[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Season 2 Episode 13 of Superman & Lois, “All is Lost.” If you don’t want to be spoiled, go try to build a metallic supersuit and come back when it’s fully operational and fashionable.]
Tonight’s episode of Superman & Lois may have been titled “All is Lost,” but even as Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) saw his powers sucked away by the newly merged parasitic villain Ally Alston (Rya Kihlstedt), Smallville gained a new do-gooder. And thank god, because we’re gonna need all hands on deck for what the show has in store for its season finale.
After weeks of hinting at her work on an exo-skeleton suit similar to her father John Henry Irons (Wolé Parks), his steely daughter Natalie (Tayler Buck) donned the heavy metal outfit and joined the race to save the day — or at least Clark — during the hour’s fateful showdown with Aly.
Showing the kind of high-caliber, unbending abilities we’ve already seen in her dad, Nat is now in a better position than ever to follow the arcs established in DC Comics’s “Steel” storylines featuring the illustrated Irons and his daughter (named Natasha in print). And Buck is, well, buck wild over the idea of getting in on the action.
Bettina Strauss/The CW
So you have had such a great season. I love that we got to know Natalie over almost the whole season before she had any kind of heroic stuff going on.
Tayler Buck: I agree. I thought that was really cool because she’s so new and she kind of, you know, she came in very hot.
Yeah, she did!
Like, in a spaceship! [Laughs] So it’s nice that we kind of got to slow down and get to know her.
And she didn’t instantly get over everything overnight. The show is so good about letting characters actually grow into their storylines.
Yeah. I think it was very realistic. I mean, you know, you don’t just land on a new Earth and see your dead mom and be like, “Oh okay! And there’s a Superman who’s not evil. Okay. That’s fine.” [Laughs]
So when did they tell you that Natalie was headed for superhero-dom? Because that is so huge.
I know, so exciting. It was at the very beginning, before we started filming. I got a call from Todd [Helbing, Superman & Lois showrunner] and he basically just gave me a rundown of the very basics of what was gonna happen in the season. And one of them was, you know, “Oh, she’s gonna end up getting a suit.” And I was like, “Wait, hold on. Go back one second. What do you mean?!” [Laughs] That was extremely exciting for me because I knew about the comic-book version. When I was cast, I had looked up Natasha Irons, obviously I had looked over and researched her and I was like, “Oh my God, she’s a superhero.” But I didn’t want to get my hopes up, you know
This is obviously their take on it, but I love the fact that Natalie is the one who built the suit.
Right?! She built her own suit.
Does this mean you got to get to do any super uncomfortable flying stunts?
[Laughs] You know what? I actually have a stunt double who does the flying for me. She’s super cool and I just love her. I do get to do all the helmet stuff, which is so cool, but yeah, I’m actually saved a little bit from the flying stuff because I have heard the suits might be a little bit uncomfortable. They are heavy and there’s a lot of parts. There’s the base, which is basically sort of a wetsuit-type of thing and then there’s a lot of Velcro and strapping and clipping and there’s a lot of parts.
How long does it take to get into it?
It takes a little bit. You even have to put stuff on top of the shoes, which are these really heavy, like three-inch Doc Martens. Like I said, there’s a lot of parts. [Laughs]
Something that stood out was, despite the problems they have had this season, once they suit up together, Nat and her dad actually function really well together.
It’s a really good team. I think they know each other so well that it’s just sort of second nature.
The character in the comics has had several names. Has there been any discussion as to what you would be called?
There has been! Yes, it’s… actually, you know, I don’t… you’re gonna have to watch. I don’t think you get a name this season, but in the next episode, there’s this sort of Easter egg that ties it into the comics. You’ll see. [Laughs]
And I know the finale is supposed to be epic. What does all of this mean for Natalie, heading into the last episodes of the season?
I think she’s gotten a little taste of the suit and I’m sure she’ll wanna be in it more. I would! I don’t even fight in it and I wanna be in it more. [Laughs] And I think she wants to work with her father and I think they’ll have a really good relationship over that.
What about her and Lois?
Her and Lois. Hmmm. As she’s getting closer with the Kent boys and it’s sort of becoming like a little family, I think we’ll probably see her getting closer with Lois.
Good, because you know, she does need a mom figure.
Very true. And who better than one that looks exactly like her real mom! [Laughs]
Superman & Lois, Tuesdays, 8/7c, The CW