Lois and Clark - False Hopes?

[Fone Bone]

Unfortunatly, Superman's relationship with Ms. Lane was destined to crumble. She could not see what he was trying to accomplish. Not that it matters now... However, they may be reunited soon, if I have my way...

See how you have pushed styl92 over the edge mods? You have turned him into a Justice Lord! What does ***** stand for?

It's an interesting point that JL(U) takes place quite some time after Legacy, so I guess it's safe to assume that Supes and Lois' relationship did develop in some form or another after "that kiss", and I have to say I got a little bit concerned at the beginning of Starcrossed. The argument they had on the phone sounded a lot like... hey, waitaminnit! OMG, THEY'RE ALREADY MARRIED!!!

. I hope whatever happened is addressed soon on the show. These tantalizing glimpes are killing me.

 

[All-Star 1.5]

I think that it's safe to assume that they are either engaged or married. Seeing as how everything else in JLU has progressed from the previous series like Supergirl becoming a full time hero, GL getting a new look and a new girl, and Zantanna finding out Bruce was Batman.

Though I think they are engaged I mean who wouldn't want to see a wedding with an JLU sized cast.

 

[Spectre]

This is why I generally stick to anime 'shipping. It tends to be less complicated... wait, no it's not. Dang.

But at least there aren't secret identites to worry about. After all, if there's one thing everyone seems to agree on, it's that the future of Lois's relationship with Clark/Superman all but hinges on how she would react to them being one and the same.

Actually, the vibe I got from STAS (though I never saw "Legacy") was that Lois was attracted to both Clark Kent and Superman, for different reasons. In Clark, she found a homespun, dependable partner from 'the provinces', who, though somewhat dull, could always be turned to when she needed a willing ear or a shoulder to cry on.

Superman, by contrast, seems to be more of a 'dream date'. Sure, Lois could take her pick of several of Metropolis's most eligible bachelors, but what could be a better catch than the Man of Steel himself? As a truly superior being, Superman can meet all of Lois's wildest expectations... and he certainly has a flair for the dramatic. Her front-row seat to many of his heroic exploits leave her in awe of him, yet she's gotten just enough interaction with him to know that he's not a jerk, and indeed, is quite the charmer. Even as professional as she is, I bet Lois still occasionally has thoughts about Superman that get her all giddy and bothered. If Clark was the one she could depend on, Superman is the one who took her breath away.

So what would happen if she knew the two were combined? If she discovered that Clark the Farmboy and Kal-El the Kryptonian were two sides of the same coin? Would she see him as her Ultimate Man, the best of both worlds? Or would the revelation disappoint her view of both 'halves', knowing there was more to each than her imagination had bothered to entertain?

Meh, it's not for me to say. Women are a fickle lot, animated or non.

 

[Gillespee]

It's kind of depressing to see so many people down on married couples. Yikes! I wonder if there would be a Ben Reillyesque "Clone Saga" if Supremus ran DCAU to get Clark back down to his single, wild-party guy roots, just like he was BEFORE someone went and ruined him with *gasp* actual character progression.

(Of course, they would have to already be married for that to happen, so...) Well, if you were one of the lucky who read the Clone Saga you'll understand.

Being married is awesome, I've never been anywhere near as happy as I have been since I got married. Of course I wish the same for my favorite fictional characters.

Not that I'm demanding a wedding either, as has been said numerous times, it would come across as slightly unbelievable if they're suddenly getting married in the next episode, it's just depressing to see so many people bagging on Clark and Peter post-marriage. I liked (and still like) a lot of it. And I like a little real character progression every couple of decades or so.

 

[Allen CARR]

This is why I generally stick to anime 'shipping. It tends to be less complicated... wait, no it's not. Dang.

But at least there aren't secret identites to worry about. After all, if there's one thing everyone seems to agree on, it's that the future of Lois's relationship with Clark/Superman all but hinges on how she would react to them being one and the same.

Actually, the vibe I got from STAS (though I never saw "Legacy") was that Lois was attracted to both Clark Kent and Superman, for different reasons. In Clark, she found a homespun, dependable partner from 'the provinces', who, though somewhat dull, could always be turned to when she needed a willing ear or a shoulder to cry on.

