There is so Much More To Superman & Lois

Originally I had no interest in the new Superman & Lois television show. Their trailer left me completely underwhelmed. Yet, with a day with nothing to do, I figure I may give it a chance. Again, never make assumptions, or do not judge a book by its cover. My personal bias plays a role in the initial lack of appeal for this new series as well.

Never have I been a fan of the CW shows. All of them seem to feature their main super-hero with a support team/crew behind them. Growing up, I do not recall The Flash talking over his headset to a team of first responders. Note this has nothing to do with comic accuracy, but more of a failure to make a compelling supporting cast and becoming an on-going, recycled trope in these CW shows.

Furthermore, I am not a die-hard Superman fan. Scratch that - I am not a Christopher Reeve Superman fan. I love the original Golden Age Superman comics, the Max Fleischer cartoons, Superman of the DC Animated Universe, and Henry Cavill's Superman. Toxic Superman fandom, a.k.a. Christopher Reeve die-hards have ruined the character of Superman for me. Anytime something new, fresh, or just not like Christopher Reeve's Superman arrives is blasphemy to them. Sadly, this is not in fandom only but also in Hollywood. Matthew Vaughn once proposed doing a contemporary re-telling of the original Donner film. With that said, speculation and overall fan desire were penning Superman & Lois as a spiritual successor to their beloved version of Superman generations ago.

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed this pilot. With a length of an hour, I was unsure at first. Then I find myself half-way through, wanting more. Once the pilot came to an end, I was ready for the next episode. What bothers me about this pilot so far is the reaction to only one particular scene, the beginning. All over Facebook, you see the images of Superman in a costume that calls back to the Max Fleischer cartoon. You see him holding a green PT Cruiser (a 10-year-old dead model from Chrysler) as an homage to the cover of his 1938 debut in Actions Comics #1. No doubt, it is a fun fan-service to the die-hards. Yet, this is the only thing worth talking about? More and more, I feel some Superman fans care for nothing but the novelty in his character, in cliches and platitudes. There is so much more to this story that deserves discussion.

Not much material exists with Superman or Clark Kent - the husband. One, their marriage is still relatively new in matters of publication history. Only after fifty-plus years, in 1996 on both television and the panel did they exchange vows. A comic nerd can argue that it technically came in 1978, but that was on Earth-2. Sadly, much drama ensued after their marriage in 1996, never giving a full narrative to build. Later, you have the New 52 reboot, which nullifies their relationship. Superman even dates Wonder Woman before Lois Lane! It is not until DC Comics' Rebirth that the two are finally married...again, and now with child.

The rest of the media has not helped in this. Man of Steel, Superman: The Animated Series, and Smallville still hold onto Superman and Lois as a couple. Grant, you, all of these pieces have their own story to tell. Zack Snyder planned for Clark to propose to Lois before his death in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Plus, we certainly cannot have teenage Clark Kent in season 1 of Smallville, in his freshman year of high school marrying Lois Lane. All of them continue to some degree to push the traditional and almost tiresome old trope of Lois Lane not knowing who Superman is. Still, they hold onto them as a couple only, not husband and wife. I will give Zack Snyder some leeway in this, as he subverted this with David Goyer.

Superman & Lois come to television saying no! The old standard of Lois Lane not knowing who Superman really is, of them, not being married is history. From now on, moving forward, the status quo is Mr. and Mrs. Clark Kent! The show makes no bones of that, with two teenage sons, they've been married for roughly 15 years. This excites me for two reasons.

One is how movies and television are always late to the comics. For example, Bane broke Batman's back in the comics in 1993. Fans had to wait for almost two decades to see that brought to the big screen. Finally, a different medium reflects the current comics. Can we expect more? Is it possible we will have Batman and Catwoman married in a future television show or movie? Will we bypass past storylines of President Luthor, Doomsday, and more? Can we finally show to the general audience more than one Robin exists?

