DC Studios is going all-in with its first female Green Lantern by setting up her spinoff show in a Superman-centric series. My Adventures with Superman brings back core characters in Season 3, including Kara Zor-El, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen, and introduces new characters like Superboy and Jessica Cruz as the new season explores the Reign of Supermen storyline. This expansion fits the show's high-stakes tone while also broadening its cosmic elements by introducing a future Green Lantern in its compelling plot.
Entertainment Weekly (EW) released the first look at Jessica Cruz in DC Studios' My Adventures with Superman Season 3, Episode 2, showcasing the character's appearance as a non-powered human before her transformation into Green Lantern. The outlet also reported that Moana star Auli'i Cravalho will voice the DC character in the series.
Jessica Cruz's appearance in My Adventures with Superman Season 3 serves as a deliberate setup for her starring role in the upcoming spin-off series, My Adventures with Green Lantern, produced under the DC Studios banner alongside Warner Bros. Animation.
My Adventures with Superman's crossover introduction of Jessica Cruz in Episode 2 provides fans with an early glimpse of the future DC hero as a shy, anxious high school freshman who idolizes Supergirl in this universe.
In the same report from Entertainment Weekly, My Adventures with Superman showrunner Jake Wyatt explained why Season 3 included Jessica Cruz, noting that she is present in the series to "give us the girl-on-the-street view of Supergirl" and how she sees Kara as a powerful hero changing the world:
"We’d already planned for the second episode to showcase how Supergirl [Kiana Madeira], in particular, was changing their world. We wanted to look at how different people had very different reactions to the same Kryptonian. So when word came down from the brass that Green Lantern was greenlit, we wanted our pre-Lantern Jessica Cruz to give us the girl-on-the-street view of Supergirl. How would a shy, relatively powerless teenager see this powerful, young super-woman out there changing the world? And what would it be like for Supergirl to see herself through Jess’s eyes?"
According to Wyatt, casting Cravalho as Jessica Cruz was a no-brainer, admitting that "there was this complexity of emotion to her read" that made her the perfect candidate for the role:
"Casting brought us a lot of fantastic reads for Jessica. But when I heard Auli’i, there was this complexity of emotion to her read — a natural, almost oblivious charm that she brought to Jess — and I knew she was the one. But I hadn’t even looked at the name, I just ran out of my office like, 'Have ya’ll heard this take??' Then Stephanie [Gonzaga] and Karen [Graci] told me that it was Auli’i, that she was already a princess, how she’d done brilliant work with Karen on a previous show, and that was that."
In DC Comics, Jessica Cruz made her debut in Green Lantern #20 in 2013, before receiving a proper introduction in Justice League #30-31 in 2014. Created by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, she quickly became one of Earth's primary Green Lanterns, and her story chronicled how she transformed overwhelming fear and trauma into hope, resilience, and unbreakable willpower.
In DC's animated space, Jessica Cruz made a prominent appearance in 2019's Justice League vs. The Fatal Five, where she was voiced by Doom Patrol star Diane Guerrero. This film, which served as the spiritual successor to Justice League: Unlimited, featured Jessica Cruz being hunted by the Fatal Five, who deemed her a major "key" to their plans. Cruz teamed up with the Justice League as they band together to protect her from the titular villains.
Cruz would then become a confident Green Lantern in the film, taking down the Fatal Five with her raw willpower as she overcomes her initial trauma.
Jessica also appeared on both versions of DC Super Hero Girls as a prominent DC heroine, showcasing how a shy camerwoman evolved into Earth's primary Green Lantern and became a symbol of hope and growth to young girls looking up to her.
In the same report, EW also shared the official plot description for My Adventures with Green Lantern, confirming that it will focus on Jessica Cruz overcoming her fears while blending with "typical teenage drama:"
"My Adventures with Green Lantern will see what happens when a Power Ring falls from the sky and chooses the shy and kind-hearted high school student Jessica Cruz to be its new champion. Things get even worse when more debris from the Lanterns’ ancient space war arrives — along with their alien foes. To protect the Earth, Jess will have to overcome her fears, anxieties, and your typical teenage drama to lead a new Lantern Corps. against a terrifying foe."
Cruz's debut in My Adventures with Superman Season 3 will premiere on Adult Swim on Saturday, June 20, at midnight PT.
Why Jessica Cruz's Debut In My Adventures With Superman Season 3 Is Perfect
James Gunn's DC slate will expand with the Jessica Cruz-led My Adventures with Green Lantern, and this could lay the groundwork for the character's potential debut in the DCU alongside other Green Lantern heroes like Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
Jessica Cruz's debut in My Adventures with Superman Season 3 is considered perfect because it expands the universe without overshadowing the other heroes and the show's Reign of the Supermen arc.
While Jessica is reimagined as a shy, chronically anxious high school freshman, some noted that this differs from the character's darker origin story in the comics, completely abandoning Jessica Cruz's R-rated roots. In a nutshell, Cruz's origin story was rooted in her survivor's guilt after her friends were gunned down by mobsters.
This shift offers fresh storytelling and should not be seen as concerning, as it fits the My Adventures universe of youthful, coming-of-age heroics complemented by big action and compelling stories. Jessica's debut also effectively bridges Superman's world to Green Lantern's cosmic stakes, setting the stage for future crossovers.
