How Smallville Predicted Arrowverse’s Evil Superman Story Ending

A Smallville season 5 episode accurately predicted how the evil Superman story in Superman & Lois would end. All season, the Arrowverse series has been teasing a dark turn for Tyler Hoechlin’s Man of Steel via flashbacks of John Henry Irons’ Earth and his repeated warnings that just like the Superman from his world, Earth-Prime’s version was destined to take the same path.

The storyline culminated in Irons almost being right. By learning Superman’s secret identity, Edge used Clark’s family as leverage to force him into submission. After subjecting him to the Eradicator, Edge tried to transfer the spirit of General Zod into Clark’s consciousness. Clark resisted for a time, but eventually, Zod won out – temporarily. With a little help from Steel (Wolé Parks), Superman successfully fought off Zod’s influence. Because of his unbreakable willpower and love for his family, Clark was able to do what Edge’s human subjects couldn’t. In overcoming Zod’s will and pushing the villain out of his mind, Clark proved that he really is different from Irons’ Superman.

How that Zod twist played out in Superman & Lois episode 12 wasn’t exactly a surprise for those who have seen Smallville season 5. Similar to Edge, Smallville’s Brainiac (James Marsters) tried to bring Zod to Earth by giving him a “vessel” to inhabit. He tried to manipulate Clark into releasing Zod from the Phantom Zone, but was stopped by Chloe (Allison Mack). In the season 5 finale, Brainiac revealed that he had planned to allow Zod to possess Clark’s body. According to Brainiac, the real reason Clark couldn’t be the vessel is because Jor-El’s spirit was “too strong” in Clark. In other words, his innate goodness and willpower made him an unsuitable candidate for Brainiac’s Zod plan. That’s why he had to use Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), who was already a heavily flawed individual and a person much more susceptible to corruption.

Admittedly, Edge came a lot closer to getting what he wanted with Clark in Superman & Lois than Brainiac did in Smallville. For a time, Zod really was in control. To the characters, the situation was looking increasingly bleak, even though Lois (Bitsie Tulloch) remained hopeful that Superman’s good nature would prevail in the end. During the big fight, Steel urged him to resist Zod — but there were signs that Clark’s consciousness was starting to break through even before Steel attempted to get through to him. Like in Smallville, the Arrowverse’s Clark Kent may have been too inherently good for Zod to take control.

Though what happened in Superman & Lois may not have been the most unexpected ending, it was the one that was the most fitting for the story and the character.  Apart from Irons, few believed that Clark — a pinnacle of righteousness in the comics, the movies, and the TV shows — was capable of turning evil or even allowing another being to rule his mind. While some stories with Superman have deviated from this portrayal, both Smallville and Superman & Lois have stayed true to the idea that Clark is (and always will be) a force for good.

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