Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Superman and Lois: Season 2, Episode 15 - Waiting For Superman

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.


Plot

The two Earths are merging and only Superman can stop it, yet he's been left powerless by Ally Allston. Only a miracle can save the world now, but will it come in time? Or will others rise up to save the day?


Influences

Superman: Our Worlds At War
, The Final Night (Superman entering the sun to kickstart his powers) and Superman: Miracle Monday


Goofs

The episode doesn't make it clear what happened to Jon-El and Lana-Rho after their capture in the last episode. If they are locked up on the normal Earth, why doesn't it pain Jonathan Kent and Lana Lang? (Perhaps John Henry Irons got his device from 211 working?) Alternatively, they could have been sent back to Bizarro world, but then why wouldn't they separate the two Allys?

The revelation that Superman and Lois is not set on Earth-Prime and that there are no other superheroes creates something of a plot hole regarding John Diggle's cameo appearance in 112, where he mentions "...Doppelgangers, other worlds, glowing boxes, losing the people I love..." as well as someone named Oliver saying Superman is the best we have. (This could be a different Oliver than Oliver Queen, or the Oliver Queen of this world is an ARGUS agent rather than a vigilante.) 


Performances

With this episode, Tyler Hoechlin establishes himself as the Superman of a generation.


Artistry

The special effects work is fantastic all around as the worlds merge and shift at random, but the battle between Superman and Parasite is bar none the best use of CGI in the Arrowverse ever.


Super Trivia

The episode title comes from a song recorded by Daughtry in 2013. It is not to be confused with the similarly titled Flaming Lips song "Waitin' For A Superman.

The biggest revelation to come out of this episode was that it revealed that Superman and Lois is set on an alternate Earth apart from Arrowverse Earth-Prime and that Superman is the only superhero on it.

Chrissy Beppo's message, as relayed by the Department of the Defense, is almost a word for word copy of the episode's official synopsis as released by The CW.

Lana references Superman's revised motto in the comics from 2021 onwards: "Truth, Justice and a Better Tomorrow." Beyond referencing Superman's original nom de plume as "The Man of Tomorrow," the change also reflected Superman's status as a global hero rather than a purely American one.

The day Superman defeated Ally Allston is declared Miracle Monday. This was the name of a classic Superman novel written by Elliot S! Maggin. The story features Superman fighting a being of pure chaos, winning by virtue of simple goodness and establishes the titular holiday as being held on the third Monday of every May in the DC Universe.

This became the last episode of the series to feature Jordan Elsass as Jonathan Kent. He stepped down from the role between seasons, due to unspecified health issues.

John Diggle makes mention of Intergang and Bruno Mannheim. In the Superman comics, Intergang is a criminal group that makes use of advanced alien technology in their crimes. Bruno Mannheim is their leader. It is suspected that he will be the chief villain of Season 3.


Technobabble

General Lane makes reference to a DoD program that used bufotoxin secreted by toads as part of an experiment.

John Henry's plan is to explode X-Kryptonite inside the void between worlds, using it to destroy the portal to Bizarro World.

Natalie suggests that instead, the transfer the power of their suits into the pod and use that to disrupt the portal.


Dialogue Triumphs

Chrissy: With the authorization of the Department of Defense, today I can relay to you, not only is the merging of the planets real, it is happening, and Ally Allston, or whoever she is now that she and her Bizarro self are one, is responsible. If Ally succeeds in merging these two worlds, each of us will be forced against our will to merge with our other selves, turning us into... I don't know what. And I can also confirm that for the first time in 20 years we can't wait for Superman to save us. Our world's hero is now powerless because of this parasite twin. So I urge everyone watching this video, please stay home, be with your loved ones, and pray for a miracle. 

Superman: How do we stop Ally?
Tal-Rho: Well, brother, we aren't going to stop her. I am.
Superman: Tal, she drained me of all my energy, nearly killed me. I don't know that you alone is gonna be enough.
Tal-Rho: Perhaps, but what other choice do we have? Brother, for years I've watched you do things no other hero is capable of. It's rather inspired me to have a go myself.
Superman: So this time last year, you were trying to destroy the world, and now you're fighting for it.
Tal-Rho: I'm not fighting for the world, Kal. I'm fighting for you. You and your family. The only people on this planet that truly matter to me.

Sam Lane: Boys! I've been working for the DOD for a long time. I've seen things you would not believe. Glimpses of other worlds and the leagues of superheroes they have on them. And even though we only have your father on this planet, thank God that we do, because he's the finest of any Earth. So don't go losing hope yet. I sure as hell haven't. Your mother hasn't and I guarantee you, neither has Superman. 

Superman: Have some more.


Continuity

Chrissy is allowed to broadcast the truth about Superman being depowers and the worlds merging.

Kyle Cushing disappears as the worlds start to merge.

Lana takes her daughters to look for Kyle.

Superman says that he's never encountered something like this in his career. This is another major clue that the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths didn't take place in this reality.

Natalie's tablet begins beeping as the worlds start merging.

Natalie picks up a signal from John Henry and guesses that he is in the void between worlds. She makes out enough to hear him say he needs her escape pod.

