Did Lois fall in love w. Superman or Clark?

[DochaDocha]

I guess the right juxtaposition for this thread should be how much does Superman love Lois.

Spoiler: A lot.

I think there's something kind of fun about these triangle-for-two stories. Jem did it in the 80s (not acknowledging the live-action movie). My wife and I were about to watch a Polish movie trending on Netflix, Love Squared, but it was too uninteresting to finish.

[Nelliebly]

If there are any fans who have not truly watched the later seasons of Smallville, I truly recommend you at least check out Season 9 which presents, start to finish, perhaps the best interpretation of the Lois/Clark/Superman triangle ever in media. Yes, I know he wasn’t technically “Superman” he was “the blur” but TRUST ME it completely works and the dynamic is extremely effective in showing how Clark grapples with the two sides of himself and how Lois intersects between them.

I particularly recommend the episodes “Idol” and “Charade” which are basically a 2 part story about the triangle and the season finale “Salvation” for its resolution.

Some people would argue that the “who’s asking?clark....or Superman?” Proposal reveal in Lois and Clark is the most devastatingly romantic reveal ever but I would argue it’s actually this:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A2bwsr95gq4

She already knew. We know she knew already because she pictured his face under Max Lord’s compulsion in Charade. She wanted it to be Clark. And the confirmation that it is ....ahhh perfection. chef’s kiss. The best.

[Alpha]

Yeah, I mostly concur.

[witchboy]

Reading older comics I find it frustrating and even unfair when Superman wants Lois to fall in love with Clark when it's at at time that Clark is a fake personality and Superman is his real personality. This is all pre-Crisis, of course.
In the 70s he was losing his powers for awhile as Clark and starts acting like himself as Clark, Lois did start falling for him.

[Nelliebly]

Reading older comics I find it frustrating and even unfair when Superman wants Lois to fall in love with Clark when it's at at time that Clark is a fake personality and Superman is his real personality. This is all pre-Crisis, of course.
In the 70s he was losing his powers for awhile as Clark and starts acting like himself as Clark, Lois did start falling for him.

It’s completely unfair.

Why should she be required to prove something by falling in love with something fake? He isn’t asked to do that. He loves her as her true self so why should she be required to do anything different?

It’s completely unfair to ask of her. Which is why the old “Lois was shallow because she loved Superman and not Clark” has always been so bothersome. She clearly loves the real person underneath when he’s willing to show that to her.

[Restingvoice]

Superman first, then eventually Clark. The one she loves and marries is Clark. The real Clark. Not the coward-bumbling Clark disguise, not the cool-sexy-manly Superman image, but the humble, kind Smallville.

[manwhohaseverything]

It’s completely unfair.

Why should she be required to prove something by falling in love with something fake? He isn’t asked to do that. He loves her as her true self so why should she be required to do anything different?

It’s completely unfair to ask of her. Which is why the old “Lois was shallow because she loved Superman and not Clark” has always been so bothersome. She clearly loves the real person underneath when he’s willing to show that to her.

Pardon my ignorance.That's a silverage thing,right?Clark in goldenage didn't want that from what i have read(correct me if i am wrong).Heck! he wasn't that hung up on romance in the first place.Clark sort of had a different kind of romance.A romance with adventure.Lois was like that as well.For them,their home drama meant nothing.It was an action comic in all aspects.

[Nelliebly]

Pardon my ignorance.That's a silverage thing,right?Clark in goldenage didn't want that from what i have read(correct me if i am wrong).Heck! he wasn't that hung up on romance in the first place.Clark sort of had a different kind of romance.A romance with adventure.Lois was like that as well.For them,their home drama meant nothing.It was an action comic in all aspects.

No. That’s not correct bc you aren’t understanding or taking the time period constraints into account.

The lack of explicit romance in the Golden Age had very little to do with what you are talking about and a lot to do with societal norms.

Superman and Lois weren’t even allowed to kiss on page in the Golden Age. Their first kiss was spoken about but not allowed to be shown.

In the Golden Age, Clark was still pretending to be a coward in front of Lois. So it’s not surprising that she didn’t think much of him as Clark given he was pretending to be someone he’s not in front of her.

[Quinlan58]

Superman asks Lois out on a date as Clark in Action Comics #1. I can't remember if there was a "I must make her love me as Clark" plot in the Golden Age, just Clark pursuing her and blowing it by prioritizing keeping his secret identity.

[Nelliebly]

Superman asks Lois out on a date as Clark in Action Comics #1. I can't remember if there was a "I must make her love me as Clark" plot in the Golden Age, just Clark pursuing her and blowing it by prioritizing keeping his secret identity.

