Superman & Lois review: The Arrowverse solves The Superman Problem

In the opening minutes of the new CW series Superman and Lois, Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) tells the story of his life so far. As a baby, he was sent to Earth by his father Jor-El from the dying planet of Krypton. He was raised in Smallville, Kansas by kind-hearted farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who helped him understand how best to use his superpowers. He became a reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper in Metropolis, where he fell in love with superstar journalist Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch). They married and had two sons: the athletic Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and the socially awkward Jordan (Alexander Garfin).

This recap is quick, filled with moments meant to remind longtime Superman fans why they love the Man of Steel, from a visual reference to the first Action Comics cover for a callback to Christopher Reeves’ bumbling Clark Kent in the first Superman movie. It is a mini greeting to all the artists, writers, editors, actors, directors and producers who have helped shape the mythology of one of the most famous superheroes.

But after the backstory and a brief scene where Superman rescues a nuclear power plant, led by Lois’s high-ranking father, General Samuel Lane (Dylan Walsh), the tone changes. The hero comes home to find that one of his sons is too busy video chatting to talk to him, while the other plays a violent video game in which he plays a supervillain who beats up Superman. When asked why, the teenager shrugs and says, “Superman is boring.”

Is Superman boring? There was a time when that question would have been ridiculous. In the mid-20th century, Superman comics were so popular that publishers joined hundreds of new superheroes in an attempt to compete. The first in the 1970s Superman film proved that the superhero genre could work on the big screen without coming across as too campy. The character is still splashed all over children’s pillowcases and pajamas.

But in the recent DC Universe movies, Superman felt like a second stringer to the likes of Batman and Wonder Woman – and heck, even Aquaman. On the DC Comics-derived superhero programming blocks from the CW (aka the ‘Arrowverse’), Superman gets the star treatment long after Green Arrow, the Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning, Batwoman, Stargirl and the squad of minor league heroes on DCs Legends of Tomorrow

And even this Superman show doesn’t necessarily feel like “a Superman show,” inspired by comic book action and silliness. Based on the two episodes the CW sent to critics ahead of Tuesday night’s renewal Superman and Lois premiere, the Arrowverse writing-producing team of Greg Berlanti and Todd Helbing seems reluctant to tell full Superman stories, with the grand attendance, big ideas, and sense of play as the classic comics. Their Superman is pressed and compressed to the Arrowverse’s overall mission: to tell stories relevant to what is happening in the real world.

In Superman and Lois, that means adjusting the narrative focus. There are still super villains in this show and dynamic battle scenes with special effects. But during the first two episodes, the overall atmosphere is less Action Comics and more This is us

The story begins with troubles in the Kent / Lois household. The twins bicker because they are so different: handsome, tough Jonathan is the best quarterback on the football team; Shaggy-haired Jordan struggles with depression. Lois, meanwhile, has grown increasingly dissatisfied with the culture on the Daily Planet, where veteran reporters have been fired as the newspaper’s new billionaire owner, Morgan Edge, pushes for more soft news and clickbait.

The family faces one of the greatest crises – and possibly one of the greatest opportunities – when a tragedy returns Clark to Smallville, where he contemplates returning to the simple life of a small town. In 2021, nothing is easy about small towns. The farming community dies and sees a potential rescuer in Edge, who has bought land for reasons unknown, though Lois suspects foul play.

All of these issues are complicated by Clark’s larger mission, where he is called away by General Lane to take on a mysterious masked super being determined to engage Superman in a life-or-death fight. These fights keep him away from home at the worst possible time in the boys’ lives, one or both of whom can develop superpowers … something incredibly hard to keep quiet in Smallville, where everyone keeps a close eye on the newcomers.

