We’re over halfway through the fourth and final season of Superman & Lois, and Michael Cudlitz‘s terrifying Lex Luthor is as dastardly a threat as ever. As the Man of Steel’s nemesis seeks to not just kill Tyler Hoechlin‘s Superman but end everything he holds dear, we have to wonder how Luthor has not yet been arrested for any of his numerous post-incarceration crimes… It’s not like people don’t know he’s harassing the Kent family, as well as other Smallville citizens, so what gives?
Plot Armor Aside, Lex Luthor Ought To Be in Jail by Now
At the beginning of the season, our heroes were far too busy after Superman’s demise at Doomsday’s hands to dedicate a lot of time to putting Lex Luthor away. Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) was struggling to keep her family together as Jordan (Alex Garfin) failed at playing the hero, and Jonathan (Michael Bishop) wrestled with feeling useless without powers (something that’s no longer an issue). But as the season has progressed, there are far too many things that Luthor should be answering for in court. Sure, he didn’t commit the crimes that he was once accused of, but he’s added plenty of others to his list. Of all his taunts, harassment, and very public threats, it’s the death of Sam Lane (Dylan Walsh) that is by far the most egregious crime, one that should have immediately put Luthor behind bars.
But before you say, “We’ll, there’s no proof tying Luthor to Doomsday,” need we remind you that not only was Lane on a very obvious video call with Lex just before his death, but Luthor also had blackmailed a Department of Defense official into doing his bidding in the first place. This all comes after he first had Lane kidnapped and buried alive, an act that there are actual witnesses to. General Lane wasn’t the only one at the DOD able to make the tough calls, and following his death, it feels like a massive oversight that General Hardcastle (Patricia Drake) wouldn’t have done something about it. Now that Luthor’s bodyguard and former prison bestie Otis Grisham (Ryan Booth) has attempted to kill Lana Lang (Emmanuelle Chriqui) and her daughter Sarah (Inde Navarrette), it should be even easier to nail Luthor to the wall. Right?
Related
Giving the Man of Steel a New Weakness Is the Best Thing for ‘Superman & Lois’
Superman’s new kryptonite is a game-changer for the series.
‘Superman & Lois’ Has Proven How Frightening Lex Luthor Can Be
So, how is Lex Luthor not in jail yet? Well, because the plot demands that he not be. Unlike last season’s plot with Bruno Mannheim (Chad L. Coleman), in which Lois and Clark struggle to make real connections between Mannheim’s legal and illegal activities, Luthor has been blatantly obvious in his goal in Smallville. More than that, the Kents alone are witnesses to many of his crimes, and now so are Lana and Sarah. After “When The Lights Come On,” where various Smallville citizens saw Lex publicly harassing one of their own, things should get pretty clear. Even the way he (illegally) changed the streetlights of Smallville to emit red solar radiation that saps Superman of his powers (leading to the coolest street brawl between Clark and Lex in superhero TV history) seems like a charge worthy of exploring.
Of course, the reason the Kents likely haven’t come forth is because of their secret. Lex Luthor knows that Clark Kent is Superman, and so do others around Smallville. If word were to get out, their lives in small-town America would effectively be over. But you’d think that others, such as the DOD, would press clear and permanent charges on Luthor for his part in both Doomsday’s destruction between Smallville and Metropolis as well as Sam Lane’s brutal death. With so many witnesses to that event, in particular, witnesses who all heard Lane talking to Lex over the phone, it seems like it would be a pretty clean-cut case.
However, knowing Clark Kent and Lois Lane, their goal is to get Lex Luthor sent away forever and for the key to be thrown out in the process. For something like that, they’ll need to present a case so damning and ironclad that there’s no possible way Luthor could weasel out of it. Given the burden of proof necessary after Luthor’s previous wrongful conviction, this is a job for not just one Superman, but a whole family of them. Thankfully, the Kents have that covered.
Superman & Lois airs Mondays on The CW and is available for streaming the next day.
Superman and Lois
Superman & Lois, the seventh Arrowverse spinoff series, will take the titular characters from Metropolis to Smallville. The CW series is set in the aftermath of the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, which saw the multiverse collapse and the merging of worlds into what is now Earth Prime. Superman & Lois sees Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) and Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) dealing with all the pressures of their jobs, along with being parents to two teenage sons. Lois and Clark are no strangers to the Arrowverse, with Hoechlin’s Superman having been introduced all the way back in Supergirl season 2. Meanwhile, Tulloch’s Lois made her debut in the 2018 “Elseworlds” crossover. The duo is joined by a growing cast of characters that includes a new iteration of Lana Lang.
Watch on CW
