It’s worth noting that Lois Lane has a singular distinction among comics characters, being the only non-super (or, at least, non-protagonistic) character to appear in Who’s Who.1 No other non-super characters make the cut: not Ma and Pa Kent, not Perry White, not Commissioner Gordon, not Amanda Waller.2
There’s a reason why Lois makes the cut and why none of them do: it’s because, even nearly fifteen years before she and Clark finally got married, she was established as Superman’s equal. Not just his “girlfriend” – at the time Who’s Who was published, the end of the Bronze Era, Lois and Superman/Clark were actually taking a break, because the Bronze Age Superman comics had made it pretty clear that Lois already had a pretty good idea that Superman was actually Clark and she wasn’t happy about him bullshitting for all those years (not that this made her stop loving him, of course, but it was definitely a bump in the road). Hell, fans had actually been clamoring for the two to get married for some time – not just the pre-internet equivalent of ‘shippers, but longtime Superman fans.
This is why: the only natural course of action for Lois and Clark is to get married.
It’s really not like any other relationship in comics. For example, as much as I disagree with the idea that Peter and Mary Jane shouldn’t be married (and consider it exhibit A that proven comic writers like Mark Waid and Kurt Busiek and many others can still be completely and utterly wrong about characters they’ve written god knows how many times in certain respects), there’s an argument that can at least be made for them splitting up or never getting married, because Spider-Man at his essence is about the virtue of fortitude.3 Fortitude is about picking yourself up and doing good even when life kicks you in the balls, and divorce – or pathetic magic wish fiat – is a kick in the balls. On the other hand, Batman and Catwoman (or Silver St. Cloud, or Vicki Vale, or Wonder Woman, or… well, pick one) can never get together because Batman, at his essence, is about the necessity of sacrifice. Batman not only doesn’t not need a happy ending, he actively opposes one.
Superman isn’t about any of that. Superman is about truth and justice and doing the right thing; he’s a purer story than any of his contemporaries, both at once simpler and infinitely more complex. That’s why he deserves a love interest who’s just as good and as tough (and understatedly complex) as he is; it’s why Lois Lane gradually evolved from being a comedic annoyance to becoming a tough, smart reporter.4 Eventually, because this is comics and that means a little hyperbole is a given, she became the best reporter. Which is fine, because as others have written before: Superman needs a super woman.
And this is the kicker: Lois Lane can’t really be a match for Superman if she doesn’t eventually figure out the whole secret identity thing. This is because there’s a dozen perfectly good reasons why Superman’s secret identity should work, and the comics have used them all: because most people just assume he’s Superman all the time, because it’s not that hard for someone who’s practiced to act like two different people and convincingly, because most people really just don’t look, because Superman super-vibrates when he’s on duty ever-so-slightly to blur pictures of him, whatever. They all work fine, which is why jokes about “it’s only a pair of glasses” ring hollow and feel petty.
But they don’t work if you’re supposed to be an ace reporter who by virtue of being not just good at your job but the best (and Lois is the best) means you’re supposed to recognize things as being a bit off when they’re off, even if it takes you a while because nobody else would notice it. If Lois is Superman’s equal – and of course she is – she has to realize those things happening. That’s why just about every satisfactory rendition of the secret ID reveal to Lois has Lois trumping it by figuring it out on her own.5 And once she knows, there’s no reason not to get married; that’s the only bar. She’s not going to accept “it’s too dangerous” (and Superman couldn’t stay away if he tried).
And really, what’s the appeal of a status quo where Lois isn’t aware of the truth? Superman angsting about how Lois doesn’t know? Lois scheming to prove that Superman has a secret identity? Boring recycled hjinks and Superman robots and Batman pretending to be Superman and other penny-ante misogyny? That shit was stale in the Silver Age – it’s why the Bronze Age happened, for Christ’s sake – and there’s just nothing left in it. Flashback stories are fine; let them be flashbacks. The complexity of a regular relationship suits Clark and Lois to the ground. They have the same problems every other couple does, just in a slightly different way involving evil scientists and tyrant aliens and the occasional giant killer robot. But they have them nonetheless. There’s more juice in that than a thousand “oh, how will I get away from Lois this time?” sequences.
