Superman & Lois: "Truth and Consequences" Has a Major Twist for Superman
At the end of last week's episode of Superman & Lois, "30 Days and 30 Nights", Clark Kent/Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) faced what might be one of his biggest challenges to date. Jon-El (Jordan Elsass) had come from the Inverse World, with the pendant, determined to merge with Earth-Prime's Jonathan Kent all on Ally Allston's orders. But having a second Jonathan in Smallville created a different set of problems for not only Superman, but everyone around him all of it culminating in a surprising twist, one that will have major ramifications going forward.
Warning: spoilers for this week's episode of Superman & Lois, "Truth and Consequences", below.
As one can imagine, having a second Jonathan Kent running around Smallville would cause some problems and that was indeed the case in the episode. Jon-El, after being thwarted in his attempt to merge with Jonathan, decided to take a different approach and instead kidnapped Lana Cushing (Emmanuelle Chriqui) but used it as a trap for Superman instead. Once he had Superman seeming down for the count with some Kryptonite, he went to go after Jonathan. Ultimately, that plan didn't work. Lana was able to save Superman by removing the Kryptonite and Jordan (Alex Garfin) beat down Jon-El until Superman was able to show up. The day was saved (for now), but issues were far from resolved.
A major aspect of the episode was the secret that the Kent family keeps when it comes to Clark's Superman identity. For the Kent boys, that secret has increasingly complicated their lives — it even contributed to Jordan's breakup with Sarah — but it has also been making things increasingly difficult for Lois and Clark as well. After the situation with Jon, Superman explains to Lana how the Jonathan that kidnapped her wasn't the real Jonathan and while he doesn't reveal his identity, he doesn't feel good about keeping Lana in the dark. By the time he gets home, he's decided to tell her the truth and gets his family's blessing. The episode ends with Clark finally telling Lana the truth. He takes off his glasses, lifts himself into the air and even uses his freeze breath to show her that he's telling the truth. He is, in fact, Superman.
The idea of Superman revealing his identity isn't exactly new territory. In comics, Specifically 2019's Superman #18 written by Brian Michael Bendis, Superman reveals his identity, but on a much larger scale — he literally has a press conference on the steps of the Daily Planet. Superman & Lois' reveal is much smaller and much more intimate. Clark reveals his truth to his lifelong best friend on a road outside of Smallville and it's clear from his body language that keeping the secret for all those years has been difficult for him. This is a Superman concerned for how his friend will react, even though he's telling her the truth in part to protect her. After all, there's a Bizarro Lana that wants to merge with her. Lana being in on the secret helps keep her safe.
As for what's next, while Lana being in on the secret is important for the situation at hand, there's certainly going to be fallout from it. Lana knows the secret now, and it isn't hard to imagine that Sarah will know it soon as well, not to mention there is sure to be some anger and resentment on Lana's part for having been kept in the dark for so long. There's also the matter of Ally Allston and her plans that remain on the horizon. It will be interesting to see how both aspects of the storyline develop as Season 2 continues.
Superman & Lois airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.