Superman and Lois' relationship? It's complicated

Superman and Lois' relationship? It's complicated

Even as the debate still rages over last week's revelation that Superman and Wonder Woman begin a romantic relationship in the new issue of Justice League, The Associated Press introduced a potential new wrinkle: that in DC Comics' New 52, not only have the Man of Steel and Lois Lane never dated ' something readers have known for more than a year ' but that they 'likely' never will.

However, a DC spokesman told Comic Book Resources the latter assertion 'definitely' didn't come from the publisher, which has characterized the story development as 'the new status quo,' one made possible by the year-old relaunch that wiped clean much of the history of the DC Universe.

'The way Geoff [Johns] unfolds the story and the implications of two of the most powerful characters in the DCU becoming a team is something that goes beyond the question of 'What about Lois and Clark?'' DC co-publisher and Justice League artist Jim Lee told The AP. 'This is a statement to every nation and geopolitical organization in the entire DC Universe giving creative teams ample material to explore this relationship on so many different levels.'

The contention that Lois is 'still around, but the two have never dated, nor are they likely to' isn't attributed to either Lee or Johns, and may have been a bit of extrapolation by the reporter. That said, it's easy to see how someone might arrive at that conclusion. After all, it's a sentiment expressed earlier this year by Superman Group Editor Matt Idelson in a Q&A on the Superman  Homepage, where he said, 'Clark and Lois are NOT inevitable, and in fact it isn't going to happen, at least while I'm on watch duty. There will be romance of varying degrees in both characters' lives in the months to come, but not with each other.'

It remains a sensitive subject for some fans of the traditional Clark-and-Lois relationship (for decades a love triangle, with Superman forming the third side) already annoyed that DC dissolved the 15-year marriage with last year's linewide relaunch, reintroducing Clark as a single man and Lois as a colleague who, in Superman #1, is dating Jonathan Carroll.

Justice League #12, featuring the highly publicized Superman/Wonder Woman kiss, goes on sale Wednesday.

• August 28, 2012 @ 05:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
• Tagged: Clark Kent, DC Comics, DC Comics: The New 52, DC relaunch, Geoff Johns, jim lee, justice league, lois lane, Matt Idelson, superman, Wonder Woman

45 Comments

This isn't my father's Superman. It's not mine, either. Good luck, new readers!

Well'considering that it seems that 'Superman' is the real personae and 'Clark' isn't'this move makes sense. The new 52 seems to make Clark the mask to Superman unlike some past incarnations.

I've loved the idea of Kal and Diana since Kingdom Come. The match just makes sense. As much as I love the character of Lois Lane, I've been saying for years that if they really wanted to change up the Superman character or give him a real challenge to overcome they should have killed Lois. Preferably, during childbirth. But then they went and rebooted the whole universe, and so far, even though some things I don't like, I'm overall loving the ride.

The whole new status quo in Superman is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I'm reading but wincing every other page.

DC should license its characters to someone who knows how to handle them. The longer Johns, Lee, and DiDio are in charge, the deeper the brand will sink until it's worthless.

And the joke rolls on.

I'm ok with Superman & Wonder Woman having a relationship if it's done right. I just can't imagine him never having a relationship with Lois. I think they are bluffing and trying to make it not so predictable but if they go this route they better be serious about Superman & Wonder Woman. If not forget it. This Superman already is a cold fish, barely human in his emotions (except Morrison's run). I don't know how he will develop his humanity without the Kents and Lois. Wonder Woman isn't exactly human herself. Kingdom Come did the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship justice and if it's anything like that I'm all for it, but even then it came after Lois was killed and he did have a relationship with her. They pretty much stripped him of all things that gave him his humanity and made him somewhat relateable. I know he's a God-type but the coolness of his character was he was always human at heart. They needed to do something with Superman though because as a loner he was boring and pathetic.

I've always been against the mask of Clark Kent or Superman not being the 'real' him. I always felt it would be best doing both as different aspects of his personality somewhat like Smallville in that he really was nerdish when you think about it. Longing for the girl next door, too afraid to make a move for years. Working on the school paper which is equal to a debate group or something along those lines. Even though he didn't wear glasses until the final season as his disguise he was still a nerd in a lot of ways. I also feel his Clark doesn't need to be the stumbling bumbling Clark but show enough of a difference that people wouldn't automatically think Clark = Superman. I say that having loved Christopher Reeve's Clark and Superman but I preferred the latter. As far as Clark Kent goes I preferred Smallville's portrayal of him best. And please no bowties on Jimmy Olsen or wigs on Lex. It's just lame and part of what turned me off to Superman Returns'

I'm really tired of comics undoing relationships though. It shows a lack of creativity and character growth. People can have longterm relationships or get married and have kids and still be interesting. Why can't comic book characters?

