Superman & Lois Lane... The Series

Started by Shogunn2517, October 28, 2019, 11:46:36 PM

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Shogunn2517

So the ax has dropped and they finally caved.

https://ew.com/tv/2019/10/28/superman-lois-lane-development-the-cw-arrowverse/

Maybe those are not quite the references to use, but the long speculated series with Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch is being developed for next season. First appearing on Supergirl and The Flash/Elsworlds respectively, this will be the CW's seventh live action series to be on the network following the previously announced series starring Katherine McNamara(Blackstar/Mia Smoak), Juliana Harkavy(Dinah Drake/Black Canary) and Katie Cassidy(Laurel Lance/Black Siren) series that was also announced earlier this year. Obviously, this has been an open question since Hoechlin first started playing the role on Supergirl a few years back, but now that they are developing, there are some details to note:

Spoiler
I think the Working Title Superman & Lois Lane(or Superman and Lois), which isn't far off from a previous Lois and Clark, will have a similar focus. Instead of simply focusing on the Super heroics and the titular character himself, the show will focus on the intertwined lives of Lois Lane and Clark Kent as Superman as(and here's the kicker) PARENTS. Apparently, yes they will have a kid in the show because:

Spoiler
The couple will be given a kid in the 5-part Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover in a few months. I suppose that shouldn't be too surprising since Lois was pregnant I think in Elsworlds. Which considering the timeline of Supergirl's show, I really didn't expect them to go with an origin story, but they're skipping competing reporters, courtship, married life and accelerating to parenthood even before the show starts. That's because there will be a "backdoor" pilot(and this is why there needed to be another spoiler tag) in the final season of Arrow... at least that's what I read from a source of mine. It could be an inaccurate conflation of this show and the 'Birds of Prey'(I dunno, I guess that's what they're doing) show, which seems to be a more likely spinoff of Arrow, which has like 7 episodes to go(and coincidentally has seven weeks to go(excluding the Crisis). It's more likely that'll get the backdoor treatment as last episode or a Pre-Crisis(not sure how much of a pun I intended here) show. Which means if BOTH BoP and S&LL are using Arrow for piloting purposes, they're taking up a chunk a valuable real estate, so I assume the source is wrong. Now sure how they were planning to fit in a whole different character(Superman) from not just another show but in the show, another Earth... which I suppose confirm what we all inevitably knew...

Spoiler
The Earths are merging.

catwhowalksbyhimself

#1
I really like this version of Superman.  As long as they keep it classic about where his previous appearances were and don't try to get "edgy" with it, this could be a good show.

Spoiler

What with Arrow travelling around universes looking for stuff for the Monitor, the backdoor pilot could easily be Green Arrow being send to Superman and Supergirl's earth and teaming up with Superman (and Lois) to find whatever MacGuffin he is there to fetch.

In fact, the math works about perfectly here.  Assuming they have one episode each as an homage to each of Arrow's previous seasons, plus one episode for the Crisis, that leave 2 more episodes--one for each backdoor pilot.  That's too perfect to be a coincidence.
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Shogunn2517

Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on October 29, 2019, 12:45:52 AM
I really like this version of Superman.  As long as they keep it classic about where his previous appearances were and don't try to get "edgy" with it, this could be a good show.

Spoiler

What with Arrow travelling around universes looking for stuff for the Monitor, the backdoor pilot could easily be Green Arrow being send to Superman and Supergirl's earth and teaming up with Superman (and Lois) to find whatever MacGuffin he is there to fetch.

In fact, the math works about perfectly here.  Assuming they have one episode each as an homage to each of Arrow's previous seasons, plus one episode for the Crisis, that leave 2 more episodes--one for each backdoor pilot.  That's too perfect to be a coincidence.

Hmmm.... that is a good point...

GhostMachine

The previously announced ARROW spinoff can up and die as far as I am concerned. The future segments of last season were the most boring parts of the show, and I hate that they've continued into this season.

Looking forward to the Superman & Lois Lane show, whatever it ends up being called.

The problem is, The CW may now have too many superhero shows, even with ARROW ending . Though, I suspect LEGENDS might be on its last legs, with Brandon Routh leaving. (With that being announced, I'm definitely done with it if Dominic Purcell leaves.)


