Superman and Lois: Season 2, Episode 8 - Into Oblivion

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

Plot

Clark is left struggling to find a way to make Natalie see him as something other than a threat, when it becomes clear John Henry is still suffering mental trauma from the fight with Bizarro. Meanwhile, Lois and Sam search for Lucy as Ally Allston moves forward with her plans for ascension and Jonathan confronts the consequences of his actions.


Influences

Crisis on Infinite Earths (the opening sequence and flashbacks involving how Natalie got to Earth-Prime) and Poltergeist (the crossing into Bizarro world sequence.)


Performances

Jordan Elsass has the hardest job in this episode, making Jonathan sympathetic and noble despite some patently stupid decisions. The fact that he's successful is a credit to his talent.


Artistry

The scenes with Jordan fighting to save Jonathan are fantastic, being cinematic while also evoking feelings of the old Smallville series.


Super Trivia

The opening sequence of this episode seems to confirm that John Henry's battle with the evil Superman of his Earth took place during the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The AI in Natalie's escape pod is named Hedy. Presumably this is in honor of Hedy Lamarr, who invented frequency hopping, which lay the groundwork for modern portable phones.


Technobabble

Hedy detects a temporal anomaly moving through our galaxy, which is compromising the integrity of our dimension.

According to John Henry's doctor, confusion is normal with his type of brain trauma and temporary. He agrees to order a new wave of tests to check for infection or nerve or blood vessel damage at Natalie's urging. 

Thanks to John Henry's actions, the Department of Defense can track the Bizarro pendant using its unique heat signature.

Superman cannot see into the lead-lined Shuster Mines, but he can hear Chrissy Beppo's cries for help just fine.


Dialogue Triumphs

Clark: Natalie blames me for what happened.
Lois: Don't beat yourself up, Clark. You heard the doctor. John Henry's memory issue is temporary.
Clark: Yeah, but she's not wrong. He got hurt saving me.
Lois: She'll come around. They both need time to heal.
Clark: Ugh, I don't want to do this right now.
Lois: Neither do I, but we have to know what Jon knows about those drugs, Clark, or he is never getting back into that school.
Clark: Rochambeau?
(The two play rock-paper-scissors. Lois wins. Clark winces. Lois smirks.)

Jordan: I'm meeting up with Sarah and Aubrey.
Jonathan: No way. Like, the girl that kissed Sarah, Aubrey? Why? Why would you do that?
Jordan: Mostly 'cause of you.
Jonathan: What?
Jordan: (sighs) When Sarah asked me, I said yes, 'cause I was distracted by some townie yelling at Candice about money for X-K inhalers.
Jonathan: So you're gonna use your powers to rat me out to Mom and Dad now?
Jordan: No, man. I'm just trying to understand. You're doing all this for her? She's a drug dealer, Jon.
Jonathan: Jordan, she's doing it to help out her dad because he's broke, okay? It's just the two of them, and if they get kicked out, they'll literally have nowhere to go.
Jordan: And you care about her that much?
Jonathan: What, like you're the only one that can do something sketch to help their girlfriend?
Jordan: I guess you're right, but going on the most awkward date ever isn't exactly on the same level as, you know, breaking the law.
Jonathan: Hm...mm, yeah, you're right. Yours is way worse.

Kyle: So what would you say to people wondering how you'll keep scandal out of Smallville when you can't even keep it out of your own home?
Lana: I'd say that my personal life is none of their business.
Kyle: Well, that's not really an answer, Lana.
Lana: It's not really a question. It's a judgment from jerks with a question mark at the end. The moderator is Dean's hunting buddy.
Kyle: Right, so judgment is pretty much the only dish she's gonna be serving. So again, how are you gonna keep scandal--
Lana: I never brought scandal into our house! You did! But because I'm a woman, this is now a commentary on me. And that's not fair, and it's all because of your stupid mistake!
(There is a pregnant pause.)
Kyle: You're right.
Lana: I know. I know, okay? It doesn't make it okay to emotionally barf all over this room.
Kyle: Well, hey, look. Maybe you just needed to get that out of your system. Just take a breath, and, um, back to the question.
Lana: (sighs) Back to the question. Right. Okay. Unpredictable things happen in life. We all know that. The real question is how you respond to it in the face of a crisis. Is it with honesty and integrity? Because it's what I've tried to do in my personal life and what I promise to do as mayor of Smallville. I will never waver when it comes to trying to do what's right for my family and for this town.
(There is another pause. Kyle smiles.)
Kyle: Now, that's an answer right there. 


Continuity

The opening sequence is said to take place one year ago

As John Henry goes to face Superman, Natalie detects a temporal anomaly that is destroying reality. She gets into her escape pod to try and warn her father, who won't be able to pick up her broadcasts once he leaves orbit.

In the present, Natalie helps John Henry with shaving his head and notes he might get a scar on his scalp. He jokes that it will match the one on his face.

When Lois and Clark come into John Henry's hospital room, he is momentarily confused and thinks Lois is his wife.

Clark tries to comfort Natalie, but she refuses to listen to his assurances that her father will be okay.

Kyle picks up Sophie and Sarah and takes them out for breakfast before school.

Kyle offers to help Lana with her debate prep, but she turns him down.

Jonathan finds out that lots of parents called the Kents and told them they didn't want their son anywhere near their children.

Clark also tells Jonathan that the principal decided to cancel the entire football season and all of the team's wins had to be forfeited, since Jonathan refuses to tell anyone who was selling the X-Kryptonite and the sheriff is stone-walled on finding out which team members might have been using it.

Jonathan will be allowed to take classes on-line so that he won't miss a grade.

Jonathan has also been set up with a job at Brit & Dunn's general store and is forbidden from being anyplace else but work or home.

Jordan once again asks Jonathan who he is protect, but Jonathan refuses to speak.

Anderson speaks to the Bizarro World Ally Allston and tells her that they have both pendants on Earth-Prime. She gives him a message to give to her other self.

The message Anderson gives to Ally Allston is "Come here now."

Chrissy gets a call from Ally inviting her to cover something big. She calls Lois to tell her she's going in a van being sent by Ally's organization.

The people in the van are wearing strange outfits that resemble Hazmat Suits or Space Suits.

Sarah says it has been one week since her quinceañera in 205.

Sarah still hasn't forgiven her father, but he says he is trying to be there for her, which she appreciates.

Sarah tells Jordan about her meeting with Audrey in 207 and suggests they all hang out together. Jordan is uncomfortable with the idea, but agrees quickly after overhearing an argument between Jonathan's girlfriend, Candice, and a strange older man trying to get into the school.

Jordan overhears the argument with his super-hearing and that the man is asking Candice for money.

Jordan intervenes, but the man says Candice had better have his money by tonight.

Sam Lane is temporarily out of retirement and back on active duty, leading the manhunt for Anderson.

Superman is back in the good graces of the Department of Defense and got a formal apology from General Hardcastle.

Sam Lane discovers that the pendant had been stolen from where it should have been when Anderson went AWOL.

Ally and her followers take Chrissy to the Shuster Mines.

Lucy sends a text to Lois and Sam that sounds like a good-bye, saying she is tired of feeling incomplete.

Sam has the ability to track Lucy's phone. He does so while Clark checks her home.

Ally reveals that there is a portal to what she calls the Inverse World in the Shuster Mines and that Kit Falkner found it before her death.

Ally and her followers start going into the portal, but most of them scream before they disappear.

Anderson takes Yellow Mist before snatching the pendants from Ally Allston and vanishing.

Superman stops Ally, Chrissy and one man from entering the portal before it vanishes. 

4 of Ally's followers, including Anderson, apparently went across. Lucy Lane is presumed to be one of the other four.

Clark forgets to pick up John Henry and Natalie at the hospital because of the crisis at the mines. John Henry forgives him, but Natalie tells him off.

Lois goes to the Department of Defense with Sam to watch Ally Allston be questioned.

Natalie was put into hibernation for six months while she was trapped between worlds.

Jordan figures out that Claudia was the X-Kryptonite dealer Jonathan was trying to protect.

Jordan agrees to keep Jonathan's secret after learning he was trying to protect Candice, who he loves.

Lana asks Kyle for help with the debate after Emily bails on her.

Kyle tells Lana they have to prepare for Dean to attack her on Family Values because that's his most likely point of attack because she can't be touched on actual policy.

Sam tries to grill Ally, but she turns the tables on him and says she knows he has a hole in him from when his wife left him.

Lois tries to question Ally, but she refuses to speak to her without a lawyer present.

Sam blames himself for Lucy's death and tells Lois she was right about Ally all along.

Clark talks with John Henry about Natalie. He suggests he put in some time with her to prove he isn't the monster who killed her mother.

Clark hears someone in Lucy's apartment. He goes there and finds Lois, desperately looking for some proof Lucy is hiding somewhere.

Candice meets with Jonathan at his work. She identifies the man who was bugging her about money as Mickey.

Candice says she is staying with her friend Kim. Jonathan offers to walk her home.

Jonathan's boss is Mr. Olowe. 

Candice tells Jonathan that she loves him because he makes her laugh even when things are bad.

Mickey and several of his friends follow Jonathan and Candice.  

Mickey uses X-Kryptonite and throws Jonathan when he tries to defend her.

Jordan overhears the fight before going to the diner to meet Sarah and Aubrey.

Jordan helps to drive off Mickey and his friends.

Clark finds Natalie and John Henry a place to rent that isn't the Kent barn. It is revealed to have an old machine shop.

Jordan skips out on meeting with Sarah and Aubrey, due to his knuckles being bloody and him being bruised in a way that can't be easily explained.

Lucy shows up at the Kent house. She says that Lois' warnings finally got to her and she bailed on Ally and her followers as they were going to the mines.

Sam takes Lucy back to her place.

Lucy comments that Sam has loosened up, and that the old Sam Lane would never go to brunch or wear Hawaiian shirts. 

Kyle asks Lana if she'll ever forgive him but she doesn't answer as she realizes she's late in picking up Shopie.

Kyle says he has his own place now and isn't living at the firehouse anymore.

Jonathan tells Clark and Lois that he walked Candice home. Clark tells him that from now on he is to be at work or home or moving between them with on exceptions.

Lois says she thinks that was kind of harsh given Jonathan was walking his girlfriend home at night.

Jonathan thanks Jordan for saving him.

Jordan asks Jonathan why he couldn't just tell him he was trying to protect Candice. Jonathan said he thought Jordan had enough on his plate without being his secret-keeper too.

Lucy drugs Sam and takes his work ID, revealing that she was left behind as the fail-safe in case something happened to keep Ally from going into the Inverse-World.


