‘Superman & Lois’ a worthy successor to classic Man of Steel tales

It’s been a while since I saw a “Superman” adaptation that I really liked. “Lois & Clark” and “Smallville” were hit or miss for me. “Superman Returns” was boring and Zack Snyder’s take on Supes leaves me cold. But The CW’s newest Superman show, “Superman & Lois” gave me similar warm fuzzy feelings of wonder and excitement I haven’t felt since the first time I saw “Superman 2” back when I was a kid.

“Supes & Lois” opens with a prologue summing up The Man of Steel’s origin story. It then picks up the story after Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) have been married for quite some time. They’re facing the normal travails of raising twin teenage boys, Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and Jordan (Alex Garfin), while also balancing work responsibilities. Oh, and there’s also Clark’s side-gig as a superhero who’s routinely out stopping catastrophes.

Things go from tough to tougher when Clark loses his job and his mother on the same day. While in Smallville for the funeral, odd things begin happening with Jonathan and Jordan and Clark and Lois weigh life-altering decisions. There’s also a mysterious villain who keeps causing mayhem at nuclear power plants and seems to know an uncomfortable amount about Clark.

“Supes & Lois” plays out like a family drama that keeps getting interrupted by superpowered action sequences. It focuses as much on Jonathan and Jordan as it does on Clark and Lois. Much of the drama in the pilot comes from Lois and Clark trying to hold their family together during a trying time and amidst revelations that threaten to drive the twins away.

As a family drama, this show requires solid acting, and the core quartet of Hoechlin, Tulloch, Elsass and Garfin deliver. Hoechlin brings a bit of that old goofy Clark Kent charm, but he also brings a weariness that someone might feel after being stretched so thin by so many responsibilities. But he also starts to light up a bit as the exciting future possibilities of the plot unfold.

Tulloch is equally good as Lois, playing her with toughness and wisdom. The pilot doesn’t afford her the opportunities to emote that it gives Hoechlin, but she makes you believe that she loves her family and supports her husband with every fiber of her being. Even when frustrated with Clark and his heroic duties, Tulloch still provides a layer of love underneath.

Elsass and Garfin hold their own as well. They are utterly believable as brothers, with Elsass scoring as the cocky football jock and Garfin convincingly moping like the out-of-place kid looking for his place.

The actors are supported by very sturdy writing. The writing staff has provided well-drawn characters and a narrative that has plenty of comic book action but doesn’t lose sight of what the story’s really about and gives us plenty of scenes that make us engage with and care for these characters. The writing also sets up some intrigue that I imagine will be explored as the series unspools.

Visually, the show isn’t anything to write home about but there are some lovely scenes where the visuals help convey the wonder the show is aiming for. The action scenes aren’t full of overly busy camera movement and you can follow the action fairly easily. I guess my biggest grip is that “Supes & Lois” is shot like a standard TV show. I was hoping Superman might get a little more visual zip.

That doesn’t ruin “Superman & Lois,” however. This is a show about character and the characters are compelling in a way Superman characters haven’t been in a while. It’s compelling to see Superman struggle with fatherhood or wrestle with feelings of guilt for leaving his mother and Smallville. It’s compelling to see Lois function as a mother when her hubby is out saving the world so often. It’s compelling to watch two boys deal with the ramifications of learning their father’s true origin and the possible powers bubbling up inside them.

It’s compelling enough that I think I’m going to keep watching.