Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Alex Garfin, Erik Valdez, Inde Navarrette, Wolé Parks, Dylan Walsh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Sofia Hasmik, Tylor Buck, Daisy Tormé, Joselyn Picard, Leeah Wong, Zane Clifford, Austin Anozie, Danny Wattley, Samantha Di Francesco, Dee Jay Jackson, Pavel Romano, Michael Bishop, Chad L. Coleman, Monique Phillips, Victoria Katongo, Eric Keenleyside, Michael Cudlitz, Kelcey Mawema.

Alongside Batman, there can be no doubting that the biggest draw that D.C. Comics have had in terms of transferring to the silver screen and television  is that of Superman. A character who has transcended the pages of early comic books and has earned the rightful term of iconic across several generations of readers who were captivated by the true definition of superhero.

Any fan will have their favourite incarnation of the Man of Steel, even those whose only interest is fleeting will be able to name one actor who has inhabited the part, and yet it is perhaps with great humility on his part that Tyler Hoechlin will be remembered as perhaps the one who captured a different kind of heart for the man of Krypton, one to whom the idea of family and community is deeply entrenched within the writing and production; and whilst the romantic attachment of Lois Lane has always been a staple of film and television, to show just how valued the decorated journalist is and is much as part of the history of the character as any villain, as any sensational story.

Superman & Lois in its third series finds a way to take the proof of that statement with even greater clarity and compassion as Lois takes on a challenge that even Superman cannot fight, but which Clark Kent can be a steadier support than any hero the family might know.

While the backdrop of the series is Lois’ major health battle, it falls to the appearance of the Inverse Superman and the greatest criminal mind that is Lex Luther to give the series its chilling sense of destruction and which sets up the series final outcome in the fourth and last season.

The humanity shown is of great consideration to the writers behind the scenes, to the framing of the family unit that is highlighted with reverence as the cornerstone of marriage, in sickness and in health, is something that is missing from all other portrayals of the hero; in this major difference to previous shows and films it gifts the audience a feeling of comradeship, that even a hero who is almost invincible can still be floored by the sickness of the one he loves, and that continuing angst of his teenage sons.

Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch play their respective roles with grace and matchless vulnerability, and when placed against the problems beseeching Smallville, the emotional pressures of retaining dignity in the shadow of chaos, divorce, and the damage created by Superman’s presence, it is a series that gains a sense of supreme introspection, of an inner working rather than a major villain hogging the limelight at every turn. For even in the actions of Bruno Mannheim and his wife, there is sympathy to be found, and one that fulfils before the unexpected return of the tyrannical Lex Luthor.

A series of reflections, one that holds a mirror up to our own actions when we are given the opportunity to be someone’s hero even in what might be the most mundane of circumstances.

Ian D. Hall