Location

John Henry and Natalie Irons' unnamed Earth, One Year Ago.
Bizarro World


Untelevised Adventures

This episode marks the first time Jordan has used super-speed. Given how good a handle he has on it, this suggests he has been practicing that ability off-camera for some time.


The Bottom Line

Another amazing episode, where all the subplots are firing on eight cylinders.

Superman and Lois: Season 1, Episode 9- Loyal Subjekts

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

Plot

Lois and Clark begin to crack the mystery of why Morgan Edge is interested in Smallville beyond the X-Kryptonite in the Shuster Mines. Meanwhile, the DoD's Kryptonite weapons have unintended consequences that put Jordan's life in danger and lead to a reckoning between Lois and her father.

Influences

New Krypton (invasion of Earth by Kryptonian refugees)


Performances

This is another great episode for Elizabeth Tulloch, who gets to showcase Lois Lane's inner steel as she confronts Morgan Edge and her father.

Not to be outdone, Jordan Elsass gets two equally great moments: comforting his mother as she falls apart and confronting his grandfather on his own negligence. 


Artistry

The bank robbery scene is fantastic and Superman responding to the people in Spanish is a neat nod to the old Christopher Reeve Superman movies.


Super Trivia

This episode introduces Dabney Donovan - an employee of Morgan Edge who assists with the transformation process that turns people into hosts for Kryptonian minds. In the comics, Dabney Donovan was the co-founder of Project Cadmus - the think-tank that created the Superboy clone and various bits of advanced technology for Intergang.


Technobabble

The Kryptonite gas which Lieutenant Rosetti used on Superman is a biological weapon and it turns out to be communicable. Direct exposure makes Clark temporarily able to bruise and causes him to become winded. Jordan develops a cold and loses control of his powers when he sneezes.

The Jor-El hologram determines that Jordan is in respiratory distress and that his lungs are filling with fluid. Given that he can condense large quantities of air, he's also cooling it, like Clark does when he uses his Freeze Breath.

Intense heat can be used to burn Kryptonite out of a Kryptonian's body, but the process is painful.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Lois has just made a scene at one of Edge's recruitment meetings.)
Edge: Well, that was desperate.

Lois: I know what you're doing. 

Edge: Providing good jobs to a community in need?

Lois: You are putting Kryptonian consciousnesses into people's bodies. You are taking them over and giving them powers. 

Edge: And your evidence for this is... ?

Lois: Derek Powell, Reno Rosetti, Leslie. 

Edge: Oh, so two dead men and my personal assistant. I have to say, this story has holes even by your standards. 

Lois: We both know it's the truth.

Edge: In my experience, truth is rather subjective. Who do you think people are more likely to believe? A has-been slumming it at the local paper? Or the man who's giving this town the best economy it's ever known? 

Lois: These people are not puppets to be controlled by you. They have dreams. They have families. 

Edge: No one's being forced to do anything against their will. Everyone's made the same offer: the chance for a better life. (points to his ad copy) Says so right there. 

Lois: We're not publishing this. 

Edge: Then I guess word of mouth will have to suffice. You can't stop this, Lois. Perhaps it's time you use that device you have to call in your super friend?

Lois: Perhaps it is. 

Edge: Risky, though. Need I remind you where he's from? He may take comfort knowing there are others here just like him, as John Irons prophesied. 

Lois: Superman is nothing like them. 

Lois: (to General Lane) All my life, your job was your number one priority. Accepting that wasn't easy, but I learned to live with it, and somehow even grew to respect it because I believed that you were trying to do the right thing, and I honestly naively thought that once I had a family, you might change, start putting us first, but I was wrong. Knowingly and willingly endangering the lives of the people I love... I can't forgive that. So when this is over, I want you to leave and never come back. You're not welcome here anymore. 

(Jonathan walks in on Lois crying.)
Lois: I should've protected him. 
Jonathan: (sighing) Mom, this isn't... this isn't on you.
Lois: I'm your mom. My one job is to keep you guys safe, and I keep failing at it.
Jonathan: No, no, you don't.
Lois: You were almost gunned down in John Henry's RV...
Jonathan: That was my fault.
Lois: Got into a car accident.
Jonathan: That was also my fault.
Lois: I feel like I can't turn around without one of you being in mortal danger. Why is it so hard to keep you safe?
Jonathan: I don't know. Just... Just part of being a super family, I guess.

(Jonathan walks out on the porch. General Lane is there.)
General Lane: Just waiting to hear back from my team. Then we'll get everything straightened out with Jordan and your dad.
Jonathan: Little late for that, isn't it? Why'd you do it? Why'd you build those weapons to hurt my dad?
General Lane: Your father's the most powerful being this world's ever known. My job is to keep us safe, which means being prepared for any scenario, no matter how unlikely. You and I, we're not like your dad, or even Jordan.
Jonathan: He's my twin brother.
General Lane: Yes, but the minute his powers surfaced, you and him began walking two very different paths.
Jonathan: That scares you, doesn't it?
General Lane: It does.
Jonathan: You know, I think you're wrong. I think you're wrong about you and I being alike.
General Lane: How so?
Jonathan: I could never be scared of my family, no matter what powers they might have.
General Lane: Jonathan, you haven't seen the things I have.
Jonathan: Yeah, you're right. But in the end, I don't think that would matter 'cause I'd still trust them, and you'd still be a coward. 


Continuity

The opening scene shows an unseen person being led into Morgan Edge's office by Leslie Larr. This person is later revealed to be Kyle Cushing.

Lois notes that Edge was in and out of Hazel Green and Granville in weeks, so there has to be something he needs in Smallville beyond the X-Kryptonite.

Clark starts helping Lois with her investigation, as he's no longer working as a football coach.

Emily from 107 is run through the transformation process. Her full name is revealed as Emily Phan.

Emily is determined to have "complete host acceptance."

Jonathan and Jordan plan to go the talent show - Jonathan to be supportive and Jordan to play piano with her.

Lois suspects that Sarah wants to be more than "just friends" with Jordan, despite what she said, but says she'll leave it to Sarah to tell him that.

Lois asks Clark to try and get people to stop signing up for Morgan Edge's "enhancement" program, after they learn from Lana that he's looking for more recruits past the original five.

Lana reports that none of the new enhanced workers are acting strangely apart from seeming happier and more motivated.

Kyle thanks Jordan for stepping up when he failed to show up for Sarah's audition in 108.

Sarah says her father has been talking about how he's changed and is quitting drinking.

Sarah once again warns Jonathan to stay away from Tegan Wickhem.

Clark approached Emily Phan at the diner and asks how she's doing . She also reports that she's feeling better than ever.

Clark hears a bank robbery in Mexico and leaves to deal with it.

Clark can speak fluent Spanish.

During the fight, Clark becomes winded and he feels his heart beating faster than normal.

Chrissy Beppo reports that Morgan Edge just bought a ton of ads for the next paper, looking for more "enhancement" recruits.

Lois confronts Edge at his office, disrupting one of his meetings.

Edge reveals that he knows about John Henry Irons and his prophecy of what will happen. He doesn't explain how he knows this, however. (Probably it was leaked to him from Lieutenant Rosetti before his death.)

Edge also knows about Lois' device for signaling Superman.

Jonathan finally got his issue with his locker sorted out.

Jonathan approaches Tegan Wickhem and asks her out, only to be shot down. She said she was just being nice to him because he broke his arm.

Clark returns home to realize that the regular bullets of the bank robbers actually bruised him. 

Sarah starts grilling Jordan over any 'secret talents" he might have besides playing the piano.

Jordan sneezes and freezes his hand. This is the first the he uses the classic Ice Breath power.

Jordan leaves his practice with Sarah in a rush and calls his dad with his pager.

Clark has reportedly never been sick a day in his life.

General Lane says his men are working on a cure.

Sarah goes to Jonathan and asks why Jordan ran off. Jonathan plays dumb, but says he'll look for Jordan and make sure he's going to be there at the talent show that night.

Emily Phan tells Lana that there is a special process as part of the enhancement program. She says Morgan Edge told her it must be kept secret and she couldn't tell anyone - not even her family.

Lana and Emily have known each other since the 5th grade.

Lana tries to fish for more details regarding the program, only for Morgan Edge to reveal that he knows she is Lois Lane's mole.

Edge says that Lana can undergo enhancement herself or he will have her killed.

Jordan wants to go to the talent show, but his cold is getting worse.

Clark takes Jordan to the Fortress of Solitude to see about treating Jordan there.

Lois tells her father that once Jordan is well, she wants him to leave and never contact her or her children again.

Clark determines he can heal Jordan, but it will require burning the Kryptonite out of his system using intense heat rays in the Fortress of Solitude.

Jonathan comforts Lois as she wonders where she went wrong as a monther. 

Emily Phan saves both Lana and Kyle seats at the talent show.

When Jordan doesn't show up, Kyle has his guitar read and plays to accompany Sarah.

Jonathan tells off his grandfather, calling Sam Lane a coward for being afraid of his own grandson and son-in-law.

Emily Phan's daughter Avery is also in the talent show.

Emily leaves as her daughter is performing.  Kyle follows after her.

Edge sends his "Subkelts" after Lois Lane, having learned from Leslie Larr that Superman is still weak from the Kryptonite weapon.

Lana calls Lois and tells her about Emily Phan leaving in the middle of her daughter's performance.

Lana turned down Edge's offer, despite his threat, and tells Lois that Edge knew Lana was acting as her spy.

Emily Phan and another man, Jasper Townes, show up to kill Lois.

General Lane has some of the Kryptonite gas with him. He uses is to hold off the Kryptonians and Jonathan and Lois escape to the barn>

Kyle Cushing shows up and tries to attack Lois.

Jonathan repels Kyle Cushing with a red-sun energy weapon he stole from John Henry Irons' RV.

Superman arrives and the three Kryptonians flee.

Lois forgives her father for what happened.

General Lane says that from now on Lois, the boys, Clark and Smallville are his priority. 

Jordan describes freeze breath as feeling like you have a piece of wintergreen gum in your mouth all the time.

Jordan texts Sarah but she ignores his message.

Kyle Cushing returns home and speaks to Lana in private. He says he blacked out at the talent show and when he woke up his ribs hurt and he was a in a field outside town. It is here he reveals that he took Morgan Edge's offer to "better" himself.

Chrissy Beppo finds a common link between all the people who were ideal Kryptonian hosts - all of them were Smallville natives. 

Derek Powell was from New Carthage. Reno Rosetti was from Metropolis.

Leslie Larr's real name is Irma Sayers and she was from Smallville.

Another one of Edge's test-subjects was named David Fuglestad.

Clark theorizes that the large ammount of X-Kryptonite in Smallville has been radiating people for years.

Edge uses Lois' stolen pager to summon Superman.

