Superman & Lois Every DC Easter Egg From The Premiere

Superman & Lois: Every DC Easter Egg From The Premiere

The premiere episode of Superman and Lois is full of Easter eggs to classic Superman and DC Comics lore. Here’s a rundown of all the hidden secrets.

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Warning: SPOILERS for Superman and Lois episode 1.

The Superman and Lois premiere is packed full of Easter eggs making reference to the classic Superman comics and the DC Comics universe. The new Arrowverse series also makes a number of nods to earlier Superman movies and TV series as well as the creative visionaries who made millions of people around the world believe that a man could fly.

While Clark Kent and Lois Lane have existed in the Arrowverse for several years, Superman and Lois offers a fresh new take on both characters. Fans of Supergirl have already seen Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch in action fighting alien invaders and the end of the multiverse, but the new series sees them facing a challenge no Clark Kent or Lois Lane have encountered before in live-action: parenthood. Superman may be able to do nearly anything, but balancing the fate of the world, his job as a reporter, and the responsibility of raising two teenage boys proves to be a true test of the Man of Steel’s patience and fortitude.

Despite being a spinoff of Supergirl and set in the Arrowverse, Superman and Lois is easily accessible to new viewers. While steeped in over 75 years of Superman lore, the references are a treat for established Super-fans and no pervious familiarity with the characters, the comics or any other show is required to enjoy it.

Clark Was A Super Baby

The various versions of Superman’s origins over the years have differed as to just when Clark and his parents discovered that he had superpowers. The modern stories have typically had Clark’s powers manifest when he was a teenager, but the classic comics showed him accidentally causing trouble as Superbaby. The Arrowverse version of Superman is revealed to have first shown his amazing strength as a toddler, accidentally throwing a toy rocket through a corner of the Kent farmhouse.

The Death of Jonathan Kent

Superman’s origins usually feature the death of Jonathan “Pa” Kent as a major focal point in a young Clark Kent’s life, teaching him humility and that for all his power there are some people he cannot save. The most famous example of this came in Superman: The Movie, where Pa Kent (Glenn Ford) died of a heart attack shortly after a talk where he encouraged a teenage Clark to look to the future and how he could help others rather than using his powers to impress his classmates. The opening montage of Superman and Lois has a similar moment, where the Arrowverse Pa Kent suddenly collapses in the middle of a Smallville street festival.

An Action (Comics) Packed Homage

The montage goes on to show Superman’s first encounter with the public, where he saves a young skateboarder from being hit by a car that goes flying off an overpass. The car in question is a green four-door hatchback. While the car is of modern make, it resembles the car carried by Superman on the cover of Action Comics #1 – the comic where he made his first appearance.

Max Fleischer Superman Nod

After safely putting the car down, Superman picks up the cap of the stunned skateboarder and returns it to him. It is at this moment, as Superman’s chest becomes fully visible, that it becomes apparent the familiar S-shield on his chest is outlined in yellow with a black background and a different stylized S than the usual House of El seal. With blue tights and red trunks with a round gold belt buckle, this early Superman costume is a clear nod to the design from the 1940s Superman cartoons animated by Max Fleischer.

Perry White

Though J. Jonah Jameson is easily the most famous (or infamous) newspaper man in the world of comics, Daily Planet editor Perry White is a close second. As honest and committed to old-fashioned journalism as he is cantankerous, he gives his reporters a hard time but has a heart of gold under his gruff exterior. White has a quick cameo in the opening montage, hurriedly rushing newbie reporter Clark Kent through the newsroom on his first day at work, just before the first time Clark saw Lois Lane.

Steve Lombard and the Metropolis Meteors

Upon seeing Clark Kent for the first time, Lois Lane has only question on her mind; “Who told you to wear a tie?” She immediately assumes Clark’s business formal dress sense was the result of a prank by someone named Lombard, whom she tells Clark to ignore, even though “he can get box seats to the Meteors.” This is a reference to Steve Lombard, a long-time supporting character in the Superman comics, who was a former professional football player turned sports news writer/editor.

Lombard was a boisterous man’s man who was fond of practical jokes and overly flirtatious towards his female colleagues, though he proved himself to be truly courageous and worked to save people during various crises in The Daily Planet offices when Superman wasn’t around. Lois’ line is also a nod to the Metropolis Meteors; a sports team name which has been applied to both Metropolis’s NFL football franchise and their National League baseball team in the comics. In this case, the Metropolis Meteors of the Arrowverse are a baseball team.

The Super Sibling Legacy

Superman and Lois is notable as it marks the first time in any medium that Superman has fathered twin sons, Jonathan and Jordan. However, one version of Superman had twin daughters, Jane and Carol, in the Elseworlds miniseries Superman: Secret Identity. There’s a long history of Superman having children in the comics, with many of his sons being named Jonathan after Clark’s adoptive father. Such is the case in the current DC Comics timeline, where Jonathan Kent took up the name of Superboy, joined the Legion of Superheroes and, most recently, replaced his father as Superman during the Future State event.