Second, is this provides all kinds of new storytelling and problems, which the show is not afraid to open up to. A terrific example is when General Sam Lane shows up at the Kent farm. He is talking to Clark Kent as we see, but this is Superman business. His daughter, Lois, puts her foot down on matters of national security at the moment. Right now, she, her family need Clark Kent. At this moment, Clark needs to be a husband and a father, not Superman. No doubt, she is in grief at this place in time. Her husband does not necessarily disagree. General Lane reminds his daughter that she thinks she only married Clark Kent, but she also married Superman. With that said, the world also needs Superman. No doubt, Clark needs to be there for his family, yet he also took a responsibility to protect Earth. Which is more important - your family or the planet? I cannot answer that, many probably cannot. This is an on-going dilemma I see the show addressing.

Reflecting further on Clark Kent, the family man is also the father. General audiences are not overly aware of this. Unless you want to count the deadbeat dad of Superman Returns, which many fans chose to forget. You cannot help but feel shocked when you find his son Jordan playing Injustice 2, but not as Superman! Jordan claims Superman to be boring, a common complaint among some comic-book fans. All the time, people cite Superman as some perfect, honest, benevolent angel of complete purity. Yet in this show, he lied to his sons about his origin or a lie of omission one may note. We face a similar problem with Lois and what her father mentioned. This is a balancing act. Clark was fearful of telling his sons Johnathan and Jordan. He raises many concerns - what if one of them has powers and one does not, will that create jealousy? Will the truth make his anxious, introverted son Jordan feel even more like an alien? Will his athletic son Johnathan possibly use and abuse his powers in a game? What will my sons think of me? Again, these are all great questions that do not have easy answers. Is Clark wrong for saving the world instead of spending time with Jordan? If only that were a simple yes or no question.

I have no family of my own unless you want to count my cat. However, as I grow older and see my favorite heroes age, my own priorities and fears evolve. The unknown flying man in a suit, who knows me, scares me less than the idea of raising two teenage boys. A nuclear meltdown or not being there for my wife, the nuclear meltdown sounds like a mere inconvenience. Family issues, problems of trust, relationship drama can truly create plenty of anxiety. With these points coming through Superman, the man of steel, it truly shows us his humanity, more than just saving a cat from a tree.

One last piece is a sense of politics and contemporary issues within the show I find relevant and refreshing. Morgan Edge is buying up The Daily Planet, Smallville properties, and much more. His buyout leads to consolidation, thus Clark loses his job at The Daily Planet. Lois, our voice of reason notes how Edge is destroying everything, he has no interest in actual journalism but in clickbait and sound bites. She adds how Edge does not even pay people a living wage and asks why someone like him would have any interest in Smallville. This truly harkens back to the old New Deal days of early Superman comics, with their desire for justice for the powerless. Yet, Lana's husband Kyle counters all of this. He feels The Daily Planet is a failure because the journalists won't keep their politics to themselves. He also sees Morgan Edge as hope. Edge is investing in these properties, which will bring back jobs that are sorely needed in small communities such as Smallville.

I completely disagree with Kyle, however, he represents something current in America. Newspapers have almost always been political. There was a time that every local political party actually had its own newspaper. Print is now dead, we have televised news, although not owned by political parties, we can recognize their bias. Time and time again I hear of people complaining about this show or this person got too political. Their real complaint is when said medium becomes politically your opposition. We can easily tell Lois is something of a progressive, with her animosity towards Morgan Edge, distrust of banks, and a desire for a living wage for all working people. Kyle has this misplaced trust in Morgan Edge, a real estate magnate almost like Trump. People like Kyle believing all we need is smart businessman and their investments to bring back the American dream. This group even sees people like Edge as something of a philanthropist rather than as an opportunist. Finally, Kyle is hardly poor but not wealthy, but part of a deteriorating middle-class. A middle-class midwestern American who believes in people like Morgan Edge. When we see the track record of people like Morgan Edge and what they do to average Americans, remember the financial crises of 1929 or 2008? Kyle seems like an honest person. It will be interesting to see how things play out for him in the series.

At the end of the episode, the simple fan-nod meant nothing to me. It was all these details that hooked me into this show. Which I feel people should be talking about more. Is Morgan Edge a man to be trusted? Can Clark and Lois make things work in Smallville? How will Jordan do with his newfound powers? Can Clark be Superman while still having a family? Let's watch and find out.

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Also, feel free to read my other Superman piece...

What is Superman's Citizenship Status?

And my many other DC related pieces here