Superman & Lois Proves How The Flash Has Been Misusing Superspeed
Warning: Spoilers for Superman & Lois season 2, episode 5.
Superman & Lois season 2 proves how The Flash has been misusing super speed. Speed is the primary weapon of Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) in the Arrowverse, whereas in Superman & Lois, it’s just one of many tools in Clark’s arsenal. Surprisingly, the character that uses it best isn’t the Fastest Man Alive.
With the ability to catch bullets and fly around the world at astonishing speeds, Superman is easily one of the fastest characters in the Arrowverse. That being said, he and his fellow Kryptonians aren’t on the same level as the Arrowverse characters who possess the Speed Force. The Arrowverse’s Superman wouldn’t be able to keep up with the Scarlet Speedster, whose speed has continued to climb over the course of the series. In fact, he recently overtook Reverse-Flash and showed the Arrowverse just how fast he really is. Despite his show being on its eighth season, Barry may not have reached his ceiling yet.
Though there’s a significant gap between Superman and the Flash in the Arrowverse, its actually the latter of the two who gets the most out of their speed. This aspect of the character was on full display in Superman & Lois season 2, episode 5, titled “Girl…You’ll Be a Woman, Soon” when the Man of Steel faced off against Bizarro. Though the two initially seemed evenly matched, the fight wasn’t that close. Through most of the battle, Bizarro was barely able to touch his opponent. Thanks to his speed, Superman succeeded in anticipating and dodging the majority of his attacks. Superman evaded – and then countered – each blow. How he beat Bizarro was a perfect example of what Barry should be doing in The Flash.
Too many times Barry has been injured (or even defeated) by villains much slower than him. Like the situation with Superman, Barry has the advantage in most battles, simply because of how fast he can react to an enemy’s movements. The problem is that it doesn’t come into play as often as it should. Barry loses fights because metahumans use their abilities on him. Superman, on the other hand, uses his speed to keep characters like Bizarro from getting the chance. Twice Bizarro charged at Superman, but was knocked down both times. One reason Bizarro struggled so much against Superman was his inability to get his hands on him.
Superman & Lois is showing just how valuable super speed is as a power. The Flash’s Barry Allen has it in abundance, but doesn’t always use it to its full potential. How it helped him against Reverse-Flash was a step in the right direction, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. He may not have Superman’s other weapons, but with his speed, he should be able to defeat most of his villains before they can strike the first blow.
Superman & Lois releases new episodes on Tuesdays on The CW.