Crisis On Infinite Earths was the 2019/2020 mega-event that spanned Crisis On Infinite Earths, the timeline had been changed and the Multiverse had been recreated so that the Supergirl, Superman, and Lois Lane of Earth-38 now lived on what is now the merged Earth-Prime.

Related: Smallville's Crisis Cameo Foreshadowed Superman's Big Arrowverse Conflict

When Crisis On Infinite Earths began, Lois had just given birth to a son. Then, when Crisis was over and the Multiverse was remade, Superman got a call from Lois and his wife told him to come home because there was a problem with his sons. Incredibly, not only did the Kents now have twin boys but they were also teenagers. Superman & Lois' premiere picked up the story and revealed that neither Jonathan nor Jordan Kent knew their father was the Man of Steel until Clark revealed his identity to them after they moved to Smallville. Curiously, Jordan seems to be manifesting powers but Jonathan isn't. In Superman & Lois episode 5, "The Best of Smallville", Lois and Clark commiserated about Jonathan wanting to leave home because he's unhappy in Smallville and Clark noted, "It feels like they were just born."

Clark's comment is the show's first subtle reference to the fact that, as far as fans know, the Kent twins were just born a year ago, since Crisis On Infinite Earths concluded in January 2020. Lois then replied that Clark didn't have to spent 27 hours in labor, which must now encom delivering both Jonathan and Jordan. However, it doesn't appear that Clark and Lois the events before the Crisis and that originally, they only had one infant child just over a year ago. The rebirth of the Multiverse seems to include both Lois and Clark's memories and their histories of the last 14 years being changed so that Jonathan and Jordan were there all along.

The way Superman & Lois is dealing with their retcon is definitely confusing in the wider scope of the Arrowverse since, in the other series, the characters who lived through the Crisis seem to have conflicting and varying degrees of ing what happened. Further, Superman & Lois has not made any overt references to the other Arrowverse series, not even Supergirl, who is Clark's cousin. In Superman & Lois' revised continuity, the Man of Steel has been Earth's greatest hero for many years, and the series has also begun filling in the details of when and why the teenage Clark Kent left Smallville to pursue his destiny. Adding even further confusion is the presence of Captain Lex Luthor (Wole Parks), who hails from another planet where Superman was evil and he was in love with Lois Lane.

There may be no easy answers for the disparities Superman & Lois is creating and how its canon fits into the larger Arrowverse. In these early episodes, Superman & Lois seems content to stand apart, focus on its own story about the Kent family living in Smallville, and establish itself as a quality series in its own right. Perhaps the best way, for now, to deal with the bizarre circumstances caused by Crisis On Infinite Earths' retcon is for Superman & Lois to joke about it.

Next: Why The Arrowverse Needs Another Crisis Crossover Event