Hoechlin and Tulloch have previously played Superman and Lois in the Arrowverse, and both have a strong hold on their characters. Hoechlin plays Clark and Superman as conscientious and a bit nerdy. He is an alien with many interests, ultimately bound by a sense of obligation to his loved ones. Tulloch’s version of Lane comes off as the smartest person in every room, but she still tries (and sometimes fails) to be sensitive to anyone who doesn’t share her values.

Berlanti and Hebling’s creative team also has a clear understanding of Superman’s knowledge. The twins’ names are important, with Jonathan named after Clark Kent’s earthly father (who mirrors Superman’s healthy side), while Jordan is named after Jor-el (due to an alien’s sense of … well, alienation). The show is laced with jokes about Superman’s strange powers (such as super fragrance); and it features characters like Morgan Edge and Lana Lang, who may be familiar to comic book fans.

But the overall look and feel of it Superman and Lois perhaps also known to fans of Dawson’s Creek and The OC The Kent boys adapt to Smallville by hanging out with the local teenagers in a quarry or by grumpily gazing over the seemingly endless Kansas flatlands. It’s long been part of the Superman schtick that Lois flirtatiously (or sometimes mockingly) calls Clark “ Smallville. ” Superman and Lois explores more of his connection to where he grew up, showing what it’s like to grow up in a place so wide open that everyone can see you.

Superman and Lois isn’t the first TV series to attempt to make Superman human. Smallville aired on the CW (and its predecessor, the WB) from 2001-11, featuring 10 seasons and over 200 episodes of stories that generally minimized superheroines in favor of dramatizing the emotions and relationships of a small-town youth which is a big secret. Before that was the syndicated action adventure of the late 80s / early 90s Superboy contained multiple approaches to Clark Kent’s early life, including portraying him as a journalism student, and later sending him to work for a X files-like a paranormal investigative agency. Mid 90’s Lois & Clark intended as a workplace drama, sprinkled with fantastic interludes and swooning romance.

All these shows – and now Superman and Lois – have tried to circumvent what might be called ‘the Superman problem’. If a hero is essentially omnipotent, vulnerable only to a rare radioactive stone (and occasionally to magic), how do you introduce the kind of narrative obstacles necessary for a good story? The answer: focus on what he does can not control, such as the well-being of his friends and family.

The CW has also been down this road before, first with Smallville (whose producers famously promised “no tights, no flights”) and then with Arrow, which in its earliest episodes avoided the usual superhero decorations of costumes and super powers. The network’s reluctance to “the comic books” then began to fade The flash became a hit, even at that time Arrow began to feel more at ease with the extraordinary. The shows that followed – including, very relevant, Super girl – have gotten bigger and bigger with comics-inspired storylines and graphics.

Still, the balance of storytelling in any given Arrowverse series focuses as much, if not more, on relationships and personal issues as it does on saving the world from scary monsters and super crawlers. Many of these shows tend to start out bright and entertaining, then get stiffer as the heroes and their friends wallow in their misery.

Superman and Lois really begins in a fairly dark place, with subplots about economic anxiety and clinical depression. The first two episodes show a lot of promise – if only because Hoechlin and Tulloch are so good, and the area around Smallville is so picturesque. But the parts of the story about Superman tackling a dangerous global threat so far aren’t as artfully crafted as the parts about his sons’ growing pains. The superhero scenes feel like an afterthought – and yes, in those sequences Superman is kind of boring.

There is a rich vein of imaginative and exciting Superman and Lois comics out there Superman and Lois could tap – and maybe still. There’s no reason a Superman show can’t be fun and cool while still operating in the social relevance and teen-friendly melodrama that anchors the Arrowverse.

One of the big dilemmas in the first episode is whether Clark should open up to the boys about his secret life as a superhero. I hope the show’s writers had a similar conversation while working on this first season. In the episodes to come, it would be great to see people create Superman and Lois know that one of their main characters is Superman.

Superman and Lois premieres on The CW with a two-hour pilot on February 23 at 8 p.m. Eastern. The premiere will be available online for free on February 24 the CWTV site