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“ | Now the resurrection begins. | „ |
~ Morgan Edge after finding the Eradicator. |
“ | You could have ruled with me as my brother. Instead, I will bury you in the ashes of this world. | „ |
~ Tal-Rho swearing vengeance against his half-brother, Superman, before being incarcerated. |
“ | I'm not expecting you to forgive me. I hope only that you'll allow me to explain what I've only recently discovered myself. My father sent me on a path when I was a child, a very painful one. But I was convinced that if I fulfilled his dreams, then my own might also come true, that I may one day be reunited with my brother. I had no idea that Kal already had a family of his own and when he chose you over me, I got angry. | „ |
~ Tal-Rho apologizing to Lois Lane and his half-brother, Superman for his crimes by explaining his reasons. |
Tal-Rho, also known as Morgan Edge and the Eradicator, is the main antagonist of Season 1 and a major character in Season 2 of the TV series Superman & Lois.
Tal-Rho is a ruthless, intelligent, and impassioned self-made mogul whose innate ability to motivate is the means to his success and others’ demise. He is also Superman’s maternal half-brother, through Lara Lor-Van and Zeta-Rho, who plans to restore the Kryptonian race by supplanting Kryptonian consciousness' and powers into humans.
He is portrayed by Adam Rayner. As a teenager, he was portrayed by Ben Cockell, who also portrayed Harold Biddle in Goosebumps (2023). As a kid, he was portrayed by Jack Rehbein.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Through an arranged marriage, Tal-Rho was genetically-engineered on Krypton as the son of Zeta-Rho and Lara Lor-Van. After discovering that Krypton was dying, Zeta-Rho sent Tal-Rho off the planet before it imploded with his mother's sunstone crystal and a purpose: to further Krypton's heritage, no matter the cost. His pod then landed on Earth in the British Isles where he then realized that Earth's sun gave him extraordinary powers and abilities. However, his arrival was met with hostility when a couple found him and the husband shot at Tal-Rho with his rifle, Tal-Rho then got angry at them and killed the couple with his heat vision. News of his arrival got around of his arrival and he was then hunted by human hunters, trapped, and then caught. Tal-Rho then spent nine years locked in a prison and experimented on by his jailers until he escaped and killed his jailers.
Tal-Rho then the sunstone crystal and implants it in a desert area where he then created his own fortress of solitude. After it's creation, Tal-Rho then spoke to a hologram of his father, Zeta-Rho, who scolded him for not retrieving the Eradicator, but Tal-Rho claimed that the Eradicator has yet to arrive. Zeta-Rho then sought to train Tal-Rho to be strong and without weakness, as Tal-Rho claimed he was ready. The training, however, was brutal for Tal-Rho as he often screamed in pain silently begging for it to stop.
Tal-Rho then spent years studying Earth, the life, and it's environment, and later came to the conclusion that humanity is same and are inferior to him, but necessary in supplanting Kryptonian consciousness' into human minds and therefor replacing humanity. Tal-Rho then went by the name Morgan Edge and started creating a life for himself on Earth in order to colonize it for his lost people.
Becoming a successful businessman[]
Morgan later founded Edge EnerCorp and hired Irma Sayres (now going by Leslie Larr) and David Fuglestad to become "Subjekts" in his experiments to further the Kryptonian race and hired Dabney Donovan to lead the experiments. In 2015, Morgan went to Saskatchewan to visit a meteor shower in order to collect minerals from Krypton. While there, Morgan was in a convoy as it was bombarded by meteorites, until he discovered the Eradicator, a device that contained the consciousness' of all Kryptonians in order to ensure the survival of their culture, Morgan then exited his vehicle and declared that his experiments could begin. He developed a process using a mineral known as X-Kryptonite and the Eradicator to transform humans into Kryptonians, but found that only people who had grown up in areas with large deposits of X-Kryptonite were viable hosts.
Morgan then opened mining operations in several small towns with X-Kryptonite deposits such as New Carthage, Hazel Green, and Granville promising that he could bring prosperity and opportunities as he bought farms and land in the area. He later and subjected Larr, Fuglestad, and the citizens of the towns to the Eradicator process, but found the people to be unsuitable, except Larr and Fuglestad who showed no sign of rejection. As a result, Morgan failed to keep his promise to the town, causing ruin and exit for its citizens. Morgan later made Leslie Larr his assistant and David Fuglestad his assassin. He also came upon Derek Powell whom he offered "the opportunity of a lifetime" which resulted in Derek becoming a Subject and disappearing.
