Superman & Lois Just Put Jordan On The Same Path As Smallville’s Clark

Warning: Spoilers for Superman & Lois season 2, episode 8

Superman & Lois is putting Jordan (Alex Garfin) on the same path as Smallville’s Clark. Much like Tom Welling’s character, the teenage son of Superman is learning to deal with his Kryptonian powers while growing up in Smallville. But for the most part, their journeys have been fundamentally different.

For Jordan, life in Smallville has primarily revolved around him learning about the abilities he inherited from his father and his romantic relationship with Sarah (Inde Navarrette). Superman & Lois season 2 has thrown in some new challenges for him to deal with, such as his brother’s X-Kryptonite problem and training with General Lane (Dylan Walsh). Early in the season, he got himself involved in Clark’s story by volunteering to help him with Tal-Rho (Adam Rayner). So while Jordan has certainly had his fair share of danger in season 2, the direction of the story has allowed the character to focus mostly on family and relationship issues in recent months.

A big development in Superman & Lois season 2, episode 8, titled “Into Oblivion”, positioned Jordan to receive a storyline reminiscent of what Clark went through on Smallville. In the episode, Jordan was supposed to meet with Sarah and Aubrey, but had to run off at the last minute to save Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and Candice (Samantha Di Francesco) from her dealer, who was using X-Kryptonite. Lowering his hood to conceal his identity in true vigilante fashion, Jordan defeated his opponent and used his super speed to make a quick exit. Because he had badly bloodied his hands, Jordan was forced to stand up Sarah. Curiously, Jordan’s decision-making mirrored the ways Clark handled his problems in Smallville’s early seasons.

Unlike Jordan, Smallville’s Clark was saving people from super-powered villains on a weekly basis when he was the same age. In most instances, he had to ensure that his enemies (and those he was saving) didn’t discover his powers. Though his fights weren’t always easily won, Clark’s rescues were usually successful, albeit at a cost to himself. His actions caused his relationships to suffer greatly. All too often Clark’s secret activities left characters like Chloe Sullivan and Lana Lang disappointed. Clark never really had a good explanation for breaking a promise or not showing up. Despite how frustrated this made him, he never stopped using his powers to help people in need.

“Into Oblivion” saw Jordan get a taste of what it was like to be Clark in Smallville. He too won’t be able to explain what happened to Sarah, which will likely result in conflict between them. And based on what his father’s legacy is and how Jordan has been using his powers so far, he’s sure to continue on his current course regardless. In a previous episode, Jordan nearly exposed his identity in an effort to thwart a robbery, and what he did to save Jonathan and Candice show that his real journey has only just begun. Jordan’s fight with Candice’s father felt like a sign of things to come and a big first step toward becoming Earth-Prime’s Superboy. As Clark’s Smallville story proved, life as a super-powered, teenage vigilante will be filled with obstacles, lies, and secrets.

Superman & Lois releases new episodes on Tuesdays on The CW.

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