Superman’s getting another prequel TV show, but Metropolis actually sounds fun

From Smallville to Krypton, there are a lot of TV shows depicting life before Superman saved the day. Can Metropolis make itself stand out from the crowd?

Announced today, the next show added to DC’s streaming service will be Metropolis. Of course, that’s the name of famous city where Superman lives, but apparently, the show will take place before Clark Kent even arrives.

Instead, it will focus on the adventures of Lex Luthor and Lois Lane, otherwise known as Superman’s archnemesis and love of his life, respectively.

Together, Luthor and Lane will “investigate the world of fringe science and expose the city’s dark and bizarre secrets.”

Check out the first concept poster below:

So, basically, it’s a mixture of Smallville, Gotham and a little bit of What’s New, Scooby-Doo?  Obviously, it sounds a little silly and derivative at first, but exploring Lex Luthor before he became the Superman-obsessed megalomaniac most know him as could be a lot of fun.

DC Comics also quickly pointed out:

"Superman’s villains are also more powerful, cosmic and rooted in science fiction than Batman’s, so one can only imagine there will be much less emphasis on street level gangsters and crime families in this forward-thinking city."

On The CW’s Supergirl, Lex’s younger sister, Lena Luthor, heads up her own company that emphasizes technology and science as well. Though the show underutilizes the character, it does give a taste of the genius behind the Luthor name. In fact, it’s one of the most engaging things about her — that she uses everything at her disposal for good.

Despite knowing the DC streaming service will also carry the live-action Titans series and Young Justice season 3, the chance to watch some sort of X-Files-esque TV show where a young compassionate do-gooder (possibly with hair) named Lex Luthor befriends and works alongside the tenacious and sassy investigator Lois Lane … okay, now I’m just thinking of Veronica Mars and Buffy, but it still sounds fun!

With so few details to go on, we don’t know how old the lead characters will be. However, this news helps explain the Lois Lane audition tape that circulated recently.

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While DC will put this together without Superman, Metropolis will be lead by Gotham’s own John Stephens and Danny Cannon, so expect plenty of creative spins and loose adaptations of iconic characters. Unlike Krypton, which takes place hundreds of years before Superman is born, Metropolis‘ time period will likely be close enough to Clark Kent’s arrival at the Daily Planet for some really cool surprises when it premieres in 2019.