Superman was the first superhero by just about every definition. He started the industry, and all the others, from Batman to the Avengers and everyone else, can be said to owe him a debt. There have been many takes on him over the years, and the newest (as I write this) is a cartoon called “My Adventures with Superman.” It premiers with a version of his origin story, “Adventures of A Normal Man, Part One.”

The style is very anime- influenced, which I honestly don’t really care for, but they do a decent job if making it work. Among the differences from the main canon of the Man of Steel, Clark and Jimmy are roommates (and interns together at the Daily Planet), Lois is also an intern, and they’ve changed the races of a few characters. This seems to be set in some nebulous time after Clark has moved to Metropolis, but before he’s really become Superman.

The show starts with a scene of Clark as a child, his powers emerging. While that’s been done a lot before, they do touch on something often overlooked. While young Clark is clearly already a hero, and uses his new powers to help someone, they show him discovering his flight, and the unbridled joy it brings him. To me, this is a great way to understand Clark, and I’d sure be amazed and delighted if I found out I could fly.

Skipping ahead some years, Clark is a young man who is not quite in control of his powers. He and Lois are both preparing for a big day in different ways, showing assorted difficulties for each. Clark is clearly nervous and practicing for his upcoming interview, reminding himself over and over to just be a normal man, as the title hints at. He and Lois run into each other, not knowing each other, and letting us find out a bit more about Clark.

Later that day, Clark and Jimmy are running to get to work on time. Jimmy is often used as comic relief, and I guess they’re going to continue that trend, as here he’s going on about various conspiracies. At the Planet, Lois bursts into Perry White’s office with ideas about an article covering stolen military robots, and Perry is, to put it mildly, unimpressed, reminding her of what her job actually is. She’s clearly not the ace reporter most of us think of her as. Clark and Jimmy meet Perry, get their new assignments, and are assigned to Lois, who of course recognizes Clark from their earlier encounter. Lois doesn’t bat an eye, immediately launching into a bunch of lies to drag all three of them into big trouble.

As Jimmy teases Clark about his obvious instant attraction to Lois, we shift scenes to a busy cargo wharf, which are almost as bad as abandoned warehouses for crime scenes. We get a glimpse of the robots Lois was talking about earlier, and see some fairly typical utter indifference on the part of the obvious bad guys. Out and about, Lois and Clark meet up with a version of the Newsboy Legion. In the Golden Age, these kids were sidekick to the Guardian, a non-powered hero with a seemingly indestructible shield (sounds familiar, but not the more famous star-spangled man, although created by the same man). While we don’t see any sign of that hero, there are a few references to him hidden in the episode. There’s also a note on a calendar about Vicki Vale, a well-known Gotham City reporter, suggesting that this world probably has other heroes in the early stages of their origins.

Following a tip they had to negotiate for with the Newsboys, Clark, Jimmy, and Lois go to a warehouse (because they had to end up at one eventually). Among the points of interest here are a few more leads, some Lois and Clark attraction and embarrassment, and a call from Perry that opens Clark’s eyes about a few things. Clark and Lois have their first argument, and Lois runs off, dragging Jimmy along. Lois rants and comes to a few realizations before they get into a lot of trouble. I think this falls under the category of being careful what you wish for.

Clark is roaming around doing his own introspection when he learns that Jimmy and Lois are in trouble. He leaps into action and, while it’s not exactly the world-famous costume, the beginning elements are there. What follows is a big superhero versus robots fight and the beginnings of a legend. This is followed by some secret identity covering, Clark having a lot of questions, and a return to the Planet. The story doesn’t go as well as it could, because… let’s just say that Jimmy, too, isn’t as good at his job as he one day will be. It’s an interesting start to the new series.

What I Liked: I’m a comic geek, and it’s Superman. More specifically, it’s an actually heroic Superman (looking at you, Man Of Steel movie). I have no idea if they’re going to expand this world, but the hints at Guardian and Batman (indirectly) were kind of cool. You can see the beginnings of who these characters will become, although they all have long roads to go to get there.

What I Didn’t: I just don’t like this style of animation. It wasn’t a major thing for me, but the weird facial distortions to show emotions always grates on me a bit. I didn’t really like this take on Lois, but I hope she gets herself together soon and becomes the person she usually is.

It was a decent beginning. I’ll give this a 3.5 out of 5.