So imagine how jarring it is for me--used to the sweet Sam and Ella from Pittsdale, parents of Lois and Lucy, drawn so charmingly by the great Kurt Schaffenberger--every time I see the hawk-ish General Lane in the comics or on the screen. It makes me want to throw up.
D.C. didn't need yet another high ranking hawk in the military who does horrible things in the name of some weird U.S. jingoism--they already had a generous supply of those from other comics. I served in the Canadian military, but I believe that the U.S. military is a respectable institution, as well, and the majority of people in it are good, honest people. Why do comic book writers want to malign their own miltary so much with these over the top scenery chewing caricatures? It burns my biscuits.
If they wanted to say that Sam had been in the miltary in his younger days, maybe even was in a war or two, but then retired to his quiet life in Pittsdale with Ella to raise their two or three daughters--that would be okay. But the idea that not only does the over-achieving Lois Lane have one of the top ranking generals in the U.S. military as a father, but he also happens to be involved in covert operations to undermine Superman and other super-heroes--well that's some terribly convenient coincidences, the sort that those silly "Silver Ages" were accused of fostering, according to the fans that now think the current comics are so much more serious and sensible.
The re-invented General Sam Lane character is among my top ten Superman peeves.