The season 2 premiere of Superman & Lois packed in lots of action and the introduction of a new character. But there also lies another surprise: The Supermen of America.
In DC Comics lore, the Supermen of America was funded by Lex Luthor and led by Outburst, otherwise known as Mitch Anderson. Made up of a team of young metahumans, they band together after the death of singer Junior K-D from Crossfire. In Superman & Lois, Anderson is introduced as the supersede of General Sam Lane at the DoD. He butts heads with Superman because he feels the hero isn’t listening to orders, opting instead to carve his own path as the Man of Tomorrow.
In season 1, the concept of metahumans was explored when Jordan accidentally attacks Tag who got sent to a “special school.” (Could this be the school Lt. Anderson referenced in the premiere?)
Now, the season just premiered, so there’s no way of knowing at this point the direction that showrunner Todd Helbing will take it. In a recent interview with TV Insider, Helbing discussed crossing the comic storyline over to television. ” … We got excited about that because it works in a lot of ways and you know, his recruits…we’re doing a bit of a story from the books that you’ll start to see, the Superman of America. Bringing them in right now, we love these sort of deeper dives of the comics, but also, it’s just such an F U to Superman for Anderson to steal his logo.” (Anderson’s recruits don the House of El logo.)
In the first episode, Clark becomes hyperaware of a potential earthquake looming overhead. He gets his family to safety and heads over the city in his supersuit to get a better view and listen at the commotion. Of course, he does some saving along the way, including a dig site where he goes underground to see where it’s coming from.
Using his heat vision, he senses two bodies on the other side of a dirt wall. They bust through and are met face to face with Superman. Obviously perplexed, Superman confronts Lt. Anderson at the DoD. He claims Superman’s priorities need to lie with America and they don’t seem to do so at the moment. Superman notes he gave that up a long time ago. Instead of Truth, Justice, and the American Way, Superman’s new ethos is Truth, Justice, and A Better Tomorrow.
Superman & Lois airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
