Warning: Spoilers for Superman & Lois season 2, episode 15
Even though Clark is still played by Tyler Hoechlin, the world depicted in Superman & Lois is quite different from Earth-Prime. At this point, it’s become clear that all three of The CW’s DC shows are set on different versions of Earth. Superman, Stargirl, and the Flash all occupy their own realities in The CW’s DC multiverse.
Originally, it was assumed that instead of all three shows being completely separate, two shared the same planet. Specifically, Superman & Lois and The Flash were both thought to be on Earth-Prime. After all, that was what the ending to “Crisis on Infinite Earths” implied. The Crisis set up Clark and Lois’ story in the series when Oliver Queen rebooted the multiverse and inadvertently gave them two sons instead of just one. The Arrowverse then built on that reveal by launching Superman & Lois. An added benefit of the Crisis is that the existence of Earth-Prime made room for characters like Superman and Supergirl to live in the same world as the Flash and the Legends, thus creating the potential for crossovers. However, it’s since become apparent that Superman & Lois has abandoned the Arrowverse’s setup.
A speech from Sam Lane in the Superman & Lois season 2 finale confirmed that in spite of everything that happened in the Crisis, the show isn’t actually set on Earth-Prime. By moving in this direction, the series finally provided a reason for why the show continues to ignore the other Arrowverse superheroes. It seems most of them have no place on Superman & Lois’ Earth, which has some key differences from the home of the Flash, Black Lightning, the Legends, and all the others. Here’s everything that’s been said so far about Superman & Lois’ world and how it’s different from the Arrowverse’s Earth-Prime.
Clark Is Superman & Lois’ Only Super-Powered Hero
When assuring Jonathan and Jordan that Earth was in capable hands with Superman, Lane talked about there being “legions” of superheroes elsewhere in the universe but stated that this planet only has Clark protecting it. This line, which is ultimately what confirmed the disconnect between Superman & Lois and Earth-Prime, was later elaborated on by showrunner Todd Helbing. Helbing has said in multiple interviews that Clark is the only super-powered hero. This means that metahumans like the Flash, Killer Frost, Black Lightning, Elongated Man, and Firestorm never existed. However, it doesn’t rule out the presence of non-powered vigilantes.
Superman & Tal-Rho Are The Only Kryptonian Survivors
The idea that Superman is alone in protecting Earth makes him one of only two survivors of Krypton’s destruction, as opposed to three. Presumably, Supergirl either never escaped and came to Earth or she simply never existed at all. Either way, the decision to retcon Melissa Benoist’s Arrowverse character out of Superman’s story has a number of important implications. In addition to making a Superman-Supergirl team-up highly unlikely (if not impossible) for the future, it erases every influence that her show had on his corner of the Arrowverse. Since her story didn’t happen in Superman & Lois’ canon, that makes it possible for the series to reimagine any and all of the Superman characters her show utilized.
Superman Had Multiverse Adventures (But Not Crisis On Infinite Earths)
Through his encounters with Steel and the show’s exploration of John Henry Irons’ origin story, Superman & Lois season 1 acknowledged the multiverse and demonstrated that Clark and Lois do have knowledge of it. Obviously, the former has battled threats from the multiverse, though not the ones that season 1 hinted at. If Clark is a doppelganger of the hero who fought beside Green Arrow and the Flash as the Paragon of Truth, then he didn’t take part in the fight with the Anti-Monitor during the Crisis, nor did he cross universes to help the heroes against John Deegan in “Elseworlds”. For now, what Superman’s experiences were with the multiverse prior to meeting Steel remains ambiguous but could be addressed at length at a later time.
Oliver Queen Became Green Arrow But Never Met Flash
As noted above, the new rules established for Superman & Lois exclude only the metahuman heroes from its continuity. In doing so, the show avoided breaking its own canon. In Superman & Lois season 1, David Ramsey’s John Diggle made a reference to Oliver Queen. Since Oliver didn’t have powers, it makes sense that he was able to have a place on Superman & Lois’ Earth. As Helbing has confirmed, the show’s version of Oliver became the Green Arrow just like his Earth-Prime counterpart and shared a friendship with Diggle [via Looper].
Also, at least some of Oliver’s story from Arrow could have happened in Superman & Lois’ world, especially since he was involved in several conflicts that had very little to do with metahumans. But his frequent partnerships with Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen couldn’t be among them. Instead of teaming up with the Flash, Oliver may have worked with Superman instead. The idea that Superman and Green Arrow fought together tracks with Diggle’s season 1 role. Clark and Lois both know Diggle, which serves as evidence for a link between the Man of Steel and Green Arrow in Superman & Lois’ continuity.
Superman Battled Lex Luthor (But Which Version?)
It’s known from Superman & Lois season 1 that Clark has fought Lex Luthor at some point in his past. He was discussed back when Clark and Lois were under the false impression that Steel was “Captain Luthor”. At the time, it seemed only logical that the Lex Luthor referenced by Clark and Lois in the show was Jon Cryer’s take on the character, but in distancing itself from Earth-Prime, Superman & Lois has effectively set up an all-new version of the villain and his history with the Man of Steel. Whoever he is, he could be played by Cryer or a completely new actor if and when the show ever decides to introduce him.
What Happened To Superman & Lois’ Green Arrow
According to Helbing, Green Arrow is dead in Superman & Lois. Since Earth-Prime’s version is the one who died saving the multiverse in “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, a different fate must have befallen Superman & Lois’ Oliver Queen, but exactly what happened to him hasn’t been explained yet. All that Helbing has said about the matter is that Oliver “met an unfortunate end”. If the show continues to make use of Diggle, more on how Oliver died could be revealed in Superman & Lois season 3.
