Superman & Lois Set Up The Wildest Way To Cut Off Superman's Powers & I Can't Believe It's Never Been Done Before

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Superman & Lois season 4, episode 6.Tyler Hoechlin's Superman has been going through a rough time in Superman & Lois season 4, and the latest episode of the DC series just took away Superman's powers in a wild way. I've been really interested in the discussion surrounding the Man of Steel's powers in Superman & Lois season 4. As this is the final season of the show, the team behind the project has been teasing a possible major status change for Clark Kent by the end of the series. After dying, Superman came back to life with a crucial change.

General Sam Lane's heart keeps Clark alive; however, as it is not that of a Kryptonian, Superman is not as powerful as he used to be. I like how the show has been using this to continue Superman & Lois' focus on legacy, with Jordan and Jonathan Kent using their powers and being set up to take over for their dad in the future. Despite the decrease in his power levels, Superman still has to beat his biggest villain, Lex Luthor, and the character just came up with an incredibly creative way to take away Superman's powers.

Superman & Lois Season 4 Sees Lex Luthor Use The Wildest Method To Cut Off Superman's Powers

A Fair Fight Between Major DC Characters

Tyler Hoechlin's Superman has had to deal with his fair share of villains throughout the seasons. The Man of Steel temporarily loses his powers multiple times, being affected by red suns, kryptonite, and more. While I think that trope can get tiresome, as Superman is so powerful that only diminishing or taking away his powers allows villains to have a shot at him, Superman & Lois season 4 just did it in a very exciting way. A fight between Hoechlin's Superman and Michael Cudlitz's Lex Luthor had to come, but I was not expecting what we got.

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Superman & Lois Just Promised Us A Huge Power Upgrade For Lex Luthor Before The Show Is Over

Superman & Lois season 4 has promised a power upgrade for Lex Luthor, and the first look at it has already been revealed by the DC series.

Instead of powering up somehow or using his warsuit from DC Comics, Lex Luthor devised a plan to have a fair fistfight with Clark Kent. He did so by using red sun-powered streetlights, which was a first for Superman stories. I really liked that decision, as it allowed Hoechlin's Superman to fight as a human — as just Clark Kent — not having to hold back against his biggest villain. It was also an incredibly creative plan for Lex to use, as he knew that trying to murder Lana Lang would lead Clark to him, but Superman still won.

Superman & Lois' Red Sun Twist Was Perfect For The Show & Its Lex Luthor

Michael Cudlitz's Superman Villain Has A Comic Book Trait

While I think that Michael Cudlitz's Lex Luthor is more frightening than most versions of the DC villain, even when the comics come into question, he does have a key trait from the character's stories on the page. That characteristic is that Lex Luthor has a flair for the dramatic. He often comes up with creative and wild plans to take down the Man of Steel in the comics. The same has been done in Superman & Lois, with Cudlitz first making Bizarro become Doomsday and now using streetlights of all things to take away Superman's powers.

I think it makes sense that Luthor acted the way he did. In Superman & Lois, Lex was sent to prison by the series' title duo for a crime he did not commit. He had to spend over 17 years locked away, not being able to see his daughter grow up, which has left Luthor rageful. Lex could not even let go of his revenge plans to have his daughter back in his life. So, I fully believe that Lex coming up with such an expensive and extravagant plan just to fight Superman fits this version of the villain nicely.

Superman & Lois' Red Sun Plan Draws From The Best Parts Of Superman's Comic Lore

The Man Of Steel Has A Long History In DC Comics

Superman & Lois uses the comics for inspiration in several ways. While Lex Luthor taking away Superman's powers with the help of red sun streetlamps has not been done before, a similar take on that plan was used by Batman in the comics — well, an alternate universe Batman — in Superman: Red Son, where the Man of Steel was the "Soviet Superman." This story's version of Batman came up with a creative plan to take down Superman, with Batman using red sun-powered lamps to take away Superman's powers.

Superman & Lois season 4, episode 6 takes inspiration from that plan. However, the DC series offers a very different conclusion. In the comics, Batman wins the fistfight with the Man of Steel, leaving Superman defeated on the floor. In Superman & Lois, a powerless Clark Kent was still stronger than Lex Luthor, beating the villain in a violent fight that could have ended with Luthor's death if Superman was not who he is. I loved Lex's plan and its connection to Superman: Red Son, taking a page from an iconic story for Superman & Lois' final season.

Superman & Lois, the seventh Arrowverse spinoff series, will take the titular characters from Metropolis to Smallville. The CW series is set in the aftermath of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover, which saw the multiverse collapse and the merging of worlds into what is now Earth Prime. Superman & Lois sees Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) and Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) dealing with all the pressures of their jobs, along with being parents to two teenage sons. Lois and Clark are no strangers to the Arrowverse, with Hoechlin's Superman having been introduced all the way back in Supergirl season 2. Meanwhile, Tulloch's Lois made her debut in the 2018 "Elseworlds" crossover. The duo is joined by a growing cast of characters that includes a new iteration of Lana Lang.

Release Date February 23, 2021

Showrunner todd helbing

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