The Superman Age: Episodes 1-2

by dramallama

Unbelievable yet so believably funny. The Superman Age manages to make a ridiculous premise quite relatable, and the most pitiful characters heartfelt and humorous. We get a nice introduction to our two main superheroes, along with brief appearances by the rest of the cast. You may find yourself shaking your head at the humor but enjoying it nonetheless because this show has got incredible comedic timing and a hilariously convincing agency about saving the world.

Note: This is just a first recap to introduce the show, and we don’t plan to keep up with the full series.

 
EPISODE 1: “Birth of a Hero”

On a dark stormy night, two men stand in the rain facing each other, crying. They’ve got my pity already.

Back to Thursday, April 9th, 9 AM. One of the men urgently enters the bathroom and rushes into the last stall. Once inside, he takes out his birthday lunch — seaweed soup, rice, and kimchi — and gets a congratulatory birthday coupon message from a hair salon. “Like my birthdays in the past, I’m spending his 25th birthday alone. But as an unemployed fourth year repeat student, it’s expected. I know that much.”

As he eats, a spider lowers itself from the ceiling, lands on his back, and bites him. He brushes it off, and we see that the bite turns into a tattoo-like mark in the shape of two cherries.

This is our main man, Yoo Byung-jae. He walks into a classroom to meet his team, and one of the girls, Yeon-ju, greets him in a friendly manner, calling him sunbae. They begin to delegate tasks, starting with the powerpoint, but nobody steps up. He gets assigned the powerpoint task, but in his head, he knows he’ll end up doing everything. “This being the 37th group meeting, I’ve developed an ability to predict the future.”

One guy volunteers to do the research. “Tonight, this guy will turn off his phone. I’ll end up doing it.” Another girl volunteers to do the report, and she claims to be skilled with writing reports. “She’s actually incompetent, and I’ll have to do it.” Another guy volunteers to present their work. “I will do it.” He knows that none of his team members will pick up his calls. “It’s not because they’re bad people and I’m good person. The most lacking person will do more work. I’m always the lacking person. I know that much.”

The group leader suggests they all go out for food, and Yeon-ju invites sunbae to come along. But the leader notes that it’s been a while since the same-year classmates have eaten together, which prompts Byung-jae to sit right back down. Apologetic about the work load, Yeon-ju lingers and hands him a birthday note before she leaves. He glows with happiness that she remembered his birthday and convinces himself that he can endure this hell as long as she’s there. A bulldog passes by the classroom and barks aggressively at him, the reason unknown.

As he leaves, a group of girls crowd around and chant his name. They ask him to buy them food, and he reluctantly yet happily agrees. As the girls eat, he admits, “I know that none of these girls are really attracted to me. I know that much.” They thank him for the food and continue to cheer him on, seemingly out of pity.

Left at the café, Byung-jae gets a message from his landlord about his late rent, but his misery is interrupted by Yeon-ju. She says that she’s been looking for him and asks if he’d like to come over to her house tomorrow, since it’ll be empty. It takes a moment to process, but he agrees. She leaves, and he does a little dance to celebrate. The bulldog enters again and barks at dancing Byung-jae.

2 PM. Late to his shift at the convenience store, Byung-jae runs inside and apologizes to his friend, Bae Nu-ri. He starts to explain that it’s his birthday, but she runs out to catch the bus to her tutoring place before he finishes. On the list of things to do, she wrote to beware of Glasses Pervert. Byung-jae looks around and notices Glasses Pervert hyperventilating at the sight of a woman customer’s cleavage. His hands glow, hinting at some supernatural power, and he runs out of the store.

4 PM. Glasses Pervert goes to the bank to ask about getting a loan. The banker refers him to another banker to counsel him with the loan, but he starts to hyperventilate again when he sees that it’s a woman. He’s dripping sweat and shaking, and when she tries to calm him down by holding his hand, he faints.

Two stalls down, Byung-jae tries to apply for another loan, but he’s rejected because of his unpaid student loans. Walking home, he talks on the phone with his landlord who complains to him about his unpaid rent in a circular argument about her arthritis, not having the money to go the hospital, and not being able to go because of her arthritis. Demanding the money, she tells him that he’s still young and can sell his body to somehow get it.