Superman, by contrast, seems to be more of a 'dream date'. Sure, Lois could take her pick of several of Metropolis's most eligible bachelors, but what could be a better catch than the Man of Steel himself? As a truly superior being, Superman can meet all of Lois's wildest expectations... and he certainly has a flair for the dramatic. Her front-row seat to many of his heroic exploits leave her in awe of him, yet she's gotten just enough interaction with him to know that he's not a jerk, and indeed, is quite the charmer. Even as professional as she is, I bet Lois still occasionally has thoughts about Superman that get her all giddy and bothered. If Clark was the one she could depend on, Superman is the one who took her breath away.

So what would happen if she knew the two were combined? If she discovered that Clark the Farmboy and Kal-El the Kryptonian were two sides of the same coin? Would she see him as her Ultimate Man, the best of both worlds? Or would the revelation disappoint her view of both 'halves', knowing there was more to each than her imagination had bothered to entertain?

Meh, it's not for me to say. Women are a fickle lot, animated or non.

youve never seen "LEGACY", wow, you need to watch it, anyway you can!

 

[Spectre]

Don't rub it in!

 

[Supremus]

It's kind of depressing to see so many people down on married couples. Yikes! I wonder if there would be a Ben Reillyesque "Clone Saga" if Supremus ran DCAU to get Clark back down to his single, wild-party guy roots, just like he was BEFORE someone went and ruined him with *gasp* actual character progression.

You misunderstand. I have no problem with love and romantic storylines in general. I never pictured Supes as a "player", and I completely agree with b.t that Supes and Lois are meant for each other, that's part of the formula. Once they take it to the final stage, the dynamic of their relationship loses its appeal, like it has done for so many others before them.

Like I said, Lois & Supes' relationship is part of The Never-ending Battle, and although it wouldn't be particularly interesting, I wouldn't have any problem if they got married when the DCAU eventually ends one day, or leading up to the end, but to use the marriage in an on-going, long-running series will fail 9 times out of 10.

 

[b.t.]

I don't mind the blanks being filled in later but I DO need there to be some progression in the series or it will be stagnant.

oy.

first of all, as others have pointed out, unlike SMALLVILLE or LOIS AND CLARK, the whole supes/lois thing isn't of prime importance to the overall framework of JLU...since lois RARELY shows up in JLU, we can afford to let their relationship "progress" as slowly as we like....stagnation's not really an issue.....and besides, whatever happened to "getting there is half the fun"?

(now, excuse me, i must speak to my friend here in Whedonese, since that is the only fan-language he seems to understand in situations like these)

consider buffy and angel: as much as the shippers pine for those two to get together, we all know they can't, EVER.....and not just because of the gypsy curse....even if they didn't have to worry about angel going all "ggrrr!" every time they boinked, the fact is he's immortal, she's NOT...she's eventually gonna get old and shrivelly, he's gonna stay young and studly with stand-up-straight hair for all eternity...eventually, our plucky little slayer will DIE, and angel will...what? kill himself and join her in heaven? miss her terribly 'til the end of time? mourn her for century or two, get over it and find some other "true, only love"? either way, i'm not smelling "happily ever after" here....


kinda the same deal for lois and supes....true, he's not quite immortal, but 50 years from now, the only signs of aging are a bit of grey at his temples, and he sounds suspiciously like chris mcdonald.....when we were plotting "the call", i actually suggested showing still-young supes caring for his 80-yr old invalid wife lois...i dunno, i thought it was kinda sweet, but murakami, burnett and dini just about "EEEEWWWWWWW!"ed me out of the room....

look, i'm happily married myself, 14 years and counting, and i'm all for the occasional happy ending (and i'm sure supes and lois WILL eventually ride off into the sunset together, larry niven be damned), but the tragic "it can never happen" aspect of the buffy/angel romance is WHY it resonates so strongly with the shippers....just as it's hard to imagine rhett and scarlett ever being truly happy with anyone else, but it's also plain to see why they could never stay married without killing each other some day....imagine "wuthering heights" ending with a wedding, not a funeral....unrequited love packs a wallop of a dramatic punch...

as supremus noted, the lois/supes tease is a long-standing tradition for a reason...when they got married in the comics, it felt weirdly WRONG, as if charlie brown had finally scored a touchdown or something.....

 

[Peter Paltridge]

.....when we were plotting "the call", i actually suggested showing still-young supes caring for his 80-yr old invalid wife lois...i dunno, i thought it was kinda sweet, but murakami, burnett and dini just about "EEEEWWWWWWW!"ed me out of the room....

as supremus noted, the lois/supes tease is a long-standing tradition for a reason...when they got married in the comics, it felt weirdly WRONG, as if charlie brown had finally scored a touchdown or something.....

