Superman and Lois Season 4 has already made use of some of Superman‘s greatest enemies. However, the appearance of Lex Luthor and Doomsday may just be the beginning. An off-hand remark by Lex Luthor may tease the arrival of yet another classic DC Comics villain.
In the Superman and Lois Season 4 premiere, Luthor made reference to an employee named Milton, who needed to build a special container. Milton came through on the task, impressing Luthor with his engineering abilities. Lex was warned about expressing that praise directly, however, as the “last thing that Brainiac needs is this going to his head.”
This last line was a clear reference to the Superman villain Brainiac. However, the reference to an engineer named Milton was a clue unto itself. Milton Fine was the name of the psychic from the Post-Crisis DC Universe who later became host to the alien intelligence called Brainiac. Milton Fine was also the alias used by Brainiac when he posed as a human in the reality of Smallville.
Will Tom Cavanagh be Superman and Lois’s Brainiac?
The mention of Brainiac could answer another mystery of Superman and Lois Season 4. It has been known for several months that writer/director Tom Cavanagh had been cast in a mystery role. It had been presumed he would recreate one of his roles from The Flash, playing the Reverse Flash or scientist Harrison Wells.
This theory made sense, given the showrunners’ intention to honor the Arrowverse setting with the series finale. However, there seemed little reason to bring the Reverse Flash or even the Timeless Wells variant into the world of Superman and Lois. On the other hand, casting Cavanagh as Brainiac would make sense given his history of playing evil geniuses. It would also continue the running gag of the same actors appearing throughout the Arrowverse in different roles.
Superman and Lois Season 4 airs at 8 p.m. ET on The CW and streams the next day,