Yeah. It was more that he was just completely blowing it with her as Clark. He takes her out on that date in Action 1 but then doesn’t defend her when those guys start to harass her. Superman, of course, is right there to protect her. So there is definitely a sense that Clark was coming off cowardly when Lois herself was right in there punching bad guys etc/

[bat39]

Yeah. It was more that he was just completely blowing it with her as Clark. He takes her out on that date in Action 1 but then doesn’t defend her when those guys start to harass her. Superman, of course, is right there to protect her. So there is definitely a sense that Clark was coming off cowardly when Lois herself was right in there punching bad guys etc/

Yeah, that's very much in line with the public 'Clark Kent' mostly serving as a disguise for Superman back in the Golden Age. Post-COIE, the public Clark Kent started to reflect the 'real man' more, which made him a legitimate 'contender' for Lois' affections.

[Jim Kelly]

I just imagine that Jerry and Joe were drawing from life. Especially Joe--Jerry did steal his Lois Lane away from him.

That's one reason I have so much sympathy for that Clark. He's me. He's the loser. I have a lot more in common with that guy than the Man of Steel. I watched SUPERMAN (1978) again the other day and the scene at the elevators just floors me. At one point, Clark is all alone--he doesn't need to put on an act anymore--yet he does. I love that guy. It reminds me of Danial Day-Lewis in A ROOM WITH A VIEW, Cecil and the shoes. Ah, Cecil--Miss Honeychurch should have married you.

[manwhohaseverything]

No. That’s not correct bc you aren’t understanding or taking the time period constraints into account.

The lack of explicit romance in the Golden Age had very little to do with what you are talking about and a lot to do with societal norms.

Superman and Lois weren’t even allowed to kiss on page in the Golden Age. Their first kiss was spoken about but not allowed to be shown.

In the Golden Age, Clark was still pretending to be a coward in front of Lois. So it’s not surprising that she didn’t think much of him as Clark given he was pretending to be someone he’s not in front of her.

I never felt that,There was alot of bucking the trends.Heck!siegel had the balls to have clark be a wimp(like you said) and himself being the reason lois rejected him.Which is something i don't think even the current writers have the balls to do.There was enough romantic tension between lois and Superman.Which wouldn't have been there if siegel didn't want it.Overall Superman and lois were like the mr and mrs smith or something.Even fleischer cartoons kept that.It's kids(specifically boys were the main demo) comic certain restrictions were there(still continue in certain parts of the world in regards censorship like that.Heck! it increase after comics code).The funny thing is,There was even things like clark spanking a queen or princes of somewhere(i don't remeber her name).Overall,Superman was like zorro-esque or indiana jones-esque figure .Main thrust was always action because that was what attracted people towards superman.There was actually a market for superpowered zorro beating up people they wanted.

[witchboy]

Pardon my ignorance.That's a silverage thing,right?Clark in goldenage didn't want that from what i have read(correct me if i am wrong).Heck! he wasn't that hung up on romance in the first place.Clark sort of had a different kind of romance.A romance with adventure.Lois was like that as well.For them,their home drama meant nothing.It was an action comic in all aspects.

I'm reading mid 80s Superman comics now, and the whole thing where Superman wants Lois to love Clark, that idea does pop up even close to COIE. Superman and Lois break up mostly because the relationship was stagnating due to him not being willing to commit.
During that time - while he and Lois were still in the process of breaking up- Clark starts seriously dating Lana, and he does unfavorably compare Lois and Lana since Lana is now interested in Clark and Lois wasn't. Superman doesn't come off well in that situation.
I have read the suggestion that Lana was pushed as the love interest because of her higher profile in Superman III. I can't imagine what a new reader at that time who expected to find small town single mother new to Metropolis Lana and found the slightly pretentious sophisticated newscaster Lana who still was calling people "luv" because she lived in Europe for awhile and never got over it.

[Jim Kelly]

I like that sophisticated Lana. She never was the small town girl, because her father was a globe-trotting archaeologist and she would go with him on his adventures. She also was involved with the Legion of Super-Heroes and dated aliens that came to Earth for visits.

In the Marty Pasko run, she kind of takes the place of 1960s Lois Lane--in trying to get Superman's attention. But she's a powerful woman, anchors the news with Clark. And later she becomes involved with Vartox.

It is kind of funny that another red-haired reporter who'd been in Europe comes back to the States around the same time--that being Vicki Vale in the Batman comics.

I don't know why everyone seems to have a problem with the Superman cast being screwed up and having dysfunctional relationships. That's how people really are. It's like some readers want all the characters to act like automatons and follow clear paths forward in life according to a sanitized version of reality. People have emotions that cause them to do weird stuff.