Okay I don't mind any of this happening but I just wish there was at least one comic out right now that was set in the pre new 52 universe. I liked the way marvel pulled of this Same kind of thing with the use of the ultimate universe. The new 52 is better than I expected it to be but man I just wish there a book out that was set in the original universe.

They've lost me. First, the erasing the marriage, next the new armor, er, uniform, and now no Lois and Clark. I have been a Superman fan since 1st grade (1965) when I first watched reruns of the 50's TV show. In all of these incarnations since then some things have remained constant ' the uniform had trunks (except for the electric Supes), and Lois and Clark/Superman were involved. Having Lois out of the picture and Wonder Woman in it removes a vital part of Superman's humanity. If he is involved with Diana on a personal and professional level, why does he even need to be Clark? With his parents dead and no human love interest, why even work at the planet. He could be a more effective Superman monitoring things from his fortress or the with the JLA and be a full time superhero when he and Diana are not together.
I wonder if this distancing from Lois (as well as the uniform change) are in preparation for potential negative ruling in the court case.

look at what they did with the rich history of Wally West. DC is dissapointing now

Clark and Lois will get together again eventually. It's not like Spider-Man where there's multiple love interests; Lois is the love interest for Superman. I guess they just want to put some clear blue water away from the marriage for the time being.

@ZenRonin: There are better ways to challenge Superman and make his stories interesting than to fridge the longest running female character in comics during childbirth. A plot point like that one carries with it way too much problematic issues related to gender and sexism. It would be a horrifically poor idea to put into practice.

Yawn

I feel bad for insecure longtime readers frightened by the idea that they now don't already know everything about the characters and where all the relationships are going. Oh no, the story could go anywhere! Terrifying!

I like the new Supes/WW relationship, it's like a 'duh' moment. Lois can enter the picture in the future, but resolving Clark's connection to Diana is a must. But I prefer Lana Lang to be the one to complicate things for the power couple. Hopefully Clark's past relationship with Lana is still there, ala Smallville TV history'

So, Mr. Majestic and Zealot are finally getting together.

Really? 'Likely never?' Do creators really have to keep going there?

I mean, it is too hard just to say 'Don't really know. We don't have any plans for that right now.' I'll never understand DC's insistence to alter relationships and status quo more on philosophy than actual reader interest.

@stk: It makes sense to be insecure, I believe, when you've been told point blank that actually, no, the story can't 'go anywhere.' When folks like Johns, Lee, DiDio, and Idelson either imply or flat out say Superman will not be dating Lois in the New 52, that's not leaving all the story options on the table. It's literally saying this is one way the story will not go.

Complicated like in copyright issues.The possibility of losing Lois Lane if the court judge doesn't rule in your favor type? Just saying.

I remember when DC rebooted after the first Crisis, John Byrne and George Perez approached the idea of Supes and WW dating and it was pretty quickly written off as something that wouldn't happen, for various reasons. I like the idea of them being attracted to each other- why wouldn't they be?- but Superman should always be with Lois in one way or another'

Ed Floden'get over yourself! I cannot stand comicbook fans who persist on a ridiculous theory that a character with little advancement (I mean, Clark Kent as Superman dying or retiring'never to return' will never be a true story in its' regular monthly) over a nearly 100 yr publishing history is somehow only legitimate when one of a million readers has his way.

I'm assuming you cried when they got rid of his red underwear outside of his costume as well right?

You are the definition of a boob sir.

Lois didn't really show much interest in either Clark or Superman in The Adventures of Superman in the fifties. There were a couple episodes, 'Mrs. Superman' in particular, where Lois might have shown some jealousy over another woman's interest in Superman but nothing came of it. It was a kids' show after all.

I don't mind that Lois and Superman aren't together in the current comics. As a pair, they had a good 25-year run after the Byrne reboot and 'Lois and Clark', following in the tracks of the first couple Chris Reeve movies, so if they want to pair him with Diana for a while, so what. Five years from now, some writer will sell his editors on the idea of revisiting Clark/Lois when readers have gotten bored with WW.

