Major spoilers for Superman & Lois lie ahead.
The first season of Superman & Lois has come to a close, and it did not disappoint. The Kent family, and all of Smallville, mounted one last stand against Tal-Rho and Zeta-Rho, who sought to revive Krypton using the Eradicator. The season finale featured a number of sweet moments, but the biggest took place during the episode’s closing moments. The massive development means a new series regular is joining the Arrowverse series, and its showrunner is now teasing how they’ll factor into Season 2 following that massive cliffhanger.
At the end of the Superman & Lois season finale, John Henry Irons, who hails from an alternate Earth, was preparing to leave the Kent farm in hopes of starting a new life. But before he could head out, he and the Kents were met with a surprise when a pod crash landed at the farm. Emerging from the ship was John’s daughter, Natalie, who quickly embraced her father and was shocked to see Lois -- her deceased mother from the other world.
Tayler Buck, who plays Natalie Irons, has officially been upgraded to series regular status for Superman & Lois Season 2, per TVLine. But what could this mean for things moving forward? Well, showrunner and executive producer Todd Helbing didn’t go too far into specifics, but he did hint at Natalie’s presence causing a major shake-up for the Kent family:
I mean, there's a lot that excites all of us, all the writers. It instantly changes the family dynamic. So, you go from the pilot, where it's like, ‘Okay, the boys find out that their dad is Superman,’ and then they have their lives upended, and they move to Smallville. Then, you know, they finally get settled. It's like, ‘Okay, we got a handle on this life! Dad is Superman, and Jordan's got powers and mom's running this paper over there and I'm starting to fit in at school and now I have this girlfriend. Things are cool.’ And now it's like, ‘Okay, bam! Now our life is gonna change all over again.’ So that's really what excites us.
Todd Helbing’s recent comments to CBR are exciting, and you already can’t help but wonder how Lois, Clark, Jonathan and Jordan will react to having another person around the farm. But what complicates things even further is that the resourceful Natalie brings a lot of baggage with her.
On John and Natalie’s Earth, Superman joined forces with Morgan Edge/Tal-Rho and resurrected Kryptonians to take over the planet. After the death of her mother Lois Lane at the hands of the Man of Steel, Nat helped create a suit that would allow her father to do battle with the ex-hero. When Irons was jettisoned to the other Earth, Nat was left alone and presumably kept looking for ways to reunite with her dad.
Natalie’s presence is sure to be comforting for John Henry Irons but, for Lois, it will likely stir up mixed feelings. Nat represents the daughter Lois and Clark lost during her second pregnancy, so seeing her may be tough. But since Lois is a version of her late mom, Nat will probably want to get close to her. Meanwhile, it’s also possible that the boys will get a lot out of having Nat around. Jonathan in particular previously expressed interest in meeting his “sister,” so he may spend plenty of time getting to know her.
There are sure to be growing pains when it comes to building this blended family. But hopefully, the group can get past any awkwardness and become a firm unit. Because if Season 2’s threat is anything like Tal-Rho, the Kents and the Irons’ are going to need each other.
Superman & Lois will return for its second season in 2022, and you can catch up on (or revisit) episodes by streaming them on The CW’s website.
