Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Superman & Lois Season 3 finale "What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger." Read at your own risk!
Superman & Lois Season 3 was a great season, but the final two episodes really flipped it into the greatest season the series has done yet. Lex Luthor's arrival right at the end of the Bruno Mannheim saga and Lois' cancer battle was the perfect cherry on top of a top season, and the chaos he brought set the stage for an epic Season 4.
The CW will bring back Superman & Lois for Season 4, which is great because there were serious questions about whether or not it would be able to. With that said it won't be without sacrifices, and that paired with some other key factors gives me pause about the next season. Let's break down what happened, and why I think the potentially awesome season might be hindered by the production process.
Lex Luthor Unleashed Doomsday On Superman
Lex Luthor appeared in the back half of Superman & Lois Season 3 when Bruno Mannheim's confession of murdering Boss Moxie set him free from prison. Luthor made a beeline straight from prison to the Kent family household, where Lois and Clark were waiting on him. He demanded that Lois retire from journalism for her role in him getting locked up (via an article she got wrong), and assured that revenge against Superman was coming.
Luthor ended up finding his tool for revenge in Bruno Mannheim's old compound, where he found a resurrected Bizarro feasting on sewer rats. Luthor offered Bizarro the opportunity to never be hurt again if the hero from an alternate dimension accepted his help, and when he did, they got to work.
Luthor began a series of torture on Bizarro that sent him right to the brink of death and back again several times over. The constant attacks created extensive scarring on his body and made his back much larger and his skin ashen. By the time it was over, it was clear what Superman & Lois was doing. Through his torture, Luthor transformed Bizarro into the villain Doomsday.
Doomsday proved to be more than a match for Superman and delivered a beating so brutal that the hero's heart stopped briefly. Superman ultimately regained consciousness and continued his fight with Doomsday, but it was clear he was in a fight for his life. The season ended with Doomsday and Superman flying toward each other to trade massive blows, so we have no idea how this battle will play out.
Season 4 Could Feature The Death Of Superman
While we don't know for certain who will come out on top in the battle between Superman and Doomsday, we do know the battle was very reminiscent of the comic The Death Of Superman. In that story, both Superman and Doomsday ultimately died in the battle, and the world was left without Superman for a time. If Superman & Lois is angling toward this, it's adapting one of the most popular Superman stories of all time.
Granted, there are no guarantees this is happening. Even if it were, Superman & Lois has frequently done its own twist on popular parts of Superman lore, so it could be way different than the classic story. In either case, it's an exciting thing to think about, especially if you're a longtime fan of the Man of Steel. I will concede I'm nervous about Superman & Lois taking on such a big story, but they've done great so far, so why doubt them now?
Superman & Lois Set Up Storylines For Many Characters, But There's Bad News
Superman & Lois ended its season with a lot of developments for minor characters. There's not enough to any of them to get super in-depth, but for those who need a refresher on what happened, here's what we know:
- Sam offered John Henry Irons a job making tech for the D.O.D. in Metropolis.
- Chrissy announced she was pregnant.
- Kyle proposed to Chrissy.
- Lana and John hooked up.
- Sarah and Jordan decided they need to spend time apart not as friends to grow as people.
None of these stories set up are as major as what occurred between Superman and Doomsday, but they are a part of what makes Superman & Lois special. It's the smaller, more intimate plotlines of this show that are the most celebrated, and what keeps the show moving when it can't justify a CGI budget that has Superman flying around and fighting crime nonstop.
Unfortunately, we learned shortly after Superman & Lois was renewed for Season 4 that most of the show's supporting cast will not be involved. The move, which was made due to budget reasons, will effectively cut most everyone mentioned above, with the exception of the core Kent family. Yes, even Sam Lane will get the boot in Season 4, which makes me wonder if he survived his kidnapping by Lex Luthor in Season 3.
Unless something changes between now and the production of Superman & Lois Season 4, I fear any storylines with the show's minor characters will likely be addressed off-camera if addressed at all. I can imagine it won't be an easy task to accomplish given all that was teased in Season 3, but hopefully, the writing staff can figure it out.
Can Superman & Lois Tell A Quality Story In Season 4 With A Reduced Budget?
In addition to losing a large chunk of its cast, Superman & Lois will have its episode count further reduced in Season 4 to ten episodes. You don't need to use a Max subscription to see that the show's episode count has been slowly decreasing. This show has become used to telling its story with less time than the previous season, and truthfully, ten-episode seasons are becoming more and more common in the industry.
And while losing a big chunk of the cast is never great, there are shows that undergo similar changes and thrive. Star Trek: Picard lost a good chunk of its supporting cast ahead of Season 3 and went on to have one of the most celebrated seasons of the series. Granted, those cast members were replaced with the cast of The Next Generation, and we have no idea if the cast of Superman & Lois will be replaced at all.
As such, I can't help but feel concerned about the upcoming season of Superman & Lois. On the one hand, I'm glad it's happening, and we didn't end on a cliffhanger where we don't know if Superman is alive or dead. On the other, is Season 4 even worth doing if the show will have to compromise key things that made it great in order to continue? These are questions I'll probably be asking a lot as we wait for the new season, but we won't know the answer until Season 4 is finally here.
Superman & Lois Season 3 is over at The CW, and now the wait is on for Season 4 to get started. Hopefully, we'll learn more about Season 4 as the months go on, and get more promising news about the best Superman series out there.