Nyte Dragon

 I just saw the newest trailer for the show... and I am really looking forward to it. To me it's seems like they took some of 'Smallville', mixed a dose of 'Lois and Clark', and tossed in just a dash of the 'Clark & Lois' comic. They let Superman age into becoming a dad (not certain about the twin sons, but still... SUPER-DAD!) and move back to Smallville.

From the trailer, it looks like they have the idea of how to make Superman as a character work. It's not about the powers, the juggling of planets, being faster then the speed of light squared, or being able to arm wrestle gods.

It's about the man. He can see atoms moving and hear a moth fart, but how does he deal with a son throwing a temper tantrum? He can walk on the surface of the sun and can take a nuke with a shrug, but how does he deal with Lois being upset he forgot their anniversary?

The moment you make the Super more important then the Man, you've missed the entire concept. It should never be about what he can do, but why he does it. And it looks like this show may have it right. I'm hoping they do.

Is it February yet?
Hate is always foolish and love is always wise.
 ⁓Doctor Who

Silver Shocker

"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

Nyte Dragon

Hate is always foolish and love is always wise.
 ⁓Doctor Who

BentonGrey

Hmm, interesting premise.  I am pretty open to a Super-family angle.  The angsty-ness in that second trailer seems a bit much, but the idea has tons of potential.  What a cool approach for a show!
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
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Nyte Dragon

Quote from: BentonGrey on February 08, 2021, 01:51:31 AM
The angsty-ness in that second trailer seems a bit much

:huh: This is the CW, ya know.  :lol:
Hate is always foolish and love is always wise.
 ⁓Doctor Who

Silver Shocker

Quote from: Night Dragon on February 08, 2021, 03:26:49 AM
Quote from: BentonGrey on February 08, 2021, 01:51:31 AM
The angsty-ness in that second trailer seems a bit much

:huh: This is the CW, ya know.  :lol:

You're not wrong. Noone in the Arrowverse ever seemed to be able to figure out that keeping really important secrets was a bad idea.

Yes, anstiness is a bit worrisome, but otherwise, this is such a wholesome looking show. It feels really great to have a Superman show on tv (it's a 2 hour premiere!) for the first time since Smallville over a decade ago, and Superman and Lois are further into their life together than they've ever been in a mainstream Superman. How neat!

"The world will always need Superman."

Yer goshdarn right.

"But right now this family needs you more."

I will remain optimistic and open-minded. It can't possibly be more misguided than the Zach Snyder version, right?
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

BentonGrey

Ha, very true, ND, and that is why I have never really gotten into these shows.

I'm definitely going to try this one out. 
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
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Tomato

If I may be a downer on one thing though... I'm excited for the show, but I am not fond of what we've seen of the costume. I've said this before, but of all the trunk-less costumes I've seen, the one they had for Hoechlin in Supergirl worked best at keeping the color balance. The thicker belt, the gold cape latches, the proper collar... It worked for me in ways the 90s suit didn't.

This one though... They darkened the blue, thinned the belt, tucked the cape into a smaller collar... Some of that is for practical and comfort reasons, but I've never understood why the cape can't just be attached at the shoulders. It's not like the tech doesn't exist, it was like that in every series from the 40s to the 90s.

Silver Shocker

I also am not crazy about the costume in this show, but I'm not going to hold it against the show too much. Plus the other Arrowverse characters have upgraded their costumes as they go, so maybe they'll change it as they go.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

BentonGrey

Yeesh, just got a good look at the cape attachment.  Yeah, that's weird.  Why?  Also, you know that I think it never looks right without trunks, 'Mato.

Here's hoping we'll see something better evolve, SS.
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
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Tomato

Quote from: BentonGrey on February 21, 2021, 06:35:20 PM
Yeesh, just got a good look at the cape attachment.  Yeah, that's weird.  Why?  Also, you know that I think it never looks right without trunks, 'Mato.

Here's hoping we'll see something better evolve, SS.

So I asked a friend who does cosplay, and she had a theory. The reason has to do with mobility... capes, especially thicker ones, are heavy, and putting the start closer to the neck allows the cape to sit between the shoulders, giving greater range of movement. Still looks stupid, but I will at least concede it's practical.

