WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Superman & Lois Season 1, Episode 10, "O Mother, Where Art Thou?," which aired Tuesday on The CW.
In Superman & Lois, Morgan Edge has quietly been working behind the scenes to create an army of Kryptonians. Previously, fans have seen Edge and his assistant, Leslie, use X-Kryptonite and a machine to give handpicked candidates Kryptonian abilities. However, what he was doing was far more complicated and nefarious. In truth, with this machine, he was implanting the consciousnesses of deceased Kryptonians into human hosts. The process takes several weeks but eventually, the human body is completely taken over.
Now, as Superman, Lois and the army attempt to stop Edge in "O Mother, Where Art Thou?," fans learn the truth about the machine the villain has been using to complete his goal. This machine, as it turns out, is not a simple device of Edge's own making -- it actually comes from Krypton and is called the Eradicator.
The Eradicator is a villainous entity from the comic books. Throughout DC's publishing history, there have been different versions of the Eradicator, but they mostly all have something in common: it's a Kryptonian machine that is intent on preserving all facets of Krypton's culture, by any means necessary. While the Eradicator debuted as a sentient machine, it eventually created a body for itself that mirrored Superman following The Death of Superman storyline. Most recently, it appeared in the opening arc of the Superman series as part of the 2016 continuity relaunch, Rebirth, where it attacked both the Man of Steel and his son, Jon Kent. What's more, the Eradicator later battled the entire Justice League, leading an army of Daxamites.
And now, the Eradicator has officially made its television debut in Superman & Lois. In fact, it debuted several episodes ago -- fans just didn't know its real name yet. The machine that Morgan Edge uses to implant Kryptonian consciousnesses into human hosts is powered by the Eradicator, a device that was created by Superman's mother, Lara, to ensure the survival of the Kryptonian race. Now, the machine is at the center of the series' latest episode, as Superman learns that all of the human hosts can still be saved, should the Eradicator become super-charged before the consciousness transfer is made irreversible.
In Superman & Lois, the Eradicator is a Kryptonian machine of spherical design that can be held in one's arms. Using his heat-vision and solar flare powers, the Man of Steel can sever the connection between the device and the hosts, freeing the humans from their Kryptonian invaders.
As the episode comes to a close, a nearly powerless Superman brings the Eradicator to the Fortress of Solitude, where it will be safe. It's unclear what has happened to the Kryptonian identities inside the Eradicator, but whatever the case, now that it's in the Fortress, it may find what it needs to gain a body of its own -- and if that happens, the true Eradicator will be born.
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.