Superman & Lois
[I should begin this with a little editor's note. If you follow my blog at all, God bless you, you probably were expecting the final part of my "foX-Men" series. Well, they took "The New Mutants" off of HBO Max and I refuse to spend money on it. So, we will finish that off once it's available to stream again.]
When it comes to a shared movie universe, I think we can all agree that the DC Murderverse has been an abject failure. If you need more proof of that, just take a look at DC's film presentation at last weekend's San Diego Comic Con where they basically ignored their two tentpole films scheduled to come out next year: "The Flash" and "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom." They have succeeded when it comes to a shared television universe. The "Arrowverse" began when "Arrow" premiered in the fall of 2012 and is still going. It may be winding down if the cancellations of "Batwoman" and "DC's Legend's of Tomorrow," but "Superman & Lois" was a ratings success when it premiered on February 23, 2021 and that success continues as it was renewed for season 3. You may recognize Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch from their appearances on "Supergirl," but while they may be played the same actors, this Lois and Clark are not the same Lois & Clark that appeared in the "Arrowverse" previously. I know that sounds really confusing but all you need to know is that you can go into this series blind and no have to worry that you're missing anything. Let's dive right into the oversized pilot.
"Pilot"
Lois Lane: "You may have super strength and super hearing but I have super smell and those loans don't smell right."
Clark Kent: "I do have super smell, by the way. I just don't use it very often, you know. Not with two teenage boys in the house. Kinda gross."
Clark Kent is stretched thin. He's working at the Daily Planet until he's laid off. A side effect of the Planet being bought out by seemingly evil industrialist, Morgan Edge. He's working to save everyone as Superman, including figuring out who is using attempted nuclear reactor meltdowns to call him out. He's also raising twin 14-year-old boys with wife and super reporter, Lois Lane. Jonathan is a chip off the old super block, while Jordan suffers from severe anxiety and is extremely withdrawn, particularly from his father. Things come to a head when Martha Kent suffers a stroke and dies unexpectedly. When the Kents head to Smallville, they learn that Morgan Edge is trying to get his hooks into Clark's hometown. That, along with one of the boys exhibiting some Superman-like powers, convinces the Kents that maybe it's time to return to Smallville and slow things down a bit.
 |
| This doesn't feel safe. |
I can say this right off the bat. The CW/DC shows know how to craft a really compelling pilot and "Superman & Lois" is no different. From the start, it really draws you in. I'm not a huge fan of origin stories, particularly for well known characters. Even non-comics fans know the story of Superman. Jettisoned from his dying planet, Krypton, young Kal-El crash lands in a Kansas cornfield where he is found by kindly couple, Jonathan and Martha Kent. They name the boy Clark and raise him as their own. As he grows, he learns he has superpowers like flight, super strength, heat vision, x-ray vision and freeze breath. He saves the world a bunch. Meets and marries famous Daily Planet reporter, Lois Lane. We all know this. The show knows this, so it doesn't waste a lot of time of this oversized pilot giving us this information because writers Todd Helbing and Greg Berlanti know we don't need it. Instead, we get a really beautifully filmed prologue that gives us the beats we need, narrated by Clark, with some fun little scenes. I particularly enjoyed the scene of Superman showing up on the scene in Metropolis for the first time in a live action version of the Max Fleischer animated super suit.
Things diverge towards the end of the prologue as we learn that Lois and Clark are parents to twin teenage boys who couldn't be more different. Jonathan is an All-American boy, much like his father. He's getting ready to start as quarterback on the varsity football team as a freshman. But Jordan has severe anxiety that has caused him to lash out at his parents and its clear that Clark isn't sure what to do with Jordan.
There's a lot of interesting aspects to this pilot and to this newest live action iteration of the Man of Steel. In the comics, Clark and Lois have a son named Jonathan who has taken up the mantle of Superman while his dad is off world. This is the first time that we've seen this father dynamic in live action though, so it will be interesting to see how things develop. It wasn't a huge surprise that it was Jordan who developed powers. What makes things more interesting from a storytelling perspective? A well adjusted jock or a tormented anxiety ridden teen? Come on.
 |
| A mother's love. |
The pilot sets up a few threads that will be interesting to follow throughout the season. I like how it feels like Lois and Clark will both have their individual plots that will most likely converge as the season continues. Superman and Lois' dad, General Sam Lane, are weirdly working together to figure out who is trying to get these nuclear reactors to meltdown and calling him out. Superman confronts a man wearing a futuristic suit who claims to also be the last son of a dead planet. He stabs Superman with a Kryptonite knife and takes off. Back at his base, he's referred to as Captain Luthor. Interesting. And like, we all think that General Lane has something to do with this, right? He hates Superman. And every time he showed up he as looking extra shifty.
Lois is gunning for Morgan Edge. The couple find out that Edge is buying up farmland in Kansas and is attempting to re-open the mines for alternate fuel sources. The Morgan Edge plot line brings in some real world issues into Smallville. At Martha's funeral, Lois has a bit of a row with Lana Lang's husband, the Smallville fire chief, Kyle Cushing. While Lois is sharing her Edge concerns, which I'm sure are valid, Kyle rebuttals with a lot of the same logic small-town Trump supporters use, hitting her hard with her supposed political bias, not something a reporter wants to hear.
I feel kind of bad for the other CW shows because it's pretty clear that the effects budget is all going to "Superman & Lois." Every scene with Superman feels epic whether he's flash freezing a chunk of a lake to use it to cool down a reactor or slow-mo crashing through a wall, everything feels appropriately massive and cinematic. Even smaller moments like when Clark finally reveals his true identity to the boys is awe inspiring. He goes from lifting the back of the pick-up to holding it over his head to hovering in the air holding it over his head. It may not get the reaction from his sons that he was looking for but it's still pretty damn cool.
I do have a few concerns after watching this first episode. Much like the DC Murderverse, "Superman & Lois" could get a little too dark if the writers aren't careful. Smallville is a cesspool. It's definitely not the place that Clark grew up. I doubt houses with meth labs exploding while the kids that lived there were inside were par for the course back then. I appreciate the show trying to make Smallville more representative of a lot of small town America that is facing the same problem as long as Lois and Clark living there brings about positive change. If not, it's just going to be depressing for depressing's sake and that isn't the Superman brand. Also, is Clark maybe reading too much into his mother saying "come home" as she was dying? Maybe she just wanted him to come home because she was, you know, dying? I will be interested to see how the show shifts between the Superman action and the teen angst. It was a little clunky here, but it can definitely be better and it wasn't enough to detract from the overall quality of the episode.
Grade: B+
Next up, Lois starts to get on Morgan Edge's bad side and Clark teaches the boys about Krypton.
What did you all think of this episode or the series as a whole if you've watched more or all of it? Let me know in the comments but keep it spoiler-free.
No comments:
Post a Comment