Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Titans season 4.The dark Superman story promised to Henry Cavill by the DCU Knightmare sequences has been brought to life in Titans season 4. The films of Zack Snyder teased a dystopian future in which Superman becomes influenced by evil and is transformed into a menace to the heroes he once called friends. Titans season 4 is doing something similar, but with Superboy in place of Superman slipping from the side of good.
The concept of heroes becoming villains has a deep basis in classic mythology, for few things are as dramatic as a beacon of hope transformed into a figure of fear. The Knightmare sequences of Zack Snyder’s films presented a graphic representation of this theme, but Henry Cavill never truly got a chance to portray a dark Superman beyond his post-revival tantrum in Justice League. However, with Superboy seemingly turning into Lex Luthor, a similar narrative is playing out on the small screen. Titans is exploring how utterly horrific the idea of a Superman gone bad would be and is doing it with more than a few intense action sequences.
Has Superman Ever Gone Bad In Live-Action?
The first portrayal of a dark Superman in live-action came in Superman III, in which an evil Superman is created after the Man of Steel is exposed to synthetic Kryptonite. The Smallville television series presents a similar narrative hook, paying tribute to the film and modernizing the story when a young Clark Kent is forced to fight his evil side after being exposed to Black Kryptonite in Smallville season 4. The Black Kryptonite concept is later carried into the Supergirl series, where Kara Zor-El has to fight an evil twin dubbed the Red Daughter and trained by Lex Luthor.
The Arrowverse also explores the idea of Superman going bad on multiple occasions. The most notable of these occurs during Superman and Lois season 1, where the specter of a Superman who led an army of Kryptonian invaders on another Earth leaves many fearful that history will repeat itself. This nearly comes to pass after Superman’s body is taken over by Zeta-Rho, who masterminds the plot to rebuild Krypton on Earth. The Elseworlds crossover also features an evil Superman in a black suit as its main villain after Dr. John Deegan uses the Book of Destiny to rewrite reality so that he is Superman on Earth-1.
Superboy’s Lex Luthor Persona Is Hilarious (But Fun)
The evil Superboy presented in Titans season 4 is better realized than Henry Cavill’s dark Superman. Actor Joshua Orpin has been given more opportunity to delve into the character and explore just what causes Conner Kent to start demanding being addressed as “Mr. Luthor” and focusing on using his intellect over his superpowers. This unsettles his teammates far more than suddenly shaving his head, as the idea of Superman’s power guided by Lex Luthor’s amoral intellect is frightening indeed. Titans also balances this with ample humor, playing off the fact that Connor’s efforts at being a bad boy largely consist of being rude to people.
This sets up an interesting dichotomy, as Titans‘ Conner Kent/Superboy manages to be both terrifying and comedic at the same time. For everything that he does to disturb his friends, his effort at emulating Lex Luthor comes off as trying too hard, much like Sandy’s “transformation” at the end of Grease. Despite this, the evil Superman of Titans is far better realized than the one played by Henry Cavill in the DCEU.
