Season 1 ep 1- 10
Creators: Todd Hellbing, Greg Berlanti
Starring: Tyler Hoechlin, Elisabeth Tulloch, Alex Garfin, Jordan Elsass
In a reverse of the Maid of Might’s origins (yeah, let’s never use that honorific ever again) , the latest Superman series has sprung forth from his cousin’s Arrowverse exploits. A guest star in CW Supergirl, Tyler Hoechlin’s version of the Last Son of Krypton gets to take flight in his own series. Yet, where would the Man of Steel be without his Super family? Not Kara Danvers, but rather Lois and a few other unexpected members.
After the death of Martha Kent, Lois (Elisabeth Tulloch) and Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) look to relocate from Metropolis to Smallville, in an attempt to simplify their lives. Partly due to issues at The Daily Planet caused by its recent acquisition by industrialist Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner), but also to give a better environment to raise their twin teenage boys. Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) has excelled both athletically and socially, but Jordan (Alex Garfin) has been dealing with severe social anxiety, and the Kent’s hope that the new location will allow both boys to flourish. However, all is not safe as a new foe emerges for Superman, a Stranger, who is both familiar with his Kryptonian heritage and his weaknesses. This might be the least of the Kent’s problems though, when one of their sons starts to develop super powers.
Great Caesar’s ghost, this does a lot with the Superman mythos!
Primarily Superman and Lois makes him a “man” again, rather than the Nietzschean ubermensch that he so often is. That’s not to say he’s depowered, no, that’s the lazy approach. Kal El is still able to cart a frozen lake and dump it into an overheating nuclear reactor without breaking a sweat. Instead, in being given a family and two teenage sons (part of the changes resulting from Crisis on Infinite Earths), he’s suddenly got other responsibilities. Clark Kent is no longer his human cosplay but rather an important aspect of his life, and one that he’s failing at. Put simply, Kal-El is struggling with work/life balance and it makes him a more relatable character, as we’ve all done this. Sure, our job might not have us suddenly flying to China to hold up a collapsing bridge, but the sentiment is certainly there.
Better still, it’s an ensemble show and one that feels like it deserves the title. Each set of characters is given their own plot points for the season that’s separate and beyond merely the family dynamics. This means each character has something to do and are not just relegated to a supporting role. As the season progresses these plots often dovetail into each other, making for an interconnected tale. So, Lois isn’t just a damsel to be rescued, she maintains her fierce instinct for a story, but she’s also the parent that often has to do the heavy lifting in terms of maintaining family cohesion.
Superman and Lois is also using established lore rather intelligently. Instead of retelling tales from the comics, it alters them, keeping the feel of the characters it is using but changing the circumstances. It stays its own unique thing but keeps one foot firmly planted in the source material. Hence it feels respectful to every era of Superman from the Golden Age to the Modern era. It also manages a similar trick with the Man of Steel’s relationship with America, drawing on the nostalgia of small town America in Smallville, while at the same time looking at the economic desperation infecting rural areas.
Long story short, yeah, you should be watching this. If you have a passing interest in DC comics, it’s hard to pass up on one of the best media iterations of the characters since Bruce Timm’s and Paul Dini’s 1996 take. I mean obviously, given his passing, rewatch Richard Donner’s 1978 invention of the modern superhero movie first, but then get onto this, as too many of us have been sleeping on a great show.