There are a significant number of comics writers who think that Wonder Woman is Superman’s perfect match, mostly because they’ve read “Men of Steel, Women of Kleenex” too many times and think that the most important aspect of Superman’s perfect mate is whether or not he can fuck her according to the rules they’ve made up in their head. However, Wonder Woman is a boring cipher. Lois isn’t: she’s her own woman, and we’re well past the point where a Lois Lane ongoing should be back on the stands. (And not Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane either. She can stand on her own two feet, thank you very much.)
She really is the best female character in superhero comics.
- Okay: Jimmy Olsen, Lana Lang and Alfred all make appearances, but rather than as themselves, they’re listed under Elastic Lad, Insect Queen and the Outsider, respectively. If you don’t know how Alfred transformed into the Outsider, let’s just say “Silver Age Batman comics” and leave it at that. You’re better off not knowing. [↩]
- Eventually in one of the supplements they published an issue that was mostly JUST non-super characters. Terry Long shows up. He is gross. [↩]
- Much like Charlie Brown. The comparison has been made before, I’m sure. [↩]
- And because girls started reading Superman comics and complained that she was being written as a dimwit, of course. [↩]
- Exception: the actual one that happened in the post-Crisis pre-Death-of-Superman comics. Incidentally, if DC is going to retcon everything else to suit their whims, why don’t they retcon that? [↩]
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I gotta say – I agree almost completely. Where I disagree is in the matter of Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman isn’t a bad fit for Superman because she’s a cipher. Even if she weren’t a cipher that few people know how to write, Wonder Woman would still be a bad fit for Superman because in the publishing reality of DC Comics, Wonder Woman can’t actually be Superman’s equal. She can be almost as good as him or she could be slightly better than him, but she can never really be his equal.
Lois can be Superman’s equals because they’re not in competition in the same areas. So one can be the best at something without diminishing the other character. Superman and Wonder Woman have essentially the same powers and have essentially the same function in the shared universe of superhero comics, so when you put the two of them together having one be better necessarily diminishes the other. This is also why Superman and Batman can be equals. (And why I kinda like the idea of a Batman/Wonder Woman relationship even though I know it goes against the core of Batman’s character in a lot of ways. Because Batman and Wonder Woman really can be equals in a way that Superman/Wonder Woman can’t).
Incidentally, his is also why I think the idea of Luthor as a credible threat to Superman works. Luthor and Superman can be equals – he may not be able to beat Superman in a one-on-one fight, but there are areas where Luthor is clearly superior to Superman without diminishing the essential character of Superman. So Superman can beat Luthor over and over again and yet every time Luthor comes back he still seems like a credible threat.
Hear, hear! I would buy the heck out of a well-written Lois Lane comic. It’s a real shame she’s so ignored by most Superman writers these days …
Also: if Peter Parker = Charlie Brown, does Mary Jane = the Little Red-Haired Girl?
I always thought that Lois Lane is Clark Kent’s girl. The day Supes gives up on Lois and starts hittin’ the Amazon is the day Clark Kent is buried forever, leaving only the cape.
The one thing that might give Lois pause about a relationship with Superman is that, although he looks like a man and was raised among us, Superman really isn’t human, is he? I don’t know if anyone has ever addressed how Lois feels about that issue. Is she in the “he looks like a human and acts like a human, so he’s human” camp, or is she in the “he looks like a human and acts like a human, but he really isn’t” group?
Well done sir. well done.
For a chunk of Rucka’s terribly underrated Adventures of Superman run, he had a heavy focus on Lois, globetrotting and putting herself at terrible risk to get important stories. If the market was in better shape, he could probably do an amazing Lois Lane book.
Can we look forward to a month of “Why I Should Write Lois Lane” posts soon? Can I put in a request for one?
