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Looking back four years after the first episode of Superman & Lois debuted, I’m still surprised the show never used 1 villain storyline with Superboy, despite the number of theories that it would come to fruition at some point in its narrative. Superman & Lois‘ ending brought the show to a conclusion 3 years and four seasons after its first episode hit screens in February 2021, bringing an iconic version of the DC hero’s story to an end. However, it’s safe to say there was a lot of drama and action along the way.
Superman & Lois focused solidly on its core family – consisting of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, as well as their two children and Lois’ father, General Lane – throughout its narrative, with even figures like Lex Luthor only appearing in the later parts of the story. This decision meant the series managed to balance being a family drama alongside a superhero series, with episodes as likely to center on arguments and developments between the family as much as heroic exploits. Interestingly, though, one story angle the show seemed to consistently tease never came to fruition throughout the live-action Superman show‘s run.
There Were Theories Superman & Lois’ Jordan Would Go Rogue From Its First Season Onwards
While Jordan is almost always depicted as a well-intentioned young man who is trying to deal with the incredible pressure his newfound powers have put on him, he is also depicted as somewhat naive, volatile at points, and as having a sometimes rocky relationship with his family – particularly his parents, who he was frustrated with and sometimes distrustful of from the offset for not telling him about his Kryptonian heritage. This seemed to place Jordan in a position with considerable potential for an antagonistic turn, either via being manipulated or during the rockier period of his relationship with his dad.
Though Jordan does technically have a villainous story moment in season 1, this isn’t of his own volition. Instead, his body is instead possessed by his uncle Tal-Rho’s father, Zeta-Rho, with the Kryptonian using Jordan as a host body towards the end of the first season, and Jordan helping his father the moment he breaks free of Zeta-Rho’s control. However, this didn’t stop viewers from seeing further prospective teases of this type of storyline happening via Jordan’s own actions as the show went on – especially since he was introduced playing Injustice 2 and fighting Superman within it.
The series teases the possibility of Jordan turning against his family’s wishes more than once. Jordan’s love of being publicly admired as a superhero sees him repeatedly go against his father’s wishes and challenging them, and some not inconsiderable family arguments throughout the show often suggested that Jordan’s sense of not belonging in his own family and struggle about comparing himself to his superhero father could see him taken off course for at least part of his arc – especially when Jonathan gets his own powers, and Jordan has to confront feeling like he lost the thing that made him special.
Indeed, Lex Luthor revealing to Jordan in Superman & Lois season 4, episode 3 that Lois had chosen to save Jonathan over him when Luthor left a threatening call forcing her to choose which son to protect looked like it could be the final straw for the character, and even led to theories that Jordan could be manipulated by Lex to ally himself with him in some capacity for the final stint of the show’s story. Ultimately, this didn’t come to pass in the end, but the road to the show’s ending was paved with a number of theories about how Jordan’s arc could have had some less heroic moments.
Jordan Being A Temporary Antagonist Does Make Sense Given The Show’s Comic Source Material
The comic source material for Superman & Lois certainly made the possibility of Jordan having an antagonistic blip seem all the more tangible, since the relationship between Superman and Superboy has historically not always been a straightforward one – particularly when it comes to Conner Kent, who was originally in the comics created to replace Superman after he appeared to have died in a fight with Doomsday. Unsurprisingly, this led to a complicated path for Kon-El.
Interestingly, Conner’s own story also aligns him with Lex Luthor more than once throughout the annals of his on-page history, with the character initially agreeing to work with Lex Luthor while Superman is still believed to be dead – though he takes this back relatively quickly. Later down the line, Lex Luthor is able to essentially mind control Conner into attacking his fellow Teen Titans and becoming a peon of the DC villain, with Superboy still quitting the hero group even when Luthor’s control over him is broken due to his guilt about harming and scaring his friends.
This storyline kicks off in 2005’s Teen Titans #24.
With this kind of backdrop in mind, having one of the two Superboys Superman & Lois establishes mirror this aspect of the comics would have made sense, and could have allowed the show to pit the family against one and eventually grow stronger from these trials. Similarly, approaching a story angle like this could have made Lex Luthor – or whatever other villain could have been involved – seem all the more evil for playing on Jordan’s established fears and anxieties.
Superman & Lois Avoiding Giving Jordan A Villain Storyline Makes Sense Given The Show’s Runtime
Though Superman & Lois seemed primed to give Jordan his day in the sun as a potential antagonist to the rest of the Kent family in whatever capacity that came in, the fact the series never properly did looks like it may at least partially be because of the series’ limited runtime. While there were plans for Superman & Lois to have seven seasons (as per Entertainment Weekly), this didn’t come to pass, with the show’s fourth season being its final chapter – and having only 10 episodes compared to the longer runs of prior seasons, too.
As such, it makes sense that moments like the teases Jordan might either align himself with Lex Luthor – or be convinced by his words to alienate himself from his family and act against their best interests – ended up being cleared up rather than playing into any grander plotlines. Ultimately, it seems the narrative essentially didn’t have time to carry out a storyline like this that would require far more focus and character arc development than Jordan being possessed by an evil character in season 1, especially since it needed to balance the stories of all the main cast throughout the show.
Given Superman & Lois also notably adapted a huge Superman comic storyline in its rendition of The Death Of Superman during the final leg of its story, it stands to reason that this part of the narrative needed to focus on finishing this and other loose story threads off versus going out on a limb, despite previous teases and theories. Jordan getting a moment of antagonism would’ve been fun, but seeing him reunited with Clark and then growing into a hero in his own right is still cathartic, with or without a look at how things could have gone differently.
6/10
- Release Date
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2021 – 2024-00-00
- Showrunner
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todd helbing
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Self – Executive Producer, Superman & Lois
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Greg Berlanti
Self – Executive Producer
Upcoming DC Movie Releases
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