Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Superman & Lois episode “Anti-Hero.” Read at your own risk!
Superman & Lois is more or less known for keeping its audience on their toes, so it only made sense that the latest episode featured not just a villainous turn but also a shocking death. It turns out that Anderson is more than just a pain in the ass Department of Defense head looking to make life difficult for Clark. Anderson went full villain and after inhaling some X-Kryptonite, seemingly killed the original big bad of this season: Bizarro.
That’s the story presented anyway, but as Anderson left the DoD and offered Ally that pendant, I’m wondering if Bizarro really died due to being choked out by Anderson. Sure, we know Bizarro’s weak against X-Kryptonite, and any Kryptonian can be defeated in their weakened state without question. We also have lots of Superman lore that shows Kryptonians are incredibly resilient, and even if it seems they’re dead as a doornail, they can always come back.
Even in the latest Superman & Lois episode, we saw Tal-Rho claw his way back from near-death when three kryptonite bullets had him looking not long for the world. Clark brought his half-brother back by flying him close to the Sun so that his innate Kryptonian physiology could recover from the toxins in his body. Tal-Rho was alive and well not long after, so how am I supposed to believe Bizarro died after sitting in a chokehold while in a weakened state?
Honestly, the biggest sign that has me suspicious that Bizarro is still alive comes down to a classic trope typical of television and film. If a character is assumed dead, and their lifeless body is nowhere to be found, then there’s a good chance they aren’t dead. Clark was the one who assumed Bizarro died, and wasn’t around when it actually happened. We didn’t really hear anything about Bizarro from Anderson in his final scenes, and he’d be the person who knew better than most.
I should point out that for all my skepticism, actor Ian Bohen (who plays Anderson) is indicating that Bizarro is gone. In a recent interview with EW, he spoke about what’s next for the character, especially since he’s now out of the DoD and allegedly completed his mission of getting rid of Bizarro.
That's a great question because he's ostensibly achieved his goal. Now that Bizarro is gone, what is Anderson about? What does he wake up and have to do every day? He doesn't have his job anymore. So why on earth is he going to talk to this person who Superman said is the real bad guy? Maybe he's going to embark on a new journey to continue doing what he wants and feels is the right thing in another venue, if you will. It's that pragmatic of, well, he's got to do something, so why not go check out what we've been hearing about Ally and see what she's all about?
Bizarro is such a big character from Superman lore, and now that we know he comes from an entirely different alternate universe, I just can’t accept Superman & Lois killed him off like that. It’s entirely possible I’m wrong, but until we see some more episodes, consider me skeptical of this unexpected development and waiting for some further confirmation.
Superman & Lois airs on The CW on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Here’s hoping the coming weeks bring more answers on Bizarro’s fate and possibly how Superman can hope to defeat Ally now that she has both pendants. To revisit past episodes and see more of Tal-Rho's rise to power and fall, check out Season 1 with an HBO Max subscription.