This is, and I know no one wants to hear it, one of the things Smallville has gotten right. Not just right, but practically pitch perfect. Yes, Clark is not actually Superman yet, but he and Lois are dating. Somehow the show turned into a romance story & the only fitting finale at this point is not “Hey look, I’m Superman” but instead “Lois, will you marry me?” because Clark doesn’t even wear glasses so there’s literally no way she could be fooled.
I’m also reminded of the issue of Astro City about a Lois-analogue’s many attempts to uncover the Superman-analogue’s secret identity. It’s played as a game, where she knows he knows she knows & if she can prove it she thinks it’ll prove, basically, what you’ve been saying about Lois: that they’re equals & they should totes go steady. The surprise ending works because the reader assumes this is case even, before seeing that the guy leaves forever when she finally proves who he is because he’s just a socially awkward analogue, not a direct copy.
You didn’t hear this from me, but supposedly DC has a “young Lois” series in the works, aimed at tween girls.
Also appearing on the ‘list of reasons why people don’t figure out that Clark Kent is Superman despite his only real disguise being a pair of glasses’ was the Silver Age contribution of ‘super hypnosis’.
I’m not kidding. I wish I were.
In regards to the ‘man of steel, woman of Kleenex’ thing… well, it always seemed to me to be a bit of a petty distinction. Yes, he can rip tanks open with his hands, but you can also trust him to gently handle a newborn kitten, because hey – he’s Superman! I grant you that in immense sexual throes, his voluntary motor control might be a bit more impeded – but he’s Superman. He’s not Ralph TMFWD, but he’s [i]Superman[/i].
Thematically speaking, with a few rare storyline-only exceptions, ‘I am a danger to myself and others because I have superpowers’ really isn’t Superman’s schtick. Is it a persistant nightmare for him? Perhaps. Certainly some writers have set it up that way. But it’s not something that’s ever manifested because frankly, that’s just not how Superman stories tend to go.
As a bespectacled newspaper reporter raised in rural Kansas, I support Burke’s suggestion.
“Woman of Kleenex” has become one of the laziest jokes about the character. As you note, MGK, her companion is not the Man of Steel but the Man of Straw. Niven makes up his own rules, and then decides that Superman would break them.
But he’s not just incredibly strong, and he’s not just Steinbeck’s Lenny. He is the essence of self-control. He does not destroy the earth when he sneezes. His autonomic and involuntary functions are still under his control. If they weren’t, he wouldn’t be Superman.
“They all work fine, which is why jokes about “it’s only a pair of glasses” ring hollow and feel petty.”
I always wondered why she and everyone else didn’t notice that Clark Kent was (or should have been) the likeliest-looking candidate in the Daily Planet office you’d want to test for steroid abuse. As a larger-than-average person, I can tell you that baggy suits only cover up so much, and it’s not like they weren’t in enough situations where she hasn’t seen that “Clark” is pretty amazingly ripped.
I remember an early post-Crisis scene, Lois over at Clark’s apartment for the first time. She sees he has a set of weights set up (obviously Clark Kent lifts weights as a hobby, just look at him), and tries them out. She’s surprised by how light and unused-looking they are — not any heavier the set she uses herself — given that Clark has a bodybuilder’s physique. Clark stammers something about needing to replace them, with a thought balloon of something like “damn, I really should have done a little basic weightlifting research before adding that to my cover story.”
well said, very well said.
Being a girl who loves comics I totally agree with you, Lois Lane is the best female character in superhero comics. I don’t understand why the DC writters don’t give her the place she deserves, they’re missing the potential of their own character. I’d happily buy everything if they’d decided to make a Lois Lane comic.
In a world where teenage girls like the story of a girl who falls in love with a shinny vampire, and who’s ultimate goal is to be with him forever, we need heroines like Lois Lane, women who, without superpowers, can fight for truth and justice, who can stand in front of the barel of a gun and know they are making the difference.
Superman/Clark’s physique doesn’t have to be outside the realm of reality, I’ve seen more then my share of super-ripped/athletic investment bankers or managers here in NYC. It’s more that Clark’s mannerism, posture, poise-etc are so quiet and unassuming that he comes off as a neebish. If anything, the Daily Planet staffers probably just assume he’s gay and a little body-fixated.
