Last week, we speculated that things were reaching critical mass on Superman & Lois when it came to Clark Kent’s (Tyler Hoechlin) secret identity. After dying in the middle of Smallville’s Main Street, it seemed pretty clear that folks were putting two and two together. And on this week’s episode, “A Regular Guy,” — spoilers past this point — it becomes clear they can’t get the genie back in the bottle. So Superman reveals his secret identity to the world.
In the episode, Clark is desperately trying to convince everyone in Smallville who knows he’s Superman that he’s… Not Superman. And in typical dorky Clark fashion, he thinks he’s doing a great job of it. He’s not, though, and things have gotten worse thanks to both Jordan (Alex Garfin) and Jonathan (Michael Bishop) having powers. In fact, it’s how uncomfortable they are with keeping the secret and making other people seem like they’re lying that starts to push Clark over the edge.
As Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) explains to her sons, this is all Clark has ever known. Since he developed powers at age 4, he was told to never reveal his secret identity or bad things would happen to the people around him. So he’s kept it his whole life… Not just for himself, but for Lois, and then to try and give his two sons a normal life. As they point out: this is not a normal life. They’re attacked by supervillains on a regular basis.
Things reach a crisis point when Emmitt Pegrande (Adrian Glynn McMorran) returns, claiming his daughter Candice (Samantha Di Francesco) told him that Clark is Superman. He confronts Clark in the middle of the town’s diner, pulls out a gun and shoots. Time slows as Clark watches the bullet approach. He looks at Lois, the people in town, and ultimately decides to take off his glasses, don his costume, and reveal he’s Superman to Smallville.
It turns out this is all a plan by Lex Luthor (Michael Cudlitz), who was in prison with Emmitt. But it also leads to a discussion with the family, who supports Clark’s decision 100%. And so he invites the Daily Planet’s on-air interviewer Janet Olsen (Yoshié Bancroft) — Jimmy Olsen’s sister — to interview him in the Kent household.
Before he goes on air, Lois asks if he’s nervous… And he is. “You’ve fought aliens and stopped worlds from merging, but this might be the hardest thing you’ve ever done,” Lois tells him before he goes on to crush it with the interview. And it’s a lovely interview where Clark explains, per the title, that he’s a regular guy. Sure he’s got powers and is Superman. But he has hopes and fears just like everyone else.
It’s also not without precedent in the comic book source material. In fact, Superman has revealed his secret identity on at least nine different occasions, though usually it’s been a one-and-done goof that is reversed by the end of the issue. This particular iteration seems to be directly inspired by “Truth” which kicked off in 2019’s Superman #18. Written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Ivan Reis, the storyline, similar to Superman & Lois, found Superman realizing that his lying to everyone was in direct contradiction to his whole ethos. You know, “Truth, Justice, and the American Way?”
So he told his friends first, and then the world. And that issue was hopeful and positive… Then saved the negative repercussions for later in the run.
While we don’t get to see the full fallout from the interview on Superman & Lois, Smallville clearly accepts Clark for who he is, and life mostly goes on as normal, albeit with a little more whispering and pointing. Clark also ditches the glasses, as he doesn’t need his disguise anymore. And the kids’ phones are blowing up. Likely we’ll see more on this next week. But for now, Superman made the right decision to come clean. Up, up and away.
Where To Watch Superman & Lois:
Superman & Lois Season 4 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
The final season of Superman & Lois premieres with two episodes on The CW on Monday, October 17, 2024 at 8 pm ET / PT. Episodes then stream the next day on The CW website and app. After the premiere, it will air once a week for 10 episodes total in Season 4.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Superman & Lois Season 4, with premiere dates:
- Monday, October 7, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 1: “The End & The Beginning”
- Monday, October 7, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 2: “A World Without”
- Monday, October 14, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 3: “Always My Hero”
- Monday, October 21, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 4: “A Perfectly Good Wedding”
- Monday, October 28, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 5: “Break The Cycle”
- Monday, November 4, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 6: “When The Lights Come On”
- Monday, November 11, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 7: “A Regular Guy”
- Monday, November 18, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 8: “Sharp Dressed Man”
- Monday, November 25, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 9: “To Live And Die Again”
- Monday, December 2, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 10: “It Went By So Fast” *SERIES FINALE*
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