The episodes ends with Edge revealing that he has a suit of Kryptonian armor with a unique crest and that he also has Kryptonian powers. He also addresses Superman as "brother."


The Bottom Line

While a bit heavy on exposition, still an enjoyable episode with some great character moments for Lois and Jonathan and one heck of a cliff-hanger!

Superman and Lois: Season 1, Episode 4 - Haywire

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

Plot

When a threat of legal action leaves Lois unable to publish her expose of Morgan Edge's business dealings, she reluctantly turns to Clark for help in appealing to the people of Smallville as the proposal granting Edge control of the city's mines comes up for a vote. Unfortunately, Clark is already feeling torn in two directions between his new job as an assistant football coach and General Lane's demands of his time. Meanwhile, Jordan and Jonathan have their own problems with a teammate who seems to have powers of his own.


Influences

The Superman comics of Jack Kirby (use of Morgan Edge and references to Intergang) and John Byrne (use of Thaddeus Killgrave), the pre-Crisis Supergirl comics (mention of X-Kryptonite) and the Smallville series (high school slice of life themes, Kryptonite giving humans powers)


Performances

Any fears that Lois Lane would be reduced to being a damsel in distress or the mama bear in this series were obliterated by Elizabeth Tulloch's performance in this episode. Here, we see the full fury of Lois Lane that was briefly teased in earlier appearances.

While not give as much screen time this week, Jordan Elsaas continues to portray Jonathan Kent with an amazing level of compassion balanced out by his clear discomfort at suddenly being an outcast after being popular in Metropolis.


Artistry

The special effects work during Superman's fight with Killgrave is spectacular and of cinematic quality.

The effects work for Tag's superspeed is also notable and the direction plays up the body horror aspects of his power going out of control.


Super Trivia

General Lane asks Clark to escort the prison transfer of a mad scientist named Thaddeus Killgrave. In the comics, Killgrave was a Superman villain, who first appeared in Superman Vol 2 #19 in July 1988 and was created by John Byrne. He is most famous for having built a nuclear bomb for The Joker, who used it as part of a plan to terrorize Superman. He was also employed by Intergang.

In the comics, Thaddeus Killgrave had dwarfism.

The Arrowverse version of Killgrave is of normal size, but slight and shorter than average. He is played by Brendan Fletcher, whom Arrow fans may recognize as Stanley Dover.

Mention is made of Intergang still being active. In the comics, Intergang is one of the DC Universe's most powerful crime syndicates, with agents operating on a global scale. The show's mention of Intergang is the first sign of their existence on Earth-Prime.

Chrissy Beppo makes reference to Lois not being as good at editing as she is at writing. This is a running gag, first appearing in Superman: The Movie, which has migrated into other media and the comics.

Mention is made of a special school for metahuman teens that the Department of Defense is aware of, if not actively running. This may explain why the special school for metahumans proposed in the Season 3 finale of Black Lightning never materialized - it already existed and was so top secret even the US Congress didn't know about it!

The final scene reveals that Morgan Edge has been looking for X-Kryptonite and finds it in the Shuster Mines. In the classic Supergirl comics, X-Kryptonite was a Kryptonite variant which Supergirl accidentally created with an experiment to fashion a Kryptonite poisoning antidote. The piece she worked with developed the ability to temporarily give Kryptonian powers to Earth creatures rather than weakening Kryptonians. It was this piece of Kryptonite that changed Linda Danvers' cat Streaky into a Super-Cat.

The exact properties of X-Kryptonite in the Arrowverse are not described in this episode, but it is speculated Edge has been using it to empower various test subjects, including Leslie Larr. It may have other properties, such as raising the dead, as Edge specifically mentions resurrecting an army.


Technobabble

Thaddeus Killgrave is able to create a temperature-sensitive synthetic polymer resin that resembles chewing gum in the sink of his prison cell. Highly mercurial at an atomic level, it explodes upon contact with the precise vibration of a ticking wristwatch. In short, a plastic explosive that can use an unconnected clock as a timer.

According to the video footage of the keg explosion, there was a yellow phosphorescence present apart from Jordan's heat-vision blast. It's suspected this may have triggered Tag's metagene.


Dialogue Triumphs

General Lane: How could you not tell me?
Lois: What? That he’s good at football?
General Lane: He’s not. The kid’s a buck twenty soaking wet, never played a down of tiddlywinks. Now he’s T-boning players twice his size? He has powers, and you didn’t tell me.
Lois: All right, well, it’ll probably never even happen again. Bottom line, he doesn’t have powers. We just wanna keep an eye on him.
General Lane:That’s why you moved to Smallville?
Lois: No… well, yeah, sort of. 
General Lane: And now he’s playing football? Mistake. The Kent family needs to fly under the radar. 
Lois: My sons need to live their lives. Dad, Clark and I can handle this.
General Lane: Clark? How is he helping? By coaching the team?
Lois:  He’s involved, which is a hell of a lot more than you ever were.
General Lane: I don’t like his priorities changing.
Lois: It’s called being a father.

Lois: (sweetly) Clark? Gorgeous husband, love of my life, really, and my dear, personal champion, a tiny favor to ask.
Clark: Does it have anything to do with your dad?
Lois: No. He’s in national security mode. It has to do with the assembly. I was thinking that since my article was shredded and I can’t technically speak out about Morgan Edge, the next best thing would be to have Smallville’s favorite son show up and say some words on behalf of justice.
Clark: Okay. Well, when you put it that way, yeah, I’ll be there.
Lois: Great. Now if you’ll excuse me, I just found out Edge is at the mines.
Clark:  Whoa, you’re gonna go confront him after he sent a guy to attack you?
Lois: Look, Edge thinks he has me up against the ropes. If I show up out of nowhere, knock him off balance, maybe I’ll pop something loose.
Clark: If you wait, I can go with you.
Lois: No, I got it. You have practice. I can handle myself. 

Morgan Edge: Ms. Lane. Have you come to take a tour of our facilities?
Lois: Yeah, after what happened in New Carthage, I would rather not follow you into a dark tunnel.
Morgan Edge: Whatever could you be insinuating?
Lois: Look, I’m kind of bored with the whole “faux-British accent, billionaire at a football game trying to fit in” con job.
Morgan Edge: I can assure you, my accent is genuine. I was raised in…
Lois: (cutting him off) Oh, my God. Who cares? Let’s just lay it out on the table. First, you changed my story. Then, you sent some goon who almost killed Sharon Powell. Now you have your minion threatening my career? Let me tell you how this goes. You sue me, I countersue. Your records get opened up in discovery, and that doesn’t end well for you or your brand name.
Morgan Edge: My, my. You have thought this all through.
Lois: Why Smallville? There’s other towns, other mines. Why are you going to all this trouble?
Morgan Edge: That’s curious. I was about to ask you the same question. World-renowned journalist, short-listed for the Pulitzer twice. And you move here with your unemployed husband and two adolescent boys. It seems like there must be something here that’s very important to you. Maybe I’ll find out what that is.
Lois: Is that a threat?
Morgan Edge: Well, I could offer you your old job back, on the condition you play by the rules, but let’s be honest, you’ll never work at the “Daily Planet” again. You’re past your prime, playing a high-stakes game with a losing hand. You should fold while you still can.
Lois: Actually, I have one more ace to play. I’m bringing it with me to the town assembly. Maybe we can talk more then. For now, I’m done with you, unless this creep show has anything to add?
(Lois stares down Leslie Larr.)
Lois: I didn’t think so. 

Clark: Babe, I’m so, so sorry I missed the vote.
Lois: I know. It’s okay.
Clark: No, it’s not. And you’re covering.
Lois: Don’t super-spy on my pulse rate or whatever you do.
Clark: You clench your jaw when you’re mad.
Lois: I’m not mad.
Clark: Well, you should be. I said I was gonna be there, and I wasn’t.
Lois: Clark, can we not do this right now? I’m not in the mood!
Clark: I just want to apologize. And I want you to know that I…
Lois: Babe, I don’t need an excuse. I know you have an excuse. You’re Superman.
Clark:  Lois...
Lois: Okay, fine. I’m mad! And I know it’s irrational because I understand that there were lives at stake, but this was so important to me. And we lost the vote, by the way, and now I’m feeling guilty for wanting you to do something you said you would do. (sighs) When we started dating, I knew what I was getting into. And I don’t get mad about you missing date nights or anniversaries or family dinners because of some idiot with a nuke, but lately, with everything that’s going on with the boys and my dad constantly in your ear, it feels like I’m really far down on your list of priorities.
Clark: (stunned) Is that honestly how you feel?
Lois: Right now, in this moment that I might regret tomorrow, yeah, I do. 

Denise: You know, we miss you so much at cheer. 
Sarah: Well, you know, I just needed more time for… drugs and alcohol.

(Jonathan knocks on Jordan's bedroom door. Jordan is sitting on his bed holding an icepack to his jaw.)
Jonathan: You good?
(Jordan shrugs as Jonathan walks in and sits next to him on the bed.)
Jonathan: Jordan, what, uh, what happened to Tag…
Jordan: (tiredly) Don’t try to tell me it wasn’t my fault. You saw the video. My heat vision, it gave Tag those powers…
Jonathan: No, that’s not how it works.
Jordan: Yeah, you don’t know that.
Jonathan: You’re right. I don’t. I don’t know how or why any of this is happening, okay? And the truth is, um… I’ve honestly been really jealous about all of it. And I’m sorry about that, but, Jordan, look, I do know this. You would never hurt anyone. Ever. So whatever happened, it was an accident, okay? It was an accident. 


Continuity

As the episode opens, Morgan Edge is watching the Smallville High football game with some of the city leaders, including Kyle Cushing.

Kyle Cushing used to play football in high school.

The grandstands at Smallville High School's football stadium were built in 1948.

Edge extends a dinner invitation to Kyle and Lana when he learns that Lana is an employee of his bank.

General Lane shows up to watch the game unannounced. He was not aware that Jordan was playing football now or that Clark had taken a job as an assistant coach.

Jordan's nickname among the other players is Shortstack.

Jordan is given the game ball and credited with winning the game for his team.

General Lane claims the military is afraid of Superman and he's the only thing keeping them in check.

General Lane says that Superman's absence in Metropolis has been noted and that big organized crime groups like Intergang are getting bolder.

General Lane says that they are transferring all the high-risk inmates out of Metropolis Penitentiary because everyone thinks Superman isn't there anymore. He asks for Clark to act as an escort for the transfer as a show of good faith.

One of the prisoners being transferred is Thaddeus Killgrave - a psychopathic genius who hates Superman.

General Lane offers to stay for the weekend to pitch in around the house.

Tag Harris, who broke his arm in 101, is bitter about Jordan's success and not being able to play.

