This article was originally written for Modern Myths, INC. and was posted on November 8, 2012. This is a reproduction for portfolio purposes.
In order to stay hip and relevant (the main goal of the New 52, one might assume), Clark Kent has turned his back on the Daily Planet’s hybrid television/newspaper journalism to become a blogger. The decision is a fine one, although blogging does not an immediate career make (but it’s superhero comics, so I’m fully willing to suspend my disbelief), but it’s how Superman makes his choice that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Lois Lane has always been a reporter, first and foremost (and crazy in love with Superman second), but that Lois seems to be lost. Superman #13 is the first issue with the new creative team of Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort, whom you may recognize from Red Hood and the Outlaws, and while I have mixed feelings about Lobdell on Red Hood, I feel maybe a bit more dubious about him writing the sweet, down-home man of steel.
And let us not forget there was a time when I loved Lobdell, namely when he and Chris Bachalo created Generation X, but he also did some stellar stuff on Gen 13 and Excalibur, so it seems odd to me that his writing has become so distasteful to me. Back in the day, he wrote Emma Frost, Monet St. Croix, Paige Gunthrie, and many other women as strong, smart, interesting and different, yet in Red Hood, Starfire is written as the sex-crazed girlfriend of Arsenal, even when it’s establish that she’s an extremely capable space pilot and warrior. And now that Lobdell is writing Lois Lane, she’s getting an even worse treatment.
Lois, for the 74 years she’s been written, had always been a tough-as-nails reporter, always out to get the story, and always trying to get the truth out. But now, in the New 52, Lois is lazy, more concerned with her relationship than asking questions and hunting down a good story. Much like losing Babs as Oracle or having Karen Starr being clueless about computers, this move feels like it’s once again diminishing the intelligence of DC’s female characters. Lobdell also has Superman call Lois out on her lack of journalistic integrity (and then spying on her private text messages), which is a bit like pouring salt in the wound.
The thing that sticks with me most is that, in the past, Lois was always better than the bumbling Clark, especially in terms of journalism, but that simply made Superman love her more. That was the difference between Superman and Lex Luthor. When Luthor saw Superman, he saw someone who was better than him, and he hated it. When Superman saw Lois, he saw someone who was better than him, and he loved her for it. Even with their relationship status gone, Clark could have still admired her, even from afar as a blogger.
I know the DC Reboot is about changing the status quo, but the changes for the female characters ultimately feel to me like the characters themselves are being diminished and de-powered. I hope that Lois’s “lazy” journalism is more than it seems, and that she will be given the strength and determination that made her Superman’s better.
Ellie Hillis 