Is Sam Lane the Villain in ‘My Adventures with Superman’? Explained

Ever since ‘My Adventures with Superman‘ aired, it’s been clear that Task Force X, with The General in charge, wants to get their hands on Superman no matter the cost. After Louis Lane shared details about her past and her relationship with her father, several theories arose that The General is Sam Lane, Louis’s father. In the ninth episode of the show, titled ‘Zero Day: Part 2’, The General’s name is, in fact, Sam. So, does this mean that Sam Lane is the villain in the show?

Sam Lane is confirmed to be The General, so we can also conclude he is the villain in ‘My Adventures with Superman.’ Sam spent 22 years believing that Superman was guilty of everything that happened on Zero Day, and his hatred arose from that. When he realized that Superman was innocent, he changed his mind slightly, but Amanda Waller took The General’s position and commanded Sam to kill Superman.

The theory about Sam Lane being The General has existed for some time. And now, we know that The General is Louis Lane’s father, but let’s see what kind of villain Sam Lane is.

Is Sam Lane really The General?

‘My Adventures with Superman’ started with Clark Kent becoming an intern at Daily Planet, but soon enough, he flew around Metropolis as Superman since the people needed his help. That way, Superman drew much attention from his fans and reporters like Louis Lane and gained many enemies along the way. Although Superman faced many villains throughout the first season, it is fair to say that Task Force X, led by The General, is the most dangerous.

We met The General early in the show when he interrogated Leslie Willis to gather as much information about Superman as possible. From the beginning, it was clear that The General considered Superman the greatest threat the Earth faces, and it seemed like he had a good reason for thinking that. It was all connected with Zero Day, but at that time, not much was known about what Zero Day was.

Many people thought that Zero Day was when Superman came to Earth, and even if it was, Kal-El was just a baby then and had nothing to do with an attack on people.

The General is one of the biggest antagonists in the series, for sure. But, not much was known about him for a while. We did not even know his real name or why he hated Superman. Little by little, the story unfolded as the theory arose that The General was likely Louis Lane’s father. Louis talked about her father and his personality; we knew he was a military guy. And The General’s physical appearance also made us think this theory is true.

The show’s ninth episode confirms this, and The General’s name is revealed to be Sam. This means that Louis Lane’s father is responsible for detaining and torturing Superman, and he has wanted to kill him since he discovered his existence. However, Sam Lane was wrong about Superman. He thought that Man of Steel already caused damage to Earth many years ago during Zero Day. However, Clark explained that that was impossible, and whoever that was could not be him.

Amanda Waller gradually became more of a threat to Superman than Sam Lane

The show’s ninth episode gave us flashbacks to Zero Day and when The General and Amanda Waller were just newbies in the Army. A UFO landed on Earth on Zero Day, and the army’s job was to secure the site. The General was absent during a mission debrief, so Waller came looking for him. At that moment, it was revealed that The General’s name is Sam and that he’s got a family.

After Zero Day, Sam spent 22 years preparing Earth for Superman’s return. He also created Task Force X and equipped his army with the tech aliens left behind two decades ago. However, The General slowly started to doubt himself and his claims that Superman was responsible for what happened on Zero Day, and no matter how hardcore his methods were, it seemed like even him is not comfortable with hurting innocent people.

Amanda Waller sensed that Sam was becoming soft and even mentioned that it could be because Superman reminded Sam of ‘her.’ We can only speculate who ‘her’ is, but our best guess is that she referred to Louis, Sam’s daughter. She is around Clark’s age and puts herself out there like a hero to get the best possible story.

Eventually, Waller and Sam got into a dispute about authority. Apparently, Task Force X’s superiors were not satisfied with Sam’s decision not to kill Superman when he had the chance, so Checkmate and the Government of the United States of America decided to put Waller in charge of any future missions and relieve General of his duties.

Waller’s first order to Sam was to track Superman down, use the Omega Cannon to weaken him, and eventually terminate him for good. So, even though Sam Lane is the villain, it seems like his radical approach toward Superman softened, and he most likely will completely change hearts once he finds out that Louis is fond of Superman. That said, it’s fair to conclude that the main villain is Amanda Waller from now on.

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