Superman & Lois: Wole Parks and Jai Jamison Break Down That Huge Twist in “Man of Steel”

Superman And Lois was pretty intense on Tuesday. It finally started answering questions that fans have been asking since the very first episode. Captain Luthor has been an enigmatic figure from the beginning, but now we know the truth. Wole Parks and Jai Jamison break down that huge twist!

Spoilers ahead for last Tuesday’s Superman And Lois

It was revealed that Captain Luthor is actually John Henry Irons. He’s the character who is known as Steel in the comic book series. The actor and writer sat down with comicbook.com to discuss that huge reveal.

“Did I know when I booked the part? No,” Parks told ComicBook. “Originally for me, it was still Lex Luthor, the sort-of old school megalomaniac type, kind of a little off his rocker, very obsessed with himself, but also very terrified of the idea of Superman. But because of COVID, what happened before we shot — because obviously that delayed us many months — I did have a conversation with Todd, our showrunner. He called me and he said, ‘Hey, I got something that I want to talk to you about the character.’ I didn’t want to know. And then he was like, ‘No, you want to know.’ And he revealed the whole thing. And it was crazy. I was so amazed and dumbfounded by it. And I kind of got emotional. It felt like an honor to be able to portray this character.”

He went on to discuss the Death Of Superman, where Steel first appeared, and how important the story was to him.

“One of the reasons I said I got emotional is because I was into ‘The Death of Superman,'” Parks told us. “I remember the comic book came in a black sleeve. I bought a version that I read, and I bought a version that I kept and didn’t open. And I was like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be worth a bunch of money later on,’ and then I lost it, because I’m a kid. But reading all that stuff, when they introduced John Henry Irons, it was important to see as a kid this guy who had good morals, and used his intelligence to do good. The thing which I love about him, compared to Superman or Flash, or any of these other superheroes, is that he doesn’t have super powers. He just has a good heart. He has good morals, and he’s just really smart. I always appreciate those kinds of people because I think it makes me as a regular person feel that it’s attainable, that it gives me something to live up to. I think he’s an amazing character. I guess it’s nice that he’s Black, and me as a 10 year-old Black kid seeing that was great. But it’s bigger than that. There’s no need for a caveat that he’s one of the best Black characters. He’s just one of the best characters, full stop.”

It also sounds like this character is going to be extremely important to the series going forward. break down that huge twist

“The thing about this version of John Henry that I think we’ll understand is, he’s a person who has lost everything,” Jamison explained. “He hit rock bottom. The one last thing that he has, is to try to prevent what happened on his Earth from happening on this one, and so he is willing to do whatever it takes. We’ve seen some of the stuff that he’s seen, some of the things that have happened to him, but what he’s been through is extreme, and it’s pushed him to this edge.”

“I think that the thing that is different about this John Henry, and the thing that I think defines, people like him, like Superman, is their ability to change their minds with the presentation of new information,” Jamison added. “Even someone who is as mission-oriented as John Henry, I think that there is a space for him to possibly change his mind.”

We’re grateful they took the time to break down that huge twist!

Alexander Ouellet

Alexander is passionate about everything related to gaming, comics, television, and film. You can usually find him watching some kind of DC show and can also find his writing on Multiversal News, something he’s helping to build.