Tag Harris comes from a poorer family than most of the football players and is bullied because of it.

During the dinner with the city leaders, Morgan Edge spends most of the night talking with Lana and suggests he can improve her career prospects if she's agreeable.

Lana graduated magna cum laude from Stanhope College and could have gone anywhere but came back to Smallville. 

 Lana says that got into finance to help people but it seems the only people she helps now are shareholders.

Leslie Larr shows up at the Smallville Gazette office with a copy of Lois' former contract with The Daily Planet, which she claims has a clause that prohibits her from writing anything for a competing paper that reflects negatively on her former boss (i.e. Morgan Edge) or speaking against him publicly.

Chrissy Beppo is forced to pull Lois' expose of Edge, not having the money to fight his lawyers.

After getting home from the celebration at the local diner, Tag Harris begins to have a spasm while trying to scratch under his cast where his arm will not stop vibrating.

Jonathan is a little jealous of Jordan's success, but Clark reminds him that he can still shine as an offensive player.

Lois goes to confront Morgan Edge at the Shuster Mines, having learned he's there getting at tour.

Lois asks Clark to speak against Edge's proposal at a city assembly. He agrees to do so.

Lana is upset that Kyle didn't even notice Morgan Edge was making her uncomfortable.

Lois was short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for journalism twice.

Tag Harris has another spasm at school in the bathroom, which Jonathan Kent notices.

Thaddeus Killgrave uses a special explosive to escape from the prison caravan.

Tag removed his cast and claims his arm is now fine, several weeks before when he should have healed.

Jonathan tries to tell Clark about what he saw, but Clark has to put the conversation on hold to deal with Killgrave's escape.

Killgrave leaves behind a digital device warning Superman that he'll see him soon.

General Lane returns to Washington, but before he goes he tells Jordan and Jonathan they should be mindful about burdening their father with problems they might be able to solve themselves.

Jonathan and Jordan decide to go to a party being thrown by one of their teammates, Wellnitz, because Jonathan wants to check up on Tag. Jordan says he'll text Sarah Cushing about getting a ride with her.

Clark fails to make it to the Smallville town assembly meeting because of his searching for Killgrave after his escape..

Lana invites Lois to a girl's night out at a local bar.

The Smallville city council vote to grant Morgan Edge EneCorp exclusive rights to the Shuster mines.

According to Sarah, Wellnitz is a casual drug user.

According to Lana, Kyle actually respects Lois for speaking her mind, for all he does to rile her up.

Lois says she admires how Kyle feels about Smallville.

Lana tells Lois that Clark changed completely after meeting her, becoming more confident and self-assured. She credits her for that.

Jordan says he hasn't had an anxiety attack since joining the football team and he actually likes playing the game and being good at something other people praise him for.

Tag accidentally breaks a chair after cutting his hand and having another speed-spasm.

Jonathan and Jordan chase after Tag when he runs off from the party.

Killgrave and a group of Intergang members confront Superman at Glenmorgan Square in Metropolis with a sonic blaster.

Tag begins to spasm and vibrate uncontrollably and Jordan and Jonathan debate using the ELT to call their dad for help, based on General Lane's warning earlier. 

Jordan tries to hold Tag steady but is blown back by his vibrational powers.

Clark hears the ELT go off and  that inspires him to create a shockwave of his own with his hands, knocking down the Intergang members and giving him time to melt Killgrave's blaster.

Clark carries Tag into the upper atmosphere where the thinner air helps calm him down and regain control.

Jordan blames himself for what happened to tag, but Jonathan tells him he knows he would never intentionally do something to hurt someone.

Tag is being looked over by doctors at the DOD. 

There is a special school for kids with superpowers overseen by the American government. The exact number of students attending it is classified. 

Jordan and Jonathan tell Lois and Clark about General Lane telling them not to bother Clark with all their problems.

Lana and Kyle seem to mend their fences.

Clark sets up a dinner date night for himself and Lois in the Kent barn, but has to leave partway through because of a situation in Malawi.

General Lane tells Lt. Rosetti to establish a new protocol called Project 7734 on a secure line.

Morgan Edge is searching for a substance called X-Kryptonite, which exists in abundance in the Shuster Mines.


Untelevised Adventures

Clark leaves during his date with Lois to deal with a situation in Malawi.


The Bottom Line

A fantastic episode that puts the focus on Lois, but still gives us a fantastic Superman fight and gives the boys some great character moments too.

Superman and Lois: Season 1, Episode 3 - The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower

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

Plot

As Lois and Chrissy dig deeper into the truth about Morgan Edge's interest in Metropolis, Clark tries to take a more active role in his sons lives. This leads to strife as Jordan tries out for the football team against Clark's wishes and, to Jonathan's dismay, proves to be pretty good at it.


Influences

Gremlins (Jonathan references this with his joke about not feeding Jordan after midnight.), Frozen (Jordan refers to the Fortress of Solitude being Elsa's castle), Friday Night Lights (the show's producers admitted the show's football team subplot was inspired by this show, including the coach's last name being Gaines.) and the book/movie The Perks of Being A Wallflower.


Performances

If there were any doubts about Tyler Hoechlin being a great Superman, the opening sequence this week in which he waves to a fisherman while holding a collapsing bridge and then looks horrified and relieved at the revelation that he's holding up the bridge one-handed, eliminated those worries.

Again, we see another great performance from Jordan Elsass playing Jonathan Kent with wisdom beyond his years.


Artistry

Another cinema-quality action scene opens the show, with Clark stopping a bridge collapse.

There's something symbolically perfect about Lois Lane stabbing someone in the face with a pen.


Super Trivia

While appearing in earlier episodes, this episode gives a new prominence to Smallville High School's football coach. His name, Coach Gaines, is a nod to the coach from Friday Night Lights, which was a spiritual inspiration for the small town football fueled plot of Superman and Lois.

When Clark is dropping off some paperwork at the bank, a local business, Teague's Hardware, can be seen in the background. This may be a nod to the Teague family, who were major supporting characters in the Smallville series. (Perhaps it's not a coincidence that Jason Teague was the assistant football coach at Smallville High School on Smallville, and Clark takes up the same job at the end of this episode.)

The man who attempts to kill Sharon Powell and Lois is identified in the credits as Subjekt 11. This is similar to Subjekt 17 - a Superman villain who was an alien that was experimented on from birth by the Russian government in secret.

The woman with the heat vision who kills Subjekt 17 in the final scene is played by Stacey Farber and is credited as Leslie. Earlier press releases gave her character's name as Leslie Larr. Leslie Larr seems to be an adaptation of Lesla-Larr - an obscure Supergirl villain, who was an evil scientist from the city of Kandor that stole Supergirl's powers out of jealousy.


Technobabble

Clark doesn't hear every sound in the world at once; he hears all the fluctuations taking place in the collective sonic frequency. It took years of training for him to learn the difference between a shouting person calling for help and someone trying to hail a cab.


Dialogue Triumphs

The largely wordless sequence in which Superman holds up a collapsing bridge, stopping it from hitting a Chinese fisherman. As the astonished fisherman waves at Superman, he smiles reassuringly, waves back, and the looks frightened for a moment at what he's done before realizing that, thankfully, he's still holding the bridge up with one hand. The fisherman then laughs at Superman's relief, though it's unclear if Clark did this intentionally to make the man laugh.

Jordan: I would've much rather had super hearing than crazy-ass laser eyes.
Clark: Hey. Let's just stick with calling it heat vision for now, okay?

(Clark defends his checking up on his sons with his super-hearing.)
Clark: I was just making sure that you were okay.
Jordan: Yeah, you could've said something this morning, but instead, you lied to our faces.
Clark: It wasn't a lie. You just didn't ask.
Jonathan: How long have you been doing this? Since we moved here? Our whole lives?
Clark: It's not like I'm listening all the time.
Jonathan: That is... that is the wrong answer! 

Lois: Do you remember the first time I caught you listening in on me?
Clark: How could I forget? Thought I was gonna lose you forever.
Lois: You almost did.
Clark: Pretty sure I spent about a weeks' salary on flowers just to get you to talk to me again.
Lois: (smiling softly) It was two, and you got off easy because I was still madly in love with you.

Jonathan: Why'd you lie to Dad?
Jordan: Why are you whispering?
Jonathan: I'm... (a little louder) I'm not whispering.
Jordan: And I didn't lie to him. I'm following his example.
Jonathan: Okay, well, now that you've made your stupid point, you're done playing football, right?
Jordan: No, the team needs me. (sarcastically) And besides, Coach Gaines may even send me a valentine.
Jonathan: Jordan, football is my thing, not yours.
Jordan: You don't own football, you egomaniac.
Jonathan: The only reason that you're even playing is 'cause you have your little super strength. Or whatever.
Jordan: The only reason I'm playing is 'cause your little football buddies need to back off. You're welcome. And besides, I don't have super strength. I'm just a little stronger than before.
Jonathan: What if someone gets hurt?
Jordan: You know, I'm getting a little tired of everyone treating me like I'm some sort of ticking time bomb. 
Jonathan: (scoffs) You know Dad's gonna find out.
Jordan: So what? I'm not doing anything wrong.
Jonathan:  Guess you got nothing to worry about then. 

Jonathan: You glad Dad found out? Now you can just go back to hanging out with Sarah and listening to LP remix Morrissey, or whatever.
Jordan: Morrissey's a xenophobic has-been.
Jonathan: Well, you hate football, right? So who cares? You don't have to pretend anymore.
Jordan: (blandly) Yeah
(Jordan's phone buzzes but he doesn't look up from his game. Jonathan glances at it and sees it's from Malcolm, another player, and he wants to talk defense. Jordan heads downstairs to the kitchen, where he runs into Clark.)
Jonathan: You were right. I-I should've said something. That's my bad, I know I'm not a perfect person
Clark: (chuckles) Trust me. We all make mistakes.
Jonathan: Yeah, but what if Jordan joining the team wasn't a mistake?
Clark: Not sure I see your point.
Jonathan: Trust me, this... this feels really weird to say, but maybe Jordan needs football. I mean, he's been a really messed up kid for a really long time. And, I don't know, what if joining the team's a good thing?
Clark: I appreciate you sticking up for your brother...
Jonathan: No, look, it's not even like that. You should've seen him out there, he's making friends. He's been happy for the first time in... forever.
Clark: Jonathan, there's nothing I want more than for you guys to be happy, but we have to be careful. And him using his strength like this, it... It could raise suspicion.
Jonathan: Yeah, but he doesn't have super strength like you. That's what Jor-El Debarge said, right?
Clark: Just because his strength isn't like mine doesn't mean it's not elevated.
Jonathan: Okay, so maybe that puts him on the level of the other kids. Okay, maybe he's a little stronger, but maybe that does even the playing field for a kid his size.
Clark: You don't know that.
Jonathan: Neither do you. I know that having powers is a total game changer, but what's the point of having something special if you're not actually allowed to be special? 

