How Superman & Lois' Bizarro Fight Avoided A Major Flash Problem
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Superman & Lois season 2, episode 4.
Clark’s third fight with Bizarro in Superman & Lois season 2 helped the Arrowverse spinoff series avoid one of The Flash’s biggest problems. Bizarro, who made his shocking Arrowverse debut in the season’s third episode, has already clashed with the Man of Steel three times. While some characters have suggested that the hero doesn’t have what it takes to beat Bizarro alone, Superman & Lois is now indicating otherwise.
After faring poorly against the mysterious villain in their first encounter, there was a sense that the Big Blue Boy Scout had met his match in Bizarro. At the beginning of Superman & Lois season 2, episode 4, titled “The Inverse Method”, Superman looked to be in dire straits against Bizarro until Steel (Wolé Parks) intervened. When they battled again at the end of the episode, Steel momentarily distracted Bizarro, providing Superman with an opportunity to get back into the fight. He quickly took the upper hand and impressively drove off the villain unaided. How Superman handled himself in the third fight was a good sign for any future encounters that the two may have. It's possible that Superman has successfully adjusted to fighting someone on Bizarro’s level.
Though Steel admittedly did have some involvement, the exchange of blows that played out in the fight and Superman’s ability to overpower his opponent proved that he can beat Bizarro. Earlier in the episode, Clark was told by Steel that Bizarro was too powerful, a warning that was reminiscent of Barry Allen’s battles with his own villains in The Flash. Despite his reputation as the Fastest Man Alive, both Barry and his allies have said on multiple occasions that certain opponents are too strong or too fast for him to defeat. This long-standing issue has plagued Barry throughout the show’s run, but Tyler Hoechlin’s Arrowverse character clearly doesn’t share this particular problem.
Barry’s abilities being inferior to the powers and skills of his enemies has forced him to rely on devices invented by Cisco or Chester, clever planning, and help from Team Flash. Barry finally surpassing Reverse-Flash was a step in the right direction, but didn’t erase all the other instances of Barry failing to beat his main villains on his own. Superman & Lois, on the other hand, has done its fair share of team-ups with Superman and Steel, but for the most part, the series has proven that Clark is singularly more powerful than his Arrowverse enemies, including Morgan Edge’s Kryptonian minions, Edge himself, and now Bizarro.
Superman & Lois occasionally lets Steel help Clark with his fights, but the series has made it clear that he’s still very much a solo hero who doesn’t really need a team in the same vein as Barry in The Flash. The Arrowverse's Bizarro having to retreat after a beatdown from the Man of Steel was a reminder of that. And unless the real Doomsday emerges in the Arrowverse series, Superman may continue to dominate his super-powered adversaries.
Superman & Lois returns with new episodes on February 22 on The CW.