Can someone please get Waverider or one of the Monitors on the line? Hell, since DC clearly doesn't have any idea what to do with Hal Jordan anymore, have Parallax re-possess him and then kick off 'Zero Hour 2.' Erase this 'Pandora's Box' (oh, the irony!) of a crappy universe and let's go back to what we had. Outside of no one knowing what to do with Superman, it definitely wasn't broken.

The bottom line is, Geoff, Jim, and Dan can do this kind of (transparent) stunt all they want, and it won't matter a bit. More people will see the Man of Steel movie than will ever read their comics. More people know Superman from JLU or (God help us all) Smallville than the comics. DC hasn't been the dominant keepers of these characters for a long time. Marvel might be in a similar boat, but at least they can say that the Spider-Man in their books now is the same guy as the one from the 60's. There's an ongoing, continuous narrative there. New 52 Superman isn't the same as Post-Crisis Superman. Or Silver/Bronze Age Superman. Or Golden Age Superman.

The unpleasant side effect of rebooting is you lose any sense of legitimacy as the 'definitive' take on the character. If the version you're publishing can be wiped out in a reboot at any minute, you're just another take on the character like any other. And the other media are way more wide reaching and relevant in the mainstream.

Yep'

DC pretty much hasn't done anything but retcon every 5 years or so since the mid-1990s.

PATHETIC'
And if that weren't bad enough, they can't do anything with Superman but reinvent the origin 3 times within 12 years and come up with possibly one of the most bland incarnations of the character that's been since the early 1980s. No, I take it back ' Superman WAS better back then, too!

Even more pathetic? The editors and writers at DC are getting their butts kicked by the animation department. Those fellas know how to treat the classic characters. Too bad DC-proper missed the memo. Notice how Batman has taken a lot of cues since the mid-1990s from the animated incarnations of the past 20 years (and how DC publishing has RUINED Harley Quinn since they got their mitts on her in the DCU proper)?

There's no coincidence. All the new ideas and BEST reinventions have happened with the TV series since 1992!

Sorry, but have to agree with ChrisPV.

DC's big three boys (Johns, Lee, and Didio) can continue with the hype but it's really wearing thin with everybody but the 1990s crowd who are dazzled by possibly the worst character redesigns in a major's history and the most misguided relaunch' The emperor has no clothes and it's real obvious these guys have no clue on how to 'write the ship' as it were. But then again, fans of the 1990s era and 20-somethings don't have a clue on what's been thrown away. Most have never bothered to find and read the older pre-1990s material besides maybe 'Watchmen' and 'The Dark Knight Returns'. I pretty much saw this on display at a con the past weekend, btw.

*********

NuDC/52 has been pathetic since Day One. It is the definition of bland and pedestrian. It lacks the majesty and history that once populated an entire multiverse before 1986' Too bad political correctness and multiple conflicting agendas have ruined what was once a rich mythos ' one that can only be enjoyed now in back-issues, reprints, or the next DC direct-to-video movie or animated TV series. The monthly publishing department has no idea when its hands are tied up in knots or its head is buried in the sand'

This has to be the worst I've seen any major comic book company fall.
Marvel, in spite of its own problematic editors and writers, has nothing to fear from DC now.
The runners at DC have not a clue on how to produce consistent quality or engage the broader public for any meaningful length of time.
Seriously, the Superman lawsuit is hardly the worst thing happening now with the continued shipwreck that's been DC publishing for over a decade now'

Too bad that the same usual cheerleaders ' reviewers, comic websites, the collectors and fans grasping at straws ' aren't being honest about the situation.

Eh, honestly I find myself caring less and less about this relationship stuff. Lois & Clark will never go out? That's bullshit even if they actually mean it. Comic book inertia is stronger than that, so I say let this relationship happen. Play with the toys in weird ways for a few years, have a big storyline bringing the classic configuration back into view, it's all good! We all know that the story ends with Lois & Clark, let's mess up the path to get there.

if superman wants a super son, or daughter, he must stick with wonder-woman.

Lois couldn't possibly bear his children. its not realistic. and today's comics are 3 parts fantasy, the rest reality mixed. this opens up the possibility of twins, one evil, one good, which means 'new' heroes and villains. instead of the same old re-hashed stuff. We as fans want new heroes, with amalgam powers, with new names. let superman and all the others fall into the public domain already. that way if these whiny fan boys want their lois & clark fix, they can create their own comics based off the characters, and sell them legally.