Ace Chemical

At one point during the opening montage, Lois walks past a line of TV screens broadcasting major news stories. One of them reports on an explosion at Ace Chemical, which Superman was on his way to deal with. Ace Chemical (or Ace Chemicals) is more frequently associated with Gotham City, being the place where a dip in a chemical bath transformed both Joker and Harley Quinn into their respective crazy selves.

Superman and the Space Shuttle

Another monitor shows Superman assisting in the launch of a new space shuttle, guiding the ship into orbit after there were last minute complications with the original mounting mechanism. This is a nod to how Superman doesn’t limit his activities to averting disasters, as well as how Clark Kent first revealed himself to the world in many of the Superman origin stories. It was in The Man of Steel #1 in 1986 that Clark Kent first flew into action before a small crowd to stop an experimental space shuttle from crashing. The Arrowverse versions of Superman and Supergirl also joined forced to avert a similar disaster in the premiere episode of Supergirl season 2.

General Sam Lane

General Sam Lane is first seen in his dress uniform in the background of Lois and Clark’s wedding in the opening montage. In the comics, General Lane was usually an adversarial figure, who viewed Clark Kent as a weakling not worthy of his daughter and who feared the dangers posed by a an alien being as powerful as Superman. It was in this capacity that General Lane (then played by Glenn Morshower) appeared as one of the chief antagonists of Supergirl season 1. Things seem to have changed in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths, however, beyond Dylan Walsh being recast in the role of General Sam Lane. The pilot reveals that Clark and General Lane have a more cordial relationship than in the comics and that Lois’ father is privy to Clark’s secret identity and can call upon Superman for help.

Superman Signal Watch

First appearing in Action Comics #238 (March, 1958), the signal watch is a piece of advanced technology which Superman gave to Jimmy Olsen so his pal could silently signal him for help by broadcasting an ultrasonic frequency only Superman could hear in emergencies. The Arrowverse version of Jimmy Olsen was given such a watch and Supergirl gave similar devices to her friends and family so they could call upon her. The Superman and Lois premiere reveals that General Lane and Lois Lane both have signal devices to summon Superman, but theirs take the form of small pager-like devices rather than a concealed watch.

A Cool Feat Of Strength

General Lane calls Superman to help stop a broken nuclear reactor from melting down. After welding the inside of the reactor shut with his heat vision, Superman used his ice breath to freeze part of a nearby lake, creating a giant iceberg he could use to cool the overheating reactor. The shot of Superman lifting the massive iceberg seems to be a stylistic shoutout to a similar scene in Superman Returns, where Branon Routh’s Superman lifted an island full of Kryptonite out of the ocean.

Injustice 2

When Clark comes home and checks on Jordan, he finds him playing the fighting game Injustice 2. (To his chagrin, he finds that Jordan is playing as Raiden from Mortal Kombat and feels that “Superman’s boring.”) This is not the first time that the real-world superhero fighting game has been seen in the Arrowverse, as the game was also a favorite of Felicity Smoak and William Clayton during Arrow season 6.

Richard Donner

When Clark returns a call to his mother, a slate memo board can be seen hanging on the wall behind him. One note on the board says to call Dr. Donner about signing up for a class. This is likely a reference to film director Richard Donner, who directed Superman: The Movie and went on to co-write several Superman comics.

Siegel and Shuster

The memo board has a second reminder on Clark’s to-do list. This note tells Clark to call Siegel and Schuster. This is a nod to comic book writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Schuster, who co-created Superman in 1938. Perhaps not coincidentally, the phone number under their names starts with the numbers 1, 9, 3, and 8.

George Maxwell Taylor and Ronald Troupe

When Lois Lane and Clark Kent arrive at work the next morning, they’re greeted at the elevator by a stone-faced man Lois identifies as Max. When she asks what’s wrong, Max gestures to a cubicle where another man he identifies as Troupe is being watched by security as he cleans out his desk, having just been fired. These men are apparently meant to be George Maxwell “Max” Taylor and Ronald “Ron” Troupe; respectively, an editor and an editorial writer at The Daily Planet in the Superman comics.

Morgan Edge

Lois Lane is quick to blame Troupe’s dismissal (and, later, Clark’s) on the new owner of The Daily Planet, corrupt billionaire Morgan Edge. In the Superman comics, Edge was a media mogul whose corporation bought The Daily Planet and reassigned Clark Kent to work for the news department at Galaxy Broadcasting Systems. While Edge’s creator Jack Kirby intended to reveal Edge as a secret crime boss, it would be over a decade before Edge’s sinister side was made implicit and he was tied to Intergang. Edge appeared in Supergirl season 4, played by Adrian Pasdar, where he attempted to buy CatCo Worldwide Media in order to stop their reporting on his illicit real estate dealings. Edge does not make a physical appearance in the Superman and Lois pilot, but will be played in later episodes by Adam Rayner.