7 PM. Those words echo in his head as he looks at the sign hiring people for manual labor. All the men waiting for work are extra eager and volunteer for every position while Byung-jae meekly hangs around. He notices Glasses Pervert in the group as well but doesn’t acknowledge him.

The rest of the group is told to come back the next morning, but a staff member gets a last minute call asking for someone proficient in java script. Both Byung-jae and Glasses Pervert shoot their hands in the air, but so does everyone else. They both end up without jobs for the night.

11 PM. Byung-jae struggles through a nightmare, in which a man calls out to him as the hero they need. He wakes up and finds his TV turned on playing porn. He grabs a roll of toilet paper to indulge. Nearby, Glasses Pervert also watches porn, but his hands start to glow again as he screams out in pain. Byung-jae hears this and wonders where it’s coming from.

Friday, April 10th, 7 AM. The next morning, Byung-jae goes to the bathroom to wash his sticky hands, but the water shoots out of the shower head and drenches him. His bad luck doesn’t escape him as he walks into a dirty puddle and finds himself abandoned by his group members yet again. The two guys lie about being busy, and Yeon-ju doesn’t pick up.

Getting counseling for job applications, Byung-jae is discouraged by the options he’s given. He’s told to lower his expectations, especially given his specific circumstance and experience. Later, he presents a shopping mall website he constructed but doesn’t get paid a dime because the friend considers it a favor, not a job. The friend is too busy to even treat him a meal.

Walking around campus, Byung-jae tries calling Yeon-ju again. He hears her phone ring nearby and sees her kissing another guy. She doesn’t pick up the phone and explains to her boyfriend that it’s just that stalker bastard in her group who looks like a bearded Smurf. She adds that he’s only useful for fixing her computer bugs, and her boyfriend comments that he’s a pathetic loser. Ouch. To make matters worse, Byung-jae’s landlord sends him a picture of his belongings piled outside and lets him know that today is the final day to pay his rent. He runs off to save himself from getting ousted.

7 PM. Back at the gathering for manual labor, Byung-jae raises his hand for every job option but doesn’t get picked. Everyone except for Byung-jae and Glasses Pervert get work, but the two are summoned into the basement.

The ajusshi who brought them to the basement addresses the two by name: Yoo Byung-jae and Kim Chang-hwan. He says that he’s been watching them for a long time and reveals that they have special superpowers. Ajusshi correctly specifies Chang-hwan’s powers and then tells Byung-jae that he has yet to discover his.

Not believing a word, Byung-jae heads towards the exit, but Ajusshi aggressively stops him. He’s so aggressive that he rips off Byung-jae’s clothes and scratches his arm. Byung-jae’s body turns bright red in embarrassment, and suddenly everything goes back in time.

Thursday, April 9th, 11 PM. Byung-jae jolts awake from his supposed dream, but he finds the scratch on his arm. Porn is playing on his TV, and he goes through the same motions of grabbing some toilet paper.

The feeling of déjà vu continues into the next day, as he unintentionally drenches himself under the shower head, steps into a muddy puddle, and gets abandoned by his group members. Walking around campus, Byung-jae actively chooses a different route to avoid overhearing Yeon-ju’s scarring words. But fate won’t let him have his way, as he encounters the same scene with Yeon-ju complaining about how Byung-jae is useless.

Back to the basement with Chang-hwan and the ajusshi. Byung-jae predicts the flow of the conversation and voices everything Ajusshi was about to say. He’s beginning to understand his powers, and the ajusshi elaborates that they’ve gained these superpowers because they’ve preserved their purity. Byung-jae wonders aloud if it’s because of his spider bite or because he inherited his father’s strength, but Ajusshi clarifies that they’ve completed an impressive feat: preserving their virginity as 25-year-old males.

The two virgin males wallow in the awkward silence and then claim that they’ve done it before. Byung-jae incoherently mumbles about his experience, “I really did it. And at a motel with my girlfriend, I mean in a one night stand… And I kissed a lot. And yeah… and I kissed a lot.” Chang-hwan claims the same thing, but Ajusshi presents them with their expired condoms from their wallets. They are, indeed, virgins.

