kara, Monsieur Mallah, and Brain quietly acknowledge the reason General Lane had, then Brainiac bursts out laughing, saying the General is absolutely accurate, and nobody would be stupid enough to think he wasn't a burden after serving in the U.S. Army with him. Brainiac points at the Kryptonian Empire flag on top of a skyscraper which he placed it on and tells Lois that the Kryptonian Empire has conquered countless planets across the universe and would do the same for Earth.
Lois eventually acknowledges the fact that Task Force X is secretly working with Brainiac and his Kryptonian Empire the whole time, and then tells Kara to shoot down the flag. Kara complies, putting her Kryptonian powers to work by shooting her Heat Vision at the flag, setting it ablaze and shocking Brainiac, General Lane, and Task Force X beyond words; mankind has just declared war on the Kryptonian Empire. Furious, Brainiac questions Lois's sanity, but she just bellows back that she will risk everything to save the people she loved, and then tells her father, General Lane, to admit that he wants to live. Unable to doubt his daughter any longer after realizing his initial duty as a high-ranking officer in the U.S. Army, General Lane tearfully begs Lois and Superman through the top of his lungs to save him - even Superman and Kara are moved to tears over the General's newfound determination as a military officer in the U.S. Army.
While Lois, Jimmy, Kara, Monsieur Mallah and Brain deal with Task Force X, Brainiac continues to take General Lane hostage for his body on top of the Daily Planet Building unless Superman chooses between saving Earth and saving the people he loves. Superman taunts back at Brainiac by declaring that he will choose both, but when he lunges forward, Brainiac does while letting General Lane go in the process, causing Superman to unintentionally remove Brainiac's helmet and cloak from the latter thus revealing him as none other than...Amanada Waller! Provoked, Waller, whose true identity is General Dru-Zod—a non-binary Kryptonian warlord who is the founder and leader of a Kryptonian revolutionary group called the "Sword of Rao" (a nod to Gatchaman's Berg Katse)—uses his electrokinesis-like Kryptonian powers to paralyze not only General Lane, Lois, Jimmy, Kara, Monsieur Mallah, and Brain, but also Task Force X as well (even Lex Luthor, whose hair gets burned up in the process, leaving him bald), in order to stall Superman. Superman tried to retaliate, but Zod is too strong for him when the sun rises, bringing Superman at full power (with the vision of his birth father, Jor-El, explaining the purpose of the "Yellow Sun", which can be converted from his body with its energy into superpowers). Using his full powers to his advantage, Superman defeats Zod with one blow to his stomach, sending him falling to the ground on his back.
Despite his defeat, Zod taunts Superman for not accepting the fact that their people, the Kryptonians, were responsible for all of Earth's progress since the dawn of time. Zod proceeds to explain that three million years ago (during the Ice Age), his ancestors were struggling to find a planet to colonize due to overpopulation of Krypton, only to discover Earth, which they marked with a "gift" so their descendants could find it later—Armageddon! Realizing the sense made by Zod, General Lane hints that the real Amanda Waller was dead 20 years ago because Zod bears a strong resemblance to the former and asks why Task Force X was formed to begin with. Zod further explains about his secret project, "Nemesis Omega", which allows him to establish a system to transform the biosphere of Earth and control every physical phenomenon that affects its makeup (using the four positions he occupies), such as typhoons, hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes.
After realizing the weight of his defeat, Zod decides to destroy Earth anyway at the cost of his life, calling out to Rao, the Kryptonian Sun God, to give judgment to the human species before committing suicide by falling off the Daily Planet Building to his death. At that moment, Kandor (which Zod captured earlier as Brainiac) becomes active as a superweapon, ready to destroy Earth with one shot.