Putting aisde how great a Lois Lane book would be, what about the question Who is Good For Wonder Woman? Does she even have one? Does she *need* one anyway? A Batman/Wonder Woman pair up appeals to me cause I could see Bats admiring Diana’s self-sufficiency and Diana being drawn to his sense of sacrifice, but they’re both about a billion miles away from having a “normal” relationship with other people that I can’t imagine what form a relationship would take and I’m sure it would end up with someone dead.
Unfortunately, in an age where biometric scanners are common enough to be built into laptops, I think we need a bit more than just ‘it’s a pair of glasses.’ It’s hardly insolvable, of course. You can put some kind of cloaking device in the glasses. (I know it feels a bit wrong to have Superman rely on a device, but he does have an indestructible bodysuit.)
I agree with just about everything else, really. Lois Lane, like Lex Luthor and like Superman, are notoriously difficult to write ‘right’ because they’re icons, played by many actors and written by many hands, and everyone’s got their favorite interpretation. Even the bodysuit hasn’t always been indestructible. Which means that when a writer comes along and DOES nail it, as MGK does here, it’s refreshing and invigorating.
PS238..well, Post Crisis, Clark was a Kansas Farm Boy/high school football star. So he naturally had a story for why he had a build like a super hero. Pre-Crisis Superman always seemed to be more magically strong than muscular.
As for the post crisis reveal of id…I seem to recall Lois stammering about having known, but never admitting it. She also wasn’t Superman’s girl friend Lois, but Clark Kent’s girlfriend, and wasn’t really about trying to find Superman’s ID.
Small amendment. Wonder Woman is a cipher as a prospective mate for Superman.
Otherwise though she is an excellent character.
Great piece.
My favorite Superman secret identity defense is the one created by Siegel and Shuster themselves: Golden Age Superman had not just super strength, but super-precise muscle control which he used to change his face.
I’ve said it before: if they made a series about journalists in the DC universe along the same lines as Gotham Central, I would buy the fuck out of it.
*standing ovation*
So much yes to this entire article. You’ve absolutely hit the nail on the head. And while I’m not a huge comics reader, I would absolutely buy a well-written Lois Lane series. Why doesn’t one exist??
One of my fave Lois Lane characters was the reporter in Sky Captain in the World of Tomorrow. He even fought those Fleisher robots Superman did!
Every argument for why Superman can’t fuck Lois is an argument for why he’d destroy the entire Earth just by existing on it, people just ignore that because I don’t know, they just really like thinking about Superman’s dick.
And yeah, Lois owns. Hell, the whole concept of Superman requires a Lois, as much as it does a Lex Luthor.
I don’t know if I’d say she owns more than WAR WHEEL, though.
I love this post. That is all.
Very good argument about Lois Lane as a character, although there are dynamics to her relationship to Clark that I don’t think you got right… problem is I can’t articulate my concerns properly. Not at the moment. Has something to do with a) the fact Clark had other significant relationships – Lana and Lori in particular – that would have their defenders, and b) questions about where the relationship post-marriage could go, with nearly everything about the relationship led up to the wedding, and since then… the narrative on their relationship has gone static, even with the occasional intervention of a Parasite switcharoo or an Emperor Joker perversion…
PaulW – Obviously, the next step is kids. Like Chris Kent, a wonderful story idea that got squandered by Geoff Johns, and the current Nightwing storyline.
More than most superheroes, Superman as a parent works, for mostly the same reasons that Superman works as a character in a long term relationship as pointed out above by MGK. Adopting and raising a kid, supporting them and striving to give them a good life, passing on your values and encouraging others to champion truth and justice? That’s doing the right thing right there.
Clark Kent cheering on his son at a Little League game, like his Pa did with him? THAT is about as Superman as you can get.
No mention of her affair with Sugarhill Gang member Big Bank Hank?
