Seinfeld Got A Surprising Easter Egg In A Superman TV Adaptation

It's natural to want to give shoutouts to the things you love once you've been given a platform to do so. If there's ever an opportunity to declare my admiration for, say, The Somerville Theater in my work, I'll do so because their continued existence as one of the best movie theaters in New England means a great deal to me. It's my way of giving back. Prominent figures in the entertainment industry are able to perform a similar tribute in their work, albeit on a much bigger scale. In that case, it only makes sense that comedian Jerry Seinfeld would find a way to somehow incorporate his favorite superhero throughout an entire sitcom bearing his name.

Jerry made it abundantly clear that he's a huge fan of Superman by incorporating jokes and nods to the beloved DC character throughout his entire career. Jerry incorporated Superman into his stand-up material from 1979, and even got to play a comedic version of him in an SNL sketch from 1992. Superman imagery is consistently present on the set of "Seinfeld" throughout its nine season run, whether as a magnet on Jerry's fridge or a toy statue nested on his bookshelf. In the season 1 episode "The Stock Tip," Jerry debates with George (Jason Alexander) about whether or not Earth's yellow sun endows the Kryptonian superhero with a sense of humor. Other episodes such as "The Invitations" briefly show the titular star reading from a Superman comic.

In the season 6 episode "The Race," Jerry ends up dating a woman named Lois (Renee Props), whom he sees as the closest thing to being with Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane. It turns out her boss, Duncan (Don McManus), used to go to high school with Jerry and believes he cheated during one of their track races. A do-over race is arranged to determine the true victor, where Jerry smokes him once again. The comedian gets to live out his superhero dreams as he gets to vanquish the episode's villain, while crossing the finish line to John Williams' iconic theme from "Superman: The Movie."

In the late '90s, Jerry's ultimate Superman fandom landed him in two short films called "The Adventures of Seinfeld and Superman," both of which were converted into commercials for American Express. He may not have been opposite one of the real-life actors that had played the last son of Krypton, but he did get to riff opposite an animated portrayal voiced by "Seinfeld" guest alum Patrick Warburton. Jerry got to live out what it would be like to be Superman's best friend. So in a way, it makes sense that all those years of being a fan would result in Superman returning the favor in a really unexpected fashion.

For a good while, the DC supers flourished on The CW through their own television world known as the Arrowverse. The shows' visual effects budgets were nothing compared to their blockbuster counterparts, but they did the best they could with what they had. It presented an opportunity to adapt weirder aspects from the comics in their own manner. Season 2 of "Superman & Lois," for example, delved into the concept of an alternate dimension where everything is askew. In the episode "Bizarros in a Bizarro World," it's revealed in an off-hand comment from Jonathan-El (Jonathan Elsass) that the US governmental ruler in this Inverse World is named none other than President Seinfeld.

We never get to see what President Seinfeld looks or sounds like, but it's a cute little easter egg that acts as DC's answer to all of Jerry's Superman fandom. It sticks out right away too, because Seinfeld is one of the most recognizable names on the planet on account of the hit NBC sitcom. What makes this nod even more amusing is that there's another episode of "Seinfeld" that weirdly tackles the notion of an off-kilter version of the titular character and his world.

In the season 8 episode "The Bizarro Jerry," Elaine breaks up with a guy she's been seeing named Kevin (Tim DeKay), yet continues to hang out with him like a friend because he's reliable. Jerry explains to Elaine the concept of Bizarro Superman, who essentially does the opposite of everything the Man of Steel does. She shrugs it off until she meets Kevin's friends, Gene (Kyle T. Heffer) and Feldman (Pat Kilbane), who are pretty much doppelgangers of George and Kramer (Michael Richards). Things get weird when the two friend groups collide, as Kevin's entourage is shown to be a kinder equivalent to the more sociopathic collective Elaine usually hangs out with. When she goes to hang out at Kevin's apartment, everything is flip-flopped, with the superhero statue even resembling a Bizarro Superman.

Considering "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David left after the seventh season, it left Jerry in a position to take over showrunner duties and have some fun with the material. In case the connections to the DC material weren't enough, the ending to "The Bizarro Jerry" sees Kevin emulate Bizarro Superman's broken speech pattern from the comics.

Every season of "Superman & Lois" is currently streaming on HBO Max.