He tells them to check their back, and they find the red tattoo on their lower back. Even Ajusshi has the red tramp stamp. Byung-jae refuses to believe it, and he once again gets red (literally) with rage. Then he’s back in time waking up from his dream, with his TV playing porn.

The next morning, Byung-jae goes through the same routine, but this time, he avoids getting wet from the shower head, jumps over the muddy puddle, swears at the manipulative girls asking him to buy food, and barges into the classroom accusing his team members for not showing up. He gets a bit head of himself, as it’s not yet their meeting time, but the group leader admits that he’s not going to show up anyway. So Byung-jae continues on his rage fest, cursing out the career counselor and punching the shopping mall website jerk.

He runs outside and reaches a fork in the road. He’s unable to decide which way to go on campus because he knows what’s next: Yeon-ju. Not wanting to face the disparaging comments, he turns around to avoid confrontation, but fate’s got him again. Yeon-ju and her boyfriend are making out right behind him, and he has no other choice but to watch teary-eyed. He flips them off before running away in tears.

As he runs, he steps into the muddy puddle and narrates, “It’s not because Yeon-ju is a bad person, and I’m a good person. It’s just life – the more lacking person needs to hurt more. I was always the more lacking person.” Byung-jae walks at night and gets a rejection message from the company he applied for. Then all the messages about his uselessness come to mind — the landlord saying she doesn’t need a student who can’t pay rent, the counselor saying companies don’t want him, and Yeon-ju belittling him for being useless other than for fixing computer bugs.

Byung-jae weeps as it begins to rain, and he tells himself, “There is no place for me in this world. I know that much.” He thinks back to Ajusshi’s words about the world needing his superpowers and cries out asking if the world really does need him.

Byung-jae and Chang-hwan meet crying in the rain, as in the opening scene. They’re back to accept their fates.

 
EPISODE 2: “Judgment Day”

The two virgins return to the basement, where they’re met with Ajusshi and his bulldog, Sebastian, who can detect superpowers. That’s why he’s been barking at Byung-jae.

They sit down at the table to face the truth. Ajusshi explains that he gained his superpowers after baseball hit a not-so-great location. He can read minds, so he knows exactly what his superpower novices are thinking — Chang-hwan hates his powers while Byung-jae wants to test his powers.

He continues by saying that the world they live in may appear to be a peaceful place, but it isn’t so. Judgment Day is coming, and their powers will be necessary. Are they up to be heroes for the world? Can they endure this big responsibility? Byung-jae declares yes, Ajusshi nods, and the dramatic music cuts.

It’s an anticlimactic call to action, since now their only task is to wait for Judgment Day. But Ajusshi speaks again with agency in his voice and the dramatic music picks back up as he tells them that their powers must be kept secret. Like Spiderman, Superman, and Batman, they must hide take on different identities. They must get hired and date to conceal their real hero identities.

Byung-jae gives him a blank look. Ironically, those are the two things they couldn’t achieve that landed them here. Now they need a job and a girlfriend to conceal their superpowers. Byung-jae asks Ajusshi if they’re really needed. Ajusshi replies with a strong yes. When are they needed? Ajusshi doesn’t know and shrugs. So where are they needed right now?

Byung-jae and Chang-hwan end up at a construction site transporting bricks. Byung-jae tries to be friendly with Chang-hwan, since they’re in the same major at school, but Chang-hwan remains unresponsive. Byung-jae doubts that the whole superpower tale is true and adds that they’re not graduating college to talk about nonsense.

Nearby, two professors talk pompously about their research work about the Korean language. When they’re caught conversing, they’re ordered right back to construction work. It seems that you can graduate and even teach college yet still talk nonsense, thus disproving Byung-jae’s point.

Byung-jae continues on with his skepticism and doubts that the superpowers are actually real. That fires up Chang-hwan, and he firmly claims that the superpowers are real. The work site boss comes around with their paycheck and asks Chang-hwan about his really strong Hulk-like friend, Kyu-sun. Chang-hwan gets visibly irritated and runs off saying that this friend died.

