WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Superman & Lois Season 1, Episode 8, “Holding the Wrench,” which aired Tuesday on The CW.
For some time now on Superman & Lois, General Sam Lane has been preparing to take down Superman behind the superhero’s back. While the General is, in fact, Superman’s closest ally, Lane also understands that the Man of Steel is a potential threat. After his initial encounter with the Stranger, aka John Henry Irons, Lane was reminded of the possible destruction Superman could unleash were he ever to turn dark. Therefore, in order to be prepared for such an eventuality, he set up Project 7734, a secret venture to develop weapons that could take down Superman.
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So far, the project has remained a secret, but now, in the series’ latest episode, it comes into the light — and two weapons found inside are extremely similar to the ones Batman used to fight Superman in the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
In “Holding the Wrench,” John Henry Irons is held at the Department of Defense for interrogation. However, his stay in the government facility is interrupted by one of Lane’s military officers, who is revealed to be a secret enforcer for Morgan Edge. Like Edge’s other test subjects, this soldier has been given Kryptonian superpowers, and he intends to break Irons out of the DoD and deliver him to Edge.
In trying to escape the facility, the soldier and Irons stumble into Project 7734. Once they are located, Lane advises Superman that he shouldn’t go over there, as all he will find are experimental, Kryptonite-based weapons designed to defeat him. Superman doesn’t care, and he rushes into the room to prevent Irons from escaping. However, once he arrives inside, Superman is rapidly attacked by the military officer, who wields a massive gun that shoots synthetic Kryptonite in gas form. The green smoke fills the room and Superman breathes it in, leaving him severely weakened and giving the soldier an edge.
When Superman manages to overcome his weakness and defeats the soldier, he is once again attacked — this time by John Henry Irons, who threatens to take the superhero out with a spear made out of Kryptonite. With Superman weakened on the floor, Irons has the chance to kill him and complete his mission, but he is talked down by Lois Lane.
When combined, the Kryptonite gas and the spear were nearly successful in killing Superman, and both weapons nearly did the same thing in Batman v. Superman. In the Zack Snyder-directed film, an angry Batman sought out to stop Superman, and in order to do so, he stole a large Kryptonite mineral from Lex Luthor and used it to make smoke grenades and a spear.
During his epic fight with the Man of Steel, Batman used both weapons to his tactical advantage — the smoke grenades weakened Superman, while the spear was able to make the superhero bleed. He would have been successful in taking the Kryptonian out for good, but, thankfully, the fight ended before that could happen thanks to Lois Lane.
Since the start of Superman & Lois, Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman have clearly proven to be an inspiration, contributing to the series’ dramatic tone, color palette and even story beats. The Kryptonite smoke and spear are just the latest references to the DCEU film, and this trend may yet continue as the series progresses.
Superman & Lois stars Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Dylan Walsh, Alex Garfin, Jordan Elsass, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Inde Navarrette and Wolé Parks. The series returns May 18 and will air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
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