Why Superman's New Powers Are Tied To Doomsday

 Superman & Lois season 2, episode 2 revealed that Superman is now linked to Doomsday through his mysterious new visions. How can this be?

Warning: Spoilers for Superman & Lois season 2, episode 2.

Superman & Lois has established that the visions experienced by Superman are somehow linked to Doomsday. Beginning in the season 2 premiere, Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) has demonstrated the ability to see visions of an unspecified event. Now, it’s understood that what Superman is going through is a direct result of Doomsday’s actions in the Arrowverse.

Though his name hasn’t been said in the show itself, Doomsday’s role in Superman & Lois season 2 has been officially confirmed by showrunner Todd Helbing. Whether or not his pre-Criss history with Superman is still intact in the current Arrowverse continuity hasn’t been elaborated on yet, but it is known that Doomsday is slowly smashing his way through the ground, presumably in an effort to reach the surface. His impending arrival has been signaled by a series of earthquakes brought about by what he’s been doing underground. At the end of Superman & Lois season 2, episode 2, titled “The Ties That Bind”, the characters confirmed a correlation between the earthquakes and Clark’s unexplained visions.

According to Lara (Mariana Klaveno), Clark’s visions are a side-effect of “interdimensional kinesthesis”. Lara told Clark offscreen that he developed this condition after an “invasive cosmological event”. As things stand, it’s not clear why it’s Clark who’s connected to Doomsday in the Arrowverse. It’s been suggested by some that it might have something to do with the House of El bloodline, but that would only make sense if Jor-El or someone else in their family created this particular incarnation of the iconic villain.

Typically, Doomsday is an ancient Kryptonian monster, but there is a chance that his post-Crisis origin is using a Superman connection instead. In one DC Comics story, Doomsday was recreated with Superman’s DNA. It may be that after Doomsday’s original defeat, he was recreated with Clark’s genetic material in the Arrowverse. A much wilder theory that’s being pushed by fans postulates that the Arrowverse’s Doomsday is a mutated version of the evil Superman from Steel’s Earth [via Reddit]. Such a reveal would have comic precedence. In an alternate timeline in DC Comics, Doomsday attacked Superman and merged with him. If Doomsday and Superman are two versions of the same being, that would provide an adequate explanation for his case of interdimensional kinesthesis.

Alternatively, the visions could be related to changes made by “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. Superman fought Doomsday before, but as noted above, it’s possible that they haven’t crossed paths in the rebooted timeline. Doomsday’s arrival could be causing him to regain some of those old memories. Regardless, it seems that whatever is tying them together could be a major mystery for season 2 to explore in the episodes to come. Depending on what the characters find out, their psychic bond could help make Superman & Lois’ Doomsday story unique to previous versions.