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Superman & Lois: Through the Valley of Death

"It's not too late for him."

Superman. Quite a guy, isn't he?

The most interesting through-line in this episode was Lois Lane versus John Henry Irons. It made sense, after what he went through in his own 'verse, that Irons was convinced that Superman wanted Irons to kill him in order to save the world. It also made sense that Lois would believe that Clark would never give in. Especially after she learned from Kyle that resistance wasn't futile.

That led to the emotional scene where Lois took Irons aside and told him that Superman was her husband. Gold acting stars for Bitsie Tulloch for that one. Lois is so strong and tough – she has to be. But she brought down all her walls and showed Irons who she was. It was especially difficult for Irons, considering that he sees Lois as his own wife; he couldn't accept and believe Lois, right up to that last and most dramatic moment.

Irons. Quite a guy, isn't he?

Of course Superman was possessed by General Zod. Was the other universe's Kal-El possessed by Zod, too? Is Zod really gone forever? Tell me another one. He's too good a character to waste. And Morgan Edge is in a special green-tinged prison, but he was smiling. It's clearly not over. Leslie Larr is still on the loose. And where's the Eradicator now? At the DOD? Is Edge anywhere near it?

The twins did their part to save the day. Their basic dynamic kicked in, with Jordan certain he couldn't locate their father with superhearing, and Jonathan talking him into it. Jonathan also tried to talk Irons down. It's a shame Jonathan doesn't have powers, since in character he is a lot more like his father. (Yet. He doesn't have powers yet.)


The twins have possibilities, but General Sam Lane is less predictable and a lot more interesting. He's a part of the family and obviously loves Lois and the twins, but he also represents the U.S. Government, which is understandably leery of Big Blue. General Lane easily and believably moves from ally to villain and back to ally again, often in the same episode, as he did here. I daresay that's the type of character you want to have around.

Speaking of which, it was great to see John Diggle, even though he apparently just stopped by with a shipment of superweapons from ARGUS. It wasn't enough. More Diggle, please.


And maybe less Cushings? I still need to be convinced that the Cushings aren't a complete waste of time. They tend to be relegated to the bottom of my reviews. I'm wondering if and when that will change.

Okay, I'll talk about the Cushings. Kyle is now facing the wrath of Smallville because he was so rah rah for Morgan Edge. Karmic. But we had a cute little family water fight and dinosaur pancakes for breakfast – cookie cutter, not free form. So everything is okay with the Cushings now?

Bits:

— I watch everything with close captions so that I don't miss dialogue. The caption during the Superman & Lois credit was "bombastic heroic music," which made me laugh out loud.

— Irons has a younger sister, or a doppelganger of his younger sister, in Metropolis. We didn't see her face, but I'm sure we'll be meeting her soon.

— Irons looks a lot like Iron Man with Thor's hammer. Or does Iron Man look a lot like John Henry Irons? Who was first? I'm not that familiar with comic books, making me a less than perfect reviewer of this show.

— I did enjoy Superman flying with Irons. Pretty cool. They do wonderful action sequences on this show. Can't complain.

Quotes:

Edge: "You will fade as this new mind comes to light. Not even Superman is strong enough to resist the will of Zod."

Irons: "It took him seven minutes to wipe out Metropolis. Seven minutes."
Yes, no one should be that powerful. Even a good guy.

Sarah: "It's like 1984 out here."
Kyle: "Yeah, it's just Big Brother doing their job. They'll be gone soon."
Geez, Kyle is even okay with 1984? Is there anything authoritarian-ish that he doesn't like?

Lois: "He is the love of my life, the father of my sons. John, Superman is my husband."
Irons: "Clark Kent is Superman?"
Why is anyone surprised? They look exactly alike. I know, I know.

Edge: "You could have ruled with me as my brother. Instead, I will bury you in the ashes of this world."
I have to give Adam Rayner credit for pulling off lines like this one. It's not easy.

Definitely a good episode, but it seemed to resolve too quickly for me, much like the last one. Three out of four Big Brothers,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

5 comments:

  1. :) I watch with closed captioning on, too, and also caught the "bombastic heroic music," which made me laugh. Like you, I thought Superman's possession resolved way too quickly. My impression at the end, given the smile we saw on Edge, was that the last resort was maybe him willingly being possessed by Zod himself. Though was he the one that said Zod was gone for good? If so, maybe not. I could have totally misinterpreted that scene. Btw, I'm looking forward to both brothers having powers.

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  2. Billie - Iron Man came first :) He was created in the 60's. John Henry Irons first appeared in 1993, during the "Death Of Superman" storyline. He was a former engineer whose life Superman once saved. After Superman died, Irons was one of the 4 new Supermen who appeared in Metropolis. John Henry Irons built a suit similar to what we saw in this episode, complete with hammer, and tried to help the city in Superman's absence. After Superman returned, Irons stayed in the hero business, going by the name "Steel".

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  3. Katerina, I was thinking the same thing about Edge choosing to be possessed by Zod. But that would obliterate his own personality. Does he hate himself that much?

    Patrick, thanks so much! I knew someone would know.

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  4. I think it would be cooler if instead of getting powers like Jordan and Clark, Jonathan took inspiration from Irons and got his own superpowered suit.

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  5. Randall Joseph Smith, you may be right. I think the way Jonathan is handling Jordan having powers while he hasn't has shown that he has the temperament of a hero.

    I think it would be interesting if Jonathan had some powers and Jordan had others, and they had to work together. Wonder twins, activate!

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