(Lois holds up her Superman signal device.)
Subjekt 11: That won't help you.
Lois: No, but he will.
(There is a loud whoosh as Superman flies through the wall and sends Subjekt 11 flying.)

Chrissy: Stories this important don't usually happen in Smallville.
Lois: But, see, that's where I was wrong. Stories like this happen in small towns everywhere, and stories that need to be told, but they get missed because there aren't enough reporters looking for them.


Continuity

The family start repainting the kitchen in the Kent farmhouse, but can't decide on a color.

Clark favors a shade of brown called Huntman's Tribute, which Jonathan thinks looks like poop.

Lois is favoring an off-white/blue mix.

Clark leaves to save people when a bridge in China collapses. 

Clark discusses how he trained himself to identify certain noises from a distance with his super-hearing. He refuses to discuss the most embarrassing thing he ever heard with his sons, as it is inappropriate for a 14 year old to hear.

The Cushings are escorting Sarah to therapy in secret, causing her to miss first period class some days.

Sarah refuses to discuss her therapy with her parents as its meant to be private.

Sarah's therapist is Dr. Lawrence.

Jordan and Sarah are in the same class first period.

Sean, Sarah's boyfriend, threatens Jordan after he sees her talking to her.

Jordan's eyes briefly flash red as he's pushed against the lockers.

Clark uses his super-hearing to listen in on his sons and overhears them about to get into a fight, spurring him to show up at the school.

Jonathan and Jordan figure out what happened almost immediately and are annoyed that Clark is spying on them.

Lois is having a hard time getting people in Smallville to talk to her about their reverse mortgages. 

Lois almost broke up with Clark over his spying on her with his superhearing.

Clark promises the boys he won't listen in on them anymore.

Lois is approached by a woman named Sharon Powell who lives in New Carthage.

Sharon Powell says that her son Derek worked for Morgan Edge for six months but disappeared mysteriously after being offered "the opportunity of a lifetime." She has no idea what this was, but it involved him filling out a lot of paperwork.

The last Sharon heard from her son was a phone message where he said the opportunity wasn't what he thought it was and that he wasn't sure what was happening, but he wanted her to know he loved her.

A man with a camera watches Sharon and Lois from his car as they talk.

Sarah breaks up with Sean. Jordan overhears part of the conversation where this happens.

Later that same day, Sarah quits the cheerleading team.

Lana works at Smallville High School as a cheerleading coach, in addition to her job with the bank.

Jonathan is the back-up quarterback of Smallville High School's football team. His number is 12.

Jordan decides to try out for the football team. He is given the number 24.

Jordan proves to be a natural defensive player and is able to knock down every player that rushes against him, despite being one of the smallest players on the team.

Coach Gaines makes Jonathan run five laps for not saying anything about his brother being a great football player.

According to Sarah, her father sleeps on the couch every night, Lana can't go to bed without pills and her sister Sophie is bullying all the other kids in her class.

Chrissy Beppo is skeptical of Sharon Powell's story, as Derek Powell had a checkered past and Sharon Powell seemed to have been drinking recently when she made her statement.

Lois' car is set on fire.

Lois is quick to blame Morgan Edge for the fire, but Kyle Cushing is skeptical. So is Chrissy Beppo.

Jonathan tries to talk Jordan into quitting the team.

Clark encourages Lois to keep pursuing her story.

This is not the first time someone has blown up Lois' car because of a story.

Lana admits to Clark that she's afraid of her family falling apart, saying that she and Kyle barely talk, they only fight when they do speak, her youngest daughter has become mean and she's afraid she's lost Sarah completely. 

Lana lets it slip that she heard Jordan was doing really well at practice.

Sean calls out Jordan to do a rushing challenge at practice.

Jordan knocks Sean down, but apologies for kissing Sarah and offers Sean a hand up. Sean seems to accept the apology.

Clark goes by the football field and sees Jordan playing.

Jordan and Clark have an argument about him playing football.

Lois goes to New Carthage to meet with Sharon Powell to discuss three other Morgan Edge employees who have gone missing under mysterious circumstances. 

Jonathan tells Clark that he thinks football is good for Jordan personally and could help him work out his issues.

Lois discovers Sharon Powell, near strangled to death in the bathroom of the hotel room they were going to meet in.

Lois activates her signal device as she's attacked by the man who was watching her earlier.

The man who attacked Lois is strong enough and durable enough to trade blows with Superman. He is, however, not able to do anything when Superman blasts him with his frost breath, freezing him in place long enough to start pummeling him with blows at super speed. 

Superman rushes Sharon Powell to the hospital.

Sarah admits that her suicide attempt was prompted by feeling trapped and growing into a life she didn't want - one exactly like her mother's.

Lana admits she isn't happy with her life, but she was raised to always be smiling even when you hurt, which isn't really healthy.

Clark admits to Jordan that he really wanted to try out for the baseball team when he was Jordan's age, but his father wouldn't let him. He almost did it anyway, but decided against it when he realized it was less about playing a sport and more about impressing a girl.

When Jordan says he really has come to enjoy football, Clark agrees to let him keep playing.

Clark takes a job as an assistant football coach at Smallville High School, working for free.

Sarah agrees to come watch the football game to see Jordan play.

Chrissy apologies for no believing in Lois and encourages her to pursue the story.

Chrissy sets up a murder board, with photos of the man who attacked Lois she got from the security cameras at a nearby gas station.

In the final scene, the man who attacked Lois and Sharon Powell talks to his boss on the phone and asks how someone named Larr is going to fix this situation.

The man who attacked Lois and Sharon Powell is killed by a woman with heat vision, who informs someone over the phone that she will call the team.


Location

Pingtang Bridge - Guizhou, China
New Carthage


The Kryptonite Factor

You'd think Lois Lane of all people would know better than to display her murder-board in a room with big open windows facing the street. 


The Bottom Line

A wonderful slice-of-life episode which emphasizes the personal triumphs of Clark and Lois' sons, while giving Clark a challenge he can't fight his way through even as the plot around Morgan Edge thickens. Slowly but surely, this is growing into the best of the Arrowverse series.

Superman and Lois: Season 1, Episode 2 - Heritage

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

Plot

 As the family adjust to life in Smallville and Lana Lang Cushing invites them to a cook-out to welcome them to the small town, Lois continues to wage war upon Morgan Edge. Meanwhile, the Stranger seeks out an unlikely ally, even as General Lane and Clark continue their search.

Influences

Injustice: Gods Among Us (idea of evil Superman taking over the world), The Death of Superman (black Superman costume), Superman: New Krypton (reference to Project 7734) and Superman: The Movie (general appearance of Jor-El hologram)


Goofs

The Fortress of Solitude seen here doesn't resemble the one pictured in earlier episodes of Supergirl. (It's appearance may have been changed after Crisis.)


Performances

Any worries that Elizabeth Tulloch wouldn't be given anything to do as Lois Lane are blown away by this episode. Here we see Lois Lane, defender of the innocent, unwilling to take Hell from anyone but ready to give it back in spades to anyone who dares cross her.

It's au understated moment, but Jordan Elsass gets a great delivery on the line where Jonathan tells Lois that they both left their lives in Metropolis as Lois is trying to lift her son's spirits regarding everything he lost in moving to Smallville for the sake of his brother. Jonathan is immediately established as wise beyond his years, clearly recognizing his mother is also trying to convince herself they've done the right thing given her own career setbacks in coming to Smallville.


Artistry

Again, the special effects work is of cinematic quality, with the fight between The Stranger and Superman being of particular note.


Super Trivia

Clark's description of how he made the Fortress of Solitude is taken directly from Superman: The Movie.

The hologram of Jor-El refers to Kryptonopolis being the second largest city on Krypton and the center of the House of El. This is taken directly from the Superman comics. (Kandor was the largest city on Krypton, until it was shrunk and stolen by Brainiac.)

Lois' research into Morgan Edge's dirty business dealings leads her to investigate the city of New Carthage. In the comics, this is a college town in upstate New York, where Dick Grayson went to college at Hudson University.

Chrissy Beppo's name is a nod to Beppo the Super Monkey - one of the many Super Pets that Superman had in the Silver Age of Comics. Beppo was a Kryptonian monkey who was used in a test rocket Jor-El made before sending his son to Earth. He later made his way to Earth and gained the same enhanced abilities as Krypto the Super Dog and Kal-El.

Smallville Mayor George Dean is played by actor Eric Keenleyside. Keenleyside had a role in the pilot episode of Smallville, playing Chloe Sullivan's father. Sadly, his scene was cut. 

One of General Lane's underlings is named Rosetti. This may be a nod to Colonel Reno Rosetti - a member of the Human Defense Corps, which was a group established by then President Lex Luthor to end America's dependence on non-human superheroes.

One of the small towns Lois says Morgan Edge ruined was named Granville. This was the name of a small Kansas town in the television series Smalllville which housed a secret lab used to study Kara Zor-El's ship.

Captain Luthor gives General Lane a dog-tag with the number 7734 on it, as he claimed to be a friend of General Lane on his Earth, where they both fought Kal-El of Krypton together. This is a nod to Project 7734 - a group led by General Sam Lane in the post-Crisis DC Comics Universe, which was a secret US Military imitative devoted to defending the Earth from alien invaders. 


Technobabble

The device Lois and General Lane use to summon Superman is called an ELT.

General Lane was able to use a residence identifier to track Captain Luthor's ship.

The explosion of Captain Luthor's ship is strong enough to knock Superman out of orbit.

Jor-El speaks of the photo-nucleic effect that Jordan caused (i.e. his heat vision) being insignificant. 

Captain Luthor has a robot duplicate that is as well armored as he is.

Captain Luthor's drone deploys a sonic projectile weapon capable of knocking back an entire squadron of soldiers.


Dialogue Triumphs

Lois: (voice-over) What can you say about leaving a place you loved? All the memories? All the experiences? It can be heartbreaking... until the excitement takes over. Because you soon realize you get to make new memories. Have new experiences... And best of all... Fall in love all over again.

(Clark is wearing a heavy winter coat. He hands Jordan a similar coat.)
Jordan: Why do we need these big winter jackets? Are we flying somewhere?
Clark: Kind of have to. Hold on, okay?
(Jordan smiles as his father holds him and looks him in the eyes. Suddenly the two jet into the air and a small sonic boom is heard. Jonathan looks up at his brother, clearly jealous.)
Jonathan: How come he gets to go flying with Dad and I have to go to school? 