Both Byung-jae and Chang-hwan walk home in the same direction, and turns out, they live under the same landlord. Unfortunately, Byung-jae has been kicked out, so Chang-hwan kindly invites him into his room. He says that he’ll keep a secret until Byung-jae can find another place.

Just as they get settled, landlord ajumma knocks furiously on Chang-hwan’s door, so Byung-jae hides in the corner. She asks when he’ll pay his overdue rent and goes through the same complaints about not having the money to go to the hospital to treat her back. She senses someone else in his room and reminds Chang-hwan that he’s not allowed any guests. Except for Kyu-sun. She starts compliment his friend, Kyu-sun, which angers Chang-hwan once again. He yells at the landlord and slams the door.

Byung-jae comes out of hiding and cautiously asks Chang-hwan about his stuttering. Chang-hwan explains that he has anthropophobia, especially in front of girls and people who seem superior to him. It gets better with people who are inferi — er — aren’t that way. Byung-jae then asks if he’s just comfortable with him, and Chang-hwan leaves the room to avoid answering.

Lying on the floor, Byung-jae contemplates his powers and comes to the conclusion that his powers were activated every time he felt embarrassed. He wants to test his hypothesis, so he looks up his old online diary entries. Sure enough, he turns bright red with embarrassment and ends up back in time on the toilet about to look at porn on his phone. For further testing, he farts in the elevator, and he ends up waking up to porn again. Turning it up a notch, he then runs around naked, and he finds himself back in time watching porn yet again.

Having tested his powers, he speaks to his mother in his head: “Mother, I’ve gained superpowers. I can go back in time, but I think I go back to the most recent time I’d felt some healing. I miss you, Mother.” He decides that he will remember this moment as the time he discovered his powers.

Byung-jae gets ready with tissues to enjoy his porn, but Chang-hwan walks in and looks at him with scorn. Activating his powers, Byung-jae turns bright red, but he ends up right where he is right now. He tries again, but he’s stuck in that moment of simultaneous healing and embarrassment. “I guess it doesn’t work in this case. I miss you, Mother.” Chang-hwan asks that Byung-jae doesn’t watch that particular porn and hands him his collection. Then he heads right back out, back to school.

Standing in front of the computer engineering classroom, Chang-hwan flashes back to 2009. He runs inside the empty room excitedly and plops down to read his comic book. Suddenly, a girl walks in with chicken, and Chang-hwan freezes. She sees his year on his jacket and extends her hand for a friendly greeting. She’s Lee Mi-so, one year above him.

She’s amused that he’s so rigid and notices that he’s reading. Taking out a book from her bag, she lends it to Chang-hwan, saying that it’ll help him overcome his struggles like it did for her. That seems to ease his anxiety, and he smiles gratefully.

Back in the present, Chang-hwan nostalgically looks at the classroom. Then a woman gets dragged out of the room by security, and she swears about them enforcing the smoke free policy. Chang-hwan calls out to her — it’s Mi-so.

The room is stocked with instant foods, and she continues to swear about the smoking ban. She comments that Chang-hwan hasn’t changed a bit, and he responds that she seems to have changed a lot. He stutters that he read the book she lent him about a hundred times while in army, but she has no idea what he’s talking about. He takes out the book, but she just uses it as a mat for the pot. Chang-hwan begins to ask for her number but chickens out. He starts to leave, but Mi-so asks if he’s free that weekend for a drink. He happily agrees.

Byung-jae runs into the exam room late, but the professor doesn’t admit students over 10 minutes late. He claims that it’s exactly 10 minutes, and the professor leisurely looks for her phone. By the time she finds it, he’s officially 11 minutes late and doesn’t gain admission to the exam. Another tardy student runs in, and when Byung-jae turns around, he’s enamored. Or at least that’s what the dramatic wind blowing tells us. She claims that she was hit by a car on the way here, but it’s too late. They’re both kicked out.

Outside, Byung-jae greets the girl and asks that she not misunderstand what happens next. He begins to strip off all his clothing, and she’s understandably horrified. His embarrassment puts him back in time, running to the exam. He sees the girl crossing the street on her phone and spots a car racing towards her.

Ready to play the hero, he pushes the girl back away from the car, but a truck strikes her instead. He freezes with a deadpan reaction. A crowd surrounds the girl, who’s unconscious and bleeding on the ground.

