Warning: Spoilers for Superman & Lois season 2, episode 10
A key detail in Bizarro’s backstory in Superman & Lois season 2 reveals the real reason he and Superman are so different from each other. As it turns out, both versions of the Last Son of Krypton built lives for themselves among humans and evolved into the Man of Steel. However, only one of them earned their reputation as a symbol of justice and hope.
Through a deep dive into Bizarro’s past, Superman & Lois season 2 episode 10, titled “Bizarros in a Bizarro World”, explored what happened to Clark’s counterpart and why his life fell apart so completely. Apparently, he neglected Jonathan and became so absorbed in the celebrity status that came with being a superhero that he caused his family to feel like they had been abandoned. Not only that, but Bizarro allowed his addiction to green Kryptonite ruin and disfigure his body. By the time he realized the severity of his mistakes, his life as a family man was already in shambles. It became clear throughout the episode that though they were versions of the same person, Bizarro and Superman are fundamentally different.
As for why Bizarro’s life choices contrasted so much with Clark’s, an explanation was alluded to through a conversation between him and Bizarro Tal-Rho. In a flashback, he told his brother that he bought a farm in Smallville. Obviously, that’s not the backstory Superman has in the Arrowverse. Earth-Prime’s Clark was raised on the Kent Farm by Jonathan and Martha Kent. The idea that Bizarro purchased the farm – rather than inherit it from his parents – implies that he wasn’t brought up by them in Bizarro World. That indicates that Bizarro’s failures as a father (and as a superhero) can be attributed to the absence of the Kents.
Superman & Lois doesn’t address this directly, but his upbringing being to blame for the stark difference between Bizarro and Superman in the Arrowverse makes perfect sense. After all, this isn’t the first Superman story where Jonathan and Martha have been credited with the path Clark chose to take. The two were instrumental in instilling young Kal-El with the values he has today. It’s typically understood in most takes on Superman’s story that he may not have become the Man of Steel without their influence. Interestingly, Bizarro’s backstory in Superman & Lois suggests that he still would have become Superman without them – just not a very good one.
The tragedy of Bizarro and the reveal about how he got the Kent Farm in Superman & Lois further underscores just how important Jonathan and Martha really were in Clark’s life. What ultimately became of his Bizarro self proves why it matters so much that it was the Kents who found him that day all those years ago. If Bizarro had ended up in their care, he too might have experienced the same happiness that Clark currently enjoys on Earth-Prime.
Superman & Lois releases new episodes on Tuesdays on The CW.