Of troublesome teens and superpowers

I’ve began to watch “Superman and Lois” series, which is the emotional sequel to “Smallville”. Not sure if it as per comics or a fictional setup created specifically for the series, “Smallville” happens to be a town in Kansas where the friendly Kryptonian crash landed and spent his childhood, till he moved to Metropolis as a journalist in “Daily Planet”. The “Smallville” series ended with Lex Luthor becoming US president posing more headache for the caped crusader. “Superman and Lois” begins with Clark Kent losing out on his job due to layoffs and his mother’s demise causing an unplanned change in the Kent family, who relocate to Smallville from Metropolis. Superman is blessed with twin boys, both in their teens and the first season deals with a Kryptonian villain, who happens to be half-brother of Superman, crash landed in England, unlike our American superhero. Their brought ups and childhood stories couldn’t be more different. A major chunk of the entire first season deals with teen troubles and how the super couple deal with them in a matured manner. It is quite interesting to see the kind of challenges that even superheroes face in their routine life and the pressures their families encounter. Often, I used to wonder, why they keep their identity a secret from even their family. This series deals with such situations beautifully. With only one of the twin showing nascent super hero powers and other one being totally human, the series is set for organic conflicts that will occur in such setups. The issues that the kids face within themselves and with their friends and peers, each having to rely on the other to get oneself out of situations, the obvious jealousy that comes with such situations and the trust issues that creep into budding relationships, the challenge in exposing oneself to their loved ones, each of these scenarios are nicely factored in amidst the expected fight sequences.

The best apart about this series being, how correct the super villains in comics are. They often start with very noble intention and even though their means may also be well, often the misconception of the superhero in viewing them as a threat pushes them into madness territory. Even Lex Luthor for that matter, is cautious to start with, fearing the presence of super powered aliens who, if at all, they decide to turn against humanity, need someone to put up a fight. But typical to superhero stories, the very people whom the villains try to defend often turn up against them, almost justifying their villainous nature. In this series, as much as the troubles involving bringing up teens, if it is coupled with one of them growing superpowers, how much miserable and strained it makes their parents is interestingly told. The confrontations between Clark and his kid with powers, Lois, and her interactions with the kid without powers are emotionally well made. I loved the sequence where Lois explains the struggles of being the one with no power in a superpower relationship and how much she must work hard to make up for her part in the relationship are surprisingly well written. The series humanizes superman as much as the man next door and his struggles are as real as a fellow person. Curious to see how the remaining seasons turn out. Watch it on Prime.