Lois: At least we have the radio.

(General Lane and Clark are out on the porch of the Kent farm house. Night has fallen.)
General Lane: Sure is quiet out here... simple.
(There's a long pause. Clark says nothing but he seems to be bracing himself.)
General Lane: You still looking for the simple life? 'Cause those days are gone, Clark... long gone.
(Clark says nothing. He's too polite to argue.)
Clark: (starting to turn away) Let me know when you find the ship-

General Lane: (cutting him off) Why'd you move the family here? You took Lois away from where she needs to be, hurt Jonathan's football chances. Jordan's got no chance of fitting in with kids here. Must have had a hell of a reason. 

(Clark says nothing, clearly uncomfortable with the direction this conversation is going.)

General Lane: You told the boys you're Superman! 

Clark: Couldn't lie to 'em anymore. 

General Lane: You sure as hell could. 

Clark: Sam... 

General Lane: You have any idea what you just did? You ruined their childhood, Clark! I've seen the toll this life's taken on Lois over the years. She never says anything to you, but I know! Now you're gonna put the boys through that same hell? 

Clark: This is gonna keep my family together. 

General Lane: No, Clark. It's gonna tear it apart.

Clark: Your dad knows that we told the boys. He figured it out the other night.
Lois: What'd he say?
Clark: Oh, you know, just that we're making the biggest mistake of our lives.
Lois: (smiles) See, now I know we're on the right track.
Clark: (chuckles, as he looks at Lois's laptop) What's that?
Lois: It is about an article I am working on about Morgan Edge.
Clark: Edge?
Lois: (protesting) He was at the Smallville city council meeting last night.
Clark: I thought you weren't getting involved?
Lois: Well... yes, but then he started spouting this BS about helping the town. Morgan Edge is not here to save Smallville, Kansas. He's here for cheap labor because people are desperate, just like he did with New Carthage and Hazel Green and Granville. He is eating these small towns from the inside out.
(Clark motions to the chair. Lois gets out of his way so he can look at what she has.)
Clark: Thank you. (reading outloud)"Morgan Edge is a corporate vampire". You remember that Edge owns the "Planet"?

Lois: So?
Clark: So he's not gonna let you publish this!
Lois: You know what, babe? You do your Superman stuff, and I will do my Lois Lane stuff.
(Clark raises his hands in surrender and takes the seat next to Lois, smiling, clearly in love with how she gets when she is angry.)
Lois: I'm serious, Clark. I'm getting this gut feeling that this is one of the reasons I was supposed to come to Smallville. I am not going to let Morgan Edge destroy this town like he did the others. 

Lois: Jonathan... you're a really great brother, you know that? I know how much you gave up by saying yes to coming here. Your whole life's in Metropolis. Your girlfriend's there. Your entire identity is there, but you said yes to coming here anyway 'cause you wanted to help your brother.
Jonathan: (shrugs) You and I both had lives we left behind.
Lois: Yeah. 

(Morgan Edge is holding a meeting of Daily Planet executives. Lois Lane walks up to him, ignoring the other people in the board room and the fact that Edge is talking.)
Morgan Edge: Let me make this very clear. Either the website gets more clicks, or various people sitting in this room will...
Lois: You rewrote my story.
Morgan Edge: I merely corrected what was wrong.
Lois: So just to confirm, we can't do any actual reporting here anymore, correct?
Morgan Edge: Ms. Lane, I won't have my paper printing this kind of nonsense.
Lois: That's what I thought.
(Lois drops an envelope on the desk before Edge and turns around to walk out.)
Morgan Edge: What's this?
(Lois stops and turns around.)
Lois: That is the best writing I have done since you took over.
(Lois walks past a female reporter on her way out.)
Female Reporter: He's going to crush you.
Lois: Let him try.

Lois: (voice-over) What can you say about leaving a place you loved?  You hope it made you who you are... Challenged your beliefs...Pushed you out of your comfort zone...And gave you the strength to demand better... So you're prepared for what's to come. 


Continuity

Jonathan never got a copy of the Smallville High School football team playbook, which he was meant to study before his first practice.

The head coach at Smallville High is named Gaines.

Jordan is taking two AP classes (he wanted to take more) and was put in Spanish instead of French.

Clark decides to keep Jordan home from school until they learn more about his powers.

Jonathan is still trying to maintain a distance relationship with his girlfriend, Eliza.

Captain Luthor attacks a black market weapons' dealer in Moldova searching for Kryptonite. He says that he hasn't had any and can't get anymore.

Captain Luthor's armor and suit are apparently powered by Kryptonite.

Clark takes Jordan to the Fortress of Solitude.

Sarah notices Jordan is missing.

Sean, Sarah's boyfriend, taunts Jonathan about not getting the playbook and warns him that Smallville High School already had a quarterback. 

One of the other lead football players is named Timmy.

Clark confirms that the crystal Jordan found was a Sunstone and that it is basically a flash drive containing all the information that is known about Krypton, as well as an AI interface based on the personality of Jor-El.

Kryptonopolis was the second largest city of Krypton.

As Lois works in a local diner, she sees a woman watching her from a distance.

Lois runs into Lana and Kyle. Lana invites Lois and her family to a cook-out at her place at 7 pm the next evening.  

Lois learns there is a city council meeting that night and that the mayor and Kyle have some big surprise planned. This is later revealed to be Morgan Edge coming to speak in person about his plans to revitalize Smallville.

According to Jor-El, Krypton's destruction was brought about by the natural resources being exhausted and war breaking out as people fought over what was left. It is suggested, but not stated outright, that advanced weapons may have triggered the destruction of the planet. 

Lois takes Jordan and Jonathan with her to the city council meeting.

General Lane comes to talk to Clark in person about The Stranger.

Sarah is also at the city council meeting. Jordan lies and says he was feeling better when Sarah asks why he's there. Sarah also apologizes for not stepping in to help Jonathan with the whole playbook situation. 

Lois sees the woman who was watching her at the meeting. She strikes up a conversation and learns that she is Chrissy Beppo - a writer with the Smallville Gazette. 

The mayor of Smallville is George Dean.

General Lane disagrees with Clark and Lois' decision to tell their children that Clark is Superman.

General Lane has an aide named Rosetti. 

Captain Luthor is sighted in Mongolia, where he is shown to be searching for Kryptonite.

Morgan Edge says his plan with bring 600 jobs to Smallville.

Lois questions Edge on his numbers and notes that his plans for New Carthage missed their target job creation numbers by 50% and paid below a living wage.

Edge admits the mining project in New Carthage underperformed, but that was not his fault.

Again, Captain Luthor claims that Superman destroyed his planet. 

Captain Luthor plants a bomb on his ship and sends it toward a city to force Superman to allow him to escape.

Jonathan asks for a chance to show he can run a play at football practice. Unfortunately, he is sabotaged by the other players.

Clark tells Lois about what her father said.

Lois tells Clark that she's working on an article on Morgan Edge and the other small towns he's ruined, including New Carthage, Hazel Green and Granville.

According to Jor-El, Jordan is not 1/100th as strong as Clark and his ability to hold solar radiation is vastly inferior to Clark's. He says there is no way, based on his tests, that Jordan can reliably replicate Clark's powers.

Kyle Cushing says he looked into the New Carthage situation and blames the failure on people trying to unionize and demanding a wage that prevented Morgan Edge from making a profit right off the bat. He claims that what Edge is offering is short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain.

While at the cookout at the Cushing house, Lois realizes that her article on Morgan Edge was rewritten without her permission into a puff piece praising him.

Captqain Luthor attacks the Department of Defense.

Captain Luthor claims to have been a friend and ally of General Sam Lane on his Earth. He gives General Lane a dog-tag, shaped like the House of El seal, with the number 7734 engraved on the back.

The Captain Luthor that attacks the DOD is revealed to be a drone.

General Lane admits that the DOD has a secret stockpile of Kryptonite that it gathered to stop people from using it against Superman.

Clark tells Lois about the secret Kryptonite stockpile.

Jordan apologizes to Jonathan for not thanking him for agreeing to move for his benefit. 

Jonathan promises to help Jordan figure out what's going on with his powers.

Clark gives Jordan a signal device of his own and tells him he can start going to school.

Lois goes to Metropolis and presents a letter to Morgan Edge. It says two words: I QUIT.

Lois takes a job with the Smallville Gazette. She discovers that Chrissy Beppo is the editor; not just a writer. She agrees to run Lois' article about Morgan Edge as it is.

Captain Luthor begins planning the construction of a new battle suit. His AI tells him it will take time to get the proper materials, but it seems this world's version of Kal-El is not entirely like the one from his, so they have time to prepare.

The final scene of the episode shows a memory of Captain Luthor fighting a Superman in a black suit, similar to the one worn by the evil Superman of Elseworlds.


Location

Moldova
Mongolia - Siberian Taiga Region
Washington DC - Department of Defense


The Bottom Line

Another solid episode that does better by Lois Lane than the pilot. 

Superman and Lois: Season 1, Episode 1 - Pilot

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

Plot

As Superman, Clark Kent can do nearly anything, but even he finds it hard to balance work, family and saving the world. In the wake of Martha Kent's death, the family travel to Smallville to discover a community in need of heroes and not the kind that wear tights and a cape, as Lois begins investigating a corrupt billionaires connection to some shady land deals and Superman must contend with a Stranger who seems to know all about him.


Influences

Action Comics #1 (several nods to Seigel and Shuster and a tribute to the cover), Superman: The Movie (Clark's background in the Arrowverse, nods to Richard Donner and the general style), Superman For All Seasons (Clark's line about his mom making his costume), the 1978 Firestorm comic (nod to Hudson Nuclear Power Plant) and The Mandalorian (last scene of The Stranger returning to his ship and removing his helmet without letting the audience see his face.)


Goofs

It seems a bit weird that Lois found out about the fire at Shuster Mines from a TV news broadcast rather than by getting called by the Smallville sheriff or some other local authority first. (Presumably the sheriff didn't know how to get a hold of Jonathan and Jordan's parents since they weren't local and Jonathan and Jordan were too shocked to think of calling their parents?) 


Performances

Tyler Hoechlin faced a difficult task stepping into the cape of Superman on a regular basis at a time when passions are burning hot regarding other actors not being given a chance to play the role in another movie or their own television series. It was a burden he shouldered well, however, and his performance here strikes the narrative heart of who Clark Kent is perfectly.

Elizabeth Tulloch made the most of her limited screen time in her previous appearances as Lois Lane and she does the same here. While Lois is largely a background player in this pilot episode, Tulloch perfectly captures the ferocity of the character as she has to be held back from going after the man who fired her husband and the fire chief giving her the usual talking points about what the liberal media believes about small town folks.

