Hey Everyone,
Paul here…
Superman and Lois is one of my most highly anticipated new shows of 2021. The latest series in The CW’s ever expanding Arrowverse. While Supergirl hasn’t always been one of my favorite Arrowverse shows, the series has had it’s moments of greatness. It’s done an excellent job at adapting some classic pieces of the Superman mythology, including this iteration of Superman and Lois Lane. Ever since he made his debut in the Season 2 premiere of Supergirl, I’ve been a big fan of Tyler Hoechlin’s Clark Kent. I’d have to say it’s a toss up between Hoechlin and Cavill, as my favorite live action versions of Superman.
Over the last several years, the main Superman comics have really focused on his life as a hero and family man. With Clark and Lois juggling superheroics, their careers as world renowned journalists at The Daily Planet, and raising their young son Jon Kent AKA Superboy, DC’s power couple always have their hands full. The biggest change this series seems to be making, is that Clark and Lois have 2 sons, instead of the one son they have in the comics.
Despite frequent trips to Metropolis, Clark and Lois wanted to raise their family in as much of a normal, healthy environment that they could reasonably find, under their unique circumstances. It seems as if Clark has decided to move his family back to The Kent Farm in Smallville. As the concept art below shows, the wholesome small town of Clark’s childhood is one of the major settings of the new series.
Their are an abundance of Superman villains and stories that haven’t even been touched yet in The Arrowverse, so there’s a great deal of potential for some exciting stuff in this new series. As the show moves closer to its release date, DC & The CW dropped some great images that I’ve posted throughout the article. as well as a brief trailer have been released, which you can watch below, but it’s really not much more than a teaser. You can take a look for yourself right here…
If there’s one thing we can count on, whenever a new TV show or movie comes out based on a classic superhero property, we’re going to get a new version of the suit. You can take a look a Superman’s new uniform yourself below, but I think they knocked it out of the park. It is absolutely beautiful. It was made by the same team behind the costumes for the hit Amazon Prime series The Boys, so it should come as no surprise that they did such an amazing job on this latest version of the classic Superman uniform. To be honest if I had one critique, it would be that I’d like to see the symbol a little bit larger on his chest. It’s a little too small for my liking but it looks fucking awesome nonetheless.
Like it’s predecessors, Superman and Lois will be just as interconnected to the other shows that make up The Arrowverse. In fact, it looks like we won’t have to wait long to see a crossover. While the series that started it all, Arrow, may have ended its 7 season run in Spring 2020, the rest of The Arrowverse is still very much alive and interconnected. Which leaves the door wide open for characters from the flagship series, to pop up in other Arrowverse shows. So I was very happy to hear the recent announcement that Arrowverse mainstay, David Ramsey, will be returning the DC TV Universe as John Diggle for a 5 -episodes arc focusing on his character beginning on Superman and Lois. Diggle will also be appearing in several other Arrowverse shows as part of the 5-episode arc. David Ramsey will even be directing a few episodes.
This is exciting news for couple of reasons. For 7 seasons on Arrow and dozens of appearances on other Arrowverse shows, Ramsey played John “Digg” Diggle, Oliver Queen’s closest friend and confidant. His special forces training, bravery, and contacts in the espionage community, made him one of Team Arrow’s most valuable assets. He joined Oliver’s mission to save their city, eventually suiting up as the vigilante, Spartan. With the exception of Oliver Queen and Sarah Lance, Diggle is one of the most skilled and dangerous hand-to-hand combatants in The Arrowverse. He even took up the mantle of The Green Arrow on several occasions. Out of all of the Arrow characters that could possibly continue on in other DC shows on The CW, I think his character has the most potential for some interesting stories.
(On the left is a piece of art done by the amazing BossLogic, showing Diggle as a Green Lantern. Top right is John Stewart from Justice League: The Animated Series, Below is Ernie Hudson as Diggle’s Father.)
The details of his return have deliberately been kept under wraps for now, which in my opinion can only mean one thing: We’re finally going to see Diggle become a Green Lantern! The idea of Diggle joining The Green Lantern Corps, has been teased for years and references to the existence The Green Lantern Corps go as far back as Season 1 of The Flash. The last time we saw Diggle in the Arrow Series Finale, something small and strange plummets out of space, landing directly in front of Diggle, blowing him off his feet into the side of his van. Almost as if it was sent directly to him, Digg picks the object up out of the small crater it created on impact, and opens it to find a glowing Green Lantern ring! It was pretty awesome. If I’m right, after years of teases and hints, I think this 5-episode story will be about Diggle making his debut as the first Green Lantern in The Arrowverse. Digg becoming a Green Lanter was a popular fan theory for long time, that the creators gave more legitimacy to as time went on. For example, we find out that Diggle’s father (played by Ernie Hudson) is a high-ranking military officer whose last name is in fact, Stewart, making Diggle’s real, legal name: John Stewart.
John Stewart is one of the classic, fan favorite, Green Lanterns from DC Comics. The character is an African-American former soldier (just like Diggle) and for an entire generation of fans who grew up watching John Stewart as Green Lantern in the classic Justice League Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, John Stewart IS THEIR Green Lantern. One of the running jokes in The Arrowverse was that Digg was always the most uncomfortable with the crazy, bizarre shit involving super powers and meta-humans that the characters would frequently encounter. So it makes a lot of sense that he might go to someone like Clark Kent/Superman, if he’s freaked out about the situation he suddenly finds himself in. Green Lanterns, power rings, and alien species can all be pretty stressful things for a relatively grounded guy deal with. So Superman and Lois seems like the perfect place to debut Diggle as John Stewart, Green Lantern of Space Sector-2817. I’m extremely excited to see what they do with this! Becoming a Green Lantern isn’t exactly easy, which is why I imagine he’ll be making appearances over multiple Arrowverse shows. Perhaps he’ll be learning some thing about his new powers and abilities from each of the heroes he guest stars with? These are all just more great reasons for me to be excited about this new series.
Superman and Lois premieres this January on The CW.
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-Paul
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