CW’s “Arrowverse” incarnation of Superman (played by Tyler Hoechlin) has often gotten a fair amount of acclaim from his appearances in events like the network’s version of Crisis On Infinite Earths, and Superman & Lois is his official series entry into their comic-themed lineup. Analyzing debut episodes are fairly tricky, as they’re snapshots in time that might not necessarily reflect how a show might turn out (Bob’s Burgers notably had a poor pilot and now it’s developed into one of Fox’s funniest sitcoms). But this one’s length and budget make it feel almost like a small feature film in its own right, and it’s even shot like one to boot. This hints at some considerable ambition going forward from the creators, and the story so far has set them up for success.
A tidal wave of events send Clark, his wife and intrepid reporter Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tolluch) packing their bags from Metropolis and back to Clark’s home town of Smallville, which turns out to be a huge transition for their two teenage sons. An opening montage catches the audience up, where Supes rescuing people until late in the evening has already become the common household routine.
Jonathan, played by Jordan Elsass, is a popular football jock who’s excited to see Dad home, while Alexander Garfin’s Jordan is a moody kid who’s struggling with social anxiety. He beats up on Superman in the Injustice games with Raiden (It’s unclear as of writing if Jordan could beat SonicFox, but he appears to be pretty good), as the Man of Tomorrow is a bit too corny and goody-two-shoes for his tastes. Awkwardly wishing them goodnight, this makes his questioning as to reveal his identity to his kids more complicated.
Smaller character moments like these are often some of the most memorable parts of Superman’s better stories, and Lee Tolan Krieger’s direction allows for Hoechlin and the cast to endear themselves to the audience as they struggle with both parenthood and protecting the world. One of the showrunners mentioned in an interview how their goal was striking a balance between Superman being a “perfect” figure while Clark as a father would be clumsier.
Well, luckily Superman isn’t perfect, and what makes him super both in and out of uniform ties into a popular saying from Pixar writings, that the audience will admire a character more for putting in their strongest effort than their successes. Given that there’s a mysterious figure (Wole Parks) in a strange flying power-suit who seems to know a lot about Superman but also doesn’t seem to like him one bit, he’ll need his best efforts yet.
Still, it shouldn’t all just be CGI heavy battles. One other thing I’m hoping for in future episodes are opponents that push Superman to outthink them and use his wits. His reporter credentials basically allow him to do his own sleuthing work, in a way that’s kind of different from Batman’s detective skill. Unlike how Bruce Wayne will shift his thinking as Batman and generally experiment with new approaches to situations, Clark’s deliberate clumsiness tends to be the one key difference between him and how Superman looks at a problem.
It’s a bit like how Captain America will tackle something as “a kid from Brooklyn”, and Clark here is pretty much a kid from Kansas again. There’s something weird going on with the mortgage to Martha Kent’s farm, and not only does this force him back home, it’s also an interesting plot thread going forward. Who’s the mysterious “Morgan Edge” frequently mentioned, and what threat will he pose? Lana Lang (Emmanuelle Chriqui) seems happy to see the Kents back home, but why is Lana’s husband Kyle (Erik Valdez) giving Clark the business? A lot of fun possibilities in terms of character development on the table.
Garfin and Elsass’s performances are pretty solid as of now, which will be crucial down the road because as you might imagine, the boys’ potential powers will factor hugely into future plots. You can tell their world’s been up-ended but they still remain sympathetic in spite of their frustrations.
Finding the right line between that high school drama element (it is a CW series, after all) and them possibly becoming heroes themselves is going to be key for the writing staff. Every episode can’t be with them all like “but Daaaaaad”, and yet they also can’t go crazy with their powers all the time due to TV budgetary restrictions.
For a first impression, I’d chalk it up as a pretty good one so far. The Superman & Lois premiere generally puts the show in a strong position to be quite exciting, especially in how it’s allowing some needed breathing room for the title characters story-wise and its focus on the “between the lines” parts, so it gets a positive recommendation from yours truly. If you’ve had the chance to watch it, let us know your take on FAN’s social media!