Jordan Elsass has a tricky task playing Jonathan, the more together of the Kent boys. He manages to turn Jonathan into a character who may tease his troubled brother, but will be damned if anyone else tries to hurt him.

Alex Garfin faces a similar challenge in portraying Jordan Kent without going over the top in  portraying his anxiety or his anger when he learns about how his parents have been lying to him all his life. 


Artistry

Across the board, the special effects works is of cinematic quality and it sets a new standard for what superhero shows can do.


Super Trivia

Different versions of Superman's origins have had him acquire his powers at different points in time. The Silver Age comics had him flying around as Superbaby and accidentally causing mischief and serving in the Legion of Superheroes as a teenager. More recent retelling have had Clark's powers manifest when he was a teenager. In the case of the Arrowverse, Clark's powers manifested when he was a toddler and he was told about his alien origins when he was 6.

The opening montage reveals that the Arrowverse version of Pa Kent died of a heart attack when Clark was a teenager. The death of his foster father is often a formative moment in Clark Kent's life, teaching him humility and that there are some things even his power cannot prevent. The most famous instance of this was in Superman: The Movie, where Clark was helpless to get his father to a hospital in time to save him.

The costume Superman wears in his first public appearance features a slightly different version of his classic S-symbol, with yellow on a black background. This is a nod to the costume Superman wore in the animated shorts made by Fleischer Studios in the 1940s.

Superman lifting a green car is a visual nod to the cover of Action Comics #1.

Superman's line where he thanks a boy who complements his comment and says his mom made it for him is taken directly from the story Superman For All Seasons.

Clark is guided around the Daily Planet newsroom by an older man on his first day at work. While not identified in the episode, the credit confirm this is Perry White - the long-suffering Editor-In-Chief of The Daily Planet.

When Lois meets Clark for the first time, she asks if Lombard told him to wear a tie to work. This is a nod to Steve Lombard; a former professional American footballer turned writer/editor for the Daily Planet sports department. A boisterous braggart who was fond of practical jokes and thought himself something of a ladies' man, Lombard was a frequent supporting cast member of many Superman comics. Despite his boorish behavior, he did prove himself to have a heroic spirit on several occasions and Clark Kent did consider him a friend.

While warning Clark about Lombard being a prankster, Lois notes that he is good for getting box seats to the Meteors. This leads Clark to note that he loves baseball.  In the comics, thee Metropolis Meteors are a Major League Baseball franchise and part of the National League. The name has also been applied to Metropolis' NFL (American football) franchise.

Jonathan and Jordan Kent mark the first time Superman has fathered twin sons in any medium. He did have twin daughters, Jane and Carol, in the reality of Superman: Secret Identity.

Several versions of Superman's son have been named Jonathan after Clark's adoptive father. In the DC Comics Rebirth reality, Jonathan Kent became Superboy for a time, traveled into the future to be part of the Legion of Superheroes, and returned to the present on the cusp of manhood, not quite a Superman. His destiny following the Dark Nights: Death Metal event has yet to be determined. 

At one point Lois walks past a bank of monitors, one of which broadcasts a story about Superman investigating an explosion at Ace Chemical. This is the name of the chemical factor responsible for transforming The Joker and Harley Quinn into their crazy selves.

Another of the monitors reports on Superman helping a new space shuttle get into orbit after the mounting mechanism broke. This is a neat twist on Superman's first public appearance in 1986's Man of Steel #1, where Clark stepped in to prevent an experimental space plane from crashing. Many Superman origins stories since then have tied Superman's first appearance to his rescuing astronauts. The scene also acts as a subtle reminder that Superman often works just to help people rather than only fighting criminals or averting natural disasters. 

The role of General Sam Lane has been recast for Superman and Lois. Dylan Walsh has taken over the role from Glenn Morshower, who played the role in Supergirl Season 1.

The new post-Crisis General Lane is drastically different from his original counterpart, who was truer to the comics. In the comics, General Lane was a xenophobic man, fearful of aliens, who disliked Clark Kent as being too weak for his daughter.

The new Arrowverse version of General Lane has a more friendly relationship with Clark, planning fishing trips with him and his sons, and calling upon Superman to deal with various disasters.

Both General Lane and Lois are revealed to have pager-like devices that can generate a high frequency alarm only Superman can hear. This is a nod to the classic Superman signal watch, which Superman made for his pal Jimmy Olsen, so he could call Superman whenever he found himself in trouble.

The shot of Superman lifting a giant iceberg seems to have been stylistically inspired by a scene in Superman Returns where Superman lifted an island full of Kryptonite crystals.

Lois makes reference to an editor named Foswell. This is a nod to Samuel Foswell; another Daily Planet editor from the Superman comics.

When Clark checks up on Jordan, he's playing the video game Injustice 2 - a real world video game featuring many DC Comics heroes and villains. (Tellingly, Jordan is playing as the Mortal Kombat character Raiden and beating up Superman, who he feels is boring.) This is not the first time Injustice 2 has appeared in the Arrowverse, as the game was a favorite of Felicity Smoak and William Clayton and the two played it in A606.

A slate board in the Kent kitchen has a note about calling Dr. Donner. This is a nod to Richard Donner, the director of Superman: The Movie.

The board also has a note to call Seigel and Shuster. This is a nod to Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster, the writer and artist who created Superman in 1938.  Tellingly, the phone number starts with the digits 193-8.

When Lois and Clark first arrive at work, they run into a co-worker whom Lois addresses as Max. This is likely meant to be George Maxwell "Max" Taylor - a longtime editor at the Daily Planet in the comics.

When Lois asks Max what is wrong, he indicates a man named Thorpe who is cleaning out his desk while two security guards watch him. This man is probably meant to be Ronald "Ron" Thorpe; an editorial writer for The Daily Planet who was also a major supporting player and friend of Lois and Clark in the comics.

The role of Morgan Edge has also been recast for Superman and Lois, though Edge does not appear in the flesh in this pilot episode. Adam Rayner will be taking over the role from Adrian Pasdar, who played Morgan Edge during the first half of Supergirl Season 4.

In the comics, Edge was a greedy media mogul who bought the Daily Planet and reassigned Clark Kent to work the broadcast news division of his network, Galaxy Broadcasting System. Though Jack Kirby originally intended to reveal Edge to be a crime boss in the employ of Intergang, the editors of DC Comics elected to keep Edge around as a human adversary and eventual ally to Clark Kent. Post-Crisis, Kirby's original plans were brought to fruition by other writers and Edge became a corrupt businessman in the same mold as Lex Luthor, though one backed by alien interests.

The previous Arrowverse version of Edge was a Trumpian figure; a real estate magnate who tried to buy Catco Worldwide media to stop them from reporting on his crimes. He was thwarted after Lena Luthor bought the company to spite him.

The new Morgan Edge is closer to the original Kirby intent for the character, being a corrupt media mogul who has begun branching into other businesses. It has yet to be seen if he will be a secret crime boss as well. 

The doctor who calls Clark Kent about his mother's stroke is named Dr. Frye. This was also the name of Smallville's town doctor in Superman: The Movie.

The Arrowverse version of Lana Lang is a bank manager who still lives in Smallville and is married to the local fire chief. As with most versions of Superman's background, Lana Lang was Clark Kent's first girlfriend. In a marked difference from most of the modern comics, where Lana Lang was also the first person to learn about Clark Kent's powers apart from his parents, the Arrowverse version of Lana Lang doesn't know that Clark Kent is Superman.

A banner in Clark Kent's old bedroom makes reference to the Smallville Crows; the mascot of Smallville High School, which was first revealed in Smallville.

The Kryptonese language used by the Stranger utilizes the Kryptonese alphabet created for the comics by editor E. Nelson Bridwell. This is a different Kryptonian language than the one utilized in the DCEU, which was created for the movie Man of Steel.

General Lane makes a sarcastic reference to there being a phone booth somewhere in Metropolis that Clark can use to change his costume if The Stranger shows up while he's tending to his mother's affairs. This is a nod to how Superman used to modestly change into his costume in the classic comics.

Lana Lang makes reference to a friend named Pete whom she and Clark went to a Soul Asylum concert as teenagers. This is a nod to Pete Woods, who was Clark Kent's childhood best friend in the comics. 

The reference to Clark being a Soul Asylum fan may be a clever nod to their most popular song, "Runaway Train." Superman is often associated with trains, being "more powerful than a locomotive"' according to the opening of The Adventures of Superman. Superman racing trains or saving trains is a common test of his skills and he did both in Superman: The Movie. The song is also a fair summation of Clark's attitude in this episode, as the song's singer describes feeling uncharacteristically depressed by the changes in their life and that things are going out of control, like a runaway train. The music video for "Runaway Train" is also notable in that it was used to showcase pictures of missing children and led to 26 missing minors being rescued.

When Jordan and Jonathan discover the ship that brought their father to Earth in the Kent barn, a crystal emerges from the ship when Jordan touches it. This is likely a Sunstone - a particularly Kryptonian crystal used as a power source and a construction tool.

Clark confirms that in addition to the classic super-haring and enhanced vision, he also has a sense of super smell. He tries not to use it too often, however, with two teenage boys living in his house.

The truck which Clark lifts to prove that he is Superman is the same model as the truck lifted by a baby Kal-El in Superman: The Movie.

Artist Joe Shuster gets another nod, with the Shuster Mines outside Smallville being named in his honor.

The battle between The Stranger and Superman starts at the Hudson Nuclear Power Planet. This is also the name of the facility where a nuclear reactor accident transformed Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein into the hero Firestorm.


Technobabble

Superman is unable to see through lead with his X-Ray vision.

After his battle with Superman, The Stranger ways he must improve the  tactile function and speed of his armor to have any hope of beating him.


Dialogue Triumphs

Lois: You're worried about Jordan.
Clark: I tried talking to him last night, but he was pretty upset.
Lois: Well, if he knew where you really were... your parents told you about your real heritage when you were six.
Clark: That was... that was different. I lived on a farm. I had powers.
Lois: You don't think Jonathan's got something?
Clark: Test at the Fortress said it was unlikely.
Lois: He's about to be starting quarterback at one of the most competitive high schools in the nation... as a freshman.
Clark: Yeah. Doesn't mean he has powers.
Lois: Have you seen him throw a deep route?!

(Kyle Cushing has been praising Morgan Edge and his plans to revitalize Smallville.)
Lois: Morgan Edge ruins everything he touches.
Kyle: What's he ruined?
Lois:  He is single-handedly destroying the Daily Planet.
Kyle: People quit reading that paper 'cause, uh, you reporters can't keep your politics to yourselves.
Lois: Edge's companies prey on struggling communities. He busts up unions. He barely pays a living wage. I don't understand how he can keep fooling people.
Kyle: Oh, you mean us dumb, backwards, small-town folk?
Lois: No, no, that is not what I meant.
Kyle: I know what you meant. See, people like you, you look at Smallville, and you think of the past, and you feel a little bad for us, right? People like Morgan Edge, though, now, see, he looks at Smallville, and he sees the future.
Lois: It's not a future I would wanna live in.
Kyle: It's a good thing we don't have to worry about that anymore, now, do we?

