Did Lois fall in love w. Superman or Clark?

[Riv86672]

Was reading through the “How much does Diana love Steve?“ thread in the WW Forum (it’s pretty good!) and I got to thinking about Lois, and wanted to ask.

[Celgress]

She certainly harbored a major crush on Superman long before she ever became interested in Clark, there is no denying that much.

[Sacred Knight]

Pre-Crisis she loved Superman. Post-Crisis she was enamored with Superman first but ultimately fell in love with Clark.

[Frontier]

Pre-Crisis she loved Superman. Post-Crisis she was enamored with Superman first but ultimately fell in love with Clark.

And that's usually what most adaptions go with.

[Celgress]

And that's usually what most adaptions go with.

Indeed they do, which is what I was citing.

[Alpha]

Yeah it nearly all interpretations of Superman, Lois is enamored with the concept of Superman. I never liked that though. Lois judges people based on their actions, sure, but I don't think she would fall in love with someone she doesn't actually know. Although I suppose that in the universes where Superman does interviews and hangs out in public, he almost feels like an actual person to her.

[Frontier]

Yeah it nearly all interpretations of Superman, Lois is enamored with the concept of Superman. I never liked that though. Lois judges people based on their actions, sure, but I don't think she would fall in love with someone she doesn't actually know. Although I suppose that in the universes where Superman does interviews and hangs out in public, he almost feels like an actual person to her.

I think it's not just the concept but his strength of character and forthrightness.

[Quinlan58]

She falls in love with the real person.

[bat39]

Pre-Crisis she loved Superman. Post-Crisis she was enamored with Superman first but ultimately fell in love with Clark.

Reminds me of the scene in Byrne's Man of Steel # 6 where Clark, on a trip back to Smallville, worries about the fact that he's developing feelings for Lois, but she's attracted to 'Superman' who is ultimately a public persona he's created, and that ultimately he needs to "do something about it".

I think the answer is ultimately very similar to a lot of the debates we have about which is the 'real identity'. Lois starts off being enamoured by Superman, even attracted to him. But ultimately, she falls in love with the 'real man' behind the secret identities and disguises. Back in the Silver Age, and in the Donner/Lester movies (and Superman Returns for that matter), Superman better reflects the 'real man' while Clark is a disguise, so she basically loves Superman. Post-COIE, and adaptations derived from it, have her ultimately fall in love with Clark Kent, who even in his civilian persona reflects the 'real man'.

This reminds me of the classic 70's story telling the story behind the wedding of Earth 2 Lois & Clark. Lois falls in love with Clark basically because Clark, who's been mindwiped by the Wizard into forgetting he's Superman, begins to show his 'true self' and becomes an ace reporter taking on the underworld, and acting on his feelings for Lois. Of course, Lois later discovers that Clark is Superman, and helps restore his memories. But this reinforces the idea that Lois basically loves the real man, and when Clark Kent is not the act but reflects this real man better, she falls in love with him.

Another aspect I guess is one of realism. Back in the Silver Age, with its attendant insanity, Lois could 'realistically' dream of being married to Superman and building a life with him. But in a more grounded Post-Crisis world, Lois realizes that being with Superman long-term is most likely an impossible dream - given that she doesn't really know him, and he's this larger than life God-like figure who zips in and out of her life and who holds the weight of the world on his shoulders. On the other hand, Clark Kent is a normal human being and a decent man whom she can realistically build a life with.

[Robanker]

Yes. The correct answer is "yes."

To be slightly less of a dick, it's incredibly reductive to need to consider them different people than parts of the same man she fell in love with. Post-Crisis posits she loves Clark, but they only marry once he fully lets her in to both sides of his life. She loves them both.

[seismic-2]

On Earth-2 Lois had always been in love with Superman, but then he disappeared, and after a while it was commonly believed that he would never return. Meanwhile, Clark started acting less like a timid slouching wimp and more nearly like an assertive, vigorous, confident, and, yes, even heroic figure. This change certainly did not escape Lois's attention, and with Superman gone presumably forever, she developed a strong attraction to the "real" Clark, not the bumbling Clark that Superman had used as a disguise. She fell in love with, and then married, the "new" Clark, precisely because he was the sort of person that Superman had been. I doubt that she would ever have accepted a marriage proposal from the "old" Clark, even with Superman out of the picture. She yes, the Earth-2 Lois fell in love with Clark, but it would have to be flagged with an asterisk.

[Jim Kelly]

In ACTION COMICS No.1, Lois loves Superman in the same way Marcello loves Sylvia in LA DOLCE VITA. Superman is the sex object, Sylvia (Anita Ekberg). And Lois is the reporter, Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni). Superman turns everyone on.

I think there were many times over the years, when Lois fell in love with Clark--it's not a recent thing. And whenever Clark lost his memory or didn't have to pose anymore, he became too sexy for his shirt.

Presumably, it was more important to Superman that Lois fall in love with him as Clark than as Superman. At the end of "The Sweetheart Superman Forgot," SUPERMAN 165, Clark thinks that he would like someone to love him for himself--when he's Superman, he worries they're just turned on by the fame and the powers. However, it seems like Clark is really setting a high bar for anyone--as he doesn't let anyone see the real man behind the glasses and behind the red S. It's only in those times when Clark shows his true self that he gets as many babes as swinger Peter Parker.

In SUPERMAN 296 - 299, Clark has Lois longing for him. And in SUPERMAN 314, Clark asks Lois to marry him and she would say yes if he would just confirm he's Superman. As Marty Pasko continued this romance, Lois and Superman reached some kind of detente. She accepted that there were some commitments he couldn't deliver (telling her that he was Clark, marrying her), because he belonged to the world and not one woman--so she accepted this state of affairs for the time being, but she got to hang out with him and be his partner.

In LOIS & CLARK, the way I see it is, if Lois loves Superman immediately, there isn't much falling needed. I mean she does literally fall from the sky and he catches her (the you got me, who's got you moment) but that's all it takes for Lois to love Superman. With Clark, it's a long process. And aren't those kind of love stories more interesting?

[godisawesome]

The “immediately and predictably/justifiably enamored with Superman but still professional around him, then slowly growing genuinely fond of and coming to love the real dude through Clark” is generally the one most people like, and for good reason; it acknowledges the magnetism and charisma that Superman exudes in the suit and saving people, but also allows the quieter kind of attraction to grow between Lois and Clark, and generally follows that Clark becomes more comfortable and trusting of Lois enough to allow her to see all sides of his personality.

I’ll be blunt and say I prefer Clark to have enough of a personality to fuel an actual romance arc with the glasses around Lois, so I prefer that part of their relationship develop more mundanely.

[stargazer01]

I think it's not just the concept but his strength of character and forthrightness.

I think so yeah. He's a nice guy that wants to use his powers for good. That's also Clark.

In Superman the Movie, she has a big crush on him because he saved her and his manly beauty haha, but then she gets to know him a bit more and realizes he's a really good person and an optimists and also treats her with respect. I think Lois is not used to that kind of gentleman. He floors her.

Unfortunately, Reeve's Clark is too much of an act and too clumsy.

[Nelliebly]

Yes. The correct answer is "yes."

To be slightly less of a dick, it's incredibly reductive to need to consider them different people than parts of the same man she fell in love with. Post-Crisis posits she loves Clark, but they only marry once he fully lets her in to both sides of his life. She loves them both.

This right here.

Clark is Superman. Superman is Clark.

She loves them both whenever they are being their “true” selves. She loves the real man.