Again, Byung-jae strips off his clothing, alarming the crowd, and he returns to the moment right before the car accident. This time, he saves the girl, and they both enter the exam room on time. But Byung-jae has no idea how to solve anything on the exam. If only he had known the exam questions earlier…

He stands up and begins to strip in the middle of the class. Everyone looks away in shock, and he returns to the moment he entered the class. After an hour, he looks up. He still has no idea how to solve anything. HA.

After the exam, Byung-jae eats at a food stand and reflects on his powers: “I can return to any moment in the past. In other words, I can see the future. But knowing the future doesn’t change anything because I’m me. I’m can only do this much.”

The girl he saved recognizes him at the food stand and thanks him for earlier. She wonders if they’ve met before and asks how he did on the exam. She says that she got screwed (and then quickly corrects her language to say that she failed). It’s a bad day for her, since she got rejected from a job earlier that day and then got screwed on the exam, but she tries to make the best of it.

Encouraging them both, she says, “I like to think of it this way. I can only do this much. People who are meant to fail will fail.” Byung-jae’s taken aback by the telepathic thoughts and begins asking her name, but they’re interrupted by another guy, who covers her eyes from behind. They walk off together like a couple, and Byung-jae seems discouraged that he really can only do this much.

Then he sees that the girl left her wallet at the stand. He opens it and finds her name, Song Ji-eun. He starts getting giddy, but the happiness is short-lived. Ajusshi approaches from behind with Sebastian barking.

They sit down, and Ajusshi tells him that the time has come. They’ve gotten word from the messenger. Tonight at midnight, they will go to the messenger.

 
COMMENTS

This show is brilliantly done, with the perfect balance of endearing characters and comedic scenarios. I don’t care too much about the narrative of our story (only if the story goes batshit crazy) because this show seems pretty heavy on the characters. Our two superheroes we were introduced to, Byung-jae and Chang-hwan, have different charms yet similar downfalls, and I love seeing them succeed as much as I love seeing them epically fail. Because either way, they are hilarious and heartfelt. Chang-hwan is an interesting mix of sweet, anxious, and offensive without being too inconsistent. He has his reasons for these specific attitudes towards people, and I enjoy watching him jump around among his personas.

The mastermind behind this hilarious story, Yoo Byung-jae is great both with his writing and his acting. Since he’s the writer for this show, I see the seamless transition of the character from paper onto the screen as a big plus, and I love what he’s done with his character. His character is super pitiful and self-deprecating, but I don’t think that takes away from his ultimate message of searching for usefulness in life. In the inner monologues, he hits on the fundamental struggles of finding your place and worth. And it doesn’t come off as extreme youth angst as much as it does sincere doubts about where he’s heading in life, and where he’s really needed. His character vaguely reminds me of Misaeng‘s Jang Geu-rae (aww, I miss him), especially during those narrations about how he knows his worth and that lacking people always get the short end of the stick. He’s like Geu-rae but funnier, and I’m not complaining.

The comedy in this show is both subtle and explicit, and I’m thoroughly enjoying both. There aren’t too many surprises in the show, except for when the turnout is hilariously anticlimactic. I was thrown off by that truck scene because it was so morbid and deadpan, and I guess fate is on our side (for once). I was half expecting fate get angry with the time meddling and take the girl’s life in some other creative way. But when you come up with the concept of virgin superheroes, I guess almost anything is possible in this universe.

I did note some conceptual flaws about virgin superheroes, as I’m pretty sure men are the only ones who gain these superpowers. Because it’s a greater feat for men to still have their virginity until the age of 25? That’s a weird expectation and assumption for both men and women. Apart from that flaw, I do think this novel concept is fascinating and humorous in non-discriminative ways, since this story really isn’t about who gets the superpowers, but rather how those superpowers may give someone purpose. That being said, Byung-jae has got to figure out how to activate his powers without stripping every single time. It’s hilarious, but it’s inefficient. What is he going to do when he needs to go back in time immediately? What if he suddenly stops being embarrassed of flashing everybody because he’s done it so many times? These are the real questions that he needs to face leading his new life as a superhero.

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