‘My Adventures With Superman’ Season 3 Episode 3 Ends With a Time-Travel Twist That Changes Everything

‘My Adventures With Superman’ has quietly built one of the most emotionally assured animated series in the DC universe, and season 3 shows no signs of slowing down. The season debuted with a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with every published review coming back positive, and critics praising the show for its animation, storytelling, action sequences, and fresh approach to Superman mythology.

Episode 3, titled “All’s Fair in Love and W.O.R.M.S.” and written by Jack Sentell, aired originally on Adult Swim on June 27, then landed on HBO Max on June 28. What viewers got was arguably the most tonally ambitious installment of the season yet, one that layers romantic comedy chaos over an apocalyptic threat before landing one of the most consequential reveals of the entire series.

‘All’s Fair in Love and W.O.R.M.S.’ and the Season’s Romantic Subplot

The bulk of the episode leans hard into the show’s signature blend of heart and humor, centering on commitment anxiety and relationship dynamics across nearly every character pairing. Lois Lane struggles with issues rooted in her parents’ marriage and her mother’s passing, leading her to hesitate when Clark suggests a future involving a farm. To distract herself, Lois plays matchmaker for Kara, while Jimmy Olsen joins W.O.R.M.S., the World Organization for Romantic Matchmaking Science.

Jimmy joins the dating site in an attempt to make Kara jealous, but the plan backfires since Kara is supremely self-confident. A conversation with Lois makes her treat the whole thing as a contest she is now motivated to win, though Lois at least gets her to recognize Jimmy as the prize. The dynamic is classic romantic comedy structure, but the show earns it by grounding each beat in genuine character vulnerability.

Jimmy’s date takes a turn when Gigi reveals herself to be Giganta. In a sequence paying homage to King Kong, Giganta scales the Daily Planet with Jimmy, while Superman saves the day with help from Tazzala and Zazzala. The chaos serves a narrative purpose beyond spectacle, raising questions about secret identities that the season appears set to explore further.

Meanwhile, Kara acts as a mentor to Lois, encouraging her to embrace faith in Clark. Despite the trauma of her past, Lois attempts to move at a pace that feels comfortable, eventually agreeing to brunch as a starting point. Small as it sounds, that moment of emotional progress carries genuine weight given what the episode is about to reveal.

Cyborg Superman and the Lex Luthor Threat

Running parallel to the romantic comedy plotting is a more sinister thread involving Lex Luthor and his newest weapon. Lex has unleashed Hank Henshaw as Cyborg Superman. Henshaw, driven by ego and a desire to be judge, jury, and executioner, is used by Lex to discredit Superman. However, the episode reveals a flaw: Lex maintains control through a killswitch, treating Henshaw as a pet on a string.

Showrunner Jake Wyatt has described the season as being less about the Death of Superman and more about the question of what a Superman actually is, noting that the fun of ‘Reign of the Supermen’ is all these impostors who have the same power set but different values. The Henshaw thread is a direct expression of that theme, presenting a figure with Superman’s capabilities and none of his restraint.

Henshaw’s desire for agency and his metal face could lead him to go rogue. This dynamic makes the episode’s time-jump ending all the more poignant. The tension between Lex’s control and Henshaw’s growing resentment feels like a slow fuse that the rest of the season will eventually ignite.

The Episode Ending Explained and the Arrival of Superboy

The closing sequence is where the episode fully transforms into something the season has been building toward. The final scene cuts to a future where a drone army is laying waste to humanity. In that bad future, a bald and scarred Lex Luthor is shown helping a resistance stave off the robot apocalypse, a complete inversion of everything the present-day Lex Luthor represents.

The machines are modeled after the Martian-like drone Lex made to hunt Bizarro, a Superman clone, in season 3. Future Lex slaps a time-travel gauntlet on the wrist of Superboy and sends him back in time before being turned to ash, alongside Jimmy Olsen and a Steel armor-less John Henry Irons. The conclusion of the episode reveals that the figure sent back to the present is Jon Kent, the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane from the future.

As of episode 3, the end credits confirm that Superboy’s name in the series is Jon Kent. However, his costume resembles the Kon-El version of the character from comics, leaving some ambiguity around his exact origins. Whether this Superboy is a son or a clone remains to be seen, but his mission is clear: he must stop the events that lead to Lex Luthor’s machines betraying humanity.

Jon Kent’s Identity and What It Means for the Rest of Season 3

The casting brings its own layer of meaning to the reveal. Collider exclusively revealed that Darren Criss has joined the series as Connor Kent in season 3 of ‘My Adventures With Superman’. Criss previously voiced Superman in DC’s Tomorrowverse movies, including ‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow’, meaning he brings direct Superman-adjacent history to a character whose identity is defined by the question of what it means to be Superman.

The robots hunting future Lex are modeled after drones he designed to hunt clones, suggesting that his own thirst for power triggers the downfall of civilization. By sending Jon Kent back, Lex is attempting to undo his legacy. It is one of the more quietly tragic reversals the show has staged, turning its most consistent villain into an agent of salvation precisely because he has seen what his choices cost.

Clark and Lois must now navigate the arrival of their son while contending with a Lex Luthor who is still a villain in the present. The episode concludes with Superboy sent back to figure out how to stop the end of days without breaking the timeline. In addition to the arrival of Superboy, the episode hints at the introduction of Krypto, as Clark finds a dog during a rescue and jokingly suggests the name “Bark Kent.” Even amid apocalyptic stakes, the show refuses to abandon the warmth that has always defined it.

Whether you are more invested in Clark and Lois finally confronting their future or in unraveling exactly what Jon Kent knows about the timeline he just walked into, share your read on the episode’s ending in the comments.