It goes against conventional comic wisdom, I know, but I really, really like the Superman/Lois Lane marriage, and it makes me a little sad knowing that it’s likely disappearing come September. It might dump the classic love triangle aspect of the mythos – Clark loves Lois, but Lois loves Superman… who is actually Clark Is Your Mind Blown Yet etc. – but, for me, it replaces it with something that’s worth more: A Superman who’s not continually lying to the woman he’s in love with.
I mean, it’s not just me who always thought that – while that kind of thing is a superhero trope and works for almost every other character with a secret identity in comics – Superman came across as weirdly patronizing and off-puttingly paternal in his “Ha ha! Lois doesn’t realize that the Clark she’s talking to is really one of my Superman robots! Stupid woman!” moments, right? For a character who fights for Truth, Justice and the American Way, he sure seemed to get a lot of enjoyment out of hiding the truth from Lois (or, for that matter, Lana, or any of the rest of his friends) all the time. For me, Superman should never come across as condescending, but there’s something about the whole love triangle bit that just underscored that all the time, for me.
Not only that: I feel that the marriage formalized the idea of Lois as Superman’s partner, and more importantly, his equal – Well, when written right. There were also times when he’d go off on a walk across America after spending a year on another planet and returning to promise he wouldn’t leave her for such a long time again (Seriously, great job making those two stories line up, Superman editors) – which was really good for Lois as a character, as well as the Lois/Clark relationship.
I know all the arguments against superhero marriages – It makes the characters too old, too difficult to relate to, married characters are boring – but it all rings particularly false in Superman’s case: It’s not like this is a character who historically has any other long-term love interest other than Lois (Lots of exes, like Lana and Lori Lemaris, sure, but for contemporary stories, it’s almost always been Lois), so it’s not as if you’re denying any tradition of romantic angst a la Spider-Man. And in terms of making Superman feel too old or too unrelatable… it’s Superman. He’s everyone’s dad – Okay, maybe everyone’s cool Uncle, perhaps. He’s not meant to be the character everyone relates to, is he? Also, anyone who thinks that married characters are boring… either you’ve never been married, or you have a crappy marriage.
I don’t know – I feel like de-marrying Superman isn’t going to necessarily leave either him or Lois in a better place, or open up story possibilities that are even that interesting or worth pursuing (See: Superman and Wonder Woman hooking up, especially because it’s been done before). But then, who says reboots have to make any sense?
June 17th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
I feel this way the way I felt about the Spideman retool.
It doesn’t change the fact that the readers know, subconsciously at least, that this character HAS been married.
Every time I think of Spiderman now I remember that at one point he was with his perfect partner, and his having relationships w/ other women feels off.
It’s going to be even worse w/ Superman, who waaay more then Pete Parker has been waaay more conjoined to Lois.
These weddings weren’t brief blips, each lasted more then a decade, and no unraveling of it feel whole, no matter how good the post-stories are/will supposedly be.
June 17th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
YES.
Everything this piece says, exactly. Boo on Super-Dickery, the diminishing of Lois Lane, and editors who think marriages make people less cool or relevant or relatable.
June 18th, 2011 at 11:49 am
Get this. There will be a “Superman” in name only. There will be no more Krypton, no Lois, no origin as we know it. That also means no more DC comics for me,thank you very much. I am so **ssed.
Bertrou
June 18th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
The marriage isn’t a make or break thing for me; however, I prefer a hitched Superman.
1. As you say, it’s unseemly for Superman to lie to the woman he loves.
2. He’s a role model and a hero, and it’s preferrable to see such a figure maintaining a compassionate, mature relationship.
3. The triangle is old, cliche hackery. I hated it when I was a kid and avoided Superman in large part because of it.
4. Finally, as a friend once said, nobody wants a Superman who saves the world, only to come home and be emasculated by the woman he loves.
June 19th, 2011 at 2:27 am
It didn’t matter much to me when they ended Spider-Man’s marriage. I personally wouldn’t have done it but wasn’t a deal breaker for me.
I can’t put it into words but breaking up Superman and Lois just feels really wrong. Him and Wonder Woman hooking up just makes me roll my eyes.
June 19th, 2011 at 7:13 am
Superman and Wonder Woman hooking up strikes me as fan fiction. I can’t imagine a writer selling me on laid-back, country boy Clark Kent going in for a warrior princess. Doesn’t seem quite right for a guy who just wants a normal life outside his superheroing.
June 19th, 2011 at 11:32 am
One thing I love about Superman and Lois being married is that it shows a nice, happy marriage, which is a rare thing in comics. They’re partners in every sense. The only other DC marriage that worked as well IMO is the one with the couple already married (and I sure do miss Ralph and Sue Dibny!) Even Barry and Iris doesn’t have the dynamic that Superman and Lois have.
The other thing I love about Superman and Lois being married is that it fits perfectly with his ideals and with his upbringing. He grew up in a loving home with the Kents. He witnessed a near perfect marriage firsthand. It makes sense for him to want that and when he meets Lois, he finds his lifemate/soulmate. It makes sense for them to be married.
Marriage does not have to be a jump the shark event. It just takes good writers to write a loving partnership and the Superman writers for the most part have done a great job with it.
June 20th, 2011 at 7:41 am
I too like the Superman/Lois marriage. I believe it serves to round out Superman’s character. In his hero persona, he must emphasize the “Super.” In his Clark persona, the “man” comes to the forefront. But in the trust & security of marriage, the two can be balanced. He can truly be his whole self.
I think the marriage helps Lois’s character as well. Having Lois be a true partner to Superman gives us a chance to see her hold her own against the other big characters in Clark’s “super” world.