Superman & Lois Season 4 premiere recap: Is Superman dead?

Superman & Lois recently premiered their final installment, Season 4, which answered a long-time question: Is Superman alive?

In retrospect, the answer to the ongoing CW show is No, Superman is not alive. Season 3 ended with the 'Man of Steel' engaged in a furious battle royale with Doomsday, landing on a cliffhanger with Kal-El’s fate left undecided.

The DC hero was having the fight of his life with his wife already dealing with breast cancer and his teenage boys transitioning into superheroes. There was certainly a lot on his plate during Season 3 of Superman & Lois.

In addition to his mounting problems, he also temporarily dealt with the loss of powers. Similarly, the devious Lex Luthor wasn’t exactly making his life easy by constantly looking for ways to challenge or end him.

In the end, the Man of Steel met his match with an evil concoction of pure indestructible power fueled by radiation - an unkillable beast known as Doomsday. This monstrous villain has also appeared in the Zack Snyder Universe: Justice League.

If the CW sticks to the DC lore of the Superman Death Arc, the hero may return. Nonetheless, episodes 1 & 2 have confirmed the death of the beloved hero for the moment.

What happened to Superman in the Season 4 premiere of Superman & Lois?

The premiere episodes of Superman & Lois aired on October 7, 2024, with episode 3 releasing on October 14, 2024.

The new episodes saw the tumultuous battle between Superman and Doomsday unravel into an ugly and unexpected mess. Superman and Luthor were in the middle of a conversation when the megalomaniac unveiled a nightmarish creation.

Doomsday, per comic lore was created by Luthor to be Superman’s doom, hence the name. Nonetheless, the villain and hero begin an unforgettable battle exchanging deadly blows. While Superman’s Kryptonian strength helps him keep the monster at bay, it doesn’t stop him from sustaining damage.

While the creature continues to evolve with each punch exchanged, the caped hero is badly mangled with cuts and bruises galore. Their fight goes into outer space with them battling it out in zero gravity amid asteroids and stars. Unable to find an opening, the man of steel pursues a final alternative while accepting his fate.

He musters up all his strength and channels it into his heat vision, sending Doomsday flying, but undefeated, because he’s still alive. Superman on the other hand is seen floating lifelessly in the void of space. The scene transitions to Doomsday clutching the fallen hero’s head in his hand and crashing to earth at his abode.

His wife and kids witness the monster let out an unholy roar while nonchalantly flaunting the hero’s dead body, and tossing it before taking off. Lois cautiously approaches the body only to find it’s her deceased husband. Another surprising and ghastly fate he incurred was that Doomsday had also carved out the hero’s heart to present it to Luthor.

Will Superman return in Season 4 of Superman & Lois?

Since the hero’s actor Hoechilin hasn’t yet confirmed his exit from Superman & Lois which gives fans hope about his return. However, he did in a way return in the premiere episodes in the form of a hologram.

Kal-El’s mother Lara Lor-Van revealed he’d transferred his subconscious self to a hologram in case a crisis should ever occur. After learning of Luthor’s ruthless actions, Lois and her kids were left devastated.

However, after their father’s holographic version appears, their pain is somewhat soothed since this was still a piece of him. The co-showrunner of Superman & Lois, Brent Fletcher claimed it’s not going to be doom and gloom for long.

Fletcher noted while vaguely dishing about the aftermath of the premiere,

“It’s not all tears all the time, but we come into the season in a pretty heavy spot and we’ve got to earn it.”

The showrunners, meanwhile, have remained tight-lipped about how Superman would return.

Which major DC villain was mentioned in the Season 4 premiere of Superman & Lois?

Fletcher and Todd Helbing had long-teased a major DC villain to be named in the Season 4 premiere of Superman & Lois. From the lore, Superman has many archnemesis’ including Luthor. However, this particular one was known for giving him a tougher time than Luthor because of his exceptional and haunting intellect.

The villain Brainiac was mentioned in the Season 4 premiere of Superman & Lois. During a scene involving Amanda McCoy and Luthor, the name Milton Fine was referred to as a “brainiac.”

Little do they know how much the nerd went on to accomplish in the comics! McCoy was delivering the machine storing Superman’s heart.

Speaking to TVLine, Helbing claimed the mention was “intentional,” and insinuated it won’t be the final reference. In a previous interview with the publication, Helbing claimed,

“You hear the name drop, then you start hearing the name drop more, and then you see that person eventually.”

Helbing’s comments strongly suggest Brainiac would potentially make an appearance and with Season 4 being the penultimate for Superman & Lois, it’s highly plausible. Similarly, Luthor’s estranged daughter Elizabeth Luthor was also mentioned in the premiere!