It’s a tough time for the
CW Arrowverse.
The block of TV series
based on DC comic heroes – which for much of the past several years have
been a huge chunk of the network’s programming – are losing ground both in
popularity and in quality. Old favorites have gone off the air – like
Arrow, which ended a eight-year run last year. Black Lightning
finished its three-year stint up earlier this year. Supergirl is
currently almost done its final season as well.
The quality has also gone
down. The best shows have shown a significant drop in quality. The Flash
is hemorrhaging long-time supporting characters and replacing them with
uninteresting new people and cliched, uninteresting plotlines. Supergirl
is currently stumbling through its weakest season yet – making its
impending end date something of a mixed blessing. Legends of Tomorrow
has always been up and down quality-wise, but it is also in the midst of
cast shakeups and uninspired storytelling.
The new series they hoped
to pick up the slack have been having trouble catching on. Batwoman
has been a disappointment, having to change the actresses in the title role
already only two seasons in (the third season is just about to start) and
Stargirl, which is a lot of fun, has gotten very little notice.
The one true bright light
in the Arrowverse right now is Superman and Lois.
Actually Superman and
Lois is not exactly part of the Arrowverse, it is more of a stand-alone
Arrowverse-adjacent project.
Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman
character was introduced as a recurring character in Supergirl, and
he also appeared on a couple of the Arrowverse crossover episodes (as well
as Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane). There are different variations on some
mutual characters. Superman and Lois villain Morgan Edge was also the
villain of Supergirl season three, although played by a different
actor with a distinctive style. Another character seems to be Lex Luthor
early on, although it turns out that he is someone else entirely.
However, it is its own
little world. Superman and Lois does not have actors from the other
Arrowverse series popping in for little stunt cameo appearances. While
Superman and Lois does toy with the whole multiverse concept that is so
important to all the other series (as well as most comic-based TV and cinema
in general) it is not the main thrust, and this Superman and Lois appear to
be on a different timeline than what is going on in the Arrowverse at large.
Instead of all of the
bells and whistles, Superman and Lois takes things back to basics. It
features arguably the most iconic superhero of all, one who has inspired
multiple TV series over the years, so they do not have to waste a lot of
time for people to know these characters.
Instead, Superman and
Lois takes a deep dive into them and puts them in a different context.
Clark Kent and Lois Lane have been downsized from hot-shot Daily Planet
reporters in Metropolis. (Clark was laid off and Lois left due to creative
differences with the new management). And in this series, they are parents
of two teenaged sons.
After the death of
Clark’s adoptive Earth mother Martha Kent, Clark and Lois decide to return
to her farm in the town of Smallville, where Clark grew up. Clark feels like
it would be good for the boys to grow up in a small town, but there is some
culture shock. And, of course, his duties as the world’s greatest hero are
always there, even in this apparently slower-paced area.
Superman and Lois
mixes the hip modern swagger of the CW adaptations with the old-school
heroism of the man of steel. It makes for the best superhero series in quite
some time.
Jay S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2021
PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted:
October 18, 2021.
