Superman & Lois 1x1 : Pilot review

 

      Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it.

Superman and Lois Lane. Without a doubt the most iconic duo in DC Comics history. Rich with history and lore to pull and adapt from can this new show which is one in a long line of CWverse shows actually be any good?? reprising their roles from Supergirl / The annual crossover events are Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch as the two titular characters. Our new journey begins with a history lesson of the upbringing of Clark Kent from young baby inside of a fallen ship all the way to grown up Clark who began working at the Daily Planet. It is there where he met Lois Lane after being tasked by sticking with her to learn the ropes. Clark's upbringing was pretty basic living much of his life on his parents farm. His parents Johnathan and Martha were simple people who raised Clark into the man and myth he would one day become..Superman. The first time we see Superman in action in this series is an absolutely incredible homage to Superman's very first comic appearance from Action Comics #38 in which he saves a person from a car. It's really well done and detailed so much right down to Superman's exact outfit from the comic. A great start but can it keep it up??

At the Daily Planet Clark met Lois like I mentioned and in a montage of sorts we're shown them getting engaged, married and even beginning a family of their own. Twin boys soon become a part of the Kent / Lane family. Jordan and Johnathan they couldn't be any more opposite in both physical and social ways. Johnathan is a football player and dating a girl while Jordan has severe social anxiety and really is a bit of an introvert. This leads to Clark's double life of being a father and Superman being put to the forefront throughout and in all honesty it's a nice change of pace for the character. There is still plenty of Superman action here don't get me wrong but there is also plenty of not only Clark but Lois just being parents which was good. With their dad being Superman and them not knowing both Jordan and Johnathan see very little of their dad and even when they do they don't exactly get along that well. Jordan barely speaks to his father while Johnathan does a bit more but still not much. They all seem kinda distant even though they're clearly living together in Metropolis. So when Clark gets a call from his mom Martha that he needs to spend more time with his family and actually be there for them he heeds the call. The following day however just as the boys go off to school Clark gets devastating news. Martha Kent has passed away leaving him parent less. At a loss for words and with no real direction Clark and his family say goodbye to Martha and have the funeral at his childhood home the Kent Farm. While there they're visited by friends of old and new. Lana Lang now known as Lana Cushing turns up with her family which includes 2 daughters and her husband Kyle Cushing. Their eldest daughter Sarah Cushing is known to both Jonathan and Jordan having previously met during a visit to their grand parents. While the parents go to talk about old times the boys and Sarah go to check out the Kent farm which houses the router for the internet. Clark did tell them to never venture inside but they go ahead anyways leading to you guessed it an accident happening. Both Jordan and Jonathan get pinned under metal poles as Sarah runs for help. Clark rushes to their rescue pulling one of the metal poles from the pile and throwing it. He notices that both boys aren't hurt only left with minor injuries which leads to the biggest and most important vocal point of the episode. Should he tell them that he is Superman?? Lois urges him to do so and with each passing moment she begins to make more and more sense especially as the boys curiosity only widens. Jordan especially seems intent on getting to the bottom of things and find out why he or his brother weren't hurt badly. The following day as Clark and Lois go to the bank to work out Martha's ownership of the Kent Farm they are trust into a dilemma. Pay off Martha's debt or else the bank will seize control of the property. Lana works at the bank and helps the two but ultimately it's up to Clark to decide what to do. That's the least of his worries however as back at the farm Jordan can't go on any longer without finding out what happened and along with Johnathan venture into the barn once more. This time they find a trap door under hay on the floor which leads them down into a secret compartment that obviously wasn't meant for their eyes. What they find shocks them to their core as a giant alien ship is seen in the corner of the room. After removing the covering Jacob places his hand close to it and the ship reacts by giving him a stone of some sort. The two boys rush back outside just as Clark and Lois arrive back from the bank. Distraught by their dad's deceit and lies over the years they question him about the ship and Clark tells or should I say reveals all to them. He reveals that he is Superman by picking up their truck. He also mentions Krypton and that he is not of this Earth. The reason he didn't want to tell his sons is because he didn't want the whole powers situation to become a deal breaker. What if one gets powers and the other doesn't?? how will the boys cope with that or if they both somehow inherit his powers will it compromise him Lois and everyone close to him?? the boys leave and asked not to be talked to anytime soon.

The episode draws to a close with a little background info first. Near the beginning of the episode we saw Superman cool down a nuclear reactor by using a giant piece of ice to cool the about to blow reactor. Well thanks to General Lane (Lois's father) we learn that another reactor has been tampered with but that's not all. A message and video footage of a mysterious stranger was left behind for Clark or should I say Kal-El. Whoever this person is knows that he is Superman and not of this Earth. This leads to Superman suiting up and going to confront this person. This stranger knows pretty much all of his secrets. The two end up battling it out above the skies of Metropolis and even in outer space. The stranger who is wearing an unknown armor piece that grants him the ability to fly gets the better of Superman by stabbing him in the chest with a bit of Kryptonite. There's a brilliant shot here of Superman falling back to Earth. Speaking of Earth back down on the ground Jordan and Johnathan attend a party in Smallville after being invited by Sarah Cushing. It's pretty standard stuff until Jordan tries to kiss Sarah as the two share a moment together. Turns out Sarah has a boyfriend and he is not very happy with this at all leading to a fight breaking out. Johnathan arrives to back up his brother but the two still end up getting beat down. This scene right here answers Clark's question all episode. It's Jordan who has inherited the powers of Superman and fires off heat vision in front of everyone causing a giant scene and plenty of ruckus. So it's Jordan who is the powerful one and not Johnathan. A nice different direction to what the comics entail. The episode ends with two more important details. First off back at the Kent Farm and with everything having died down and The Cushing family having gone home Clark and Lois ask the boys about what they think of moving to Smallville on a more permanent basis. It's just a suggestion for now as the real talk will happen later during family dinner. Clark and the boys are now on speaking terms again as they have plenty of questions for him but first things first. He's going to show them how to plough the corn fields. The second and most important detail however in my opinion is the reveal of the stranger that fought Superman. We see him enter a ship in a harsh, cold climate. As he enters he removes his helmet before it falls to the ground. We don't see his face but we hear him being referred to as ''Captain Luthor'' as in Lex Luthor?? how is this possible?? he did mention earlier that he escaped his dying planet before arriving on Earth. Could this be a fully powered Kryptonian version of Lex Luthor?? if so that's very interesting indeed as this show starts off in a big way. And that was the episode. Honestly I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was fast paced and laced with a lot of realism. It felt grounded yet super. The cast is great overall and that ending reveal was super awesome. One episode in and I'm already invested. Roll on next week!

★★★★