Tal-Rho shows up for the first time since 212, having also been transported to Bizarro World. He says that since Superman is powerless, he figured he might be needed and possibly welcomed.

Lois is left behind on Bizarro World after the rest of her family is sent back to their Earth.

Sam Lane finds Lois, having been left on Bizarro World after his jeep disappeared while he was driving to the Kent Farm.

Sam and Lois go searching for Bizarro Chrissy Beppo, after Lois remembers that she helped Anderson find Bizarro Lois in 210.

Bizarro Lois appears on the regular Earth, which Natalie takes as a sign that she needs to help her father.

Jordan and Jonathan both acknowledge Natalie as part of their family and she says she liked having brothers.

Superman says that one year has passed since Tal-Rho tried to take over their Earth.

Tal-Rho goes after Ally, but she is too much for him.

Jordan saves Tal-Rho from falling. He thanks him and says he is in his debt.

Superman says the only one who can stop Ally at this point his him.

Superman asks Tal-Rho to throw him into the sun, hoping it will kick-start his powers again.

Superman affirms that Lois is the smartest person in the Kent family.

Natalie transports her pod into the Shuster Mines and through the portal into the void.

Lana discovers that Kyle vanished along with Mitch and Fuller from some of the other fire-fighters.

Lana tells the fire-fighters to go home and stay with their families rather than try and keep the peace in Smallville.

Sam and Lois find the Bizarro Chrissy, but she vanishes just as they start communicating.

Planes around the world start crashing as their pilots are sent to the other Earth.

Kyle finds Lois.

John Henry is in the middle of recording a final message for Natalie when she finds him. Unfortunately, she missed a part of his message - the one where he asked her to use the escape pod to bring him as much X-Kryptonite as possible.

Natalie and John Henry use their suits to try and disrupt the portal with an energy wave unleashed by the escape pod, even though this will leave them trapped in the void.

Kyle thinks that being taken from his family is karma for his cheating on Lana.

Kyle disappears after Lois tells him that she doesn't believe that.

Sam Lane goes back to Earth and finds Jonathan and Jordan after the latest world shift. They tell him about Clark's plan to kick-start his powers.

Sam Lane tells his grandsons that he and Superman have seen other worlds and the leagues of superheroes that exist on them. He also confirms Superman is the only superhero on their Earth. This proves conclusively that Superman and Lois is not set on Earth-Prime.

Superman's plan to be supercharged by going into the sun works.

Natalie and John Henry tell one another that they are their personal heroes, as they disrupt the portal.

Superman saves John Henry and Natalie from Ally.

The submarine with Superman saved in 201 crashes near the Kent farm as a side-effect of the Earths demerging.

Superman defeats Ally Allston by giving her more energy than she can absorb. This causes the two Allys to demerge.

Natalie and John Henry catch the Allys, as Superman demerges the Earths with a solar flare release of all the energy he absorbed.

A holiday is established in honor of Superman saving the world, called Miracle Monday.

Clark apologizes to Lana for not being there when she was running for Mayor. He also promises to be completely honest with her from now on about his life.

Lois says she needs to tell Chrissy the truth about Clark. Chrissy takes this to mean that Clark lied on his resume about working places beyond The Daily Planet. Instead, Lois tells her that Clark is Superman.

Lois apologizes for lying to Chrissy in the past, but says if they are going to be partners on the paper they will need to be able to trust each other completely.

Jonathan Kent is shown with Candice Pergande, with the implication they are dating again.

Sarah and Jordan make-up, agreeing to reset, be honest and talk to each other about their feelings as they figure out where they stand. Jordan apologizes for not telling her about his powers. She apologies for not talking about her kissing a girl at summer camp.

Kyle asks Lana to dance at the celebration. She turns him down and says she isn't there yet and doesn't think she ever will be. He accepts that.

Both Ally Allstons are revealed to be in DoD custody, kept in the same cell.

Lois interviews Ally to ask if she ever did get the "complete" feeling she was looking for while she was merged. It turns out she didn't.

Jonathan is still working at the general store and has to wear an apron to work.

Tal-Rho has matching work trucks delivered to the Kent farm as gifts to his nephews, with a card saying they came from "Uncle Tal." 

Tal-Rho is revealed to have made his way to Bizzaro World, figuring that it needs a hero now that its Superman and Tal-Rho are dead.

John Henry Irons meets with John Diggle, who last appeared in 112.

Diggle reveals that Bruno Mannheim, the head of Intergang, killed the John Henry Irons of this Earth and that he is investigating why.

Sam takes Lucy on a trip to Metropolis.

Clark takes the rest of the family on an ocean trip, where he build a new Fortress of Solitude using a crystal to create an island. He says that this one, however, will be a lair for the entire family.


Location

Bizarro World


Untelevised Adventures

At some point in the past, both Superman and General Lane worked with the superheroes of other Earths.


The Bottom Line

A fantastic episode, which has the unfortunate effect of starting to shut the door on the Arrowverse.  With Superman and Lois established as its own beast and The Flash's upcoming season 9 confirmed as its last, there's a sad sense of ennui to the episode despite the hopeful ending. Hopefully this will be the start of something big, much like how Arrow progressed from a Smallville spin-off into a fresh start for superhero television.

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