Superman and LoisThe second hour shed some light on Clark’s new enemy, while revealing potential darkness in a character we’ve known for a long time.
Newcomer to last week’s “Captain Luthor” dropper, we learned that the opponent in Superman’s war suit blames him for destroying his home planet. And during a follow-up conversation with his ship (from Karen to his Plankton), he recited his mission in no uncertain terms: “We need to stop Kal-El before he does to this world what he did to mine.”
And Superman is not the only character with whom this masked threat shares a story. “You have to stop protecting him,” Captain Luthor told General Lane. “Where I come from, you are like me. You don’t trust him either, because you know what he’s capable of. “
Captain Luthor’s ship tries to talk to him a little, explaining: “The Kal-El on this planet is not quite like the one you found”, but he is quick to say, “No yet. ”The episode ends with a flashback to his Earth, where he and General Lane are seen fighting alongside a group of soldiers against a dark suit Superman, who doesn’t think twice before using his laser vision to burn his opponents humans.
So how does this evil version of Superman differ, say, from the one we found at the crossover event “Elseworlds” in 2018? According to Tyler Hoechlin, it will mirror the (somewhat) subtle changes that his own Clark underwent when Superman and Lois it became its own series.
“This is still going on, so we’ll see exactly how it goes,” jokes Hoechlin. “But in the same way that you can say from those first episodes that [Superman & Lois is] not those others [Arrowverse] shows, it is fair to say that this will also unfold differently. He’s a familiar character, but he’s a new character at the same time. Just as fans like to watch when the script is released, I will enjoy watching it unfold when the scripts are released.
But while he cannot offer any details about his Superman’s evil doppelganger, Hoechlin says he is fascinated to discover what could have caused such a significant change in a good-natured superhero.
“It is always interesting when you have a character like that who is so firm in his commitment to doing good and doing the right thing,” says Hoechlin. “What is your breaking point? What is this tipping point? What is the one specific thing that finally makes someone say, ‘No, I’m not doing this anymore’? Every bad guy is the good guy in his own story. For me, curiosity is always ‘What has changed?’ I am very curious to see where this story goes and how it evolves. “
Elsewhere when opening your eyes … Lois quit her job in The Daily Planet after he refused to publish his scathing article about Morgan Edge, then took up a position under the direction of editor-plumber Chrissy Beppo in The Smallville Gazette; Jordan learned (through a practical hologram from Jor-El in the Fortress of Solitude) that he may never be able to control his inherited Kryptonian skills; and Jonathan suffered the ire of his new football teammates, including Sarah’s still angry boyfriend.
Your thoughts on Superman and Lois‘second episode? (The show has just been renewed for the second season, so there will be a lot more where it came from.) Whatever is on your mind, drop it in a comment below.