Man, what do you do when your dad’s Superman? Like of course every kid thinks their dad is Superman but what if he totally is, and you’re totally not? You can go in a few directions with that, although in the back of my mind I suspect Supes would be a great Dad, okay ..overprotective, but he’s Superman- he’s supposed to be an ideal.
Then again the Adventures of Nate Kent, Justice League Intern could make for ripping copy.
Everyone’s already hit the Wonder Woman point, so I won’t except to say that Rucka’s run on the character is my single favorite author run on any character ever, including JMS on Spider-Man.
Also, Lois needs to score higher on the RTMFWD scale. If not 100%, then to the point where it just doesn’t matter, like 99.9%.
Applauding the hell out of you! You articulated this so well. I used to read comics and I still do once in a while but a Lois Lane series would be something I’d definitely be interested in. Nothing like that sexist Superman’s Girlfriend B.S.
Check out “The K-Metal from Krypton” at http://superman.nu/k-metal/splash.php.
If Joe & Jerry had gotten their way, Clark would have revealed his identity to Lois in 1940 — barely TWO YEARS after Superman’s debut!
She doesn’t discover it herself in this story, but it’s early enough in their relationship that it doesn’t reflect badly on her abilities as a reporter.
Her reaction, for those who don’t feel like reading the whole thing, boils down to, “You IDIOT! I could have been HELPING you!” — and, in marked contrast to the “but it’s too dangerous” shtick that held firm for the next half-century, the Man of Tomorrow’s response is, “Damn, you’re right, you could have helped out any number of times!”
Alas, the Powers That Be at National vetoed it in favor of Eternal Status Quo — to the lasting detriment of the genre and the medium, as far as Your Obedient Serpent is concerned.
This is a wonderful article, and like the Lex Luthor one you did a while back, something I’m saving to my hard disk so I can always read it, even if I don’t have an Internet connection.
BUT
I HAZ SRS ?
Who the hell’s favorite run on Spider-man, let alone all characters, is JMS’s? That’s what I want to know.
Thanks for writing this! For those who want to read more about Lois as a heroic reporter, and as a character, and some of the questions explored about the balance between her and Superman, I highly recommend C.J. Cherryh’s 1996 “Lois & Clark” book. It’s a tie-in to the TV series, but I didn’t have any problem reading the book without having watched the show (schedule conflicts back then, and I haven’t gotten the DVDs). Mind you, it’s just text, not a comic/graphic novel, but then again, it’s by a Hugo Award winning author who appeared to love writing about the subject(s).
There is a good Lois Lane series out there. The two issue mini that came out in the mid-80’s, where she was portrayed as a reporter, not Superman’s Girlfriend. That’s what a Lois Lane book should be.
Of course, you can’t let Geoff Jones anywheres near it, otherwise you’ll end up with Lois constantly hatching Silver Age, Lucy-ese schemes to reveal Superman’s identity.
Finally, Smallvile got NOTHING right about Superman.
Lois Lane has never impressed me. If it wasn’t for Superman bailing her ass out time and again, she’d be a Darwin Award recipient.
The only way she might be able to be interesting is if she wound up getting seriously injured during one of her stupid “gotta get the story” trips and Superman just wasn’t able to get to her on time. Say.. Supes is slugging it out with Darkseid and meanwhile Lois gets three slugs in her arm and lost the use of it.
Oh, HELL yes! This is my favorite post of yours thus far (and it has some might stiff competition). I agree with everything you’ve said here, and also with a great deal of the comments, particularly those who mention kids.
The problem is, we will never see that, and will likely get some kind of retcon where they are not only not married any more but were actually never married. Even though the average age of superhero comics readers has to be around 30 by this point, there is still this editorial edict that will never allow these characters to grow up. Sure, we can have characters ripping each other in half, with all the attendant blood and gore, and call it “adult” but giving Superman a family and having him deal with the work/life balance that most men and women with families struggle with is never going to happen. We’ll be stuck with a 12-year-old boy’s idea of adult comics.