Yeah, but does Superman not have the same human desires everyone else does? Just because he'll outlive Lois doesn't mean he has absolutely no interest in experiencing true love at least once. Maybe Charlie Brown knew deep down that he'd never kick the football, but he HAD to try....even if the feeling was temporary it would have been worth it.

Superman is also pretty moral and I wouldn't expect him to leave Lois in her old age any more than Dana would have left Chris Reeve.

 

[Supremus]

Yeah, but does Superman not have the same human desires everyone else does? Just because he'll outlive Lois doesn't mean he has absolutely no interest in experiencing true love at least once.

It's not a lack of desire that's keeping Superman and Lois apart, it's the consequences of revealing his identity to her and making her, as well as her family and friends, potential targets for his enemies. It goes back to the wonderful quote from the Superman movies about how Superman can never belong to just one woman, he belongs to the whole world. It's about an unselfish sacrifice that's almost biblical in nature, and it's an aspect that has been severely underplayed in the comics - or not played at all - in favor of the umpteenth dramatic return of Doomsday, or whichever gimmick they recycle on a weekly basis. I wish someone would show Superman in the right light for a change. It's no wonder kids these days think Superman is lame. Chances are they have never seen the real Superman.

 

[Peter Paltridge]

Lois is always the target ANYWAY! She's got no choice--she might as well get some super-lovin' out of the deal!

 

[BigFatHairyDeal]

as supremus noted, the lois/supes tease is a long-standing tradition for a reason...when they got married in the comics, it felt weirdly WRONG, as if charlie brown had finally scored a touchdown or something.....

Hmmm, I don't know about that. Whether or not you agree "teasing" is inherently more interesting than resolution via marriage, seeing Supes and Lois tie the knot was a bit of a welcome change, even though the stories leading up to it were a bust. If the writers try to adhere to any modicum of continuity, at some point it's going to get boring. I'm not sure I wanted to see another 50 years of the teasing of the audience. Even DC, who at first were staunchly against wedding these two, understood there had to be some progress in the relationship, hence had the two characters wed at least twice in the pre-Crisis era (as mentioned previously) by making one version of the couple the "Golden Age" Superman and the other an imaginary couple in "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow," capping off the pre-Crisis run. There are problems with marrying them, and extended runs of marriage can get boring, too, but I give credit to DC for not rehashing the Silver Age in a more modern setting.

(FWIW, I don't find the current marriage bad at all. I admit, I generally don't enjoy prolonged teases, but more importantly, good writers have made their marriage fun-filled, romantic, and heck, even sexy. There was a pretty nice story by Rucka a few months ago portraying Lois' being shot, and the sorrow felt by Supes and the JLA that wouldn't mean half as much had they just been casually dating. But that's a topic that I won't delve too deeply into now.)

Anyway, back to the main focus: Supes, Lois, and the DCAU. Again, I won't advocate seeing any weddings, or even extensive dating, but I hope a lot of people see that Supes and Lois' relationship in the DCAU seems a bit sparse and under-developed. While this is a team-oriented show, and a relationship between teammates might seem more deserving, STAS is over and this is the last chance to advance Supes and Lois (unless b.t. and the gang have a DTV for us).

 

[Funkatron]

Okay, then after Clark says "I need to tell you the truth about where I'm from,", we cut to Lois silently holding the telephone against her ear, then with her jaw agape, slowly sitting on the edge of her bed.

Definately would work if connected with the conspiracy. Something in the episode would have to cause clark to re-evaluate his situation with Lois. It just can't be a "I'll tell lois today for the heck of it" thing.

 

[adoptedBatpuppy]

do u remenber the tv series with teri hatcher?? i think once she found out that clark was superman the show was ruined. and i cant see clark or lois getting together on JLU it will just ruin the show. got too many romances going on at the moment. WW + BM, HG + GL

How is that too many? It's only two.

 

[adoptedBatpuppy]

And you're basing that on...?

He is way too busy with JLU?

 

[Fone Bone]

oy.

first of all, as others have pointed out, unlike SMALLVILLE or LOIS AND CLARK, the whole supes/lois thing isn't of prime importance to the overall framework of JLU...since lois RARELY shows up in JLU, we can afford to let their relationship "progress" as slowly as we like....stagnation's not really an issue.....and besides, whatever happened to "getting there is half the fun"?

