Would you look at that suit.
It is different from the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover where I last saw lead stars Tyler Hoechlin (Superman) and Elizabeth Tulloch (Lois) as guests. Without that odd looking lock between shoulder and cape its design is closer to Man of Steel, giving the impression that it wants more distance from the Arrowverse.
And if you count the cinematography, the music, the special effects, the drama, the social issues and themes introduced: Superman and Lois can compete with Man of Steel. But for me it is the better Superman. A surprising conclusion considering I gave up on Arrowverse.
One hopes the series will not run out of steam, after all, this is just the pilot. These are the 3 noteworthy points of interest in the new series Superman and Lois.
1. No more Secrets in Marriage
Superman/Clark Kent and Lois are married and raising two teenage sons; big difference for the series.
No more of that cat and mouse game between secret identity and being honest with the love of his life. This time it’ll be the full family dynamics and pressure which was regrettably unexplored since Superman Returns. I can’t remember watching Lois and Clark but cursory Google search says they were married at some point during its series run.
A lone gun bachelor Superman, despite some troubles with the day job, is far different than having a family to feed and sons to put to college. Imagine Clark balancing a family’s finances. How would he pick between saving people and a son’s therapy session?
What’s interesting is that Gen. Sam Lane, the father-in-law, is fully aware that Clark is Superman. The trouble is that the General is quite happy he has a hotline to the most powerful hero on Earth and Lois simply wants a husband and a father to the boys.
In a sense, this story will be a marriage story as old as time: the husband being pulled by wife and father-in-law in opposite directions.
2. My Family is My Weakness
Clark, in this episode, looked like he would rather carry a mountain of kryptonite than confront family issues. As Superman he can punch Zod in the face but obviously he shouldn’t with his child, so in that sense his methodologies should be different. And it’s good.
More than kryptonite ever did, it is his vulnerability to family that makes this Superman more endearing.
There was a scene where his son Jordan (Alex Garfin) was “killing” Superman in a computer game. Clark looked more uneasy than amused, maybe even a little hurt. Would he have had this awkwardness if his sons knew who he was? Not even a ‘do you hate Superman’ came out of Clark.
The most beautiful shot of the episode is Clark unable to charge into the room of his dying (I think already dead) mother.
Consider that the start of the episode, Superman broke the sound barrier to land into the core of a nuclear plant without hesitation. He flew with as much speed and haste when he heard of his mother, Martha, having a stroke, only to pause before charging into her room.
It could mean either of two things. He doesn’t know how to watch his mother die. Can you imagine all that power and you could only watch?
What’s more likely is that Martha already died, maybe Clark only realized upon entering the house, hearing no heartbeat. He entered the room with obvious uneasiness, struggled to look straight at his mother, his hand always twitching. Clark held her hand tightly and without a word wept, because it was too late.
His powers, no matter how godly, did not bring him in time to where he needed to be. You can say Lois is the love of his life, but there's no one more in a person's corner than a mother. Clark struck gold after thousands of light years in Martha Kent and he late to say goodbye. I doubt Clark was feeling super.
3. No Longer the Outsider who Helps
Superman and Lois will be the Kent family of the new generation living in Smallville. It was mutually decided to leave the hustle and bustle of big city Metropolis to properly raise 2 sons, as much as it is continuing the Kent legacy which starts with the farm.
Smallville now is a broken town cut to pieces by the banks with signs of foreclosures everywhere. To Clark’s surprise and regret his mother was not exempted, the Kent farm was put up as collateral and curiously Lana Lang (now married) works for the bank that gave the loan.
So will Lana still be a friend? But more than that, there’s the promise of real life socio-political issues in a town robbed of livelihood, hope, till finally the love of its residents.
The important difference here is that Clark is set to become a full time farmer. He no longer has a job at the Daily Planet, which has been purchased by an unfeeling corporation. The series seems to have a found a theme to stick to.
Clark is no longer that observer or that reporter who looks for the story and helps when necessary. He is, maybe for the first time, deep in the mud; he needs to fight the system at the same time make a living. Somewhere down the line build a community, because Martha Kent did.
oh yeah, The Villain
The priority of the pilot episode is that Clark Kent is a son you will empathize with and a father you hope will succeed. Believing in Superman as a person, and this pilot episode delivered, is the heart of the series.
Of course powers and a super villain make it a superhero story. For the pilot, the villain had armor covering his entire body as he fights Superman. He was the episode's big mystery. His name would be the cliffhanger because it was familiar but not his face.
Which begs the question again, is this series making a life for itself out of the Arrowverse?
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