As for the trunks... I agree, sort of. I think a proper looking superman without trunks CAN be done... the Cassiday era X-men costumes proved you could break up the colors in costumes like Superman's (Wolverine, for example) in different ways that aren't as "silly" as the trunks.  But it's never been done properly IMHO, so if they're not going to properly color balance it without them, having the trunks is preferable.

Silver Shocker

#16
QuoteSo I asked a friend who does cosplay, and she had a theory. The reason has to do with mobility... capes, especially thicker ones, are heavy, and putting the start closer to the neck allows the cape to sit between the shoulders, giving greater range of movement. Still looks stupid, but I will at least concede it's practical.

Practicallity is as good an answer as most

Too bad they couldn't use the classic Superman costume in every new version of Superman, unless there was a good story reason not to. Because then noone would have to figure out what needs to be done with the new costumes, because they'd be the usual one seemingly everyone already likes.

Then again, if the costume is lacking and the show is good, I think that's ok. I don't like Supergirl's hair OR costume in S5, but that had nothing to do with my feeling that was a poor season.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

Nyte Dragon

 I agree with Shock on the upgrade on the costumes. Look at how S1 Flash's outfit has changed. It started out dark red with the red chest emblem, and now it's a brighter red with a white emblem. They'll change and adapt the outfit too better suit (heh pun) the actor's needs, viewer's feedback, and over-all look. But I do have to say, I've never was a fan of the trunkless look the come up with on any of the costumes, the Superman costumes that is.

On Batman, the loss of trunks was fine because his belt broke it up. But when they did this with Superman's costume, they made the belt... segmented, I guess is the best description for it. It's not a whole belt, so it doesn't break the costume up, and it looks like a big blue onesie. The trunks made it look separated. I haven't gotten a really good look at the belt here, but it looks solid, so it might work. But I have a more important question....

Is
It
The
23rd
Yet?
Hate is always foolish and love is always wise.
 ⁓Doctor Who

Silver Shocker

QuoteBut when they did this with Superman's costume, they made the belt... segmented, I guess is the best description for it. It's not a whole belt, so it doesn't break the costume up, and it looks like a big blue onesie. The trunks made it look separated. I haven't gotten a really good look at the belt here, but it looks solid, so it might work.

As I've said a few times, I've really come around to the "color balance" argument.

QuoteIs
It
The
23rd
Yet?

:D

*Sigh* No, not yet.

I have a strong feeling it's not going to be as good as I want it to be, and I don't know how I feel about that.

And considering this is a Post-Crisis Arrowverse show, I should be grading this thing on the biggest curve this side of....well, the DCEU.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

Silver Shocker

#19
One more before the premiere:

While I don't usually particularly like promos that splice in interview footage, this one's real nice.

Elizabeth Tullock (Lois Lane): I mean it's Superman, you can't go wrong with Superman.

LOL. Usually you can't go wrong with Superman, anyway.

Wole Parks ("The Stranger"): What does Superman look like in 2021?

You mean the costume?  :P I kid, I kid. Yeah, I know what he means. Should be interesting, but I would think the simplest, most effective answer would be: "He'd be Superman."

Tyler: I think the fans will love seeing him challenged in a way we haven't seen him before.

Wole Parks ("The Stranger"): What MAKES him human is he has to face adversity. He has to deal with LIFE.

Tyler: There's a lot of hurdles that we haven't seen them jump through before.

Yeah, I made a few snarky comments, but I dunno, it sounds like these guys get it.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

Nyte Dragon

SQUEEEE!!!

It IS the 23rd!!

Please let it be good! Please let it be good! Please let it be good! Please let it be good!

PLEASE DON'T LET THEM TAKE A SYNDER ALL OVER SUPERMAN!

:yipee Party hats for everybody!  :yipee
Hate is always foolish and love is always wise.
 ⁓Doctor Who

BentonGrey

Haha, you just a tad excited, ND?  Well, here's hoping!
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
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Nyte Dragon

 Just a lil bit? Does it show?  :D

Seriously though, Superman to me is like Aquaman is to you. My dad was never really around, never at home, when I was growing up, so I didn't have a male role model. But I read comics since as far back as I can remember, and I latched on to Superman as something of a surrogate father figure. Superman was the kind of person I wanted to grow up to be like. It wasn't the powers that was the draw. I know the whole male power fantasy that a lot of psychologists say is the draw to Superman, or superheroes in general. But to me, it was the moral center of the character, that drew me to him.