(now, excuse me, i must speak to my friend here in Whedonese, since that is the only fan-language he seems to understand in situations like these)

Hah! Knew we were friends!

consider buffy and angel: as much as the shippers pine for those two to get together, we all know they can't, EVER.....and not just because of the gypsy curse....even if they didn't have to worry about angel going all "ggrrr!" every time they boinked, the fact is he's immortal, she's NOT...she's eventually gonna get old and shrivelly, he's gonna stay young and studly with stand-up-straight hair for all eternity...eventually, our plucky little slayer will DIE, and angel will...what? kill himself and join her in heaven? miss her terribly 'til the end of time? mourn her for century or two, get over it and find some other "true, only love"? either way, i'm not smelling "happily ever after" here....

If Angel were to ever Shanshu I would like him and Buffy together in the last Buffyverse story ever. Course that seems unlikely given the fact that he signed away the Shanshu prophecy in Not Fade Away. (Which after being the last Buffyverse project for potentially years has not aged too well over the months even though I thought it was cool when I first saw it.)

kinda the same deal for lois and supes....true, he's not quite immortal, but 50 years from now, the only signs of aging are a bit of grey at his temples, and he sounds suspiciously like chris mcdonald.....when we were plotting "the call", i actually suggested showing still-young supes caring for his 80-yr old invalid wife lois...i dunno, i thought it was kinda sweet, but murakami, burnett and dini just about "EEEEWWWWWWW!"ed me out of the room....

I would have liked to have seen that. That would have been great.

look, i'm happily married myself, 14 years and counting, and i'm all for the occasional happy ending (and i'm sure supes and lois WILL eventually ride off into the sunset together, larry niven be damned), but the tragic "it can never happen" aspect of the buffy/angel romance is WHY it resonates so strongly with the shippers....just as it's hard to imagine rhett and scarlett ever being truly happy with anyone else, but it's also plain to see why they could never stay married without killing each other some day....imagine "wuthering heights" ending with a wedding, not a funeral....unrequited love packs a wallop of a dramatic punch...

My user name is Fone Bone. You don't have to tell me how great unrequited love is.

as supremus noted, the lois/supes tease is a long-standing tradition for a reason...when they got married in the comics, it felt weirdly WRONG, as if charlie brown had finally scored a touchdown or something.....

Again. Last time. I don't need to see the progression of a relationship. Just Lois finding out Clark is Supes and the immediate fallout. That's all I ask.

 

[bat313]

lets face it, JL/JLU Superman sucks!!!!! "And why does he suck???????" Mr. Timm might ask.......... well i will glady tell you. he is missing the most important aspect from STAS that kept him human, his interaction with Lois and Jimmy and Ma and Pa Kent. We got a few little teases along the way in JL with the ep "Comfort and Joy" and brief Lois cameos, and for those brief moments I felt like i was watching Superman again. I think i enjoyed STAS even more then BTAS, but you know who i hate most in JL?????? Superman!!! I love the new character design, i love how George Newborn is getting a feel for the roll, but i hate how he is portrayed. he's a big dummy with NO personality, who is always knocking into things and blowing **** up. half the time i can't tell who is Grundy and who is Superman (bad joke) Seriously, the best part of Superman is him trying to be Clark kent and live a semi-normal life. he needs more Clark/Lois time in JLU to keep the character real. This could happen through dating, through marriage, or even just Lois finding out Clark and Supes are one and the same, but she NEEDS to appear more OR there might as well be a Superman Embargo because that character is useless. Ya konw who is the number one character i miss more then the flash Mr Timm????...... it's SUPERMAN.

 

[Alex Weitzman]

My user name is Fone Bone. You don't have to tell me how great unrequited love is.

Hmm. Has b.t. read the greatness that is Bone?

And, to make my wink-wink/nudge-nudge even more blatant, would he ever consider trying to make it an animated series?

 

[PeterFries]

I have to agree with the idea that the unrequited Lois/Clark/Superman love triangle being integral to the Superman mythology, but as a kid, I loved that the Flash (Barry) was married, and that his wife was in on the fun.

 

[Knight]

He is way too busy with JLU?

Superman is no busier with the League than any other members I would say.That's one huge assumption saying that he doesn't work for the Daily Planet anymore. The character has never communicated that to anyone on the show. Unless something has changed since Star-crossed where he was clearly seen covering a event for the paper or until Timm say's so it's a good bet that he hasn't quit. He's not with The League 24/7 (That would be J'onn) plus I doubt there is a Earth shattering event every moment that require his attention.
Some of the members of the League still do hold down regular jobs im sure. Look how often Batman is on there. Do you think he decided to give up his job as well?