I haven’t regularly bought Superman comics (or many other superhero comics) for a while, but I would also buy the hell out of a Lois Lane comic.
You should do a companion piece on Pete Ross, one of those characters who has potential but has always sucked, and is not at all important to the Superman mythos.
We know that Rex The Wonder Dog is a stellar Photojournalist.
We know that Lois Lane is a Pulitzer winning Journalist in the DC-verse.
I would give blood to get a Lois Lane/Rex The Wonder Dog Journalism Comic.
I like the way Bassetking thinks.
Also, wow. Revealing himself to Lois back in 1940? That could have changed comics enough to warrant another elseworld timeline
Can we knock it down to 95%? Look at the way she types. Is she in 3rd grade?
Great article, totally agree with it. Lois Lane is a super woman without needing any super power. I love the reasons you listed as why she should learn the secret, so very true.
RobotKeaton: That’s how you type on a typewriter. When was this book published, anyways?
My one quibble with this otherwise fine article is dismissing Silver Age Lois: http://sindeloke.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/in-defense-of-lois-lane/
Her record of awesome is unbroken.
Uber Geek, I was going to mention that miniseries–it’s darn good.
I’m not surprised Lois got her own page since after all she did have her own book for years–Jimmy should have gotten one too, but that would have required acknowledging the goofy Silver Age stuff at a time they were launching Serious Realistic Post Crisis Superman. But you make a good case for her as a character–I was astonished that the revamp proposal of a decade back included restoring Silver Age cluelessness. What the hell can you do with it? (even though that last link has a very good point–Lois was the only one who saw through the guise–I still can’t see it working).
The Siegel story shows how much space is wasted by people waffling about the core concept of characters and what the creators really thought–obviously Siegel’s concept of what was essential was very different from the way things turned out in print.
While I agree with you about Spider-Man’s marriage, I’m curious what your reasons are for supporting it.
@Your Obedient Serpent
That story would have been quite revolutionary, and some of those panels are very funny, unintentionally so. “Pain! I know the meaning of pain!”
Lois not knowing makes Superman too alone, and he’s not. He’s a “people” person and SHOULD be married, as has been said. I don’t much care for Lois on Smallville but them dating works.
Magic Love Hose, back in the…80s? I think?…when DC comics had a roleplaying game, the Superman entry claimed that Clark’s glasses did have some kind of high-tech disguise thing going on. I can’t remember the details, and I don’t know if it was based off anything in the comics or was just one of the RPG writers saying, “Oh, come on, there has to be more to this disguise than clunky frames and clear glass.”
I liked how Mark Waid explained it in the Birthright series – that the glasses dimmed the color of Clark’s eyes (which are apparently a brilliant blue) and changed the shape of his face. Also, the fact that the costume is so distracting and draws so much attention to Superman’s body that people wouldn’t pay as much attention to his face.
I still say that only works on strangers or possibly casual acquaintances. For people who are supposedly good friends with both Clark and Superman (Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, etc) the disguise shouldn’t hold up. Though, I’m of the opinion that Jimmy and Perry also know – they’re just playing along.
All-Star Superman certainly implied that Jimmy knew the secret–’round about #9, fighting the rogue Kryptonians, he and Lois show a few side-looks when Clark’s rushing off to “see to his bleeding nose” and then when they all think Clark’s dead…
I was going to say that Lois didn’t figure it out in All-Star Superman, and in fact refused to believe it – but then I remembered that was because she HAD, in the past, figured it out on her own but Superman had gone to such extreme lengths to keep her from knowing that she subconsciously refused to believe what she had known all along once Superman finally told her, because she was pissed at him for keeping his identity a secret from her, and was punishing him for it.
As for Superman having a kid, i’m not sure it worked in Superman Returns
Nothing worked in Superman Returns. There were so many ideas at cross-purposes in that movie, I don’t think it really mattered if any of them were good on their own or not. That movie was just a hot mess.
