SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for "Man of Steel," the latest episode of Superman & Lois.
The Stranger isn't a Luthor, after all. In "Man of Steel," the latest episode of Superman & Lois, Clark discovered Captain Luthor is actually John Henry Irons, the man destined to become Steel.
This week, Lois finally got her answers about Irons after he intercepted the same shipment of ex-Kryptonite she had been tracking with Clark. After Irons recovered the box of ex-Kryptonite, she struck a deal with him. If he gave her the box, she would set up a meeting between him and Superman. He agreed, without realizing her true intention. She immediately sent the box to the Department of Defense so they could analyze his fingerprints and uncover his real identity.
While Lois waited for her answers, the episode provided several flashbacks to Irons' Earth, revealing the circumstances that led him to the Arrowverse's Earth-Prime. The first scene showed the day Superman and Morgan Edge's superpowered army descended on Metropolis, with Irons, his wife Lois and their daughter Nat watching in horror as the Man of Steel rained destruction down on unsuspecting citizens.
Another flashback provided an even more tragic reason for Irons' deep hatred of Superman. As it turns out, Superman murdered Lois on Irons' world, after she staged a broadcast where she revealed to that world that Kryptonite is his one weakness. The murder happened on live television, while both Irons and Nat looked on in horror. In retaliation to this heinous act, the father-daughter team set to building the suit Irons wore when he debuted on the series. They also engineered Steel's iconic kinetic hammer, which debuted in this episode during his confrontation with Superman.
Meanwhile, on Earth-Prime, Superman met Irons at a warehouse at the predetermined time. When Clark remarked that it was an unusual place to meet, Irons explained, "I'm a builder. Always felt comfortable in places like this, surrounded by scraps and parts... been a while since anyone's paid me to do it." Clark asked if one of those people was Lex Luthor, to which Irons replied, "It was a different life."
With that, Superman got to the point and wanted to know Irons' reason for meeting. "Because the world's about to be destroyed unless I save it," Irons insisted, promising he would stop the destruction "by eliminating the threat." After Clark asked if Edge was the threat, Irons clarified that "Edge is involved, but he won't be the main source of destruction." When Clark expressed confusion, Irons showed his cards and spoke to Clark in Kryptonian: "I think you know, Kal-El."
As Clark's meeting with Irons went south, Lois heard from her contact at the Department of Defense. "The prints you had us pull are from a guy who died six years ago, and his name's not Luthor. It's John Henry Irons," he revealed. Armed with that news, Lois sped off to intercept Clark in the event Irons' intentions were not good.
Lois was a little too late. Irons had already activated some motion-sensing lights, which mimicked the light of a red sun and depowered Superman. As Clark fought back under the strain of the lights, Irons approached him with a smirk. "You see, Kal-El, you're not the Man of Steel. I am," he announced, swinging his iconic hammer and hurling Clark back into some warehouse crates.
"This hammer harnesses kinetic energy. The further it travels, the more energy it creates," Irons explained, swinging at Superman again. "From 20 feet, it could stop a car in its tracks. 30, a truck. From 60, it can destroy a tank. Anything beyond that rivals a blow from Superman."
From this point forward, the fight was pretty one-sided, with Superman unable to even get back up on his feet. "This hero act of yours is all propaganda, a way to soften the masses before you turn on them," Irons yelled. "I made a promise to kill you once. I wasn't able to keep that promise on my Earth, but I will here."
At that, Irons lifted the hammer above his head to strike the killing blow. However, he never had a chance to bring it down. By focusing his super hearing, Jordan had heard his father's distress, and he had hijacked a truck with his brother Jonathan to rush over. The twins struck Irons with their car, stunning him and saving their father.
After he was neutralized, Irons was brought into the D.O.D.'s custody, where he remained on lockdown. Nevertheless, Lois and Clark were disturbed by the encounter. "I still think there's more he's not telling us," she mused to Clark as they wound down from the event.
"So do I, which is why John Henry Irons isn't going anywhere until we find out everything he knows," Clark agreed.
As the episode drew to a close, it returned to Irons once more as he sat in his cell with only his troubled thoughts. He flashed back to the last day he saw Nat, when he made her a promise: "I'm going to go out there and kill him, and then I'm coming right back. Say it with me: 'Forged in fire, strong as steel.'" However, per Superman & Lois, he has not yet returned -- and it is unclear what has happened to Nat, particularly in the wake of the worlds-destroying Arrowverse event "Crisis on Infinite Earths."
In the comics, John Henry Irons debuted during the "Death of Superman" arc in 1993's The Adventures of Superman by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove. Here, Irons was a man once saved by Superman; he subsequently promised he'd live a life worth saving. In the wake of Superman's death, he made good on his promise and became a superhero in his own right, taking up the name Steel in homage to "the Man of Steel." He is often depicted with a suit of armor and his "smart hammer." During a brief retirement, Irons bequeathed the Steel mantle to his niece Natasha, who went on to become a hero in her own right.
Superman & Lois stars Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Dylan Walsh, Alex Garfin, Jordan Elsass, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Inde Navarrette and Wolé Parks. New episodes air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.