That despite having the power to make himself wealthy beyond dreams, he struggles with having a job. That despite his amazing abilities that could make his life so easy, he chooses to use those abilities in service to others. And not for pay, he chooses to do so. I came from a family that help to fund and create our local volunteer fire department. So the fact Superman volunteered his services made me love the character. And I know this will sounds silly, or corny, what have you, but as I grew up I had thoughts like...

"Is this what Superman would do? "
"What would Superman think?"
Even "Would this make Superman proud?"

To me he was also the most relatable hero. I know one of the arguments about a certain Flying Rodent Guy is that anyone could be him. Well...., yeah, you could, if you had the millions of dollars for the gear, for the travel to all the best teachers, the loyal beyond all natural sanity accomplice, then yeah, you could be him. He's wealthy and never has to work a day in his life. He's ultra-suave and has ladies flocking all over him. I can't relate to that.

But, Clark Kent, I can relate to him. Remember, he was Clark long before he became Superman. He works a job and deals with a boss, just like everyone else. Clark was the stumbling nerd who get tongue tied around the girl. He could cold stare down Darkseid and juggle planets. But put him in front of Lois Lane, and his knees got weak, his heart would race, and he had trouble making words. I understood that! That was me. Everybody knows who Bruce Wayne is, but no one knows Clark Kent.

Now things have come full circle. Superman was my surrogate father figure, and they're doing a show of him being a father. And his not sure of how good he's doing. He can fly up holding a truck over his head, like we would toss a trash bag into a dumpster. But when his son gets mad that he's hid something from him, he's not sure how to deal with it. Just like the rest of us.

I am so hoping they get it right. The WB/CW did so great with 'Smallville', even with the trademark angst. :lol: So, crossing fingers, I can't wait!
Hate is always foolish and love is always wise.
 ⁓Doctor Who

SuperPoweredYank

Quote from: Night Dragon on February 23, 2021, 11:38:19 PM
I know the whole male power fantasy that a lot of psychologists say is the draw to Superman, or superheroes in general. But to me, it was the moral center of the character, that drew me to him.

I concur.

Even as a child I always idolized Superman. Sure, I would still occasionally fantasize about having Superman's powers. But the main appeal to Superman was always the fact he can use those powers for good. The constant cynical interpretations of the character are incredibly tiring.

BentonGrey

Wow, ND, that is just awesome!  Thanks for sharing it with us!  I'm glad that you've got such a strong connection to that character, and that certainly helps me understand what this show means to you.  I can understand what you mean about the moral center being the draw for the character.  Though Superman isn't my favorite, that's what I appreciate about him too.  And what you said about the surrogate father figure and the version of him as a father, that's really cool.  I hope this show will be everything you want it to be!
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
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Nyte Dragon

#25
 OMG! OMG! OMG!

Okay someone should take Zach Synder duct tape him to a chair, Clockwork Orange his eyes open, and make him watch this over and over!

They got it! They so got it!

ULTRA-MEGA-SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Okay spoilery spoiler stuff....

Spoiler
I love the montage style opening going through the backstory.

The Kents finding baby Clark. Pa Kent's passing and funeral. Clark moving to Metropolis. So good, and the music... so epic!

And then we get the 1st appearance of Superman. And he's wearing the Golden Age costume!! OMG! So awesome! Even if it's for just a few seconds. And "Thanks, my Mom made it for it. " Such a great call back line to the first episode of 'Lois & Clark'.

Then we get the first meeting of Clark and Lois. And yes! Yes! He's all stutters and bumbling in front of her. So good. We get to see the twins, who are named after both Clark's dads. We also get hints that Jon Kent might be the next hero in the family, seemingly showing signs of emerging powers. Jordan on the other hand, we learn has anxiety problem and has to go to therapy.

Skip forward to present day, and the power plant is gonna blow! Oh nos! But Superman saves the day. And it was a nice way to show off his powers WITHOUT destroying 1/4 of a major city. Yeah, Synder, taped to your chair, I'm looking at you. And it showed he doesn't have to go all punchy punchy to save the day. We also learn Gen. Lane knows Superman's secret ID and this is the second time we've had a near meltdown. Oh, and through the montage the costume updates. And while I've never been a fan of the trunkless look, I can get into this one. A solid belt breaks up the outfit like I said in another post.

