Superman & Lois Premiere Had A Subtle Callback To The Man Of Steel’s Origins

While The CW’s Arrowverse and its numerous superhero shows have found their footing over time, not many of them managed to quite hit a home run with their premiere episodes. In fact, neither Legends of Tomorrow nor Supergirl were able to imitate the same hype that preceded their debuts. And we hardly need to remind you that Batwoman suffered a fate more terrible than the others, getting thoroughly panned from the get-go by audiences and critics alike.

Superman & Lois, meanwhile, appears to be a welcome exception altogether. For one thing, people are absolutely loving the premiere episode, which not only put a different spin on the origins of the Last Son of Krypton but also excelled in areas where other CW shows had unwittingly failed. Great direction, spectacular visuals and special effects, and an all-around coherent narrative are but a few of the things that the producers have got right this time. Though apparently, a lot more thought went into making this particular iteration of the Man of Steel a worthy successor than we originally assumed.

Namely, the premiere episode contains a subtle callback to the very first years of Superman in the world of comics that many may have overlooked. As you know, when a new Clark Kent comes aboard, he usually has a fully fleshed out costume with badass aesthetics. But this time around, the crew of Superman & Lois opted for a more classic look, at least in the opening sequence.

The scene in question depicts Superman flying in to save a skateboarder from a car speeding towards them. When the teenager compliments the superhero’s costume, he smiles and reveals that his mom made it for him. As you can see above, this suit is modelled after the Fleischer Superman cartoons from the 1940s, which were, in turn, reminiscent of 1938’s Action Comics #1, making it one of the earliest suits that the character wore in his beginning years.

It’s a wholesome homage all in all, proving that showrunner Greg Berlanti is willing to pull out all the big stops to make sure that Superman & Lois will become The CW’s next hit series.