Lois: When we were dreaming about having a family, it didn't look like this, did it? Didn't have lost jobs or... Teens with severe anxiety or... Parents gone too soon. No one ever dreams about the problems, but every life has them. Even the extraordinary ones.

General Sam Lane: When you wanted to get married, I tried warning you. You may have fallen in love with Clark Kent, but you married Superman. And Superman doesn't get to have a normal life, no matter how much you want one for him. Or yourself.

Clark: Why would my mom want me to come home just to sell the farm?
Lois: I don't think she wanted you to sell it. I think she wanted you to save it.
Clark: How? You know, we're not exactly flush with cash, especially after getting fired.
Lois: I don't know yet. But those reverse mortgages weren't because the bank was feeling generous. You may have super strength and super hearing, but I have super smell, and those loans don't smell right.
(There's a long pause. Clark smiles.)
Clark: 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.
(Jonathan and Jordan emerge from the barn, rushing the truck looking very upset.)
Lois: Two very upset teenage boys.

(Clark has just revealed his secret identity to his sons.)
Lois: When your father first told me, I didn't understand either.
Jordan: I understand. I understand all the excuses. All the times you were gone, you lied to us. You both did.
Lois: He was saving lives, Jordan.
Jordan: That doesn't make it less true! You lied to protect his secret. All the things I've been feeling. You made me think I was crazy. They put me on pills!
Lois: Your mental health has nothing to do with who your...
Jordan: And how do you know that? I'm half human, half whatever the hell he is!
Clark: Do not yell at your mother, okay? This is not her fault. I'm the one that didn't want you to know.
Jonathan: Why?
Clark: Because I knew what kind of burden it would be if you both had powers. Or worse, if one of you had them, and the other one didn't.
Jordan: You think he's the reason we survived yesterday.
Jonathan: (confused) What are you talking about?
Jordan: Go on, Dad. Go tell Superboy here why he's really so perfect.
Lois: We thought your athletic talents could be latent abilities starting to emerge, and then yesterday...
Clark: The only way that both of you survived that accident is for at least one of you to be like me.
Jordan: You wouldn't have it any other way, would you, Dad?
(Jordan turns around and starts to walk away. Clark tries to follow after him.)
Clark: Jordan!
Jordan: Don't try to talk to me, all right? You may have been sent here to be some hero, but you sure as hell weren't sent here to be a father.
(Jordan keeps walking. Jonathan plants himself between Jordan and Clark and shakes his head.)
Jonathan: Just leave us alone.

Clark: Everything I do with the boys just... seems like it blows up in my face. Is Jordan right? A... am I a bad father?
Lois:  Clark...
Clark: Cause right now, I... It feels like it's my fault that this is all falling apart.
Lois: Your life falling apart doesn't mean you're special. It means you're human.

The Stranger: Aren't you curious how I know so much about you, Kal-El? Like me, your home was destroyed. (voice growing angrier) You were sent here as an infant to a world where you'd spend your whole life trying to prove your worth, convince yourself you were one of them. But you're not! You're still that scared, lost child, desperate for the love of people that will never accept you!
(A piece of Kryptonte emerges from The Stranger's gauntlet.)
The Stranger: And the only remnants of your real home... Kryptonite... make you sick.
(The stranger stabs Clark in the chest with the Kryptonite shiv. He begins to fall to Earth.)
The Stranger: Dust to dust. Superman.

(Jordan watches Sarah walk off. Jonathan walks up.)
Jonathan: (jokingly) Well, that didn't look like a total disaster. (seriously) All right?
Jordan: Yeah, yeah, look. Um, Jon, about the powers, uh...
Jonathan: It's all good.
Jordan: Huh?
Jonathan: Yeah. Powers are overrated anyways. Plus this just confirms what I've known to be true all along.
Jordan: Yeah? 
Jonathan: Yeah. My skills on the field are legit.

(The Stranger enters into a complex spaceship. He begins speaking to an artificial intelligence.)
The Stranger: We need to improve tactile function and speed if I'm gonna end this.
AI: We also need Kryptonite. That was the last of your supply.
The Stranger: Then we'll have to go get some.
AI: I'll install the upgrades to your armor right away. Captain Luthor.


Continuity

Clark remembers the day he came to Earth and the first time he saw the faces of his adoptive parents.

Clark's powers manifested when he was a toddler and he threw a toy rocket through a corner of the Kent farm house.

Jonathan Kent died of a heart attack while Clark was a teenager, while attending a harvest festival.

Clark's first grade teacher was named Lois Hannigan,

In a retcon from S509, Lois and Clark got married and had kids far earlier than in the Pre-Crisis Arrowverse. As the pilot opens, Jonathan and Jordan are both 14 and about to start their freshman year in high school.

Clark describes Jonathan as an easy child, always happy and always smiling. A born athlete, he was capable of breaking a rope with a football at a young age.

Clark describes Jordan as a challenging child, prone to fits and night terrors. He was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder a year earlier and is taking medication to treat it. 

Superman averts a nuclear meltdown, following what is described as the second attack on a nuclear facility by an unseen figure who cracked the cooling tower.

Clark hasn't told his sons he is Superman for fear of them not being able to keep the secret. Lois disagrees with him on this, thinking it's better they be honest.

Jonathan has a girlfriend named Eliza.

Jonathan has become the starting quarterback for his high school: something that is quite unusual for a freshman player, as they usually aren't allowed to be on the varsity teams.

Clark missed his therapy session with Jordan due to some unnamed disaster.

Clark was the team manager of the high school football team in Smallville and was duct-taped to a tractor.

Clark is fired from his job at the Daily Planet. Lois blames this on billionaire Morgan Edge, who bought the Daily Planet and has been slashing its budget and slowly phasing out the real journalists and replacing them with click-bait writers. 

Martha Kent dies of a stroke.

At the funeral, Lois and Clark talk to a farmer named Branden, who sold his farm to Oberlee Foods the year before.

Lana Lang is married to Kyle Cushing - the fire chief of Smallville.  They have two daughters, Sarah and Sophie.

Jordan and Jonathan remember playing with Sarah a few summers earlier when they spent the whole summer on the Kent farm.

Kyle Cushing is apparently jealous of Clark's friendship with Lana. According to Sophie, her father got mad when she saw Clark on his wife's Facebook page.

Sarah gives her phone number to Jordan, not Jonathan, astounding them both.

Sarah is a member of the Future Farmers of America

Clark has barely aged since high school, according to Lana.

According to Kyle, more and more people are abandoning Smallville: something that annoys him and something he holds against Clark, who left Metropolis to become a reporter and never came back.

Morgan Edge has apparently made a proposal to the town council of Smallville to buy up their old coal mines and retrofit them to become an alternative energy center.

Kyle views Edge as a great man who sees the potential of small town American while elitist reporters see them as backward places full of hicks.

Ma Kent keeps her wi-fi router hung up in a high point in the barn.

The boys were forbidden from going into the barn on the Kent farm when they were kids.

Clark reveals that before his mother died, he heard her whisper "Come home," but he's not sure what she meant except it wasn't to get him to come to her before she died.

Jordan accidentally upends a collection of steel pipes trying to reset the router. He and Johnathan emerge from the pile with mild concussions but nothing broken. 

General Lane tells Clark that they found two microscopic engravings, both written in Kryptonian, at both of the nuclear sites that were attacked by a figure they identify as The Stranger, who only appeared as a blur on one bit of video footage. Clark translates the inscription as reading "You are not a hero, Kal-El." This indicates that The Stranger knows Kryptonian and his Kryptonian name, which is not widely known information.

Lana reveals that Martha Kent mortgaged her farm to help out other people in Smallville who were in need, as the local bank began offering reverse mortgages to senior citizens at the peak of the farming crisis. The people she helped included the Gordon Family and Margie Kelton.

Lana tells Clark and Lois they can either repay Martha's loan or accept a buyout for the remaining value of the Kent farm.

Jordan and Jonathan discover the rocket that brought their father to Earth in the Kent barn.

Jonathan and Jordan learn their father's secret and are upset about being lied to about it.

Clark has to leave to confront The Stranger at the Hudson Nuclear Power Plant.

The Stranger knows that Superman can't see through lead, which was why he targeted nuclear facilities: to be sure of being able to observe Superman without being seen.

The Stranger claims to have a history with the Last Son of Krypton where he is from and that his world was destroyed, leaving him as the sole survivor, much like Superman and Krypton.

Jordan goes to a rave at Shuster mines with Sarah.

Sarah recognized that Jordan was on medication and advises him not to drink a beer.

Sarah is also on medication and in therapy after stealing some of her mother's pills a year earlier.

Jordan tries to kiss Sarah, just as she's seen by her boyfriend, Sean.

A fight breaks out. Jonathan tries to protect Jordan, but is jumped by several people.

In a moment of panic, Jordan manifests heat vision and blows up the keg. 

The Stranger stabs Superman with a shiv made of Kryptonite, sending him falling to Earth.

Superman is able to pull the shive and stop himself from crashing into a car.

Lois starts investigating the last six years worth of Smallville Community Bank activity.

Only one student is injured by the exploding keg - a football player named Tag Harris, whose arm is broken.

Jordan admits that he was the one who saved Jonathan by covering him up during their accident. 

Clark promises he will be there from now on to help Jordan control his powers and deal with his anxiety.

Lois discovered that Morgan Edge's company, Galaxy Holdings, took over Smallville Community Bank and started offering up the reverse mortgages that started ruining the town.

Sarah and Jordan agree to stay friends.

The family decide to move to Smallville.

The final scene reveals that The Stranger is a Luthor.


Untelevised Adventures

The montage glosses over most of Superman's early career and how he and Lois fell in love. 

The episode does not make mention of Lex Luthor or Supergirl, presumably so as to be more accessible to new viewers by not burdening them with the history of the Arrowverse or how Superman and Lois' life was changed by Crisis on Infinite Earths.


The Fridge Factor

While Lois never comes off as incompetent, the pilot does focus more on Clark and his emotional state than hers, making her seem like something of a supporting character rather than an equal partner.


The Bottom Line

Apart from not giving Lois Lane much to do as we're introduced to Clark and their sons, this is as perfect an introduction to these characters and the Arrowverse as could be hoped for. With any luck Lois will get more time to shine in future episodes.