Through Superman & Lois, the Arrowverse has officially introduced its take on the Eradicator. In DC Comics, the Eradicator is a minor villain from the Man of Steel’s rogues’ gallery and a character he’s been at odds with since the 1990s. Up until now, he’s never appeared in live-action.
Throughout the season, the perception of who season 1’s real antagonist is has changed more than once. Initially depicted as a vengeful doppelganger of Lex Luthor, John Henry Irons (Wolé Parks) quickly emerged as an anti-hero rather than a true villain. It became apparent early on that he and Superman shared a common foe in Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner), who was conducting mysterious experiments with X-Kryptonite in Smallville. As it turned out, Edge’s secret identity is an original Arrowverse creation: Tal-Rho, the half-brother of Kal-El. Not only that, but it’s now known that all the trouble he’s been causing wasn’t even his own plan – the person who’s been guiding him all this time is the AI of his evil father, Zeta-Rho (A.C. Peterson).
At the end of episode 13, the machinations of Morgan Edge and Zeta-Rho gave rise to the Eradicator, the ultimate opponent for Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) and Steel in Superman & Lois season 1. Earlier in the season, the reference to a device called the Eradicator felt like it may have just been an Easter egg to the comics, but it has since transformed into their biggest threat. Here’s how the Arrowverse’s Eradicator was born, and how it compares to its comic book counterpart.
How Morgan Edge Became Eradicator
Morgan Edge becoming the Eradicator truly began in episode 12. It was hinted at when Superman forced General Zod out of his body. When this scheme was foiled, Zeta-Rho told Edge it was time for him to complete his original mission without specifying what it was. Based on his comments, Edge had been deliberately avoiding the completion of this task for some time, but it reached a point when Edge couldn’t afford to put it off any longer. Heeding his father’s orders, Edge grabbed Lara’s Eradicator device, took it up into space, and blasted it with his heat-ray vision until it was seemingly destroyed. Superman suspected he was up to something nefarious, and it didn’t take long for him to be proven right.
Edge spent some time in a Kryptonite-powered cell, and didn’t try to break free until after finding out that Leslie Larr (Stacey Farber) had been defeated. This revelation appeared to be the turning point for Edge, as it drove him to undergo a powerful transformation that involved the use of blue energy attacks. Flashbacks experienced by Edge during his imprisonment shed light on what was happening in this moment. All along, Zeta-Rho wanted Edge to become the Eradicator by using the machine on himself, but the latter was hesitant to follow through. He understood that doing so would overwrite his own consciousness with something else. Though he had absorbed the power of the Eradicator while in space, he waited until the very end of episode 13 before allowing it to take him over. Once he stopped resisting, the Eradicator took control, effectively killing Morgan Edge.
Eradicator's Origins & Powers in the Comics
How the Eradicator came to be in DC Comics is decidedly different. Before becoming a full-fledged Superman villain, the Eradicator was an artificial intelligence designed by Kryptonian scientists for the purpose of preserving their planet’s culture at any cost. When Superman came into the possession of the AI, he chose to keep it at the Fortress of Solitude, completely unaware that it secretly had designs on him. Gradually, the Eradicator attempted to subvert Superman’s consciousness by molding him into a true Kryptonian devoted to following their ways. Clark thwarted the Eradicator’s plan, but the AI didn’t give up. During the “Death of Superman” story, it created an android duplicate of the hero, but copied him so well that the android believed that he was the real thing. When Superman returned to life, Eradicator sacrificed himself in battle to help the Man of Steel. Despite going out as a hero, the Eradicator has since returned a few more times, usually as a villainous android bent on defeating Superman.
In battle, Eradicator is considered to be a challenging opponent for the Last Son of Krypton. He isn’t a flesh-and-blood Kryptonian, but since he was created as a copy of Kal-El, they share most of the same powers, including heat-ray vision, super strength, flight, and speed. One thing that Eradicator can do that Superman can’t is the ability to emit powerful blasts of energy from his hands. Plus, he has demonstrated in the past that he has some degree of telepathic capabilities.
How Arrowverse's Eradicator Compares To The Original
From what’s been shown so far, the Eradicator’s powers in the Arrowverse are mostly comic book accurate. Just like the character from the comics, he can do everything that a Kryptonian can do – but more. One of his biggest assets in combat is taken directly from the comics, which is his energy projection powers. The blue energy radiating from his body is what made his escape from ARGUS’ Kryptonite-powered cell possible. Edge pulling off such a feat is a sign that his powers are so great that Kryptonite weapons won’t be able to bring him down anymore. The government will just have to hope that Superman and Steel, or perhaps some other yet-unknown solution, will bring about the Eradicator’s downfall.
As for what the Arrowverse’s Eradicator really is, that remains unclear for the time being, Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to possess any emotions, which may point toward it being an AI like the Eradicator from DC Comics. Or, it could just be a singular, collective entity comprised of all the Kryptonian spirits housed inside the machine, all thinking at once. Either way, what it represents is Lara’s invention brought to life. In the same vein as the device itself, its goal is to preserve Kryptonian culture. What makes it so much more dangerous than what Edge was trying to do with it before is that it can now take control of humans without having to go through the process of getting their permission. The Eradicator being able to create Kryptonian minions at will in Superman & Lois enables him to regrow the army Superman previously took away from him.