As the final season of Superman & Lois approaches, The CW’s Arrowverse fans got a treat. They announced that The Flash star Tom Cavanagh (Yogi Bear, The Flash) would be a guest star before the show ends. However, when his character would appear, it was kept secret, leaving fans speculating via ComicBook .
It wasn’t until this week’s episode, “Sharp Dressed Man,” that his character was finally revealed. He is not a character many would have predicted. So, get ready for some spoilers for those who haven’t watched the latest episode of Superman & Lois.
In the episode, Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead, Southland), who plays Lex Luthor and is also a director for the series, gets a makeover. He now sports his iconic bald head, clean shave and a sharp suit.
Luthor took it further by appearing on a talk show to challenge the world’s top journalist. The show’s name is Godfrey! and the host? None…… other than Godfrey, played by Cavanagh.
This character, created by Jack Kirby (Fantastic Four, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes), first appeared in The Forever People #3 in 1971.
Darkseid sent Glorious Godfrey to Earth to prepare for his arrival by spreading division and chaos. Godfrey, an evangelist for the Anti-Life Equation, assumed the identity of G. Gordon Godfrey on Earth. He serves as a talk show host to achieve his mission.
This combination gave Glorious Godfrey a unique and recognizable identity, and his role in the comics remains iconic.
As for Cavanagh, playing Godfrey adds one final character to his tally for The CW’s Arrowverse and Arrowverse adjacent series. The actor has played almost countless versions of Harrison Wells — including Harry Wells, Nash Wells, Serloque Wells and more — as well as Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash and Pariah across Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman and Godfrey simply rounds out his wide range of characters. “He just like, when we were trying to come up with analogues of who this guy could be, personality-wise, when we started describing him it just felt like we were describing someone Tom could play with his eyes closed, his comic timing and just everything about his energy level. It just felt perfect,” Helbing told ComicBook.
Seeing Cavanagh as Godfrey might surprise fans who speculated he’d play a bigger character, like Brainiac. But Godfrey feels just right, as if the character was made for him.
Earlier this year, series co-showrunner Helbing hinted that Cavanagh was the perfect fit for Godfrey. “There’s a lot of cameos, more than any other season I would say, this year. But that came out because it’s a character in the comics and I mean it’s like somebody met Tom Cavanagh, went back in time, created this character and then was like, ‘hey, you guys should cast this guy.’ You know, like that. It was the easiest casting of all time.”
Playing Godfrey adds another role to Cavanagh’s impressive Arrowverse resume. He’s known for various versions of Harrison Wells and Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash across multiple shows. Now, Godfrey rounds out his diverse character list.