The Death of Martha Kent

While Jonathan Kent’s death is usually made into a big event in Superman’s origin story, Martha Kent is usually allowed to live a long and relatively comfortable life. On the rare occasions when Martha Kent has died in the comics, she usually died alongside her husband in an accident or the details of her death were never explained. Superman and Lois defies the standard on both counts, with Martha dying of a stroke early in the pilot and Superman, Lois, Jonathan, Jordan, and General Lane traveling to Smallville for the funeral. Clark learns about his mother’s death thanks to Dr. Frye; this was also the name of the Smallville town doctor in Superman: The Movie.

Lana Lang

The first love of Clark Kent’s young life, Lana Lang has also been the first person apart from his parents to learn of his superpowers in most of the modern retellings of Superman’s origins. Superman and Lois defies expectations again, making it clear that while Lana (played by Emmanuelle Chriqui) and Clark are still friends after growing up together in Smallville and dating briefly, this version of Lana knows nothing about Clark’s double life. Another notable change from the comics is that Lana stayed in Smallville and married the local fire chief, Kyle Cushing, and works for the local bank as a loans manager. In the comics, Lana worked a variety of jobs (including reporter, CEO of LexCorp and electrical engineer) and was married, post-Crisis, to Clark’s childhood best friend Pete Ross, who is mentioned in passing in the Superman and Lois pilot as Lana and Clark reminisce about attending a Soul Asylum concert with Pete as teenagers.

Smallville Crows

After their accident, Jonathan and Jordan discuss how they survived in their father’s old room. A banner for the Smallville Crows can be seen hanging on the wall in the background as they talk. The Smallville High School mascot was first identified as the Crows in the television series Smallville.

The Kryptonese Language

After the funeral, General Lane speaks to Clark regarding an astonishing discovery; whoever had been attacking the nuclear reactors was also leaving behind sub-microscopic etchings written in Kryptonese, the written language of Krypton. Superman editor Nelson E. Bridwell created the official Kryptonese alphabet, primarily to stop comics fans from sending him their own ideas for a what the Kryptonian language should look like. Birdwell’s Kryptonese alphabet is still used by DC Comics today, and has been used to create the Kryptonian writing seen on Smallville and Supergirl. It should be noted that Kryptonese is different from the Kryptonian alphabet created in 2013 by linguistic anthropologist Dr. Christine Schreye for the movie Man of Steel.

Superman Changing In A Phone Booth

When Clark expresses his reluctance to go chasing after the mysterious nuclear reactor saboteur randomly in the wake of his family mourning the loss of his mother, General Lane sarcastically says “I’m sure there’s a phone booth in this podunk town where you can suit up.” In the classic comics, Clark Kent would often quickly change into his Superman costume using a phone booth, even though he should have theoretically been able to change clothes so quickly nobody would see him. The cliché is so old that even Superman: The Movie made fun of it, having Clark Kent stare helplessly at a line of the pay phones that replaced the once commonplace telephone booths as he looked for a place to change.

Kryptonian Spaceship and Crystal

After surviving what should have been a lethal accident in the Kent family barn, Jordan returns to the barn in search of answers. This leads him and Jonathan to discover the Kryptonian rocket which brought Superman to Earth as an infant. The rocket responds to Jordan’s touch and produces a glowing yellow crystal. Most Kryptonian technology is crystal based and while this particular crystal is not identified specifically, it resembles a Sunstone; a particular type of Kryptonian crystal alternatively used as a source of power and a construction tool.

The Kent Family Truck

After Jordan and Jonathan find the rocket in the Kent family barn, they demand an explanation. When they don’t believe that their father is Superman, Clark takes off his glasses and lifts a truck off the ground before lifting himself up off the ground and levitating above them. The truck that he lifts is the same model as the truck lifted by a baby Clark Kent in Superman: The Movie.

Super Smell

After Superman and Lois discover that a bank owned by Morgan Edge is buying up failed farms and businesses in Smallville, Lois becomes suspicious and tells Clark that “you may have super strength and super hearing, but I have super smell and those loans don’t smell right.” Clark quietly notes that he does have super smell powers but jokes that he doesn’t use them often with two teenage boys in the house. In the comics, Superman does indeed have a heightened sense of smell, but it is not used as frequently as his enhanced hearing and vision.

Another Nod To Joe Shuster

Another tribute to Superman co creator Joe Shuster comes near the end of Superman & Lois’ first episode, when Lois sees the news report on the fire at the teen’s party. The outdoor area where the teens were having their rave is revealed to be near the Shuster Mines.

The Birthplace of Firestorm

It’s easy to miss that the facility where Superman begins his battle with the Stranger in Superman & Lois is the Hudson Nuclear Power Plant, as Superman goes flying backward through the sign identifying the location before it can be easily read. This is a clever nod to the hero Firestorm, who was created by a nuclear meltdown at the Hudson Nuclear Power Plant in Firestorm #1. The Arrowverse version of Firestorm was created during the same incident at STAR Labs that made Barry Allen into The Flash.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/superman-lois-dc-easter-eggs-references-premiere-secrets/

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