'Superman & Lois' in development at the CW

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

I give it 4 years tops, then someone punches reality or something. Actually with him getting at least one tv show, that is clearly banking on utilizing the hero's civilian life, might end up causing the thing being put back in the bottle a lot sooner than planed.

[Superlad93]

I give it 4 years tops, then someone punches reality or something.

That's fair, I guess. Your skepticism is noted.

[HunterX]

Well, I really dig how it's being done in the comics, so guess I disagree. But anyways, Bendis did say that this new normal was a "forever thing", and that the choice has been backed directly by the big heads at WB. So what better way to make this the standard for Superman than to showcase it on prime-time TV?

Comics like to ignore a lot of real world consequences, they can somehow get away with it but not so much on live action TV. So no I do think this Superman series will and should keep his secret identity. He has two young sons and a human wife, no reason to put them in danger unnecessarily. Also his mother Martha kent is said to be alive in this as well.

[Superlad93]

Comics like to ignore a lot of real world consequences, they can somehow get away with it but not so much on live action TV. So no I do think this Superman series will and should keep his secret identity. He has two young sons and a human wife, no reason to put them in danger unnecessarily. Also his mother Martha kent is said to be alive in this as well.

Eh, the world in the CW is pretty dang heightened to begin with. I mean, as I recall, at the very least Cat Grant thought Lois was seeing Superman at some point.

And, like I said in my first post, it would have to be set up before and he'd have to discuss it with his family (like the comics). There may even be a specific need/call to action that he answers. Just as with the comics, the potential drawbacks and danger would be part of the story/drama/the point.

And like I said before, Kara is basically doing the whole Superman/reporter thing, and we've seen Lois & Clark and Smallville. I'd be in the market for something that's more than just rolling all three of those things into a show, if I were given the option.

[Frontier]

You know, if Jordan ends up being Zod's son then it should be noted that in the CW's universe Clark legitimately killed the boy's biological father.

They've been kind of inconsistent on whether Superman killed Zod.

In season 1 Kara states that Superman has never killed and no one corrects her.

In season 3 Winn comments that Superman killed Zod but apparently he's alive in the Legion's time. One could argue this is either just an Easter Egg to Man of Steel that no one thought much about but could be corroborated by how aggressive Superman became fighting against Kara when he thought she was Zod during their fight at the end of season 2.

Then Lois said he "apprehended General Zod" when she was going over his accomplishments in Crisis.

Maybe Superman trapped Zod in the Phantom Zone and let the public think he killed Zod out of guilt for having to do it. With Crisis and what little they've established of this Superman's backstory they can literally do anything. But I'm going to assume that Zod is alive right now.

Anyone else think that there's a strong possibility that this show will be getting to Superman outing himself as Clark Kent?

I just found it really interesting that we start with Clark out of work and being a stay-at-home dad. To me, that feels like it could somewhat mirror a combination of Lois and Clark's POVs in Action 1004 and Superman 17 and 18. By that I mean, how Lois had that moment where she was like "for the first time in a really long time my kid doesn't need me", and Clark in 17 and 18 thinking about what he needed as a young man vs what he needs now as an older one. And this would be the age where the boys are really starting to form into their own people independent of their parents. Note: I'm not guessing this will happen in the very near future, but rather that it'll just happen at some point. And I'm also not saying that he does this out of the blue or without talking to his family. The season would have to be set up for it.

I mean, the way I see it, we've had both parts of this at different times with Lois & Clark and Smallville, and the Supergirl show is unfortunately picking all of the recognizable milestones that a Superman show would normally have clean. Getting to a point where Superman outs himself and then having the show run from there would most certainly separate this distinguish this show from Supergirl, Smallville, and L&C.

Plus, it would give Clark his own thing in this show separate from being a dad or husband. It would also be a well of potential stories for the rest of the cast, and it wouldn't spill over into Supergirl because her civilian identity isn't related to Clark's. She specifically says that she knows him through Jimmy.

And if they idea is to leave the reporting aspects of the myth to Lois (because again, they insisted on having Kara be the Super reporter of the family) then maybe some version of "President Superman" or the United Planets can be a thing as the second job Clark has?

The thought did strike me, but I also think it's possible that they just want to flip the gender dynamic by having the mom be the working one while the dad stays home to take care of the kids. I feel like it fits with how they've set up Hoechlin's Clark as this kind of humble, down-to-Earth, and caring guy.

I mean, I'd rather him actually working as a reporter and doing stuff as Clark Kent, but we'll just have to see. Kara was just taking off after Clark as a reporter, and the female lead is also a reporter on Flash, so I don't think they're deliberately trying to downplay that aspect of the character.

Plus Jon and Jordan seem to have actual civilian lives, something Jon was lacking during Bendis' run, so that's a factor as well in my opinion.

I'm not sure the CW would really do the United Planets, at least on the scale it needs.

Well, I really dig how it's being done in the comics, so guess I disagree. But anyways, Bendis did say that this new normal was a "forever thing", and that the choice has been backed directly by the big heads at WB. So what better way to make this the standard for Superman than to showcase it on prime-time TV?

Nothing in comics is forever save for the Waynes and Uncle Ben staying dead.

Hell, the show's even called "Superman & Lois" already.

I don't know if they've explained the reasoning behind the title, but probably a lot of potential reasoning's behind it.

[Superlad93]

The thought did strike me, but I also think it's possible that they just want to flip the gender dynamic by having the mom be the working one while the dad stays home to take care of the kids. I feel like it fits with how they've set up Hoechlin's Clark as this kind of humble, down-to-Earth, and caring guy.

That aspect isn't at all lost on me, and it actually plays into what I was saying. You see, remember the Lois & Clark book and the Rebirth run by Jurgens? Lois seemed to be the stay at home parent there, and she had that moment where she spoke to Clark about going back to work now that Jon had gotten a little older. It's a fairly common story that you see in fiction when it comes to female characters. But that sort of variability and self reflection isn't something all that common with dads in fiction.

Having the father deal with the idea that the kids are growing up and becoming more self reliant, and leaving him with comparatively less "fires" to put out is fascinating. It becomes even more fascinating when the dad in question is Superman, because one of his great Silver age phobias was always the fear of obsolescence or the general fear of not being needed anymore. And it's also a question of identity. He gets laid off from being Clark Kent the reporter, but that's okay since he's now Clark Kent the dad, but then what happens when he gets switched to part-time on that? That's a jab at his identity.

Plus Jon and Jordan seem to have actual civilian lives, something Jon was lacking during Bendis' run, so that's a factor as well in my opinion.

Like I keep saying, they'd need to set the stage for the shift if they did it. I don't expect it to just happen out of the blue.

[Frontier]

Having the father deal with the idea that the kids are growing up and becoming more self reliant, and leaving him with comparatively less "fires" to put out is fascinating. It becomes even more fascinating when the dad in question is Superman, because one of his great Silver age phobias was always the fear of obsolescence or the general fear of not being needed anymore. And it's also a question of identity. He gets laid off from being Clark Kent the reporter, but that's okay since he's now Clark Kent the dad, but then what happens when he gets switched to part-time on that? That's a jab at his identity.

I don't see that being the case for the show so soon given Jon and Jordan have yet to discover their powers (so a lot more fires) and the synopsis makes it sound like they're playing them younger then, say, teen Jon (even if the actor says otherwise).

Of course I also like the idea of Clark looking for other work and maybe going to the Daily Star.

[Superlad93]

I don't see that being the case for the show so soon given Jon and Jordan have yet to discover their powers (so a lot more fires) and the synopsis makes it sound like they're playing them younger then, say, teen Jon (even if the actor says otherwise).

Haha you gotta look back at my orgional post, man. But I more or less knew there'd be some assumptions made regardless of what I said. But anyways, if this is something that's in the cards then I very, very much doubt that it's something that'll happen within the first season or even two or three. I fully expect us to have our Rebirth period before anything like this is put into motion. You play in that safe space for a bit, and then you do something new. The kids are around 14, so not much younger than the actual teen Jon we have, and I'm expecting around the time the boys are either juniors or seniors thinking about next steps and their growing independence, they'll start in that direction.

That'll leave the show with a "next phase" similar to Lois and Clark getting married in the show or Clark spending more time in Metropolis/the introduction of Lois in Smallville.

[Jokerz79]

Given the age of these kids this should had been routh's Superman because Sorry but TH will just look like their big brother not dad.

[Frontier]

Given the age of these kids this should had been routh's Superman because Sorry but TH will just look like their big brother not dad.

He can't help it. Darn Kryptonian metabolism .

[Osiris-Rex]

He can't help it. Darn Kryptonian metabolism .

If the Brandon Routh Superman has grey hair, just how old is he? And why did he make it to Earth so much longer ago, as Krypton also must have exploded decades sooner.

[manwhohaseverything]

If the Brandon Routh Superman has grey hair, just how old is he? And why did he make it to Earth so much longer ago, as Krypton also must have exploded decades sooner.

He arrived on earth the same year donner superman did. Lois was younger than clark in donnerverse. He was 30 in 1978.

@4:45 that's lois.

[Frontier]

If the Brandon Routh Superman has grey hair, just how old is he? And why did he make it to Earth so much longer ago, as Krypton also must have exploded decades sooner.

Probably his 70's and 80's?

[manwhohaseverything]

Probably his 70's and 80's?

Lois would be at her 40's or 50's,i think.

[stargazer01]

Given the age of these kids this should had been routh's Superman because Sorry but TH will just look like their big brother not dad.

lol I thought the same... hopefully they are not taller than Tyler is.. :/

If this show is all about the kids, it should be called Super Sons not Superman and Lois..