In early 2025, three new animated series based on popular DC superheroes were announced, one of which is an HBO Max spin-off series of My Adventures with Superman called My Adventures with Green Lantern. The series will follow Jessica Cruz as the titular Lantern, who typically struggles with traumatic anxiety in DC Comics. However, fans of the character became immediately concerned when an early series synopsis described her as a high school student when Cruz is meant to be a young adult.
One primary concern with an aged-down Jessica Cruz was the fear that it would soften her traumatic backstory and struggles with debilitating anxiety or remove them entirely. Now, a new casting call for the female lead, courtesy of Knight Edge Media, confirmed fans' worst fears as HBO Max's My Adventures with Green Lantern removed the traumatic origin of Cruz's anxiety.
Not only will Cruz no longer be a young adult in this series, but she's intended to be between 14 and 15 years old as a freshman in high school, who had "a normal childhood" alongside "her best friends Kyle and Nikki." What causes Cruz's life-changing anxiety is that "everyone around her hit puberty and got mean:"
"[ JESSICA CRUZ ] – 18 and older to play 14-15, Latina. PLEASE NOTE: This role will sing in the series, looking for talent who can sing. Jessica had a normal childhood: she played softball, hung out with her best friends Kyle and Nikki, and stayed out of trouble. But Jess’ life collapsed when everyone around her hit puberty and got mean. Betrayed by friends and bullied out of softball, Jess withdrew. Better to be small and safe than to be yourself and get hurt. We meet Jess at the top of high school: a chronically anxious freshman who starts the year hoping to keep her head down and get by… but who ends up being chosen by a magic ring to be the cosmic champion of all life–the Green Lantern. Despite her fear, anxiety, and her low opinion of herself, Jess will find that she does have the tenacity and courage to meet this challenge, to become the world’s greatest hero. KEYWORDS: Lovable, relatable, plucky, overthinker, ball of anxiety. SERIES REGULAR. VOICE OVER"
It's concerning that Cruz's anxiety has been reduced to teenage angst and a "low opinion of herself." Additionally, this new backstory removes her intense survivor's guilt, a core part of the character.
The Original, Darker Origin of Jessica Cruz's Anxiety
In DC Comics, Jessica Cruz's anxiety stemmed from a hunting trip with her friends that went wrong when they stumbled upon mobsters burying a body. While Jessica's friends were gunned down, she managed to survive and escape. However, alongside her survivor's guilt and the criminals never being caught, Cruz quickly spiraled into debilitating anxiety and agoraphobia, locking herself away from the outside world for years.
Being an animated series aimed primarily at children, no one expected My Adventures with Green Lanterns to show Cruz's friends being executed in a forest. But considering this is from the same producers of My Adventures with Superman, which managed to include a Dragon Ball Z-inspired Kara Zor-El being indirectly responsible for several genocides, some fans expected more from this series and for the preservation of Cruz's backstory and struggle.
The traumatic event could have been entirely off-screen, which is the case for the comics. Yet, if the series was intent on changing it in response to a younger audience, it could have had Cruz be the sole survivor of a terrible accident instead, which would have kept her survivor's guilt and fear of the outside world.
As it stands, fans will have to wait and see just how much the edges of Jessica Cruz's struggle with her anxiety will be sanded off, while fans of My Adventures with Superman have another season on HBO Max to look forward to.
