WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Superman & Lois Season 1, Episode 9, "Loyal Subjekts," which aired Tuesday on The CW.
Two episodes ago, Superman & Lois left fans shocked when The CW series revealed that the Stranger, aka Captain Luthor, was actually an alternate version of John Henry Irons, aka Steel. This was a massive swerve, and it proved to be a game-changer for the direction of the season.
Well, it turns out that this twist was only the first in a whopping one-two punch sequence. Indeed, in the series' latest episode, "Loyal Subjekts," Superman & Lois makes a startling revelation about Morgan Edge. Only, Morgan Edge isn't Morgan Edge at all. In truth, he is a Kryptonian, just like Superman -- and he has superpowers of his own.
In "Loyal Subjekts," Lois Lane and Lana Lang dive deeper into the mysterious leadership program at Edge Enercorp. For some time now, it's been clear that Edge was giving certain people Kryptonian-like abilities thanks to X-Kryptonite. However, after the revelations of the last episodes, Lois and Clark finally put the pieces together: Edge is actually implanting the consciousness of Kryptonians inside human hosts. He's apparently been at this for a very long time, and the end of the episode reveals why it's been such a long process.
After many trials and errors, all of the successful Kryptonian-to-human transfers were done on residents of Smallville. The reason only people who have lived in Smallville can welcome the Kryptonian consciousnesses inside of them is because of their lifelong exposure to X-Kryptonite. And now that everything is out on the table, Edge is ready to make his move. At the end of "Loyal Subjekts," he calls Superman, who flies in the middle of the desert to meet the villain. Only this time, Edge isn't wearing his trademark suit and tie; he's wearing a black Kryptonian outfit, complete with a flowing cape and house crest.
It's at this moment that "Morgan Edge" reveals his true identity: he is a Kryptonian who arrived on Earth the same day as Kal-El. He, too, has a mastery of his superpowers and somehow kept it a secret all this time as he worked to accomplish his goal of bringing an army of Kryptonians back using human hosts. However, the episode comes to a close before "Edge" can disclose his real name, leaving his true identity up in the air.
There are several potential candidates. Of course, it's possible that Edge could be General Zod, who has served as a longtime enemy of Superman. But there are also a few other villainous Kryptonians who meet the criteria. First is Jax-Ur, a dangerous Kryptonian scientist who was once trapped in the Phantom Zone. The scientist angle could fit the bill, seeing as how Edge worked tirelessly to build a machine that could transfer Kryptonian consciousnesses.
Edge could also be revealed to be Quar, the main Kryptonian antagonist in the 2015-2017 comic series, The Dark Knight III: The Master Race. Quar was a fanatical cultist trapped in the Bottle City of Kandor, but once Ray Palmer helped restore the miniaturized Kandorians back to their proper size, the villain unleashed his Kryptonian army on the world. And, in Superman & Lois, that is essentially what Edge is planning on doing.
However, it's just as likely that Superman & Lois has introduced an original character to the series. After all, when Edge reveals his true identity, he calls Kal-El his brother. Of course, it's likely that this is merely a greeting between fellow Kryptonians, who are so few and far between in the universe. But it remains possible that Edge is actually Superman's real brother, sent to Earth at the same time by Jor-El and Lara.
If one was hoping to find the answer in Edge's Kryptonian crest, there is enough ambiguity on display to make one wonder. No, Edge isn't sporting Superman's signature "S" on his chest, but his crest does appear to feature a certain "S"-like, swirling shape. This is likely no accident. Superman & Lois has just left fans with this shocking cliffhanger, and the series has given fans just enough clues to theorize about Edge's true identity for the next week.
Superman & Lois stars Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Dylan Walsh, Alex Garfin, Jordan Elsass, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Inde Navarrette and Wolé Parks. The series airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.