WandaVision shows Superman and Lois’ biggest death failure. The Marvel Disney+ series was able to explore Wanda Maximoff’s grief over losing Vision at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, actively showcasing the plethora of emotions that are most tied to mourning. In the Arrowverse series, Superman loses one of the most important people in his life, though he isn’t given the same space to grieve this immense loss despite it fueling a large part of the main plot.
The first episode of Superman & Lois reveals that Clark Kent’s adopted father, Jonathan Kent, passed away years before the start of the show. His mother, Martha, is still alive at the start of the series and Clark even has a meaningful phone conversation with Ma Kent, in which she tells him to be there for his twin sons Jonathan and Jordan. However, Martha is not long for this world, passing away shortly after her conversation with Clark. The Kents return to Smallville for her funeral, with Martha’s death and final words to her son being what ultimately makes Superman move back to his hometown a week later.
However, in the episodes thereafter, Martha is barely even mentioned despite her death being so recent. The death of a loved one (especially parents) is a well-known trope in the superhero genre, often employed to fuel the protagonist’s actions. That said, Superman is not allotted any time to explore his pain over his mother’s death. It almost feels like Martha’s death was just a small blip on the radar, which is frustrating and undermines her importance in Clark’s life. There is little emotion shown on Clark’s part, nor does he have any major conversations regarding the loss of his mother besides the one about the meaning of her final message.
Superman & Lois essentially exploits her death just so Clark could have a reason to come back without having to keep Martha in the picture. She may as well have not existed as Clark’s grief is completely irrelevant in the Arrowverse series. While life does move on, the superhero series treats Martha’s death, which is still fresh, as unimportant and that is reflected in Superman’s lack of emotional processing. This approach is starkly different to WandaVision’s study of grief. Yes, one can argue that the entirety of the Disney+ series was centered around Wanda’s loss and struggle to cope, so of course it would be better handled. However, WandaVision not only explores an oft-overlooked emotion, but it shows how important it is to address all the feelings that come with the death of a loved one.
Wanda gets to feel everything — anger, sadness, loneliness, denial, and more. To be sure, grief is a hard thing to tackle in any given TV series. But, the fact that Superman & Lois neglects Clark’s feelings on the loss of his mother, someone who undoubtedly played a crucial role in shaping the man he is today, is yet another failure within the superhero genre. Death should be treated as more than a reason for change or revenge. WandaVision took the time most superhero series don’t to delve into how loss can affect someone and it’s a major oversight that Superman & Lois couldn’t do the same.
