So It Isn’t Doomsday? Superman & Lois [SPOILER] Villain Explained

Warning: Spoilers for Superman & Lois season 2, episode 3

Superman & Lois season 2 teased the arrival of the Kryptonian monster Doomsday early on, but episode 3 revealed a different villain altogether. In DC Comics lore, Doomsday is well-known as the rampaging beast with spikey protrusions and a drive to do nothing but destroy. Introduced in the early ’90s, Doomsday became renowned forever for his role in The Death of Superman, with the Man of Steel famously giving his life to defeat the creature.

Early on in season 2, Superman & Lois made clear hints to the arrival of Doomsday. Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) experiences headaches and mood swings tied to visions of a mysterious, powerful creature deep in the mines of Smallville. The presence itself also causes tremors throughout the city because of the sheer impact of it punching its way to the surface. Despite these hints, episode 3, “The Thing in the Mines”, finally unveiled that the villain climbing to the planet’s surface was not Doomsday at all, but the doppelganger of the Last Son of Krypton known as Bizarro.

While Doomsday is a legendary supervillain for killing Superman, Bizarro has a much longer history in the comics going back to the ’50s. Bizarro, like Doomsday, has also been adapted to the big and small screen numerous times. Meanwhile, the twist, while a clear reveal that Bizarro will be Superman & Lois season 2’s primary villain, doesn’t necessarily rule out Doomsday arriving soon either. Here’s Bizarro’s history in Superman comics and what his role in Superman & Lois could mean.

Bizarro’s Origins & Powers In DC Comics Explained

Originally created by Otto Binder and George Papp, Bizarro has gone through numerous iterations over the years. Frequently, Bizarro has been a clone or laboratory creation made by other DC villains, including General Zod, Lex Luthor, and the Joker. Because of that, Bizarro tends to be a somewhat more malleable Superman villain in terms of how he’s depicted. Some of Bizarro’s traits have nonetheless been fairly consistent in the comics.

Bizarro has the same powers as Superman, but flipped in some way. These include powers like freeze vision instead of heat vision, though Bizarro has more straightforward Kryptonian powers too, such as flight, super-strength, and invulnerability. Additionally, Superman’s kryptonite weakness is also reversed in Bizarro, who actually gains strength from green kryptonite and is weakened by blue kryptonite. As a villain who has so much history with the Man of Steel, it makes sense that the makers of Superman & Lois would want to bring Bizarro in.

Why Superman & Lois’ Villain Is Bizarro, Not Doomsday

As to why Bizarro is the villain of Superman & Lois season 2 rather than Doomsday, there’s only so much that can be said with the season still in its early stages. The creative team of Superman & Lois might’ve felt that Doomsday, being intrinsically linked to The Death of Superman story, would leave the show obligated to create its own version of the famed story. They might not have felt that Doomsday best served the intended direction of season 2, leading the show to use him as misdirection to mask the impending appearance of Bizarro.

Additionally, season 2 has adopted a clear theme of the significance of what Superman stands for. This is seen in Superman’s ideological conflicts with Lieutenant General Mitch Anderson (Ian Bohen) over the Man of Steel serving the whole world’s interests rather than putting America first. In any story where the core is the essence of who Superman is, the best antagonist is someone who represents his opposite. Bizarro, as a villainous version of Superman, fits that description very well, which may have been why he was chosen as Superman & Lois season 2’s antagonist.

How Superman & Lois’ Bizarro Is Different To Past Versions

Bizarro has appeared in numerous Superman adaptations, and each has been as different as his portrayals in the comics have been. Bizarro has been seen in many different animated adaptations, such as Superman: The Animated Series, where he was depicted as a clone created by Lex Luthor. Bizarro would return for Justice League Unlimited, with Superman’s voice actor Tim Daly also providing his voice.

Additionally, versions of Bizarro have been seen numerous times before in various live-action movies and TV shows. The Christopher Reeve Superman films did not one but two takes on Bizarro. Specifically, one was the evil Superman who splits from Clark Kent and battles him in a junkyard in Superman III, with the heavy of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow) being another Bizarro as a Superman clone created by Lex Luthor. Smallville also featured its own Bizarro as a ghostly being from the Phantom Zone who takes on the likeness of Clark Kent (Tom Welling) after bonding with some of his DNA. Supergirl would even feature a Bizarro version of Clark’s Kryptonian cousin Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist), as well. While Bizarro has only just been introduced on Superman & Lois, the show can, and seems to be trying to, create a completely new take on him.

How Bizarro Can Still Become Doomsday In Superman & Lois

From the build-up to his arrival to his introduction in his thunderous confrontation with the Man of Steel, Superman & Lois seems to be making its Bizarro the darkest and strongest version yet. While having the same reversed S-shield on his chest as always, Bizarro’s aggression and torn cape put a more sinister spin on Bizarro than he’s usually been given. While he’s likely to be around for the long haul throughout season 2, there’s also the possibility that the Doomsday teases might not have been entirely misdirection.

Like Bizarro, Doomsday has often been re-interpreted in the adaptations he’s been seen in. Doomsday was birthed out of the humanoid Kryptonian Davis Bloome (Sam Witwer) on Smallville. The version of Doomsday seen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was also created by Lex Luthor in the Kryptonian scout ship from the body of General Zod (Michael Shannon). The containment suit worn by Bizarro when he emerges from the mine is distinctly like that of Doomsday’s from the comics, which helped to conceal Bizarro for a little longer. By the same token, it could also be a signal that Superman & Lois is getting two villains for the price of one, first introducing Bizarro before having him mutate into Doomsday later in the season. John Henry Irons (Wole Parks) needing to repair his metal suit into the proper Steel suit could also be a hint to this end, John having taken on his proper identity as Steel after Superman’s death in battle with Doomsday.

Superman & Lois previously brought in Morgan Edge as its villain of season 1, combining him with the Eradicator and also making him Superman’s half-brother Tal-Rho. This demonstrates the show as having a history of reshaping and creating portmanteaus of Superman villains, leaving the possibility of a Bizarro-Doomsday combo one that can’t be written off. However, if that doesn’t end up happening, Superman & Lois still has a new and decidedly very different portrayal of Bizarro to run with in season 2.

New episodes of Superman & Lois drop Tuesdays on the CW.

About The Author

Brad Curran
(719 Articles Published)

Growing up, Brad developed an innate love of movies and storytelling, and was instantly enamored with the world of adventure while following the exploits of Indiana Jones, Japanese kaiju, and superheroes. Today, Brad channels his thoughts on all manner of movies, from comic book films, sci-fi thrillers, comedies, and everything in between through his writings on Screen Rant. Brad also offers philosophical musings on martial arts and the filmographies of everyone from Jackie Chan to Donnie Yen on Kung Fu Kingdom, where he’s also had the privilege of interviewing many of the world’s great stunt professionals, and hearing plenty of gripping stories on injuries incurred in their line of work and the intricacies of designing the acts of death defiance he first thrilled to as a youngster. When he’s not writing, Brad enjoys going on a ride with the latest action hit or Netflix original, though he’s also known to just pop in “The Room” from time to time. Follow Brad on Twitter @BradCurran.

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