Should we feel bad formLois Lane after her reasons are explained?

[Cmbmool]

After reading this : http://www.newsarama.com/24871-super...ation-age.html

I have to ask, no matter what reasoning Lois had for outing Clark Kent is Superman secret, she basically just placed herself, Clark and others in big trouble and various threats given the aftermath of it in the other Superman titles.

Just kind of even more sad that the Kents aren't around to pull Clark back this time.


I mean should we feel sorry For Lois Lane for just basically putting all she knows and love in danger ?

As Superman fans what do you think of this ?

[Myskin]

I think that we have already seen enough discussions based on nothing and, as far as I am concerned, I'll wait for the real issues and then I will decide, all the while keeping an open mind even if some fans have already decided that they won't like it.

[DragonPiece]

I think we should wait and read the actual story before making any judgments.

[Jabare]

no I don't feel bad. She should have realized the risks.

I think it was wrong for her to out her friend Clark the way she did, but at the same time she was actually doing her job.....for once. I mean how many years has this intrepid reporter been oblivious to the biggest scoop of her life sitting right under her nose.

As for Lois being in danger thats nothing new. Feels like she has been a perpetual "damsel in distress" since the 30s. I mean there is a difference between being a good reporter and running around with a bullseye on your back saying "please shoot me," before Superman swoops to her rescue.

[Auguste Dupin]

Well, I guess that will depend on the circumstances, now , won't it?

[Darth Kal-el]

The real question is will the fans blame Lois or DC if her motivation doesn't hold up to scrutiny

[vaf2675]

I'm just glad that Clark's parents are dead in the N52. At least he doesn't have to worry about them becoming targets of revenge plots.

The rest of his friends however, I feel pretty bad for them because now they are just going to become hostages in the never ending revenge quests that all of Superman's foes will embark upon.

As for Lois, no I don't feel bad for her. Whatever her reasons might be, she chose to betray a friend in order to advance her career. To me that is as low as you can get. Absolutely no respect for her, and if she gets killed in the crossfire, well, she brought it upon herself.

[misslane]

no I don't feel bad. She should have realized the risks.

This is why I resent the argument some use to defend this storyline: Lois was just doing her job as a journalist. The truth is that a good journalist has an ethical responsibility to minimize harm. So far, the "Truth" titles have revealed that Lois's expose has only resulted in more harm than good.

I think it was wrong for her to out her friend Clark the way she did, but at the same time she was actually doing her job.....for once.

Unless it is revealed that Lois had clear and abundant evidence that the need to hold Superman accountable by revealing his secret identity was worth more than the consequences of revealing it, then she was not doing her job.

I mean how many years has this intrepid reporter been oblivious to the biggest scoop of her life sitting right under her nose.

Common misconception. Lois was hardly oblivious to the possibility that Clark Kent was Superman. Throughout the Golden and Silver Ages, Lois was constantly suspicious of Clark and attempted multiple times to prove her theory that he was Superman. She never printed the scoop because she could never prove it. Margot Kidder's Lois figured out the truth about a week after she first met Clark and Superman in the Reeve films. Lois connecting the dots between Clark Kent and Superman is not new.

As for Lois being in danger thats nothing new. Feels like she has been a perpetual "damsel in distress" since the 30s. I mean there is a difference between being a good reporter and running around with a bullseye on your back saying "please shoot me," before Superman swoops to her rescue.

Good reporters put themselves in harm's way for stories all the time.

[manofsteel1979]

The real question is will the fans blame Lois or DC if her motivation doesn't hold up to scrutiny

Definitely DC in my case. Bad writing should be layed at the feet of the creative staff not the characters.

Oh and that interview...Romita, I respect his artwork and career. ..and he did an ok job on Superman#40...but the more he says makes me less enthusiastic about this storyline. I think from now on Yang should do more of the talking, because JrJr proves he is clueless when it comes to Superman, and particularly Lois Lane.

[misslane]

Nrama: John, we've talked a little bit about the new power that Superman has, and how it led up to this. But now we're going to get the story of why Lois Lane told the world about Superman's secret identity. How would you describe what you're getting to draw as you show her decision-making process, and how are you visually portraying the strained relationship between Clark and Lois?

John Romita Jr.: That's a great question. You're alluding to what I was thinking, because I've actually been trying to make it a little bit cold between the two of them. Women that I know — especially my wife — would not be just fumbling all over themselves because of this guy, especially with the history of the character in the New 52. I don't think she should be in any way enamored with him.

But she's doing her job. This is what her job is. A strong-willed reporter of any gender would be doing this to better their career. And that's what it should be. I don't think she should just fawn all over him and say, "Oh! I'll protect your identity!" That's ridiculous.

To me, there should be a chill between the two of them. And we're approaching that in an upcoming issue. There's a conversation between the two of them, that I'm working on — Gene, as I speak, I'm working on that panel — and there's got to be a little bit of this coolness from her.

I really can't stand Romita. It's easy to understand why someone like Lois would care about Clark/Superman, and it has been shown in the New 52 previously. As Clark and Lois, they were colleagues who worked side by side doing work that mattered. Lois admired Clark's populist touch and considered him a good friend after they had been in the trenches together, so to speak, for years. As Superman and Lois, they had a partnership of sorts as well. Lois saw what Superman was doing once he debuted and, like the people of Kentville, believed he was a force for good (e.g. she defended him to General Lane while he was in captivity in one of Morrison's early issues) after seeing his good deeds and interviewing him. In other words, it's understandable that Lois would be enamored with Clark and with Superman because he is a good guy (kind, heroic) in both of those personas.

I also am appalled he would suggest that it's Lois Lane's job to base her decisions about what to expose not on any principles, but on whether it would advance her own career ambitions. This is a woman who ultimately stepped down from a lofty producer job because she believed in doing good work and not just being a corporate stooge. She cares about her career, and wants to be successful, but not at the expense of others. If this is the reason given in the book for her decision, I will lose what little respect and trust I have left in those who are handling the Superman line. Lois didn't protect Superman's identity in the past because she lacked career ambition or because she was in love with Clark/Superman. She did it because it was the right thing to do. She believed, and had evidence based on his good deeds, that Superman was a force for good and that it would endanger his mission and his loved ones (e.g. Martha, Lana, Pete, etc.) to reveal his secret identity.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, though. Romita is the one who recently said that he didn't like Lois because she was too hot. He also recently admitted that his goal was to more or less make Superman as much like Batman as possible.

[Sacred Knight]

All sounds great to me, as great as words can sound in an interview. Hopefully the actual product delivers as it sounds. I'm certainly not onboard with the idea that he's doing wrong by not sticking with a "I"d rather die than tell his secret" mentality. Its played. That's not a popular thought amongst the Lois fanbase I'm familiar with, but its how I feel, and I think it'll give her a real shot in the arm in the comics and separate her from the monotonous reputation she still has of just being Superman's wife (regardless that she isn't anymore). I'm ready for a really old school Lois. Like Golden Age Superman, we're in an era where, despite the world around us being vastly upgraded, the mentalities are fitting again.

[misslane]

All sounds great to me, as great as words can sound in an interview. Hopefully the actual product delivers as it sounds. I'm certainly not onboard with the idea that he's doing wrong by not sticking with a "I"d rather die than tell his secret" mentality. Its played. That's not a popular thought amongst the Lois fanbase I'm familiar with, but its how I feel, and I think it'll give her a real shot in the arm in the comics and separate her from the monotonous reputation she still has of just being Superman's wife (regardless that she isn't anymore). I'm ready for really old school Lois again, as its been so long it'll be like new.

I don't get it. A week or so ago you were defending this arc by saying upset Lois fans should wait and see because Lois probably had a good reason, maybe a villain pulling her strings, for revealing the secret identity. Now it seems you've thrown all pretense aside and are justifying this too. I don't even get what you mean by "old school Lois," since the Lois these issues and interviews are describing is nothing like how Lois Lane has been portrayed.

[Sacred Knight]

I still think she will have a good reason. He said there's a complexity there in the decision making. That's all I was ever looking for. Not to mention I'm still not convinced there's not a mysterious other plot-driven motivation that may be revealed that they're keeping secret. If you still don't get it, sorry, but I've compiled enough thoughts on this subject here for anyone who may be that interested in my feelings to peruse and understand, thus I have absolutely no desire to retread it any further. I guess you'll just have to live with not getting where I'm coming from if that's not enough.

[misslane]

I still think she will have a good reason. He said there's a complexity there in the decision making. That's all I was ever looking for. Not to mention I'm still not convinced there's not a mysterious other plot-driven motivation that may be revealed that they're keeping secret. If you still don't get it, sorry, but I've compiled enough thoughts on this subject here for anyone who may be that interested in my feelings to peruse, so I guess you'll just have to live with not getting where I'm coming from.

But that's assuming that in the past Lois' "I would rather die than betray Superman's secret" mentality wasn't complex. So if both are equally complex, we can judge just the decision from our own perspectives. What do you think is the right thing to do? If you were in Lois' position, would you reveal the secret? If you are hoping, or at least assuming, there's some alternative explanation for what Lois did that would exonerate her, so to speak, then on some level you must feel like it would be wrong or a mistake to portray her as doing this for what could be complex, but also wrong, reasons. So I could understand your being okay with the story line going forward given that certain conditions are met, but that's not how your initial post read. You seemed positively pleased with everything said in the interview, but in the interview it's suggested that one factor in Lois' complex decision was pure ambition. I don't know how anyone can be okay with portraying Lois as that selfish and ruthless when the well-being of others, including her friend, is at stake.

[Sacred Knight]

No, I don't feel its wrong or a mistake to portray her as doing this without the ulterior motivation I think will arise. My first snap judgment upon hearing the news last month without letting it all sink in was, but not anymore and hasn't been for a while now. If I'm right and its there, awesome. If I'm wrong, its not an automatic fail for me either. Its all about how the story and characterizations are portrayed. If the struggle because he's her friend is there, but ultimately its explained she feels she has a responsibility to do it, I'm willing to hear that out. And I've seen nothing her to suggest these nuances will not be in play. Thus far its just angry fans who are on with the "She's just doing it for an award!" mantra.