I miss the love triangle

[Flash Gordon]

I like the classic set up, I think Superman works best when he's more enigmatic. Obscured. Clark Kent isn't someone you'd really know, he's a byline. An authorial credit. When Lois starts to peel that back, is when things get wonky.

If Clark Kent has to interact with figures in authority, his scam needs to be rock solid.

I like Lois knowing and then getting together, but that happens down the road. In the films I'd prefer that to be dragged out as far as possible. In the comics they can be married.

[Superfamily]

I don't miss the love triangle...Lois Lane is a smart reporter, and female representative in superman's stories and her doesn't have to be the idiot of history again and Clark and Lois have evolved in your relationship......for me the love triangle is acceptable if it is a short time in the story..

[manwhohaseverything]

Is there nothing this (SUPER)man can do or come up with on his own?

Lois creates the dual identity. Momma gives him his clothes. Space daddy has to lay out his career as a hero. Yikes.

Did you not watch the show? He hated wearing a costume. Did not like to be vigilante like green arrow nor did he care about going on a crusade for justice with a secret identity . Clark wanted to help out people as Clark kent. But unfortunately he was photographed by Jimmy as a blur. They began to call him "the blur".
He hated the persona nor did he like acting like a nerd. Sure he had some nerd like qualities, but he did not like being stereotypical nerd.
Lois was basically forcing Clark to act that way so that he can have a life. He caved after a lot of nonsense. Jor el was basically trying to push him to be a savior figure. He was an ******* many a times too. His mother made that costume because she believed it would have greater impact if "the blur" had a face, that people could look upto. This conclusion clark came to on his own later as well with him having to inspire people with registration act, wonder twins.. Etc. So, he finally caved decided to both silly costumes(Clark and Superman) .

[rpmaluki]

tbh, the aftermath drama is the fun part lol

I'm all for it so long as Lois or Clark aren't thrown under the bus and it's well written.

[stargazer01]

The triangle would need to be upgraded so as to not make any of the parties manipulative, pushovers, foolish, stupid or shallow. If they can avoid all of that, I don't mind it coming back somehow.

Agreed.

That was the laziest part of that movie by far. All Star and of course Christopher Reeve's transformation scene from Superman sell it. I also like American Alien's take. Where Clark said people always just told him he looks like Superman and laugh it off. That's probably how it'd actually go down.

Some of it you just have to chalk up to suspension of disbelief. Jimmy, Perry, and Lex all are typically around both and are never the wiser either.

Some of it sure, but I don't think that works as it used to anymore because audiences are more sophisticated. They need to find new ways to make the Clark Kent disguise work if they want to go that way. Smallville found a new way to do it and it seemed to work pretty well. I think the way Superman show treats Lena not realizing Kara is Supergirl makes her look like an idiot honestly. It's just not believable at all.

So come up with new way to disguise Clark. I'm sure the creative people can do it. They need to treat their audience with more intelligence.

[Yoda]

Some of it sure, but I don't think that works as it used to anymore because audiences are more sophisticated. They need to find new ways to make the Clark Kent disguise work if they want to go that way. Smallville found a new way to do it and it seemed to work pretty well. I think the way Superman show treats Lena not realizing Kara is Supergirl makes her look like an idiot honestly. It's just not believable at all.

So come up with new way to disguise Clark. I'm sure the creative people can do it. They need to treat their audience with more intelligence.

I think it's one of those things that people either can suspend disbelief on or can't. Because you're right, the way they handle Lena in Supergirl is as bad as Lois ever was, because Kara there literally just puts on glasses and pulls back her hair. Short of shape shifting, which I think moves you too far from SUperman's fundamentals to work, or the blurring from Smallville, there's really no realistic way to do it in a modern context beyond what Reeve pulls off for the most part. Everyone with a smartphone essentially has facial recognition tech that would match the two faces regardless of glasses, hair, or posture. Not to mention any governmental agency. He could never get a drivers license, passport, or ID really, because once there's a photo connected to "Clark Kent," Superman is gonna get made.

That said, a Reeve style act is actually way more effective than people realize for everyone except people like Lois, Perry, Jimmy, and Lex who have close day to day interaction with both. There's articles by CIA disguise experts on how you really only need little things to throw people off.




EDIT: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-put-to...e-c-1829940877

[KC]

I don't. I loathe love triangles and "will they won't they" relationships.

The characters of Clark and Lois have evolved since the love triangle was a part of Superman's mythos and them getting married was a natural evolution of their characters. It would make no sense for them to go back to the days of the love triangle.

[adkal]

No offense but I don't think it's dangerous to want what the creator thought was the best way to write the characters.