I really can’t imagine a Lois Lane series set in the modern day being particularly interesting. Even if you did eschew the Super Hero trappings as much as possible (ala Gotham Central), you eventually have to have Lois face some sort of threat to build drama. And what can possibly threaten someone whose married to Superman, tangentially related to Superboy, “Nightwing”, Mon-El, Supergirl and Krypto, and on a first name basis with several past and present Justice League members?
As long as none of those people are present at the time, just about anyone.
On the subject of similarities between Spider-Man and Charlie Brown, I present this: http://www.letsbefriendsagain.com/2009/07/14/lil-folks/.
?And what can possibly threaten someone whose married to Superman, tangentially related to Superboy, “Nightwing”, Mon-El, Supergirl and Krypto, and on a first name basis with several past and present Justice League members?”
Rex, obviously.
“And what can possibly threaten someone whose married to Superman, tangentially related to Superboy, “Nightwing”, Mon-El, Supergirl and Krypto, and on a first name basis with several past and present Justice League members?”
No, no, not Rex. Rex is good, rex would never hurt anyone.
But Rex the Mother Fucking Wonder Dog’s litter of incestuous offspring that he had with his mother? They’re evil.
Awesome stuff – I don’t read a lot of comics these days, but I like the fact you can always make me re-explore some of the conceptions I had when I did read them MGK. Cheers mate.
The Superman/Lois Lane relationship represents everything that is wrong with comics. It is boring and predictable and has been done to death. As difficult as it is for many to admit, his perfect match IS Wonder Woman.
Wow, just stumbled across this post. What a fantastic article. I agree with you on all points. I would kill to have a really good Loia Lane comic.
Re:lloydy–I don’t think it’s difficult for anyone to admit anything about Wonder Woman. Why do you feel the need to state your OPINION as a fact? The truth is that many people just don’t agree with you.
Lois Lane is a very strong, flawed character. There are always going to be a small number of detractors who don’t like her. That’s part of what makes her so fascinating though because what dynamic character in our popculture DOESN’T have detractors? She has the ability to do what many strong women in our real world do: make people uncomfortable.
I like Wonder Woman as a character. But she’s not a romantic or sexual match for Superman, in my opinion. She’s too much like him.
Realistically, if Clark Kent were a real person I can believe that he would go after a woman like Lois Lane. He’s not going to be drawn to a perfect woman like Wonder Woman who is so much LIKE him in so many ways. How many “perfect” people in this world do you know who are drawn to people exactly like him? More often, psychologists will tell you that people are often drawn to people who represent qualities that we admire in others but don’t always possess in ourselves.
Superman is the strongest man in the world. It makes total sense that he would be drawn to a woman that is extremely strong with the ability to drive everyone a little bit crazy. It’s the best way to keep him entertained and invested for so many years. He can never get bored.
There’s nothing predictable about that. Realistic…yes. Predictable..no. They don’t always mean the same thing.
All I need to ask myself is: what is more fun?
Superman in love a flawed, intense, passionate, sexy woman like Lois? Or Superman in love with a perfect superhero like Wonder Woman? It’s no contest. Lois wins out.
And yes, Smallville’s version of Clark and Lois is freaking brilliant. That show has made a ton of mistakes but they’ve done something really really brilliant with Lois. She’s a well intentioned trouble maker but you always know her heart is in the right place.
The fundamental problem with Lois Lane is that women wind up getting held to a lower standard.
She is consistently rude to Clark Kent. Not just when he makes mistakes, but in general. She tends to come across not as a strong independent woman, but a bitch. Why shouldn’t sh ebe held to the same standard as Superman, and be kind, humble, and polite in addition to being independent and strong? And here is the key problem I have with Lois Lane- she doesn’t come across as Superman’s equal. Superman is always polite and humble and kind- and he does the right thing. Lois Lane comes across as a bitch who tries to do the right thing. Lois Lane could only be Superman’s equal if she was perpetually polite and nice like he is. My point is that Superman manages to be perfect in every way- He is extremely intelligent (Maybe not as good as Lex Luthor at building robots, but he still builds them) Overwhelmingly moral, (no real comparison here) and an ace reporter/detective to boot (Maybe not as good as Lois Lane, but pretty close.) Since when has Lois Lane built robots?
