Naomi’s Superman Cameo Explained: Which Version Is It?

Warning! This post contains spoilers for Naomi season 1, episode 1.

The CW’s Naomi features a mysterious Superman cameo in the opening episode. Naomi is one of the newest DC superheroes, and just three years after her debut comic premiered, she is already the star of her own live-action adaptation on the small screen. The series stars Kaci Walfall as the titular character Naomi, who is a fan of superheroes and lives in a universe in which the main DC heroes are the stuff of comic book fiction. As an avid comic book reader, Naomi is a huge fan of Superman and runs the third-largest Superman fan site in her universe, explaining why the legendary Last Son of Krypton makes an appearance.

Naomi’s interest in Superman is true both in the comics and in the series. As an adoptee, Naomi feels a connection to Superman’s adoption story, but she quickly learns that they have more in common than she initially realized. Both Naomi and Superman come from other worlds that were on the verge of destruction, both sets of parents sent them to their new world as babies to give them a chance to survive, and also like Superman, Naomi discovers that she has phenomenal powers that are far beyond most the abilities of people on their new homeworlds. In Naomi season 1, episode 1 the town of Port Oswego, Oregon, where Naomi lives with her adoptive family, becomes the site of an unexplained Superman fight, which most people assume is some kind of publicity stunt.

According to Naomi star Kaci Walfall, the Superman who shows up in the first episode of Naomi is not Tyler Hoechlin, who plays Superman on the CW’s Superman & Lois, which takes place in the main Arrowverse. While it seems that the Superman that appeared in Port Oswego was real – and that he somehow knows Dee – it isn’t yet clear which version of the hero actually made the appearance. The Superman that appeared in Naomi episode 1 is seen mostly from a distance, or in fast motions that make it difficult to see his face. Part of this adds to the story of the show. The series takes place in a universe without any of the main cast of DC superheroes, and because of that, Superman’s appearance in Port Oswego is a strange occurrence. Naomi naturally wants to find out who is behind the Superman stunt, and her inability to get a clear look at the “person playing Superman” is part of the mystery. However, because his face isn’t clearly shown, there’s no way to tell if this is a new version of Superman or not.

With Walfall and DuVernay basically dismissing the idea of cameos, it’s unlikely that Hoechlin will make an appearance. It’s also possible that no version of Superman will make significant appearances this season. The cameo could still be teasing future appearances from the Man of Steel, however. While Hoechlin was not on set to film the Superman scenes in Naomi, that doesn’t mean he, or another version of Superman, couldn’t appear in the future. Supergirl, which began on CBS before becoming an official part of the CW’s Arrowverse, also used cameos of Superman that didn’t show his face before Hoechlin was officially cast to play Kara Danvers’ famous cousin. It’s also not unheard-of for a CW superhero show to exist in a separate universe before crossing over with the Arrowverse, as was the case for Black Lightning. Naomi, herself, has a multiversal origin story, so the idea of her crossing into another universe, or other heroes crossing into hers, makes sense.

The truth about the Superman cameo in Naomi season 1, episode 1 has yet to be revealed, but the possibility exists that it could be any version of Superman, including Tyler Hoechlin. Universe-hopping isn’t new to the Arrowverse, and it’s already a major part of Naomi’s story, as well. However, at least in season 1, fans should not expect any major Arrowverse cameos.

Episodes of Naomi air Tuesdays on The CW

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