Superman and Lois, first ep. thoughts
***spoilers***
After years of Marvel dominated superhero movies on the big screen, less successful DC attempts and some long running TV shows for both franchises, superhero fatigue could be starting to set in for most fans. The Arrowverse, launching with the surprise and mostly unheralded namesake hit Arrow has since spawned half a dozen spinoffs, culminating in the epic Crisis on Infinite Worlds crossover.
Superman and Lois launched out of the fallout from that, thanks to some timey-wimey space magic and it actually reminds me quite a lot of the very first season of Arrow. It’s not as dark but it is grounded, helped in part by the anamorphic widescreen format, normally reserved for cinema. It helps it to stand out from the crowded field. There’s a certain trend superhero, supernatural and fantasy series tend to follow as they age, they become more bombastic and ridiculous. Sometimes the shows lean into this, Legends of the Tomorrow does so spectacularly and Legacies, the generational spinoff child of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals has also gone this way. It works for both but in other cases it can stray too close to the original comic material. Think the campy Adam West era of Batman rather than the Dark Knight versions.
S&L starts heavy, doubling down on the number of kids from one son to two, giving us an instant sibling and family dynamic, adding mental health dramas, in this case social anxiety and a death in the family. I said spoilers, right?
The social anxiety feels quite relevant given present awareness of mental health issues and the relatability of the current Covid-climate. There’s a sweet moment between twin #2 Jordan Kent and Sarah Cushing, loinfruit of Clark Kent’s high-school sweetheart Superman alumni Lana Lang, when they both confess and bond over their shared ailments and medication. Then Jordan gets punched out by the boyfriend she forgot to mention. We all know where this is going, but it does give twin #1 Jonathan the chance to step in and protect his more fragile brother. The twins have a good dynamic in this first episode, definitely some sibling rivalry but also protective of each other. The writers could have gone a few different ways with the boys but chose to have one be the all American jock (but somehow not a total jerk) and the other the messed up social outcast, but it’s the latter who’s getting to be Superman junior.
Oh, also there’s a Lex Luthor inspired villain from an alternate universe, some corporate bad guy for Lois to take down and a reverse mortgage to figure out. All predictable plot threads but it’s the growing up as Superman’s kids angle, something that hasn’t been done before. The pre-crisis Arrowverse has a lot of world building and mythology work with, so I’d expect no end of guest stars, surely a super-cousin at some point, even if they have to resort to flashbacks or other shenanigans after Supergirl ends its six season runs later this year and she hangs up the cape. If nothing else David Ramsey is expected, reprising his long running role of John Diggle. But really it’s all about the impossible task of growing up in this messed up world and the modern problems kids have to deal with. Think puberty was bad? How’s uncontrollable heat vision. That’ll burn you.