When Season 4 of Superman & Lois was announced as the series closer, many were intrigued how the cast would be handled. There were budget cuts, a truncated episode count to 10, and regulars now placed as guest roles. Thankfully, the show stuck the landing.

It gave the likes of Doomsday more screen time, while still allowing new faces like Douglas Smith’s Jimmy Olsen an entry point. By the time Doomsday fell, and the show ended, Superman had the team he needed to chart a future. Unfortunately, the most obvious member that many expected to appear got omitted: Melissa Benoist’s Supergirl.

Superman & Lois Had Room For Kara Zor-El

Melissa Benoist’s Supergirl Could Have Helped Stop Doomsday

While Superman & Lois was originally meant to be a spinoff from the Arrowverse’s Supergirl on Earth-Prime, it later became a series set on its own Earth. While Tyler Hoechlin’s Clark Kent and his family have been brought over physically, there surprisingly isn’t a Supergirl in this world. Superman seems to be the only active hero, although the show fiddled with continuity and had John Diggle appear to help the military in the past. However, Superman & Lois’ series finale has two spots where Kara Zor-El could have appeared.

Firstly, Supergirl (or at least a version of her) could have come out in the final Doomsday battle. Doomsday was trying to dig a hole in the Smallville mines back to his dimension: the Inverse World. This was where Bizarro came from. He lost his family, came to find the evil Parasite, died, and got turned into Doomsday. If the portal was cracked open, Kara would have been the ideal ally to breach and help Superman stop Doomsday.

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This incursion would have added emotional heft once she knew her Bizarro was dead. She would have had no choice but to help Clark throw him into the sun as a mercy kill. Secondly, Kara could have trained with Superman’s half-brother, Tal-Rho, after he went to the Inverse World to start a fresh life and make amends for his sinister past. Tal-Rho had Parasite’s pendant, allowing him access to both worlds, so he had a way for Kara to come over and protect Superman & Lois’ Earth while he safeguarded the home she crashed on.

Differentiating Kara like this would have been a clever move. She could have had more ego, the same way Tal-Rho did, giving her an adoptive father arc. Sadly, the finale feels empty without Kara around. She would have fit into the glory shot of Kal-El flying with Steel, Natalie, Jon and Jordan Kent (aka the Super Sons). Plus, this would have allowed Kara to be in Superman’s afterlife once he dies. It would have been an epic fan service, honoring where Superman & Lois began.

Superman & Lois Could Have Used Power Girl

Melissa Benoist Already Played Alternate Versions of Kara in the Arrowverse

If Superman & Lois’ final season didn’t want to get bogged down by having an iteration of Supergirl in the mix, there was an easy fix. Benoist could have portrayed Kara Zor-L, aka Power Girl. She originated from the parallel reality known as Earth-Two in the comics, started a business as Karen Starr, and worked with the Justice League and Justice Society of America. If anything, Power Girl would have been a major Easter egg and one of the best cameos on Superman & Lois.

Melissa Benoist Details

Date of Birth
Oct. 4, 1988

Place of Birth
Houston, USA

Notable Movies
Whiplash, Sun Dogs, Lowriders

Notable TV Shows
Glee, Masters of the Universe: Revolution

Reintroducing Melissa Benoist as Power Girl would have kept things fresh, creating a new Supergirl story with a stronger yet darker Kara. This is something Superman & Lois always wanted to be: its own thing without being bogged down by continuity. A Power Girl trained by Tal-Rho would have shown Clark and the Kents how mature the half-brother had gotten. It would have also given the Super Sons a cousin they could visit, or scour the Multiverse with, to ensure cosmic peace is kept.

This was a gravely missed opportunity. It would have added to the Kent legacy, while giving the Inverse World even more of an identity. Kara is too big a character from the House of El to leave out. This direction was used, too, in the final tranche of episodes. Tom Cavanagh played Glorious Gordon Godfrey after taking on different roles in the Arrowverse, including the Reverse Flash. Fans didn’t care if continuity was broken, however. They just loved seeing Cavanagh back in some shape.

Kara as Power Girl would have been the same. She’d still be a hero and someone who came in as a deus ex machina to help a variant of her cousin. Admittedly, this is easier said than done. There’s no telling what Benoist’s schedule was, or if there was a budget for her. It’s also unknown if the creative team wanted to take the risk of reintroducing a member of the House of El after not using them at all in the show.

Superman & Lois’ Krypto made a cameo to help Clark cope with Lois’ death from cancer. But Kara would have had more agency, dialogue and impact in a more hands-on capacity. Ideally, she should have been used prior to the final few episodes. But giving her an arc just wasn’t possible with the finances, scope and canvas to wrap the arc with Doomsday and his creator, Michael Cudlitz’s Lex Luthor.

Superman & Lois Could Still Use Supergirl Later On

Kara Zor-El Has Potential In Superman & Lois Comics or a Cartoon

There have been ideas floated around about how Superman & Lois could continue. These potential Kara angles could be done in comics. Smallville used this tactic, detailing Tom Welling’s Clark as the Man of Steel. It explored more of him expanding the Justice League. The comics can have Kara meeting the Kents once Clark dies due to heart failure. She’d have Jon and Jordan’s children to train. That would allow her and Tal-Rho to step up as mentors, especially with Brainiac and Darkseid once envisioned as villains for the show.

Both have been huge Supergirl villains, setting up organic rivalries from the source material. Secondly, James Gunn’s DCU seems to be open to other Elseworld stories being told. Matt Reeves has his Batman Universe going, while the Harley Quinn cartoon is its own thing. Therefore, DC Studios can do what was done for Young Justice and detail a nuanced cartoon post-Superman & Lois. Animation is more cost-effective and easier to work with actors’ schedules. Voice acting can be done remotely, too, allowing Benoist to be either Supergirl or Power Girl, according to the plot.

Ultimately, bringing Kara back would provide closure and complete the story. Kara deserves this shot, especially as Superman & Lois’ universe has Lara and the Fortress of Solitude — things that could help reconnect her with Krypton, Kandor and her family before the alien world imploded. WB and The CW should make amends and give Clark’s cousin her time to bring the new House of El tale to completion. It’s what the comics did and what Superman & Lois deserves after gaining a launchpad from Supergirl.

All four seasons of Superman & Lois are streaming on the CW app.