In response, Superman, Lois, Jimmy, Kara, General Lane, Monsieur Mallah and Brain get on board a spaceship Lois and Jimmy stole out from under the nose of Task Force X and shoot a torpedo straight towards the core of Kandor, blowing it up and saving the Earth. As Jimmy, Monsieur Mallah and Brain celebrate their victory while Superman gives himself a relieved sigh, Lois asks her father how he felt to let her and Superman save the world, to which he replies that he just cannot understand what Superman was thinking, even though he apologizes for his ways against him. Upon witnessing the sacrifice of Kandor, Kara raises her head and howls in mindless grief. All over the Earth, people rejoice as well and the spirit of Jor-El bids Kal-El and Kara one last farewell after thanking them for avenging Krypton before fading away.
Meanwhile, Lex Luthor wakes up at the Arkham State Hospital in Gotham City, where he discovers that his hair was lost, leaving him bald, much to his shock, and, in the end, his furiousness. Luthor blames Superman for the loss of his hair, and he vows to take revenge on everyone who laughed at him and his inventions in the past before escaping from Arkham.
Later, Superman, Lois, Jimmy, Kara, General Lane, Monsieur Mallah, and Brain visit Clark's foster parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, in Smallville to celebrate their victory with a barbecue when Luthor announces on the news that he is now taking charge of Task Force X, now called the "Legion of Doom", with a roster of supercriminals (including Deathstroke, Damage, Atomic Skull, Livewire, Silver Banshee, Mist, Rough House, and Heat Wave) under his command. General Lane suggests that Kara works with Superman as "Supergirl", giving the latter her own blue and red costume for that purpose, and Superman agrees. And on that day, Superman and Supergirl work together to safeguard Metropolis from Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom's criminal activities while working in their normal lives as workers for Daily Planet and sharing an apartment together as Clark and Kara Kent (a nod to Electra Woman and Dyna Girl).
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And now, here are some quotes that go with my idea for the finale of the second season of My Adventures with Superman.
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Task Force X: (in unison) "Hail to the New World Order! Hail to the Kryptonian Empire! Hail to Primus Brainiac!"
Lex Luthor: (as everyone witnesses the Kryptonian Empire flag being burned up by Kara's Heat Vision) "What has she done?!"
Deathstroke: "She just declared war on the Kryptonian Empire!"
Brainiac: "You careless, ungrateful fool! Do you have any idea what the punishment for that is?!"
Lois Lane: "I do! So, BRING IT ON!!!"
Lois Lane: (to General Lane) "Dad, this is your last chance. Otherwise, I'll just go home without you. TELL YOUR DAUGHTER THAT YOU WANT TO LIVE!!!"
General Samuel Lane: (to himself) "But I thought I just want to die… But maybe…maybe I could live. Maybe my life may have a second chance. That’s right, I am no more or less than myself. I am still Samuel Lane, General of the United States Army! I must continue my initial career as a military officer! My country is still counting on me!" (to Lois; screaming in tears) "I WANT TO LIVE!! PLEASE, LOIS, GET ME OUT OF HERE! DADDY NEEDS YOU!!!"
Superman: (crying joyfully with Kara) "Oh, Lois, I love you!"
General Dru-Zod: (chuckling softly) "You can kill a prophet, Kal-El, but you can't kill a god. If you and your friends would've stopped this desperate resistance and surrendered quietly, the Kryptonian Empire would've been given the respect it deserves. Yet, now, you have all failed to grasp the fact that we Kryptonians are responsible for all your progress since the dawn of time—as masters of the universe."
General Samuel Lane: "I'm afraid that has nothing to do with us anymore, so you'll have to be more precise than that."
General Dru-Zod: "Three million years ago, my ancestors first past through the solar system looking for a new planet to colonize due to overpopulation of Krypton, only to stop on Earth. There, they have discovered an unspoiled environment in the grip of an ice age populated by rudimentary lifeforms; they examined this world and moved on, only to leave something behind, and that gift was what led us to this very day humans would call "Zero Day". The prophecies and all the books of your ancient cultures foretell a time of human Armageddon, a time when great armies rise up to destroy civilization. For example, your bible tells of a vengeful God that destroys the human race except for Noah's Ark since he was displeased by his own creations."
General Samuel Lane: (realizing) "So, that's why you murdered the real Amanda Waller 20 years ago because you shared a strong resemblance to her. So, why did you form Task Force X to begin with?"
