Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers for the Superman & Lois episode “Injustice,” which aired June 20. Consider yourself warned.
It was way back in January that fans learned that The Walking Dead fan favorite Michael Cudlitz would be making his way to the CW’s Superman & Lois to portray the biggest bad in Superman’s story — Lex Luthor. He finally made his debut in the penultimate episode of Season 3, “Injustice,” and according to fans, it was worth the wait. Luthor was released from jail, and we didn’t have to wait too long for his first confrontation with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and the end of the episode set up a finale that fans on Twitter were calling “nightmare fuel.”
Bruno Mannheim’s story came to an end in the previous episode of Superman & Lois, laying the groundwork for Lex Luthor to be released from prison, and that came to fruition early in “Injustice,” as we saw him walking away as a free and dangerous man. The media assumed he’d be making his way to LuthorCorp, but Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) knew the evil was coming for her. It took most of the episode for the fiercely bearded Luthor to walk all the way to Kent Farm, but that showed how strong his determination was to get to the woman responsible for putting him away for 17 years.
Once he was face-to-face with Lois, he demanded that she retire from journalism — which honestly seemed like a small ask, especially after he pointed out that his wrongful conviction had cost him his relationship with his daughter. However, Lois smartly pointed out that he may not have been guilty for that specific crime, but he was far from innocent, and that seemed to be something the fans agreed on, as they took to Twitter to rave about Michael Cudlitz’s portrayal. One viewer tweeted:
Daaaaaaaaaamn! @Cudlitz is in-freaking-tense! 🔥 #SupermanAndLois pic.twitter.com/jyEjPQM8HMJune 21, 2023
No doubt that was an intense scene, as Lex Luthor threatened not only Lois but Clark too, unaware that he was actually speaking to the Man of Steel. Another fan thought this actor’s take on the classic character was the “creepiest” yet, tweeting:
Kudos to Michael Cudlitz for the creepiest portrayal of Lex Luther in history!!
During “Injustice” we also got some flashbacks from his early days in prison that showed the startlingly short amount of time it took for Lex Luthor to gain complete control of everything happening inside those gates. As one fan said:
Lex Luthor made everyone his pet during his prison time #SupermanAndLois pic.twitter.com/D0866DI9NfJune 21, 2023
The ending of the episode set us up for a wild Season 3 finale next week, as Otis took Luthor, upon request, into the sewers where they found none other than Bizarro Superman, who we knew was back from the dead, and we had a feeling he might play a role in Lex Luthor’s evil schemes. The feral Bizarro was shown feasting on rats, before turning his attention to Otis. Poor Otis. Fans seemed excited and nervous about what’s to come from this doppelgänger development, with one tweeting:
It was bad enough that Bruno had access to Bizarro, but Lex is going to make this situation into nightmare-fuel!!!!! #SupermanAndLois pic.twitter.com/Q9gguBlCFtJune 21, 2023
The preview for next week’s finale, “What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger,” doesn’t give much away, but after Michael Cudlitz’s initial showing on Superman & Lois, it sounds like fans are fired up. You can see the trailer below:
Superman & Lois has already been renewed for Season 4, so that won’t be a concern when the series returns for its Season 3 finale next Tuesday, June 27, at 8 p.m. ET on the CW. In the meantime, check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what other premieres are coming soon.