Superman arrives home, and told by Lois that he missed Jordan's therapy session. And Jon has news. Jon is supposed to be the starting QB, even though he's a freshman. Clark goes to apologize for missing Jordan's therapy. And, yes.... Jordan is CW angsty teen approved. But this has one of my favorite laugh out loud moments. He's playing 'Injustice 2'! It's Superman Vs Raiden on screen. And when Clark comments Jordan makes a good Superman, Jordan replies 'Superman's boring'. Oh how deep the knife goes! :lol:

We skip ahead to the Daily Planet and find out that Morgan Edge has bought the Planet. People are getting let go left and right. And so is Clark. As Clark and Lois begin to talk about this, Clark's phone rings and he at first thinks it's his Mom. But it turns out it's a Doctor. Clark takes off flying at super-speed and heads home... too late. 😥 Ma Kent has passed away from a stroke. And Tyler Hoechlin makes you believe a Superman can cry.

We have the funeral, and then the gathering at the Kent farm. We meet Lana Lane, now Cushing, and her husband, Tool. Okay, his name isn't Tool, but it should be. He is a grade-a Tool. He's the local fire chief, and he might just be acting that way because he's jealous that Clark is Lana's HS sweetheart. We also meet Lana's oldest daughter, Sarah, who is seemingly set-up as a possible love interest for Jordan. Cell/Wi-Fi reception is 'teh suck' down on the farm, and Sarah, Jon, and Jordan go into the barn to reset the router. Okay, this part I gotta question. Why is the router in a hard to reach place in the barn and not someplace easy to access? Anywho, Clark has warned the boys to stay out of the barn. That it's dangerous. And it is, a load of pipes fall on the Kent boys, with Jon apparently saving the duo.

Lois's dad visits the farm, showing evidence linking nuke plants with a blurry figure caught on camera, along with Kryptonian micro-etching. Her dad tries to order Clark into action, but Lois countermands her dad, stating that Clark needs to be with family right now, but if an emergency happens, Superman will be there. GO LOIS GO!

The next day at the Smallville bank we learned that Ma Kent has the farm on a reverse mortgage. And she has been helping out all the neighbors. Gee, makes you wonder where Clark got it from. While this is going on the twins are curious about how they weren't hurt and investigate the barn. They find the cellar and Clark's ship, and confront their parents when they get home. Clark reveals who he is, and that they assume Jon has inherited Clark's powers. Both boys are upset and storm off. 

That evening Lois and Clark are talking and Clark asks Lois if he's a bad father. OMG! Yes! "The man is more important then the super!", so far they are getting it. This is how to handle Superman. He projects this core of confidence to the world, but he needs Lois to lean on, to ground him. Inside he has the same self-doubts that we all have.

Suddenly another nuke plant is under attack. And this looks like a.... you know where it's going. Meanwhile the twins go to a bonfire that Sarah invited them to.
Superman meets the baddie, who has been doing this because the plant is lead lined and he could hide and observe Supes. Superman attacks and the baddie is wearing armor. In all honestly, it looks somewhat like the 'MoS' kryptonian armor. Oh, and he keeps calling Superman Kal-El. So I kind of think it's going to be Zod or some such. Bleh, we did Zod already in the movies. Please no. But anyway, the two fight, and we see Superman keeping this super powered fight away from cities and such.

*SMACKS Synder* Are we paying attention Mr. Destruction Porn?!?

The twins go to a bonfire Sarah invited them to and Jordan misreads a secret sharing talk with Sarah and kisses her. He gets slugged by Sarah's boyfriend. Jon jumps in to save the day, only to lead to both boys getting butts handed to them. Jordan and Jon are on the ground getting kicked and hit, and Jordan gets angry and *FOMPH* HIS heat vison causes an explosion. I hate to say, I kind of saw this coming. That, or somehow the twins would 'split' Clark's powers. They lead in just a bit too heavy handed on it being Jon to have the powers. Plus, I guess it was meant to be a swerve for comic readers, who expected Jon to be like his comic book counterpart.