@Andrew Collins : That's exactly the plot of Action Comics #761 way back in 2000. Supes and Diana locked in a time loop, fighting monsters for centuries, getting closer' until Clark pushes her away for Lois.

@Defiance-Defiant : Lois' pregnancy issue is explored in Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex by Larry Niven (illustrated by Curt Swan himself).

Nonsense. He and Lois could spend time on a planet with a red sun, if super conception/pregnancy would be a problem for her. This is superhero comics. Everything supposedly problematic can be easily explained or portrayed with a touch of imagination.

@GeorgeC' wow, really? Dude, you need to get a grip. 'NuDC/52' has *not* been pathetic since day 1; not across the board at least.

People such as yourself keep insisting that DC has 'thrown away' all the rich history. Technically, nothing at all has been 'thrown away'. There's nothing stopping you from re-reading all the old stories. It's just that that's the past now, and they're not going to tell new stories in the old universe.

What they've done is actually cleaned up the continuity so that the DCU is more accessible for those of us who want to get into comics. Over the past 10 years, I've bought the occasional trade, but with the new 52, I've been buying multiple titles weekly. And I'm now buying more than just from DC too. A lot of the books are very well done.

Ultimately, the change was made to bring in more readers, like me. But it also had the effect of freeing up the writers from some of the old story-lines. And as much as you may not like to hear it, not all of the old stories were great. For every 'What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?', there's gotta be at least two stories like 'Cry for Justice' or 'Emerald Twighlight.'

So, just chill out, read some of your old favorites if you want, but you should check back in with what's happening in the new 52 from time to time' There might be some new classics in the works.

The problem I have is that it seems gimmicky and a little forced. At some point Lois will be with Clark down the line.

It'll be so fuckin' HILARIOUS 2,3 years from now when WB sweeps the Didio/Harras/Johns/Lee regime out and undo all the changes they've wrought with the nuDCU' Clark going back to Lois' Joker de-zippered' Batman unafraid of 'Owls'' the Justice League back to its original and familiar line-up'

And 'New 52' fans like Truthiness and Kickpuncher above will know the sweet, sweet pain that fans of Wally West' Oracle' and Stephanie Brown are NOW suffering under the current regime.

/Big Two comics

Well its nice that DC is already saying the statement was somewhat false.

So far I've actually seen over the internet people are more willing to give this a shot then not. Cause if nothing else, they can go with, new continuity, new rules, and wait and see how the story itself plays out.

But when you have anyone who's got to play that 'never going to happen again' card and basically try to stick the knife in to the fans who care you run the potential risk of losing fans (even though most swear they'll leave and never really do).

No one should have ever made that kind of comment and just left it alone based on the announcement itself. We know at some point, some story will come along getting Lois and Clark back together. Like others have said, if Hollywood is going to essentially continue down that track for whatever they later create, at some point the main comics will find their way back to it themselves because whatever Hollywood does, the R&D department of WB (yes I'm calling DC Research and Development, hell that's what WB Corporate thinks they are anyway) will eventually fall in line.

In the meantime, new status quo, hopefully some new story ideas come out of it. Look forward to seeing where they lead.

And then I look forward to the time when Clark will be back together with Lois.

I've been reading comics since the 70's but I dropped the 'big two' in the 90's for several reasons, and one of them was I was that I thought they were in desperate need of an entire reboot. I felt that Uncanny X-Men, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, and many of the other books that had been around for decades needed to just come to an end and be rebooted and heavily, heavily modernized. So although I haven't picked up any of the new 52 titles (happened a lil too late for me to care), I think it was a move that made sense.

To be fair, I haven't read Superman since the Doomsday thing but the last time I did, Lois was still portrayed as being kind of weak, like she always needed Superman to save her. This is the 21st century so I prefer to see Superman with Wonder Woman, she's more of his equal, she's strong and she takes care of herself and is a decent role model for young female readers, unlike Lois Lane. So yeah, I prefer those two together just like how I preferred Batman and Catwoman being together because Selina is a strong woman who can take care of herself. I also felt Lois was kind of made to look more like a groupie in the shows and comic at times, which I thought was lame. But anywho'

As a writer I've studied characters like Superman and thought of what makes them tick and how their audience reacts. So I can see the reactions on both sides of this and I'm not surprised by any of them. I don't think Lois Lane is absolutely necessary to make the character work, but I seriously don't think that Wonder Woman is the right way to go in the long term.