Morgan later bought the Daily Planet from Perry White and begins a massive layoff plan which resulted in numerous employees being fired, including Whit and Clark Kent.
Coming to Smallville[]
Morgan then began to set his sights on Smallville, after discovering that there was a large quantity of X-Kryptonite in the Shutter Mines and that the Subjekts from Smallville would be perfect for his experiments. Morgan then became the majority shareholder of Galaxy Holdings which he used to purchase much property in Smallville, like the Smallville Bank. During a town meeting, Morgan Edge arrived with his personal assistant, Leslie Larr, in order to make a proposal on the mines and promises to the citizens of Smallville that he will bring in jobs and money. Lois Lane, however, challenges Morgan in front of everyone with her research on Morgan targeting small towns that were vulnerable due to natural disasters and financial downfalls, so Morgan respect her challenge but spins the story to make himself more reputable. Secretly insulted, Morgan decides to postpone any decision-making for the next town hall meeting and lets the citizens decide on his proposal.
After the meeting, Lois writes an article on Morgan Edge's true business affairs using the research she gathered and sent the article in to Samuel Foswell. However, Morgan gets a hold of the article too and rewrites it to paint him in a better image. During a meeting with employees the Daily Planet, an upset Lois confronts Morgan on the rewrite and said he only "corrected what was wrong." Lois, thinking working for Morgan is a mistake, leaves the building and her letter of resignation.
Morgan later sends David Fuglestad to spy on and threaten Lois into stop looking in to him, and then to kill Sharon Powell for talking to Lois about her son, David. After Fuglestad failed, Morgan sent Larr to kill him and cover it up.
Morgan then returned to Smallville to watch Smallville High's football game as he had discussions with Mayor George Dean and Fire Chief Kyle Cushing. Afterwards, they went to a fancy restaurant to have more discussions as he began to take an interest in Kyle's wife, Lana Lang-Cushing. Morgan talked about Lana's career choice in staying in Smallville as Lana said she likes to help anyone in need from home. Morgan, however, thought she could do so much more with her talents and offered to help her find an even better opportunity which made Lana secretly annoyed.
After hearing that Lois Lane would print an article that would hurt Morgan, Morgan sent Larr to deliver Lois her old contract assuring her that if she printed her article, Morgan would sue her for libel, and so the article was tabled. Lois visits Morgan and Larr at the Mines as they were inspecting it, and asked him what he was really doing in town, and Morgan asked her the same question. Lois then told Morgan that if he sued her, she would countersue and his records would then become public, to which Morgan countered by saying he could offer Lois her job back under the circumstances that she follow his rules which he knows she won't. Morgan ends his argument by saying she won't work at the Daily Planet again and she won't be able to stop him, as Lois leaves frustrated.
Morgan later attends the next Smallville meeting regarding his proposal, after careful consideration, the people of the town voted to let Morgan purchase the Shutter Mines which pleases Morgan but upsets Lois Lane and Chrissy Beppo. Morgan and Larr then examine the Mines inside and after Morgan asks Larr to destroy a wall, and when she does, they find enough X-Kryptonite to continue the experiments but in Smallville. Larr noted that they might have a hard time finding candidates, but Morgan reassures Larr that he'll find the right people.
A week later, after hearing a fire burned the donations made to the Smallvile Harvest Festival, Morgan compensated for the town by writing a check to have the items replaced.
To be added
Conflict with Superman[]
Later in the Badlands, Morgan using an ELT that Emily Phan stole from Lois Lane contacts Superman with it, summoning him to the Badlands. When he gets there, Morgan greets him while wearing a bodysuit that looks Kryptonian and when Superman rushes to attack him, Morgan slaps him away with super strength. Morgan remarks by saying that that he would not grant powers to others without having them also, which he uncovered when he arrived on Earth. After being questioned by Superman, Morgan tells "his brother" that it's time for him to learn about his true identity and where he really comes from. Morgan tells him that his real name is Tar-Rho, the son of Zeta-Rho and Lara Lor-Van. Tal-Rho also clarifies that he was the first to come to Earth, back when Krypton was first warned of its destruction, and then killed a hostile rancher and his wife after they discovered him. He discloses to Superman that he intends to bring various Kryptonians, including Lara, back to life on Earth, but he needs his help to do it and lead them. Superman discloses to him that he isn't willing to sacrifice human lives to do it, and Tal-Rho assaults him, revealing to him that the various Kryptonians will awaken soon if Superman doesn't agree to help him; he will be "eradicated" too.
