The following contains spoilers for Superman & Lois, Season 2, Episode 13, "All Is Lost," which aired Tuesday, June 7, on The CW.
Superman & Lois has focused on the concept of Superboy within the Kent household. With Titans' version of Conner Kent/Kon-El mature and protecting Earth, showing a younger version of the character was a wise move for the CW series. It's allowed Lois Lane and Clark Kent to develop both of their children into upstanding citizens, while their son Jordan evolves into a budding and very obviously undercover superhero.
However, there have also been windows of opportunity where a cloned Superboy could still be written into the show. He could also bring with him Superman's greatest adversary Lex Luthor. Season 2's latest episode, "All is Lost," provided the perfect way for both characters to be introduced into Superman & Lois canon when it de-powered Superman.
After previously having his essence drained by Ally Allston, the Man of Steel tried to fight her once more when she continued with her quest to combine two Earths. He wanted to save his family and the planet from her wrath -- but he didn't know she was even more powerful after claiming the life of Bizarro Tal-Rho. Ally was easily able to remove his Kryptonian essence, stripping Clark of his powers and essentially making him an ordinary human.
However, that means that the Department of Defence could create their own clones if they turned on Superman again, as they did earlier in Season 2. In that case, Lex and CADMUS can be introduced to help the army under the guise of supporting national security. That would allow Lex to create and control his Superboy clone of Kon-El. Not only would that give Jordan a foil, it would also further differentiate the show from Titans, in which Nightwing's team got Superboy out from under CADMUS' control and convinced him to join forces with them.
In Superman & Lois, Kon-El could remain conditioned to be a full-fledged weapon. There's no indication of when or if Kal-El will get his powers back, so he could be training Jordan and preparing him for an inevitable showdown with the clone. Not only would that be interesting for him, but it would also have an effect on Lois. While Lex hasn't debuted in the series, she's had issues with his empire, so it would be personal for her to know that Lex has a copy of her husband.
This would be a less campy take on Lex than Jon Cryer's recent turn in the Arrowverse; he'd be more incisive, vindictive and bloodthirsty. He'd be equal parts father figure and mad scientist, and if he can shape Kon-El into the next Man of Steel, he could also seek to use his influence as a political rival for the recently elected Lana Lang-Cushing. Introducing Lex and/or Superboy would bring drama not seen since the Smallville days, and let Superman & Lois fans see one of DC's most terrifying villains.
Superman & Lois airs Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.