WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Superman & Lois Season 1, Episode 9, "Loyal Subjekts," which aired Tuesday on The CW.

In last week's episode of Superman & Lois, the real identity of the Stranger was revealed to be John Henry Irons (Wolé Parks). Irons was locked up at the Department of Defense for questioning, but one of Morgan Edge's test subjects, a soldier with Kryptonian abilities, attempted to break him out. Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) swooped in before that could happen, but not before he fought the soldier inside Project 7734, a room filled with Kryptonite-based weapons. During the battle, Superman was dosed with a synthetic Kryptonite gas that temporarily weakened him, but he eventually got back up on his feet.

Now, in "Loyal Subjekts," Superman quickly discovers that he isn't actually fully recovered. When he hears that there is trouble in Mexico, he flies over there to stop a bank robbery. However, as he faces the thieves, Superman appears to be visibly shaken. The robbers open fire on the superhero, and while their regular bullets bounce off of him, their incessant impact eventually knock him down. Thankfully, he gets back up seconds later to put a stop to the crisis, but regardless, something is definitely wrong.

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After he returns home covered in bruises, a quick talk with Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) leads Clark to come to the conclusion that the synthetic Kryptonite is still in his system. The couple reaches out to General Sam Lane for help, with Lois berating her father for creating a weapon capable of wounding, and even killing, her husband. But, as it turns out, that's not the only problem the synthetic Kryptonite causes. Indeed, Clark somehow transfers its effects to his son Jordan (Alex Garfin), passing it on like some sort of virus.

As Jordan helps Sarah Cushing (Inde Navarrette) prepare for her presentation at the school's talent show, the infection kickstarts his freeze breath in the form of icy sneezes that are growing potentially dangerous. Jordan rushes home, and his situation quickly worsens. By that time, Sam Lane has arrived at the Kent farm, concerned about the wellbeing of both Superman and his grandson. As Jordan's lungs begin to freeze, Clark opts to fly him out to the Fortress of Solitude. There, the Jor-El A.I. suggests burning the Kryptonite out of him. Clark activates the Fortress' systems, and powerful laser beams purge the Kryptonite from Jordan.

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Elsewhere, Lois is growing closer to the truth about Morgan Edge. Lana Lang (Emmanuelle Chriqui) is still trying to figure out what exactly is going on at Edge Enercorp and, when a new company ad appears, seeking out more candidates for Lana's leadership program, Lois decides it's time to cause a scene. She storms the company's offices and faces Edge. With the two alone, she drops all pretenses and tells him she knows exactly what he's doing: he's transferring the consciousness of Kryptonians inside human hosts using X-Kryptonite. Of course, Edge denies these allegations, but now that Lois knows the truth, the villain decides it's time to take her out. He activates several of his Kryptonian enforcers, and he sends them off at the Kent farm to kill Lois.

Before they arrive, Jonathan (Jordan Elsass), Lois and Sam are all waiting for news on Jordan and Clark. Lois is angry at her father for endangering both Superman and her son, and she tells him that once this crisis is done, she wants him gone for good. Jonathan also criticizes his grandfather, telling him he is a coward for not trusting his family.

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Soon time after that, two of Edge's Kryptonian enforcers arrive, unleashing their powers on Lois and Jonathan. Thankfully, Sam swoops in, brandishing the synthetic Kryptonite gas gun from the previous episode. Thanks to the weapon, he is able to hold the Kryptonians off, while Jonathan leads his mother to the barn. There, he reveals that he hid John Henry Irons' solar-powered guns under the floorboards. He arms himself with one of these weapons, just as Kyle Cushing arrives, offering to help them. Jonathan turns the weapon on their attackers, and it's at this moment that Kyle reveals he too has been turned into a murderous Kryptonian. As he gets ready to kill both Jonathan and Lois, Superman arrives just in time, knocking Kyle out of the barn.

The attack is over, but unfortunately, the attackers are nowhere to be found. Sam promises Lois that his focus will now be entirely on his family, and father and daughter bury the hatchet. Back at the Cushing home, a confused Kyle stumbles into his home, uncertain of where he has been for the past few hours (when Edge activated the Kryptonian consciousness inside of him). Lana quickly puts the pieces together and understands that Kyle became Edge's latest test subject without her knowing.

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At the Kent farm, Lois gets some new information from her editor, which helps her put the pieces together. She comes to understand that Edge has only been successful in transferring Kryptonians inside people who lived in Smallville. That is because the town's residents have all been exposed to X-Kryptonite for a long time. Therefore, what Edge needs isn't Smallville itself -- it's the people.

As the episode comes to a close, Edge calls out Superman, and the superhero flies out into the desert to meet him. However, Edge is wearing a black Kryptonian outfit, not his usual suit. He then reveals that he, too, is a Kryptonian -- but not like his test subjects. No, Edge is a real Kryptonian, and he arrived on Earth at the same time as Kal-El. Edge showcases a mastery of his abilities by floating above the ground and greets Superman as his brother as the episode comes to a close.

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.

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