I take it that you've never read The K-Metal from Krypton?

http://www.*************.nu/k-metal/splash.php

It was written 2 years after Superman was first published and I think you should read it

[Adekis]

I think the love triangle is fun in its own way, but I really dislike a lot of stories that came out of it. I'm particularly not fond of the sort of story that Maggin would eventually contextualize as "Lois loved Clark, and ached in vain to believe he was Superman... no one understood this," or whatever it was. I mean, that context makes some of the "Lois tries to prove Clark is Superman" stories a little better, but not a ton.

And I think stories where Lois almost finds out the secret very early on in the 40s, or where she finds out in a dream, or even the existence of K-Metal where she does find out, but it was never published, all indicate that Siegel on some level wanted to do away with the fake love triangle many, many decades before DC themselves decided to do it.

On a side note, the scene where Lois finds out Clark's secret in Smallville is amazing and perfect and wonderful and I just cannot take it seriously for a fucking second, because she keeps saying "the Blur". The only thing you'd need to do to totally fix that scene forever and make it the best in franchise history would be to call him "Superman" instead.

[Lasil]

I take it that you've never read The K-Metal from Krypton?

http://www.*************.nu/k-metal/splash.php

It was written 2 years after Superman was first published and I think you should read it

I have read the K-Metal from Krypton story. The history of the story is unknown. No one knows if it was Siegel's idea or if it was something DC wanted him to do and he convinced them it was a bad idea or if he thought of it as an imaginary story. Everyone has theories but we will never know what really happened with the K-Metal from Krypton.

This is what Jerry Siegel said about Lois finding out the secret.

"If Lois should actually learn Clark's secret, the strip would lose about 75% of its appeal—the human interest angle. I know that a formula can possibly prove monotonous through repetition but I fear that if this element is removed from the story formula that makes up Superman, that this strip will lose a great part of its effectiveness."

When he and Shuster made Clark and Lois marry in the newspaper strip, he did it without Lois finding out Clark was Superman and years later revealed the whole thing to be a dream.

[stargazer01]

I think it's one of those things that people either can suspend disbelief on or can't. Because you're right, the way they handle Lena in Supergirl is as bad as Lois ever was, because Kara there literally just puts on glasses and pulls back her hair. Short of shape shifting, which I think moves you too far from SUperman's fundamentals to work, or the blurring from Smallville, there's really no realistic way to do it in a modern context beyond what Reeve pulls off for the most part. Everyone with a smartphone essentially has facial recognition tech that would match the two faces regardless of glasses, hair, or posture. Not to mention any governmental agency. He could never get a drivers license, passport, or ID really, because once there's a photo connected to "Clark Kent," Superman is gonna get made.

That said, a Reeve style act is actually way more effective than people realize for everyone except people like Lois, Perry, Jimmy, and Lex who have close day to day interaction with both. There's articles by CIA disguise experts on how you really only need little things to throw people off.

True. But at least try to have Clark acting different than Superman. At least try. Cavill's Clark didn't try at all. Cain not sure, didn't watch that show yet. Reeve over did it lol. I think the key is to try to at least make Clark and Superman act and looks different.

Also, I've read fan stories about not letting Lois meet Clark so soon. In a similar way like in Man of Steel and Smallville. Delay that meeting for a whole movie or a whole season. When they eventually meet, disguise Clark as mild-mannered reporter and after a season or 2 have Lois finally learn he is Superman. Build an exciting story around it.

I really want them to eventually know the truth (and get married, etc), especially because Clark will be falling in love and he can't be lying to Lois for too long. It's not right. The tension and drama could be great and fun.

[Yoda]

The problem is they were writing strips and stories for an audience that grew out of them every few years. So the monotony he recognizes wasn't as big of problem. These were strips that were written for and read by a lot of children and serialized stories weren't the norm or the expectation. Add onto that the changes in societal norms, i.e. constantly lying to and tricking your love interest as to your real identity, aren't really considered "cute" anymore. While it definitely has it's place in the narrative. You simply could not go back to a serialized version where Superman is constantly lying to or tricking Lois or Lois is constantly the brunt of the joke that Clark is Superman.

He can initially protect his identity, but as soon as you incorporate an actual romantic storyline into it it gets really creepy and distasteful. It almost has to be played as a character flaw that he overcomes to get any kind of modern traction out of it.

[Lasil]

Lois not knowing Clark is Superman doesn't make her stupid. No one knows Clark is Superman. The disguise is so good that not even the best investigative reporter can figure it out.

[Truman Burbank]

The triangle was a tired, played-out concept that was actively harming the Superman books by the time it went away. It should stay dead.

[Miles To Go]

Lois not knowing Clark is Superman doesn't make her stupid. No one knows Clark is Superman. The disguise is so good that not even the best investigative reporter can figure it out.

Tempus' deconstruction of that whole deal is a favourite scene from Lois and Clark