The fact of the matter is: there's some major problems with Superman that have caused writers to be forced into doing something just for the sake of shaking him up. Superman, for all of his great features, is hard to write dramatically for. He's so powerful and he's so idealized that it's difficult to press him and to challenge him, especially after almost a century of stories. He's lacking in human frailty and that means that, usually, it's difficult to add emotional weight to his stories. The sad thing is, in trying to make him more down to earth, they've taken it too far and we've ended up with stories like 'Grounded' in the past where he did almost literally nothing.

So with that in mind, I think the decisions made with the character for the Nu52, while interesting right now, are pushing him faster and faster into that inhuman corner they often struggle with. Wonder Woman is a thought many of us have considered in the past, but if you actually do it you're putting the near perfect man with the near perfect woman and leaving them in that zone where they don't really have to even 'fake' being human anymore. I don't have any preference for Lois Lane, she's a good character but she doesn't necessarily have to be with Superman.

In the end, it's okay that Superman's with someone else, but I still would have tried to put him with someone who could provide the human frailties that he lacks ' someone who could ground him without literally grounding him.

Frankly I don't care what DC does with Superman anymore. even Grant's New 52 Superman has left me cold. The rest of the Super-books have been mediocre to awful, including Johns' Justice League. I don't see new Superman writer, Scott Lobdell, turning this train wreck around. He is to writing what Rob Liefeld is to drawing feet. His enthusiasm is just a mask to camouflage his lack of ability.

Just don't screw up what Azz is doing on Wonder Woman. That's all I ask.

(Okay, keep Lois & Clark together in Smallville. Brian is actually writing some good Superman on that comic.)

I'd imagine Superman and Lois will get together once the movie debuts and they can have parallel romantic themes. I think that's the goal, these days.

I'm just going to continue to sit this new 52 out and wait for the real DC universe to return!

I understand the JL#12 is sold out and getting a 2nd printing'well if the wider public were so hung up on Clois or only wanted Lois why are readers willing to give the new 52 a go? Says to me there is an untapped market there and even lapsed readers who always wanted to see this. How this plays out will depend on DC. They could try and make it work and even give us good, fresh stories'Superman has never dated a woman he never had to save every other week and one who presents challeges to him as this Amazon does and Diana could be very well complimented by this new 52 version of Superman. He's not wuss, and has a real social conscience. I can tell you that much. Or DC can try to go back to Lois and Clark but I suspect that wave would not be ridden as much as this since that relationship, while a staple, is actually predictable. Did nothing much for Superman's whole. Superman was considered broken pretty much and creatiovely stagnant for years. This new 52 allows DC to shake it up. Good for them.

I'm not a very big Superman fan, but this is kinda ridiculous. How much do you wanna bet they have an editorial mandate now that says, 'Superman and Lois can't date'?

Why limit your creators like that? It just seems like DC doesn't have any idea of where it's going in the New52.

The only title that seems to have any focus is Wonder Woman, and it's the best book they've got. The rest, even my beloved Green Lantern books, don't seem like they have any long-term plans.

DC = Disappointing Comics

DC finally did it.

My girlfriend who has never read comic books pulled out all 11 Justice League issues of mine and read them the day she found out Superman and Wonder Woman would begin their romance. We've discussed comic books in the past and she never understood why they've never hooked up in the past.

Now that they are'she's on board. And now that's she's read 11 issues of Justice League'she's hooked.

I remember an old alternate futur from Superman in the 60's.. where he would marry different gals..; each mariage did end in disaster.. (Superman with Super-woman isnt a good thing)

Alan moore did it some years ago on its take on Supreme.. 'A mariage Supreme' (same storie as the ones tolds in the 60's, only with supreme and moore's vocable) Superman with a super-woman only ends in disaster

WXithout its hold, on down to earth things .. without someone totally human to bring him to the heights of human beings, superman , as anyman with power' will loose touch with 'The Base'

I thought Lois should've been dumped decades ago. How could Superman, with his super mind, be attracted to a woman who is so dumb she can't recognize that Clark is Superman with glasses on? It would be like dating a cocker spaniel.

If only this was the real Superman dumping Lois! But it isn't even Superman ' it's a guy in a Jim Lee 1990's costume who merely resembles Superman. With Jim Lee designing, I guess we should be grateful he doesn't have a leather jacket on top of his blue body armor!

This is SO silly' where are the good ideas?
DC don't have a clue these days.

And Johns on Justice League is a TOTAL let down.

Fun idea, hope they get some interesting material out of it. Hooray for storytelling!

Leave a Comment