'Superman & Lois': Early look at pilot script indicates a much darker tone for the staid superhero's story
Spoiler alert for 'Superman & Lois' Season 1, Episode 1
'Superman & Lois' seems about as wholesome a show as one could expect, revolving around the world's most powerful Boy Scout and the world's most intrepid reporter raising a family together. In a brief recap, we learn that Clark Kent's father, Jonathan Kent, had already died when Clark was a teenager. In the present, however, Superman hears a call for help, and not even his superspeed can see him get to his adoptive mother Martha Kent in time to prevent her death. The question remains, however, as to who killed her.
However, according to a preview of the pilot's script released by Primetimer, the series is going to a much darker place a lot more quickly than expected. Amongst other things, the episode leaves Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) an orphan.
Martha is a pretty major guiding figure in Clark's life and to have her killed in the very first episode is something more at home in a show like 'Arrow' than a Superman-centric one. But that's not the only dark leaning the show is gravitating towards.
Following the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths,' it's revealed that Clark and Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) don't just have a son - they have twins, Jonathan and Jordan. A clear dichotomy between the two boys is laid out - Jonathan is the happier, more carefree child, while Jordan is the computer-obsessed, darker one, diagnosed with social anxiety. It's clear the kind of antagonism that's being set up here between the twins - one that might mirror the Lex/Superman relationship, given that it's implied that Jonathan might have inherited his father's powers, while Jordan did not. Jordan's not alone, however - Lana Lang's daughter, Sarah, is apparently just as dark as he is.
While the script may be subject to significant changes between now and its air date, as it stands, 'Superman & Lois' features a significant time jump, meaning it's out of phase with the rest of the Arrowverse shows. When we last saw Superman, Lois and their baby Jonathan, he had not yet celebrated his first birthday. The show's pilot sees the twins being 13 years old, setting the show somewhere around 2033 - a lot closer to the timeline of 'Green Arrow & The Canaries' more than anything else. Superman & Lois still lived through all those years, however - their characters can still crossover in the past, but for now, it looks like 'Superman & Lois' is very much in its own Arrowverse time bubble.
'Superman & Lois' is set to release some time in 2020, on The CW.
