Thoughts on Superman and Lois · 5:23pm Feb 24th, 2021
Last night I sat down to watch the premiere of the CW’s “Superman and Lois” show. I was cautiously optimistic about it – I had really enjoyed Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman in his previous turns in the Arrowverse, and Elizabeth Tulloch’s Lois Lane had proven nice in what little time she’d gotten in the “Elseworlds” and “Crisis on Infinite Earths” events too. I was hopeful that this could work as a show.
So, to avoid going into too much detail summarizing things, the premise is that Superman and Lois Lane are married – they have two teenage sons. Clark loves his kids but Superman duty has meant that he’s not always been available as a father. Especially at the current moment, with a mysterious new villain striking at nuclear power plants around the globe. When a family tragedy leads the family to return to Clark’s hometown of Smallville, secrets ultimately are revealed, and Clark and Lois make some important decisions with regard to the future of their family…
All in all, I reasonably enjoyed the pilot. I’ll share more specific observations down below.
(Beware certain spoilers!)
-) I really enjoyed the opening with Clark recounting the formative years of his life. Besides breezing through some of the traditional high notes of the Superman story, this sequence also introduced some nice visual touches or updates of familiar moments: a particularly nice bit being that Superman’s first costume is based on his Fleischer-era outfit. Clark’s meeting Lois was charming too.
-) It surprised me that General Sam Lane is in this show, as someone who both knows Superman’s secret and also *isn’t* an enemy of the Man of Steel. (Especially compared to his portrayal in season one of Supergirl.) Granted, he’s not a clear good guy here – definitely not on good terms with his daughter for sure – but still, this is a surprising turn of events for sure. Time will only tell how this plays out.
-) The Kent sons, Jonathon and Jordan, are both very familiar archetypes to me, and also different than what I’d expected too. Jonathon’s the football jock and Jordan’s the socially-awkward nerd. But there are some wrinkles here. I like that neither kid is exactly “the good son” of the family; Jonathon is outgoing but also arrogant, and Jordan is prickly and the one who *really* lashes out at his parents when he learns the truth of his father’s double life. Yet at the same time, much as the two boys pick at each other, I like that Jonathon immediately barrels to his brother’s defense when Jordan gets beaten up at a party. (I’m also interested that Jordan is the one who seems to be inheriting his father’s powers.) There is something that does feel kind of true-to-life about their relationship, Lord knows my mother’s siblings would make her life hell as kids yet also rush to her aid if she really were hurt or in danger.
-) This is just a joke in the episode that I found very funny – I *LOVE* that Jordan is introduced playing Injustice 2 in his bedroom. Playing as Raiden versus Superman no less. Whoever thought to use that game for the scene was a genius.
-) It surprised me that the family returning to Smallville is because of Martha Kent passing away. It also hit me harder than I expected honestly, as it did remind me a bit of my great-aunt passing away last fall and the struggle over what to do with the house and all that… Tyler Hoechlin’s acting when he rushes to Smallville when he’s heard the news is very well-done.
-) It seems one of our major villains this year will be Morgan Edge. Both not very surprising to me, and also a surprise all the same – they did him as an antagonist in season three of Supergirl (a role that was tolerable mainly because of Adrian Pasdar’s acting and not his writing, I’ll say that) already. Will this be an all-new version of the character then? His role in the show is that his business is muscling in on the Kents’ lives: first he buys the Daily Planet (which gets Clark let go due to Edge wishing to “overhaul” the paper’s focus), and now he’s investing in renovating the coal mines in Smallville. What’s his endgame here, I wonder? Looking to dig up Kryptonite or what?
-) Speaking of Smallville, I think it’s very smart of the show to focus itself on the small town setting, especially that it foregrounds the issue of small towns dying out in the modern era. The fact that Lana Lang is working for a bank that (unknown to her) has been bought out by Morgan Edge is a nice touch.
-) And as for our mystery villain, dubbed “The Stranger”… I was really surprised by him. At first when he and Superman battled around the earth, I was wondering if this was, like, going to turn out to be some evil future version of one of the Kent sons, but no, apparently he’s not. At least if we go by the last words of the episode, when the Stranger returns to his spaceship lair and his computer addresses him by title. “Captain Luthor”? The plot thickens.
-) Now admittedly, this is a CW production, so there are some of the usual expectations that should be carried to this. There’s a hefty dose of teenage angst in this story, along with the expected dose of melodrama, and some problems with crowbarring exposition or viewpoints into bits of dialogue. (Lois’ fuming about Morgan Edge turning the Daily Planet into a clickbait “news” organization for profit, is semi-justifiable. Her argument with Lana’s husband about Edge is far, far clunkier.) But at the same time, I can let some of this slide. I’m used to the Arrowverse’s soapier antics, and really, compared to some episodes of Supergirl or The Flash, this is still pretty decent writing.
-) It really helps that the two leads are so charismatic. Tyler Hoechlin continues to bring the charm and persona of Superman to the table; while he’s more flawed this time around in struggling with his secret-keeping in regard to his sons, he still *feels* like Superman to me. He never stops trying, or caring, and that’s the most important thing. His reconciliation with Jordan at the conclusion was sweet. And Elizabeth Tulloch is a good Lois. She may have to be more of the emotional support role in this episode, but she’s still the ace reporter we all know and love – she’s the one who finds that Morgan Edge has put a stake in Smallville for one. I also like that she’s the one who’s willing to tell Clark that he’s been remiss in his work as a father, even as she also has concerns about relocating the family to Smallville. It felt like a good spousal moment when she tells Clark that they *have* to be on the same page going forward. Really hoping that she’ll get some good material to work with for this show.
All in all, while I wouldn’t consider this the best of the Arrowverse (that still goes to Legends of Tomorrow or Black Lightning in my book) this is still a pretty decent start for the show. Hoping that the rest of the season can go well.
Just finished watching it myself. Very promising, and I eagerly await to see where it goes from here.
Also the Injustice joke got a big chuckle out of me. In-universe I imagine that it'd be on the same level of alternate history as something like The Man in the High Tower. Heck, it even involves other universes or whatever. :D
5460689
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it!
Also glad that you liked the Injustice joke there. I thought it was inspired, plus it does make for a fun imagining of what it'd be like in-universe for, well, the setting of the Arrowverse. Regardless, fun to contemplate!
5460699
Oh yeah, that was hilarious. I imagine having a favorite superhero in any sort of universe like that would be the equivalent of having a favorite sports team.
On a more spoiler-y note, in hindsight I should've guessed that The Stranger had something to do with Lex Luthor. Greenish power suit and all that.
And I loved seeing the Fleischer suit in live-action. As someone who grew up watching DVD copies of those cartoons, boy was that a treat for the eyes.
5460709
Indeed, and that's a good comparison to make.
Yeah... In hindsight we really shoulda guessed. Oh well! XD
Also, there was another very cool shout-out wrapped up in that moment too. "Cool costume!" / "Thanks! My mom made it for me." Is right out of the comic book "Superman For All Seasons," which is a really nice read. Kinda was one of my gateway comics to Superman as a matter of fact.
5460712
Yup. Caught the reference too. :)
5460716
Good to hear it.
I personally thought that Lois had a right to be very untrusting of Morgan Edge during her argument with Kyle... but then again that comes from the fact we know he's a lying scumbag. She also is clearly more used to people being aware he's a bastard with an underhanded motive rather then people who WANT to believe he's a good guy because they need their jobs.
5460849
Understood, and agreed.