WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Superman & Lois Season 1, Episode 5, "The Best of Smallville," which aired Tuesday on The CW.
The series premiere of Superman & Lois introduced a mysterious new antagonist for the Man of Steel in the form of the Stranger. The armored-suit-wearing soldier kept his face hidden until he was finally revealed to be a version of Lex Luthor that came from a parallel Earth. On Luthor's world, Superman wore a black version of his costume and was a menace to the entire world.
However, with its latest episode, Superman & Lois makes Captain Luthor's rivalry with Superman even more personal by making a shocking reveal: on his world, he was the one who was married to Lois Lane.
In "The Best of Smallville," Captain Luthor's no longer wearing his armor, blending in as a man driving an RV. Before long, he approaches Lois Lane in a diner, posing as a fellow reporter. He tells her that he wants to be on her side and that he would like to help her take down Morgan Edge. While Lois is uncertain she can trust this stranger, she agrees to team-up with him given that he promises to gain access to crucial evidence.
While he appears friendly to Lois, the audience knows that Luthor is Superman's enemy, and it's unclear what his endgame is when approaching the Man of Steel's wife. However, it's only near the end of the episode that the villain drops a massive bombshell, revealing his real connection to Lois Lane. From afar, Captain Luthor sees Lois and Clark share a quiet, tender moment on a Smallville bench, which is enough to make him extremely angry. When he storms back into his RV, his artificial intelligence system tells him that this Lois Lane is totally different from the one he knew. Luthor then tells his machine that she's exactly the same -- the only difference is that here, she married Superman. The episode then cuts to a brief flashback that takes place on Captain Luthor's world, where he and his wife, Lois Lane, share a kiss before he heads off for an assignment.
This revelation makes Luthor's deep hatred for Superman all the more personal. Going into this episode, many thought he was only after the Man of Steel because an evil version of the hero killed his fellow soldiers, but now, things are far more complicated. Luthor's quest has a lot more depth, and his goal, while villainous, is understandable to a point. This makes the character all the more sympathetic, and it means his fight with Superman and Lois Lane will get messier 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 airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.