‘Superman & Lois:’ 1×07 – A Man of Steel for the ages

“Superman and Lois” has shown no sign of stagnation while continually amazing fans with every episode. The CW’s latest superhero installment is epic, strong and full of heart.

Contains spoilers

This week’s episode aptly titled “Man of Steel,” directed by “Arrow’s” David Ramsey, tells us a lot about the Stranger played by Wolé Parks. The stranger was revealed to be none other than John Henry Irons and not Lex or Alexander Luthor.

In the comics John Henry Irons / Steel is a superhero who takes up the mantle of Superman following his death in the iconic comic epic, “Death of Superman.” Irons managed to do this with a mechanized self made suit of armor that seemingly replicated the power of the man of steel.

In the show his story is slightly tweaked, bringing an original take to the iconic character. In this incarnation, Irons is from another universe where he is married to Lois Lane (ElizabethTulloch) and has a daughter named Natalie Irons (Tayler Buck).

I really love how this latest Superman show is written. Up until this point we had believed the stranger to be a Luthor from an alternate Earth, but then the show throws a curveball. A constant for each episode that always leaves us reeling.

“Superman & Lois” also managed to make Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman, a well established hero with heart, look maniacally menacing throughout the episode. In John Iron’s flashbacks with his earths murderous Superman we witness Tyler convincingly play an evil version of Clark kill Lois Lane. We also witness Clark’s anger filed ferocity as he pulls back a prepared punch for Irons. Lois stopped Clark in his tracks, driving home the fact that Lois is Clark’s connection to humanity which been the case in many other Superman incarnations.

It has also been great to see a lot of Clark and Lois (Clois) moments in these episodes. “Superman & Lois” truly shows their history as the best of the Daily Planet.

Then there’s Lana who is played to perfection by Emmanuelle Chriqui. In this latest chapter Lana continues helping Lois with the investigation into Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner). Lana’s husband Kyle (Erik Valdez) is unaware of this alliance leading me to believe that this might cause problems for the Kushing family in the future.

It doesn’t help the fact that one of Lana’s friends is going through rough times and comes to her for help, and Edge hires her even though Lana didn’t speak to him about it. This is Morgan’s way of showing Lana he was watching her every move. Lana came to the realization that her new recruits for Edge may become the subjects of his experimental empowering sequence with Smallville’s stockpile of rare Kryptonite.

Now, let’s talk about the Kent boys. It looks like things are not always down hill for Jonathan now as it seems he might be getting a possible new love interest. Meanwhile, Jordan has gained the ability of “Super Hearing.” Throughout the episode we see him struggle to control it. However, these newfound abilities prove beneficial as they allow Jordan the chance to save his dad, Superman.

This episode was mostly centered around Clark, Lois and John Henry Irons as we would get more answers on what happened to Steel’s universe. I’m excited to learn more about John Henry Irons and his universe in the upcoming episodes.

Tyler Hoechlin is doing an excellent job of portraying both Clark and Superman and has manages to set himself apart from previous portrayals of the Man of Tomorrow. Elizabeth Tulloch is indeed one of the best portrayers of Lois Lane in any media. Kudos to the casting director for assembling this cast of very talented actors who have great chemistry with each other.

At the end this episode was another great episode. Season one, episode 7 “Man of Steel” is arguably one of the best due to how much it progresses the story and makes it more interesting. I can’t wait for what they have in store for us in the following weeks.