Back to the fight, they are in mid-orbit, and Baddie asks if Supes wonders how he knows so much about him. He says something about he's also from a doomed planet (or he could have said destroyed), not unlike krypton. Okay, so he's not kryptonian. Good. Anyway, he says the villainous diatribe that all bad guys must spout. (It's in the Bad Guy Handbook) And then he stabs Supes with a kryptonite knife embedding in his chest and Clark plummets towards earth.

Lois sees about the explosion on TV and uses a little pager-like device to call to Clark. As Clark hears the signal, he pulls the kryptonite out, and stops his fall in the nick of time. He flies off and arrives at the explosion area. Jon is okay, just beaten up, but Jordan looks like hell. His eyes are super-bloodshot, and red and somewhat swollen. The family have a talk and it's realized that Jordan has the powers. He was the one that saved his brother from the pipes in the barn earlier. Jon is actually okay with this, as it means his athleticism is natural, not from powers. I like this! I like they didn't go the whole "I hate you cause you got powers and I didn't" route. It's refreshing.

Clark and Lois have decided to keep the farm, and they're going to move the family there. Clark admits to Jordan that he hasn't been there for him, and he's going to be from now on.

Cut to Baddie in a snowy mountainous area entering his ship. Blah, blah, blah, bad guy monologuing to ship's AI. AI calls him 'Captain Luthor'. Bwa? Okay, this takes place in the Arrowverse, and we already have a Lex Luthor over on Supergirl. So I'm going to lay my guess out right now. This is a future Luthor, not Lex, but A Luthor. And he's traveled to the past because he believes Superman does, or doesn't, do something that dooms the Earth. Hence, him coming from a 'doomed' planet.

Whew.... that's a lot of typing. They say that some shows have to have time to 'find their legs to get running' . If that's true for this show.... OMG! I can't wait to see more, cause I LOVED this first episode! I went in hyped and excited, in case you couldn't tell, but also worried that it was going to go the way of the Synder.

Thank you CW for getting it right!

EDIT : I was typing this while you posted Benton. And if you can't tell, I am tickled pinker then my actual hair.
Hate is always foolish and love is always wise.
 ⁓Doctor Who

Silver Shocker

#26
Mikey, I think he likes it.  ^_^ You beat me to it.

QuoteBut to me, it was the moral center of the character, that drew me to him.

I always thought that was what everyone liked about Superman. Superman isn't a random Dragon Ball Z character, like most good or great superhero characters, the personality and writing is what makes them truly stand out, not simply his powerset.

Anyway, I watched the thing.  :D

In Canada, the broadcast was 90 minutes, ending at 10:30 PM. I don't know if the U.S. broadcast padded out the "2 hour premiere" with interview footage or somesuch, but I'm glad it wasn't 2 hours, because it would have gone on a bit long that way. This was right in the pocket.

I liked it a lot. I didn't hate any of it, and I enjoyed enough of it. It is definitely Superman.

The kids are angsty for sure, and the one kid is given a pretty shaky first impression. I think it could have done in a way that could have leveled off better and made him more likable from the start, but it levels out real good.

Based on my experience with the comics version, Clark's son Jonathan is NOTHING like the comics. He's very much in that highschool athlete mode, or at least for most of this episode anyway. I'm curious what those who read Supersons think of the tv version of him.

Fun fact: At one point it was considered that it would be one son and one daughter. At first I was like "Why didn't you do that?" But when you watch the episode it actually works very well for what they're going with. Lana and her new family are set up to have a very big role in this show, so you have a few different characters to put the spotlight on.

I can now say that Tyler was born to play Superman. He didn't have much to do in Supergirl and Crisis - just show up, smile, and say the right things. But here all the stuff you expect of the character shines through. He's got that warmth and humanity you want to see, and while challenged by the world by him, is not compromised by it.

This thing looks gorgeous. Whatever they spent on this pilot, I have no doubt it won't keep for the whole season, but they put a lot of money and effort into their first impression. While I said a snarky "gettin' sick of your lens flare, Abrams!" a few times, even that works with the sun coming in, and these people know how to make the red on Superman's costume look awesome (that shot from the promos, if you've seen it) The action scenes we see with Supes fighting our antagonist had me saying "Why do they need Zach Snyder again?"

"Superman for 2021" does indeed have a lot of broad talk about things that would be talked about in 2021, (this is a CW show, after all) but it wasn't too bad IMO? But then again, the "Agent Liberty" season of Supergirl was by far my favorite season of the show, so I'm hardly going to mark this down for some talk about layoffs.

