If you are my parents, my friends or just know me personally, you know I deeply dislike the portrayal of Superman and Lois Lane in the 2013 Zack Snyder-directed film “Man of Steel.” Superman in the film falls flat, and Lois Lane has no personality in “Man of Steel,” she’s just there. Honestly, I didn’t enjoy any of Snyder’s directing for the DC Universe movies, but that’s an article for another day.
So when it was announced in 2019 that The CW would be making its own Superman show, I was hesitant. I held this same sentiment when I reviewed “The Batman” in March of 2022. I wrote about how I haven’t been impressed with the most recent interpretations of the character, but this newest Batman movie has become one of my favorites. So with that same “give it a chance” attitude in mind, I tuned into “Superman & Lois.”
The show follows the married Clark Kent and Lois Lane with their twin teenage sons, Jordan and Jonathan Kent moving from Metropolis to Clark’s hometown of Smallville, Kansas, after the death of his mother, Martha Kent. “Superman & Lois” already has two seasons under its belt, with a third on the way.
“Superman & Lois” is not an origin story, which is so refreshing. The origin of Superman is so ingrained into our popular culture that even if you haven’t read a Superman comic or watched the many movies about him, you still know his backstory. I like how the show’s developers took this approach, especially since “Smallville” already explored the origin of Superman for 10 seasons. In “Superman & Lois,” Clark has already been the Man of Steel for about 20 years. This show is about the next stage in his life and being a dad.
I was already familiar with Tyler Hoechlin’s portrayal of Superman on “Supergirl” and the many Arrowverse crossovers he has been in. And Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane from Arrowverse crossovers as well. Hoechlin plays Clark Kent/Superman with this gentleness and selflessness, something I felt was lacking in Henry Cavill’s performance in “Man of Steel.” Lois Lane has always been one of my favorite fictional characters because of her dedication to finding the truth as a journalist and her independence. Tulloch lets those qualities of Lois shine in the show. She portrays Lois as the seasoned reporter that she is, which makes me so excited.
“Superman & Lois” takes out mostly everything we have come to associate with Superman: the “Daily Planet,” Metropolis, Perry White, Lex Luthor and many more. But that’s okay; this adaptation has kept my attention because it is trying to do something different that still fits into the Superman mythos.
The episode that made me a fan of the show was in season one’s, “A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events.” The episode takes us through Clark and Lois’s relationship from their first meeting to the birth of their sons. The show is titled “Superman & Lois” so I will judge it on how their relationship is portrayed. “A Brief Reminiscence…” perfectly encapsulates why Clark Kent and Lois Lane, even after over 80 years, are still one of comics’ most iconic couples. The episode celebrates their relationship and shows how intertwined these two characters are.
In many articles about DC Comics, I write about how I’m getting tired of the dark tone they’ve been going for in recent years. It is okay for comics and shows about them to be lighthearted. That’s why “Superman & Lois” is such a breath of fresh air for me; it has found the balance between being serious and keeping true to Superman’s optimism.