This article contains spoilers for “Superman & Lois.”
Secret identities are vital and key to superhero stories. It’s what helps keep the illusion that anyone could be a hero and that anyone could be under the mask. And yet, there are quite a few superheroes without a secret identity. The Marvel Cinematic Universe essentially did away with the concept from the very start when Tony Stark revealed his identity to the world. In the DC universe, at least in the comics, Wonder Woman lives without a secret identity, as does Aquaman (mostly because he is openly the king of Atlantis in addition to a superhero), and even Elongated Man revealed his identity essentially the moment he got powers.
But there are heroes whose identities are so essential to the character that they are sacred and untouched (mostly) like Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman. Even when these characters have their identities revealed, it doesn’t last long — “Spider-Man: No Way Home” did a whole movie out of finding a magical way to make the world forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man, and when Superman told the world he was Clark Kent in the comics in 2019, it wasn’t long before the world magically forgot about it.
In the Arrowverse, too, secret identities were sacred and the primary source of drama for most of its run. “Arrow” and “The Flash” particularly mined a lot of drama out of their heroes having to lie to their loved ones about who they really are. That is, of course, until Oliver Queen exposed his secret in “Arrow,” but even then that didn’t change the show’s dynamic that much, and before long, Oliver died. But things are different in the very last Arrowverse show. In the last season of “Superman & Lois,” the Man of Steel did something he’s never before done in a live-action movie or TV show — he publicly revealed his secret identity and told the world he is Clark Kent.
Superman told the world he was Clark Kent
Like every other show in the Arrowverse, “Superman & Lois” paid a lot of attention to the idea of secret identities, the cost of maintaining them, and how it impacts the heroes’ personal lives. For most of its run, the show focused on the toll it took on Clark Kent to keep his powers secret from friends and family, how much his parents pushed him to keep the secret, how it tore him apart, kept his friends away, and hurt relationships.
He may not be in a big-budget movie, but Tyler Hoechlin has been doing some outstanding work as Clark Kent in “Superman & Lois.” He perfectly captures the lovable goofiness that makes everyone both like Clark Kent and also overlook that he is actually the Man of Steel because (glasses or not) there’s no way this guy can be a superhero.
In the season 4 episode “A Regular Guy,” we finally meet Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, except he is no pal of Clark’s. Instead, it is clear that what was starting to become a friendship was cut short by Clark’s constant lies to protect his secret identity and his gaslighting of Jimmy, something he’s had to do many times in the past at the cost of having literally any friend. At one point, seeing the disappointment and coldness in Jimmy, Clark tells Lois that he’s fine with it, because “I’m used to it,” with Tyler Hoechlin using Clark’s goofy exterior as a shell to hide a heartbroken guy who’s had to sacrifice his personal life in order to do good for the world.
It’s clearly been a problem for the rest of the family, too. The moment Clark and Lois decide to tell their two sons that he is Superman, it immediately changes the family dynamic and the trust between them. The show and the characters constantly interrogate whether secret identities are a good idea, even if they are for protecting others. Keeping the secret is a very Superman thing to do, but having Superman actively lie to people isn’t, which makes the moment he finally reveals himself to the people of Smallville, and then the world, so monumental. It is an episode with no battles, and barely any Superman in it, yet it feels as epic as any major battle against a supervillain.
What happens when the world knows who Superman is
“Superman & Lois” has always been a different, more human interpretation of the Superman mythos — not just because it centers on Superman’s family — but because this is the moment everything changes forever. Sure, other writers have imagined what would happen if the world found out Clark Kent is Superman (even “Smallville” did it briefly) but it never stuck for long. Given this reveal happened just a handful of episodes before the end of “Superman & Lois” made it clear there was no going back.
What’s more, the show found a way to evade the main issue with Superman revealing his identity — that once everyone knows who Clark Kent is, he is basically dead, for no one would treat him the same. In “Superman & Lois,” however, the fact that the town of Smallville slowly finds out first, but they decide to keep the secret because they know how much not only Superman has done for them, but also the Kent family. We’ve spent a good three seasons having characters talk about how much Martha and Jonathan Kent did for the community without asking for anything in return, and now it’s time for the town to do something for Clark. It’s the Superman equivalent of the excellent train scene in “Spider-Man 2” when the New Yorkers protected Peter’s identity, with the people of Smallville even coming together and kicking Lex Luthor out of town because he was messing with Clark and his family.
But it hasn’t been easy. Even if “Superman & Lois” barely touches on the possibility of what the confession means for Superman legally — like whether or not he can be sued for property damage or assault in his heroics — it quickly becomes clear that Clark, Lois, and their sons won’t have any resemblance of a normal life. Jonathan’s girlfriend briefly breaks up with him because of how much attention she’s getting from the press and fans at 16. While he and Jordan are now being constantly mobbed by fans and having random celebrities like Jamie Kennedy messaging them — even their high school football coach is now constantly asking Jonathan and Jordan to rejoin the team after kicking them off in a previous season. Superman did the right thing, and as always, it came at a cost.
Superman & Lois is the perfect Superman show
Every other Superman adaptation lived in the classic Superman paradigm, keeping the status quo even if it briefly changes some things. But that’s not the case with “Superman & Lois,” a show that’s always pushed the character forward. It started with the introduction of Jonathan and Jordan in the first episode, killing Sam Lane, giving Lois breast cancer, giving Superman a half-brother that became a friend (then disappeared to Bizarro World), and now, having Superman reveal his identity to the world as he is becoming mortal.
That’s right, the Man of Steel is losing his powers. In the first episode of the final season, Superman died fighting Doomsday (a comics-accurate, visually stunning Doomsday), and even when he came back to life, he didn’t just recharge with the sun and went back to normal. Instead, he started aging, getting gray in his hair, and finally learning he is slowly losing his powers and becoming a regular guy who will not outlive his loved ones, but grow old and die like Lois. This made Clark have a mid-life crisis as he never really considered the idea of growing old, at least not at a normal human pace, but makes for the perfect coda to this depiction of the character, one that was always more focused on Clark Kent the man rather than Superman the Kryptonian.
This has always been a show about family, about legacy, and what better legacy than being the Man of Tomorrow, and having Clark leave the cape behind for his two sons to pick up? Before James Gunn introduces a new Superman in 2025, one that he promises will be a gentle, comics-accurate “big galoot,” it was “Superman & Lois” that gave us the perfect Superman story that most accurately captured every aspect of the character as seen in the comics.