I was very impressed with "The Stranger". I can't wait to see more of him. The new actress for Lana took some getting used to, but Lana seems to be a different character in basically everything, so I can roll with it.

Here's one for you old-school fans: a future episode will feature a supporting character whose last name is "Beppo" from Beppo the Super Monkey.  ^_^

There seemed to be no references to the Arrowverse whatsoever, unless I missed them, and Sam Lane and Morgan Edge have been recast. It almost seems like the Arrowverse never even happened in this. It's a great tactic to attract new viewers, but to not reference Supergirl is a bit of an omission. Perhaps later episodes will ease into it, but for those who don't know, this show will be taking part in mini crossover based around Diggle from Arrow. Timeline wise, it should be interesting, as it seems they jumped forward in time to age up the kids, so I don't know if it's going to be time travel or if Diggle is going to team up with Flash and then right after "YEARS LATER"?

QuoteOkay someone should take Zach Synder duct tape him to a chair, Clockwork Orange his eyes open, and make him watch this over and over!

It's so true. Whoever directed this should be getting talks to direct a DC movie right the heck now.  Or maybe they should just stay here and keep making this awesome show.

Spoiler


I LOVED the opening few minutes. It was like an entire long-running Superman series in the span of several minutes, and I fanboyed out when I saw him in the Golden Age costume.

Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit weird to have Superman's kids crushing on the daughter of his ex-girlfriend? I mean, it's not technically wrong. It just seems weird to me, like if Smallville had Clark's son dating the daughter of Kristen Kreuk's Lana.

Lana's husband is a real heel in this. The firefighter job did level things off in a way that can make things interesting (several of these supporting characters are series regulars) but every single other thing he said, and the southern hic voice the actor gave him really marked him as a jerk who seems like he could be a real troublemaker in future stories.

"Captain Luthor" made a very impressive showing. I liked the look of the warsuit, I liked the actor's voice, and the story tease seems intriguing (he's apparently an alternate universe Luthor, which can be a lot of fun). I can't wait to see more of him, he cemented himself as a bad$$ Luthor in far less screentime than even Jon Cryer did in Supergirl (not counting the trailer for those episodes, which did the job in about 2 minutes or less)

QuoteOkay, so he's not kryptonian. Good. Anyway, he says the villainous diatribe that all bad guys must spout. (It's in the Bad Guy Handbook) And then he stabs Supes with a kryptonite knife embedding in his chest and Clark plummets towards earth.

"Hey? That an RPG? YOU GOT AN ARR. PAY. GEE?

Wha-wait wait wait, can't we talk about this? You ain't going to monologue or nothing, give the bad guy speech?"

Samuel L. Jackson, Afro Samurai.

I was totally expecting it to be Luthor. I think the Kryptonian armor (perhaps he got actual Kyptonian armor and repurposed it for himself) was a red herring.

What I liked about that fight (other than the actor's speech and the gorgeous action) is that this really feels like the most stressful time in Superman's life. Not worst, most stressful.

Future Luthor is possible. I'm reminded of Kyrpton, which featured the often great Colin Salmon as a time displaced General Zod, and he was pretty great in that.

Legion of Superheroes also featured "Alexis Luthor".


Is it March 2, yet?  :P
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

BentonGrey

Man, ND, I think I'm going to have to make you my barometer for Superman stuff.  Haha, I love your enthusiasm and love for the character.  I'm glad y'all liked this.  It sounds pretty good, despite the angsty-ness.  I may have to track it down if it stays good.

I do have to say, though, that the whole not telling his kids thing is such a stupid plot device that it makes me shake my head every time I think about it. 
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
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Tomato

As someone who rolls his eyes at that normally, 1. There's justification in series about that, 2. Lois repeatedly and correctly calls him out over it, and 3. It lasts one episode.

Silver Shocker

Which is also more or less why I'm not that bothered by this show's iteration of Jonathan.

QuoteI'm glad y'all liked this.  It sounds pretty good, despite the angsty-ness.  I may have to track it down if it stays good.

I recommend it. It's another example of "I guarantee you will not like this as much as us" but it's a really nice palate cleanser after almost a decade of the DCEU and the Arrowverse losing a bit of steam after Crisis.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa