Superman & Lois dropped a major bombshell this week with the reveal of a character’s identity.
OBLIGATORY SPOILER WARNING! Do not proceed if you do not want to know what happens in the episode before you see it!
MAJOR POINTS
- “Captain Luthor” is not a Luthor after all. He’s actually John Henry Irons aka Steel
- Jordan Kent now has gained the super-hearing power
- Morgan Edge is using the X-Kryptonite to create an army of Kryptonian-like superhumans
Superman takes Jordan to The Fortress Of Solitude to find out what’s wrong with him. It turns out Jordan is developing the super-hearing power Kryptonians get from yellow sun energy. It may take weeks before he can control it.
Lana agrees to report to Lois what she learns about Morgan Edge and his staff. She meets with Edge and is tasked with forming his management team. She suspects that Edge will use these people as his X-Kryptonite enhancement subjects.
Meanwhile, Lois demands that The Stranger tells her who he really is while Clark investigates his motorhome. Clark is surprised when The Stranger’s AI device calls him Luthor. Naturally, this makes Clark think he has a direct connection to Lex Luthor.
The Stranger forcibly stops a truck delivery of X-Kryptonite. He tells Lois that he will only reveal what he knows to Superman himself. Lois agrees to arrange the meeting in exchange for custody of the X-Kryptonite. In the meantime, she has Clark take the X-Kryptonite shipment to the Department Of Defense so they can find out
In a flashback sequence, The Stranger and his daughter see Lois brutally murdered on live TV by his world’s Superman. They build a suit of power armor presumably for his world’s Lex Luthor to take down Evil Supes. This montage is interwoven with a present-day montage of him making something in his hideout.
Chrissy does some research and learns that Lex Luthor has no relatives that match The Stranger’s description. The DOD informs Lois that the fingerprints match those of John Henry Irons, who died six years ago.
Supes meets with Irons, who traps him with his newly made red sun energy projector. He then begins knocking Supes around with a kinetic energy hammer. Fortunately, Jordan and Jonathan are able to find them with the aid of Jordan’s super-hearing. They make the save just in time. Upon returning home, Clark and Lois tell the kids they will not hide any more secrets from them.
John, now locked away, remembers telling his daughter that he will use Luthor’s suit to kill Superman. He assures her he will be right back. She gives him one of her hairbands. However, the episode ends with him still carrying it, implying she died soon afterward.
MAJOR QUESTIONS
- Surely John will realize this earth’s Supes is a good guy and will join forces with him?
- Does Morgan suspect Lana is onto his plan?
OVERAL GRADE: A
This was arguably the best episode yet. I should have taken the hint with the episode’s title, “Man Of Steel”, that “Captain Luthor” was actually John Henry Irons. One can only expect that he will see this Earth is not the same as his and will become Steel. Though it’s possible this Earth’s version is still alive and will return sometime later. Either way, it will be nice to see a live-action depiction of Steel since it will almost assuredly be better than the 90s Shaquille O’Neal movie.
This has easily been the best of the “Arrowlessverse” so far. Hopefully the quality will continue through the season.