To be added
Becoming the Eradicator and Defeat[]
To be added
Visits from Superman[]
To be added
Personality[]
“ | Perhaps you can find something more worthy of your unique gifts. If you want to make a real impact, I can be a resource. I pride myself in helping people achieve their best selves. | „ |
~ Morgan Edge egotistically offering Lana Lang-Cushing a better job. |
Tal-Rho is considered to be a ruthless, intelligent, eloquent, and impassioned individual with an innate ability to motivate, but also manipulate as he persuades small towns to sell their properties to him and convinces their citizens to become “Subjekts” in his experiments. He has a respect for women given his assistant, Leslie Larr, but he doesn’t have any problems insulting them as seen with Lois Lane about her personality and with Lana Lang-Cushing about her life. He is also not above threatening anyone as seen when Lois tries to dig up dirt and later the attempt on her life. As Lois Lane points out, he uses exploitative business practices to gain a fortune from others while slowly causing those said others to lose their jobs in the process.
Using a sly and charismatic mean, Tal-Rho makes people sympathetic and grateful toward him, rendering them ignorant to his deceptive means and forces those affiliated with him to turn on one another. He is also considered to be a supremacist and a misanthrope as he believes that Kryptonians are far superior to humans and that there are a certain kind of humans he feels deserves to be Kryptonian, while with the other kind he views as barbaric and weak. His hatred of humans may stem from his father’s teachings as he wanted to supplant Kryptonian consciousness into other species’ and his first experience with humans as they hunted, captured, and experimented on him.
Tal-Rho is normally cool-headed and doesn't always lose his temper, but will lose it at times when he is being aggravated or when he isn't being heard enough. He is also prideful and opportunistic as he feels pride when he helps others achieve their better selfs through jobs, but really doesn't know what they actually want.
It's possible that his treatment by the human hunters and his father's training made Tal-Rho hardened, bitter, xenophobic, emotionless, and more focused as his father always told him to never show weakness and that he should rely on no one but him, to which Tal-Rho vaguely agreed. Despite his past and his nature, all Tal-Rho ever wanted was to have a real family as he continuously tried to appeal his half-brother many times as a fellow Kryptonian, a friend, and a brother. After being rejected by his half-brother, Tal-Rho felt betrayed and angered and told him that he would hurt him for his rejection. He also tried his best to be the son his father always wanted him to be, even when he falls at it. Tal-Rho even admitted that all he ever wanted was a family after he was finally defeated by Superman and John Henry Irons.
Trivia[]
- Tal-Rho buying the Daily Planet is similar to how in the New 52, Morgan Edge bought the Daily Planet at the beginning of the main Superman title.
- Adam Rayner has stated in an interview with EW that “Morgan Edge, as increasingly discover, is a fanatic who essentially feels as though certain people deserve to exist and other people don't deserve to exist and just in terms of the confidence that Edge is as a CEO of this terrible organization.”
- Adam Rayner has also stated that his performance is partially inspired by Kenneth Branagh's performance as the Nazi General Reinhard Heydrich in HBO's Conspiracy.
- While press releases had stated that Adam Rayner would be a recasted version of Morgan Edge, Rayner instead plays a new original character named Tal-Rho.
- While in the series, Tal-Rho is Superman’s sibling; in the comics and in every portrayal of the character, Superman doesn’t have a sibling.
- Tal-Rho initially appeared as an original character for the show in its first season, until episode 13 revealed that Tal-Rho merged with the Eradicator in order to become it, who in the comics is a Kryptonian weapon that seeks to preserve Kryptonian life and eradicate other lives known only as the Eradicator.
- Tal-Rho seems to be a combination character of Morgan Edge and Eradicator with an original storyline.