Superman & Lois Shows Superhero Stardom Better Than Most

Superman & Lois has managed to accomplish two things at the same time. The show is not drawing anywhere near the eyeballs it should because it is playing out the string in a superhero universe that was announced as dead over a year ago. Despite the fact that the show is on an Arrowverse death march, Superman & Lois has managed to handle situations that deal with a more realistic view of the superhero world than what DC and Marvel comic fans are used to seeing.

A big part of why the show works so well is because it set about finding a way to give the atmosphere of a small town despite the fact that monsters and evil geniuses and aliens are attacking Smallville all the time. It manages to make the setting feel real despite the fact that there’s a family of super people who are all able to hear halfway around the world and fly and move with super speed. And because of the show’s ability to make it feel more real than any other Arrowverse show for sure, it’s able to tackle issues that none of the other shows were able to ever really make feel authentic. From the death of Superman to Lois getting breast cancer, none of it feels too absurd, and none of it feels too small to spend time on.

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Superman & Lois Continues Human Angle For Superhuman Stories

As the season draws on and the season finale gets closer, the Kent family is dealing with something that few other movies and shows have ever really dealt with with any detail. Superman decided to tell the entire world his alter ego because people were starting to figure out who he was anyway. He also wanted to make sure that Lex Luthor wasn’t one of the only people on the planet who knew Clark’s real identity. He knew that Lex would just keep coming after him through Smallville if he kept his identity a secret, so he went public. And that’s where the show really shone for the way it handled things.

At first, it seemed like things were relatively subdued. People in town tried to act like everything was normal. This was much the same way most people might see a celebrity eating in a restaurant and not want to bother them. But once the celebrity kept eating in the same restaurant all the time and people get used to seeing them, they get a little bolder in approaching them or approaching them. This is how the townspeople and others who come to Smallville start behaving.

Eventually, people start to get consumed with the the idea that there is Superman or Superman’s kids right down the road or right down the state and they have to go see. And of course, other people start to assume that the kids are going to develop attitudes and expect special treatment and become annoyed by that.

This comes to a head when Jonathan and Jordan are planning a night out with their friends to go to a movie and stop in a convenience store. The clerk chirps at them a little because she thinks they’re developing egos. Then they realize they can’t even go to the movie because people have gathered at the theater in order to get a glimpse of them. Then Jonathan finds out his girlfriend doesn’t even want to date him anymore just because he’s been “outed” by his father and there will be too much focus on their relationship.

It’s a relatively short part of the show. But Superman & Lois once again finds a way to tell a story quickly and right to the point. But it still strikes home in a way other movies and television shows that had heroes outed weren’t able to.

Living That Superhero Life Isn’t Easy

The MCU has tried this kind of story a few times, and it’s possible that Iron Man 3 might have come the closest to showing a superhero having to live with his infamy. However, Tony was also rich and a genius so he was able to protect himself and deal with the spotlight more easily than Jonathan and Jordan. There’s also the fact that Tony outed himself and was ready to prepare for the consequences.

Spider Man: No Way Home also tried the “superhero unmasked” for a bit but in the end, left that plot point mostly in the dust before picking it back up again at the very end to provide the memory wipe leading right into Spider-Man 4. Those movies touched on the idea of an unmasked hero, but spent little time in what day-to-day life would really be like. Superman & Lois not only spent more time on that story, but it will likely continue to do so before the season and the series comes to an end. Because the audience knows what their life used to be like, it stands out more when it changes and they become celebrities.

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