A Bizarre Villain Returns to ‘Superman & Lois’
Superman & Lois season 3 has been filled with villains galore. In addition to introducing Bruno Mannheim (Chad L. Coleman) and the mysterious Onomatopoeia, the show surprised viewers by bringing back one of Superman (Tyler Hoechlin)’s first enemies, Henry Miller (Paul Lazenby). However, Superman & Lois season 3 episode 5, “Head On,” suggests that Miller’s return wasn’t just a surprise cameo but the beginning of a pattern, as it unexpectedly also brings back Bizarro (Hoechlin). In addition to the new and returning villains, viewers are still eagerly anticipating the confirmed appearance of Lex Luthor in season 3.
Miller was recruited by Mannheim and Intergang shortly after his release from prison and was tasked with taking down Superman. After he failed, Mannheim and Onomatopoeia decided he would work better for a different purpose. As a result, they killed Miller and used him for their experiments to resurrect a certain deceased individual. They succeeded in reanimating him, though he’s currently tucked away in a water tank for preservation, and we’re not entirely sure what he’ll be like after these experiments.
However, they must be pretty confident in their resurrection process if they were willing to sneak into the Department of Defense’s facilities and take Bizarro. After all, the last time we saw Bizarro in Superman & Lois, he was very much deceased.
Who is Bizarro in Superman & Lois?
Bizarro was introduced in season 2 of Superman & Lois as Superman’s doppelganger from Bizarro World. In the comics and the TV show, Bizarro World is an inverse universe where everything is the opposite of Earth. Superman becomes aware of Bizarro’s presence in Superman & Lois when he enters Earth and goes on a killing rampage. He has the opposite of Superman’s powers, meaning he has ice vision instead of laser vision, flame breath instead of freeze breath, and vacuum breath instead of super breath. Also, he’s empowered by Kryptonite, but weakened by ex-Kryptonite. When Superman recognizes Bizarro’s weaknesses as the opposite of his own, he is able to subdue him.
Viewers later learn that Bizarro was actually only murdering people to get to Ally Allston (Rya Kihlstedt), who he knew was planning to destroy both his world and Earth. Prior to Ally’s rise, Bizarro had become preoccupied with the fame of being a superhero in the Bizarro World, leading to his family falling apart. He also became addicted to Kryptonite, which he frequently inhaled to further enhance his powers. This addiction is what led to his disfigurement and zombie-like appearance in the show.
After he hit rock bottom with his addiction and the loss of his family, Bizarro set out to stop Ally as a final effort to redeem himself. In the end, he did redeem himself fairly well, saving both Superman and Tal-Rho (Adam Rayner) when they were attacked by Mitch Anderson (Ian Bohen). However, he was killed in the process.
As a result, one can’t help but suspect that Mannheim’s experiments will allow him to have control over those he resurrects. Otherwise, given how Bizarro sacrificed his life for Superman, it isn’t likely he’d be quick to go against him and do Mannheim’s bidding. If Mannheim does succeed in resurrecting and controlling Bizarro, he will have a huge edge over Superman. Even though Bizzaro’s the opposite of Superman, he is still very much his equal when it comes to strength. Plus, we can anticipate that one of his first moves—whether under the control of Mannheim or not—will be to break his son, Bizarro Jonathan, and his sister-in-law, Bizarro Lana out of the DoD’s custody on Earth. We could potentially get a whole Bizarro family reunion.
Also, if Bizarro does retain his free will, his redemption story could come full circle if he manages to be reunited with his family once again.
(featured image: The CW)
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