Season 2 of the Superman & Lois opens up with a setup of the franchise’s newest superhero team. Since its conception in 2012, the Arrowverse has been no stranger to adapting content from the comics, both old and new. Superman & Lois has been no different in that regard, and season 2 looks like it’ll be drawing on a rather obscure superhero team known as the Supermen of America.
In 1999, Superman was brainwashed by the reality-warping villain Dominus to believe that he was having prophetic visions of the end of the world, which drove him to abandon Metropolis and slowly take over the world for the sake of peace. With Metropolis no longer having anyone to protect it, Lex Luthor founded the Supermen of America to protect Metropolis, although it was still done largely out of self-interest. Following an incident where one of the was possessed with the godly power of the Unimaginable, Lex cut ties with the Supermen of America, and the team faded into obscurity in the years to follow.
Certain aspects of the Superman & Lois season 2 premiere greatly allude to the idea that the Supermen of America will be making an appearance. The episode, entitled “What Lies Beneath”, introduced Lieutenant Mitchell Anderson, Superman’s liaison with the military following General Sam Lane’s retirement at the end of Superman & Lois season 1. His name is the same name as the civilian identity of Outburst, the 90s superhero who Lex made the leader of the Supermen of America. Not only that, but Anderson is using metahumans—hailing from a school founded by the military to help metahumans control their powers—to help protect America, as Superman won't make it his priority. They even have uniforms bearing the crest of the House of El, so the team, just like the Supermen of America, is clearly meant to be following Superman's lead in protecting people.
There are some notable differences between the Supermen of America in the comics and Lieutenant Anderson’s team in Superman & Lois, of course. Despite the team name, the Supermen of America from the comics didn’t have anything on their costumes that directly referenced Superman, and the biggest thing connecting them was the name, and the fact that they were based out of Metropolis. Mitchell Anderson is also different, as while the show portrays him as a self-centered, isolationist military man, in the comics, he’s a superpowered teenager who was inspired by Superman to be a hero.
That being said, those differences don’t automatically exclude the possibility of the Supermen of America, and they could simply lead to a different take on the group. Lieutenant Anderson wanting to prioritize America’s safety over the rest of the world when Superman refuses to could provide a good reason for a team to specifically have “of America” in their title. Their wearing his symbol could just be the show wanting to further emphasize their connection to the DC hero Superman while playing along with the established negative relationship Superman has with them. By a similar token, while Lieutenant Anderson could just be a villainous take on the original character, he may have a change of heart at some point and become heroic like Outburst is in the comics. Whatever the case, it’s very likely that the Supermen of America will be making their debut in Superman & Lois season 2.
Superman & Lois releases new episodes every Tuesday on The CW.
