Warning: This article contains spoilers for Superman & Lois season 4, episode 5.
Superman & Loisseason 4’s newest villain story development justifies why major changes were made to oneDCcharacter and their origins.Superman & Loishas consistently played fast and loose with its adaptations of DC’s villains. For example, Parasite was made into a cult leader who intended to forcibly join two universes together, and Superman’s half-brother Tal-Rho was made for the show instead of using the likes of General Zod or another Kryptonian character.
However, one different figure might be the most unusual of this villain roster. Whilethe live-action Superman showhas diverged from traditional comic lore many times over the course of its history, one antagonist’s path has been especially unusual, and especially noteworthy for the unexpected turns it has taken. This was cemented with theSuperman & Loisseason 3 ending- but best justified some considerable time later inSuperman & Loisseason 4.
Superman & Lois Season 4 Episode 5 Perfectly Explains Why The Show Made Bizarro Doomsday
Doomsday’s Past As Bizarro Is Key In Superman & Lois Season 4
While the decision to make Bizarro turn into Doomsday may have raised eyebrows from those familiar with the character’s conventional comic origin story,Superman & Loisseason 4, episode 5, adds a key note of plot significance to this choice. After finding the tool Lex Luthor has been using to summon Doomsday, Lois brings the character to her in order to try and reach the part of Bizarro that still remains within him.
Lois discusses Bizarro’s relationship with his Lois and his children in his own home universe, comparing him losing his own family to her fears about Doomsday destroying her family. As Lois alludes to, while her and Clark spent most of the episode trying to appeal to Lex’s sense of humanity by bringing his daughter back into his life, Luthor’s refusal to let go of his grudge in order to rebuild his relationship with Elizabeth proves that the hero duo have been “trying to get through to the wrong heart”, whereasBizarro’s story mirroring their own provides them a closer connection.
Since Doomsday disappears off after this conversation - and doesn’t appear to return to Luthor - it seems this conversation struck a cord with the aspects of Bizarro that remain within Doomsday. As such, this development justifies why the show combined the two figures together, since this storyline wouldn’t work in the same way without these tweaks.
Superman & Lois' Bizarro Changes Make More Sense For The Show Than Doomsday’s Comic Backstory
The Series' Changes Help Make Doomsday Fit Into The Overarching Story
HadSuperman & Loisdecided to adapt a version of Doomsday’s origin story that was closer to the comics,the villain would’ve been without ties to the previous seasons, rendering him less merged into the overarching story of the show. Similarly, this Doomsday would’ve needed more time to be fully set up in many ways, with no existing origin story elements having been already established for him.
Given all of this effort would’ve seemingly been for a less satisfying or interesting figure - as the scenes of Bizarro being repeatedly killed and coming back immediately set up this story aspect as one of the most interesting in the series - the changes made here pay off twofold. This is especially true sinceSuperman & Loisseason 4 has needed to flesh out Lex’s own backstory and history with Superman, which would’ve been trickier to do had Doomsday also needed more fleshing out as a result of not already having an extensive show history.
Superman & Lois’s Bizarro Story Is The Show’s Most Important Villain Arc
Bizarro’s Story Has Been Expanded Over The Course Of A Huge Part Of The DC Show
Bizarro is introduced intoSuperman & Loisin the first episode of season 2, and remains a central figure in the story until his death in episode 7. As is clear from Doomsday’s place in season 4, this wasn’t the end for the character’s overall arc, with his body being stolen by Bruno Manheim in season 3, who is hoping to use the alternate universe Kryptonian to find a way to cure his wife’s cancer.
Instead, Bizarro is revived in season 3, episode 8 - just in time for him to be discovered by Lex Luthor, who then kills him repeatedly until he takes on the form of Doomsday. With Doomsday now a key villain inSuperman & Loisseason 4,the character’s overarching story has taken place over half of the entire show, making it arguably the most significant narrative in the series outside of the Kent family’s. As such, hopefullySuperman & Loiswill provide a fitting sendoff to this version of Doomsday, that further highlights why the changes made were for the best.
