A big mystery with the upcoming CW series Superman & Lois is the ambiguous character The Stranger. With Supergirl is coming to an end with its sixth and final season, her cousin will soon be the new resident Kryptonian on the network with Superman & Lois, starring Tyler Hoechlin as Superman and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane. Superman & Lois, perhaps The CW’s most fast-tracked Arrowverse show of all time, will soon be joining the ever-growing slate of DC TV shows.
However, unlike previous Superman TV shows and films, The CW will be doing something new for the Man of Steel. In this story, it will focus on Lois and Clark as parents, something that other live-action projects haven’t followed before. With two teenage sons that have their struggle to deal with, Superman & Lois will offer something new to the Superman media. As the series premiere is approaching, The CW is officially starting to roll out the marketing for the series, including a Superman & Lois trailer that shows how different it’ll be from the other Arrowverse shows.
But there are still a lot of mysteries with the show and the trailer focuses heavily on one of them. Throughout the trailer, a mysterious figure is featured, and while their face isn’t shown, they’re sporting peculiar armor while taking on Superman. While it has yet to be confirmed, this is very likely none other than The Stranger, who will be played by Wolé Parks. His character description came with the notion that he’s determined to show the world that Superman isn’t needed. The name is very likely meant to cover up that he’s a DC Comics character, and these are the possible candidates of who Parks may be playing on Superman & Lois.
The Phantom Stranger
While there isn’t a character specifically called The Stranger in DC Comics, there is, however, the Phantom Stranger. The popular supernatural being, mostly associated with Justice League Dark, is someone who would be a surprising twist for Superman & Lois given he’s a superhero who deals with magic. The Phantom Stranger has always operated in his mysterious ways and perhaps he, for whatever reason, believes that the universe doesn’t have a need for Superman anymore. While it’s extremely unlikely that it would be him, the Arrowverse has done stranger (no pun intended) things with its various adaptations of DC heroes and villains in the past.
Another Earth’s Lex Luthor
Something that strikes as odd for Superman & Lois is not knowing if Jon Cryer will reprise his role as Lex Luthor. While he has been an active player on Supergirl for the last few seasons, Lex’s future after season 6 is uncertain. Given that Lex is Superman’s archenemy, it would seem obvious that he would have some sort of role in the upcoming spinoff. But so far, nothing has been revealed regarding Cryer’s Lex potentially showing up in Superman & Lois. But what if there is another way for Lex to be present, just not through Cryer? The idea that The Stranger would be a Lex Luthor from one of the new Earths in the Multiverse would be a big twist. It would also explain his armor as Lex is famous for taking on Superman in his famous battle suit, not to mention it being refreshing to see Lex being played a man of color and add something new to the Superman legacy.
Another Earth’s Superman
If The Stranger isn’t a Black Lex Luthor, what if it’s a Superman from another universe instead? Thanks to the Multiverse being rebooted, anything is possible as the Earths were all reimagined thanks to the Spectre. One of the famous alternative Supermen that exists in DC Comics’ Multiverse mythology is Calvin Ellis who comes from Earth-23. On his Earth, he was the President of the United States while also operating as the Man of Tomorrow. Even though he is fighting Hoechlin’s Superman in the trailer, there may be a reason for that as he could somehow have made it to Earth-Prime after the Crisis. Perhaps something horrible went down on his Earth where he feels that the world doesn’t need a Superman anymore and he is now trying to convince this other version of him.
Ultraman (From Another Earth)
While the Arrowverse has had its fair share of alternate Supermen, The CW universe has yet to explore the evil version of the Man of Steel: Ultraman. The only other live-action property to ever explore Ultraman was on Smallville when Tom Welling, in the show’s 10th and final season, got to play Clark Luthor a.k.a. Ultraman from Earth-2. While the Crime Syndicate of America has so far never appeared in past crossovers, what if The Stranger was in fact Ultraman and this is how that group gets introduced? It would explain why The Stranger has the ability to fly, should the suit not be the reason. While it would be a new take on Ultraman, it would certainly be fun to see a Man of Steel that went the wrong path on his Earth now suddenly exist on Earth-Prime.
A Past Villain From Pre-Crisis Timeline
Crisis on Infinite Earths was crucial to setting up Superman & Lois in many big ways. While it allowed the show to get Clark a new suit, it was also used to rewrite the Kent-Lane family history where they now have two teenage boys instead of one baby. So far, on Earth-Prime, the heroes believe that the Multiverse is gone and that their Earth is all that remains now. Obviously, that was done to set up the idea that, one day, they will discover the new Multiverse that Oliver Queen created as the Spectre. However, it is very likely that they aren’t going to stop relying on the 5-part game-changing crossover as they keep telling Lois and Superman’s story in the Arrowverse.
The Stranger could, through wonky sci-fi twists, be a villain that existed in the pre-Crisis timeline that has somehow made it to Earth-Prime. It would be similar to what Green Arrow and the Canaries had initially set up by teasing there was a new foe running around and restoring people’s pre-Crisis memories. Perhaps this is a Superman villain that escaped the destruction of the Multiverse but somehow ended up on Earth-Prime and is now looking to go after Superman. Whether it’s someone like Brainiac or General Zod, it would be a big twist to see a Pre-Crisis character now existing in this new Earth.
It would help explore more of Superman’s life in the Arrowverse before the creation of Earth-Prime. Since so little has been revealed about Clark’s career as a superhero on Earth-38, this would allow the creators to finally explore a prior relationship with one of Superman’s biggest enemies. Even though the Multiverse was rebooted, it doesn’t mean that they can’t continue to play with the ramifications of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Only time will tell who The Stranger actually is and hopefully, viewers won’t have to wait long to find out when Superman & Lois premieres in February.
About The Author
