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This article contains spoilers for the series finale of Superman & Lois.
Superman & Lois’ connection to the greater Arrowverse diminished and changed as the series went on, with the show taking place in a similar but separate timeline that contained some doppelgängers of Arrowverse characters. But now that the story of Clark (Tyler Hoechlin), Lois (Bitsie Tulloch), and friends has come to a conclusion, there’s no denying that this is still the end of an era for superhero television.
The CW has been a TV home for DC superheroes since Smallville premiered in 2001, before the channel was even known as The CW. Running for 10 seasons, Smallville paved the way for Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, Legends of Tomorrow, and every other show connected by crossovers and multiverses for the last decade-plus. Say what you want about the quality of these series, but they were leagues ahead of the MCU when it comes to representation at least. Across all of these stories we had queer heroes, trans heroes, heroes of color, women heroes in leadership roles, and heroes from varying socioeconomic backgrounds. The Arrowverse made it clear that you don’t have to have superpowers or fancy gadgets to be a hero, you just have to have enough heart.
Superman & Lois may not have been part of the Arrowverse proper, but it still carried on this legacy in its final episode, even without any surprise cameos (aside from our canine friend Krypto). After Doomsday and Lex Luthor (Michael Cudlitz) are defeated by the power of family, friendship, and teamwork, the series focuses on what Lois and Clark’s lives are like up until their final days. For the first time ever in live-action, we get to see Superman’s story come to a real end, and it’s as heartfelt as you would expect from this series.
During San Diego Comic-Con 2024, series showrunners Todd Helbing and Brent Fletcher told Den of Geek that their version of The Death of Superman was going to be different than we might expect, and boy did they deliver. They told the anticipated story from the comic arc – Superman dies at the hands of Doomsday and comes back to life. But this is also a mislead, in a way, because the true, final death of Superman doesn’t come until the series finale.
In an interview with Deadline, Fletcher spoke about how important it was to be able to show a Superman not just with a happy ending, but with a “life well-lived.”
“What are the auspices of a life well-lived?” he said. “It’s hope, joy, family, and good – all these things that he is. It was a hard thing to compact, but we felt that that montage could give a little window into that and give a little inspiration. We’re all mortal, and maybe there’s a beauty to our mortality that even Superman faces. So we thought it was kind of a neat thing. It was something that we were excited about, and so we followed that muse.”
We see Lois and Clark die as heroes, but not in the traditional sense. They don’t die on some battlefield somewhere while saving the world from a threat bigger than themselves. They die at home with their loved ones after leading a long life in service to others and the greater good. Clark hung up his cape long ago, trusting his sons to carry on his legacy for as long as they choose, opting to give back on a more micro, community level than be the savior of the world. And the important thing is that he and Lois do bring about long-lasting change this way.
The Arrowverse may now be on its way to becoming a vestige of the past, but its messages of what it means to be a hero can and should live on. Superman & Lois reminds us that we can all do our part to make this world a better place, even if we aren’t from a distant planet in the cosmos. As long as we continue to find ways to bring hope and joy to others, we’re all worthy of a heroic ending.
The post The Superman & Lois Finale Crafted a Fitting Ending for the Arrowverse appeared first on Den of Geek.