And that is part of the problem which arguably lies with Superman himself- he is both Superman and Batman at the same time. He can build super robots, super advanced alien technology lightyears beyond anything Batman can build, do the Ace Reporter thing roughly as well as Lois Lane, and has all his insane powers on top of it. The problem with arguing that Lois Lane can be flawed and still be Superman’s equal is that Superman himself doesn’t really have any flaws, on any level. His perfection goes past the physical. Someone else might exceed him in a given area (like the Flash being faster) But his general theme is one of overall perfection. Only someone who is perfect could be his equal.
Superman is a master of all trades, who is occasionally exceeded in a single area by other masters. Lois Lane is not. Superman is a detective, an engineer, and he has super powers. The fact that Lois Lane has mad detective skills does not make her his equal.
EDIT: I want to state I haven’t read a lot of comics with Superman in a long time- so when I refer to Lois being rude I am referring to ones I read. Meh.
Iloydy – yes, Wonder Woman may be Superman’s perfect match, but Clark Kent’s is definitely Lois Lane.
[…] already done insightful pieces on Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, but I need something to sell people on reading Superman. A lot of my friends think […]
This is such a lovely article. Thank you for sharing.
In one of the JLA novels (Yes, I know that makes me a geek) Superman actually manipulates how he stands and his musculoskeletal system to the point where he muses on the fact that it’s true that “his look alikes are half a head taller than he is.”
Derp, I forgot to finish my comment while I was looking it up.
My point was, that makes Lois even smarter than people give her credit for. He modulated his voice (this is canon), in some cases used Super X/Y/Z, in other instances he changed how he looked through posture and other things (in one of the comics he’s told to study how a man could pull off two different people without people realizing it in a play), and she still figured it out.
Just wanted to let you know that I think this article is amazing. Well done. Thank you!
Reading this awesome post in the current, Nu52 state of things, is particularly maddening. And sad.
The aggressive bacheloritism inherited from Quesada doesn’t make much sense to me.
So regarding the criticisms levied against Lois in the above thread — here’s my take on things:
Lois’ quote-“bitchy”-unquote personality, in my mind, has more to do with the realities of the workplace than anything else. What do you think happens to nice, polite, humble people in the workplace (especially women)? They get ignored. They fade into the background. They don’t get the big scoops, they don’t get resources, and they don’t get the front-page editorials when they really have something to say.
Lois has come way, way too far to put up with that shit. And remember, she hasn’t had anything handed to her. She wasn’t born a princess or a billionaire. Her dad was a stern Army officer who expected her to fend for herself. She probably had to put herself through college — then work and fight and claw her way up from the ground floor, all just to get to the position where she finally has the editor’s ear and the ability to do some good. And make no mistake — just like Superman, Lois, at her core, is here to Save The World. She’s here to pull apart the lies and the bullshit and tell people the truth, come hell or high water. Is she nice? Maybe not, but nice doesn’t write headlines – or, at least, it sure as hell hasn’t for her.
Clark, in contrast, is quite happy to fade into the background — hell, that’s half of the point for him. He’s just a costume change away from getting the attention of the world. And I think that part of his attraction to Lois comes from her being a Type-A self-made woman. Because Clark knows that he’s lucky. Oh, sure, his life is no picnic – parents dead, last of his kind, weight of the world on his shoulders – but he’s pretty much won the Ultimate Genetic Lottery Jackpot and he knows it. (And, to his credit, is trying to use his gifts for everyone’s benefit.) So of course he’s going to respect and admire a fighter like Lois, someone who’s started from nothing and built higher and higher (especially since – unlike, say, Luthor – she hasn’t thrown morality completely out the window in the process). Because Clark has never had to do that. Not really, anyway. And he’s fully aware of it.
So that’s why I think the dynamic works. And also why I think the logical conclusion of the two getting married is for Lois to become a superhero herself (at least part-time). But that’s another story.