General Dru-Zod: "Well, let me answer your question by explaining the true purpose of my secret project, "Nemesis Omega", which had caused the United States Government so much concern in the past two decades. As you know, we, the Kryptonian revolutionary group known as the 'Sword of Rao', have established a system to transform the biosphere of this planet, and from the four positions we occupy, we can control every physical phenomenon that affects the makeup of the Earth. For example, we can increase the intensity of air flow to generate lethal typhoons and hurricanes. We can change the course of the ocean currents to create huge tsunamis. And we can cause violent earthquakes which will literally tear the lands apart to sink every country on every continent one by one. But alas, now that you have defeated me, Kal-El, I don't need this planet anymore since that it has refused to kneel, and therefore rebelled, for the last time." (coughs/spits out blood from his mouth) "Now, witness the same fate Krypton had over 20 years ago!" (shouting out to the heavens) "O mighty Rao, I am ready to go! LET THIS EARTH FEEL THE POWER OF YOUR JUDGMENT!!!" (to Superman as he jumps off the Daily Planet Building to his death) "Goodbye, Kal-El..."
Jimmy Olsen: "Target locked! Now, let's blow this thing and go home!"
Superman: "General, man the big guns and shoot that torpedo straight to the core of Kandor! FIRE!!!"
General Samuel Lane: (manning the weapons station to launch the torpedo towards Kandor's core with...) "FOR THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY!!!!!" (...and fires the torpedo straight towards it)
Lois Lane: "So, dad, how does it feel to have your own daughter and her friend win this war for you?"
General Samuel Lane: (chuckling as he smiles to his daughter) "I just can't understand what your idiot friend was thinking."
Jor-El: "Thank you, Kal-El and Kara Zor-El - you have saved the universe. Now, Krypton can rest in peace. Remember, Rao will be with you, always..."
Lex Luthor: (angrily grabbing a female Arkham doctor by her collar and pinning her on a wall) "MY HAIR, GONE - AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME SOONER! HOW COULD YOU?!"
Arkham Doctor: "I don't know! You just weren't meant to be caught in a crossfire, that's all!"
Lex Luthor: "You let Superman ruin everything! Now, look at me! I am BALD!!!"
Arkham Doctor: "It's for your own good, Lex."
Lex Luthor: (after releasing the doctor) "I will rid the Earth of superpowers, even if I have to take everyone with them for laughing at me and my inventions. And I, Lex Luthor, will never be looked down upon ever again!"
Lex Luthor: (contacting Superman via television broadcast) "Superman, we thought Zero Day could change the world, and it did."
General Samuel Lane: (vouching for Superman) "I understand - we were all pawns of this "Nemesis Omega" project. I know Task Force X was."
Lex Luthor: "We don't talk about them anymore! Task Force X failed - the Legion of Doom won't. We've made our planet sick long enough with this alien plague your 'Man of Steel' brought to us all."
Superman: "Hold on, General." (to Luthor) "What are you trying to say?"
Lex Luthor: "A cull is our only home now. I know what I must do. I'm going to finish what Waller started - even if it means starting a crime wave in Metropolis and beyond."
Superman: (surprised) "You don't mean...?"
Lex Luthor: (as all the criminals who served in Task Force X gather around him) "And before I'm done with you, Superman, you will all bleed for what you did to me!" (evil laugh)
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And now, the trivia:
The entirety of the episode will be based on the Enies Lobby Arc from the Japanese manga franchise, One Piece, with additional elements from the third and final episode of the Gatchaman OVA series.
The explosion of Kandor will be similar to the explosion of the Death Star in Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope.
Supergirl's costume will resemble Mega Mindy (mask not included).
General Dru-Zod will be voiced by Laverne Cox, a transgender actress known for portraying Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 2016 FOX special, The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again.
So, now that we've reviewed how the second season of My Adventures with Superman is going to end with, can you turn this entire post into a storyboard (and script) for me?
Good luck - and thank you for reading with me!