WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Superman & Lois Season 1, Episode 14, "The Eradicator," which aired Tuesday on The CW.
In Superman & Lois, there have been quite a few sinister enemies trying to destroy the Man of Steel's new home, including Tal-Rho. However, despite him becoming the Eradicator, Tal still isn't the nastiest villain in the series. Instead, that title goes to goes to his dad, Zeta-Rho, and sadly, the penultimate episode of Superman & Lois Season 1 resurrects him at a massive cost.
In the episode, Eradicator frees Leslie Larr and battles the Man of Steel and John Henry Irons in Metropolis. However, Tal's ahead of his opponents, as he's using the battle as a distraction so he can go to Smallville, where General Sam Lane is trying to hide the Kent boys and Lana's daughter, Sarah. Unfortunately, Tal smashes their car up and extracts Jordan. Jon also isn't able to fire off a kryptonite bullet in time, with the villain taking the Super Son to an abandoned nuclear reactor. There, Tal shoots energy into Jordan, searing through his soul.
Bawling in pain, Jordan's cries are shielded by the reactor shields, and a heartbroken, desperate Superman can't locate his son. It's obvious that Tal is pushing a soul into the boy, and as the teen wakes up, eyes red like when Tal put Zod in Superman a few episodes prior, his voice sounds guttural like Zeta. He calls Tal his son and tells them they need to begin, indicating they're going to be starting a new phase of bringing New Krypton to life.
It's a shocking sequence, especially as Zeta's the twisted version of Jor-El, having married Lara and then used her science for evil. He's always hated losing her to the House of El, so this is a dark bit of karma and revenge, using her grandson as his vessel. Jordan's body is now unlocking its powers, so it remains to be seen if he can fight back the possession, and how strong Zeta will be in this new form.
Tal was conditioned in a sadistic manner by Zeta's crystal on Earth for decades, so there's a chance if he still has good in him, he can free Jordan. But for now, it seems like genocide is the order of the day. After all, Tal's more warped and obedient with this new Eradicator mode activated, and he'll be protecting his dad by any means necessary. The sad thing is, even if Superman saves his kid, we can't tell what damage will be done, and how Jordan may change forever.
The two-part Season 1 finale of Superman & Lois airs Aug. 17 on The CW.
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