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femfebruary: lois lane
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peaked: Smallville / Lois Lane / talk to me about how she's the hero of the story and Clark Kent/Superman is the damsel in distress.
NGL, I laughed when I read the way you worded this. Clark did canonically need to be saved now and then (and he's very pretty so he made a pretty damsel too! :D). Unsurprisingly, I have a lot of thoughts! On a semi related note, I find it interesting that, while I can't speak of all DC history, a lot of canons where Superman is evil or has an evil counterpart, especially recently, Lois is either dead or working against him, whether it is Smallville in the Luthor universe, Superman & Lois alternate universe, the Knightmare verse in the DCEU, or as recently as My Adventures with Superman. It would've been easy to have her enamored with him and using the press to help but instead, she's gone or fighting on the right side. As far as Smallville goes, they deviated from the norm immediately - instead of Lois meeting Superman when he rescues her, it's Clark who is in a more vulnerable position. He's naked in a field and has forgotten the human side of him, and it's Lois who takes him to the hospital, and her taking him there leads Martha to finding him too. I always remember how the script for Crusade in the graveyard scene says, "He smiles, never quite met anyone like her before". That really rings true to not only Lois's role in Clark's life, but in the show in general. Even Tom Welling has commented about how she brought out another side of Clark. She arguably has the most consistent characterization as well and the only thing that she was limited by was her screen time.
Lois being heroic is something that is shown from the start. Not only did she not hesitate to help Clark, the reason she comes to town in the first place is because she's seeking justice for Chloe's death. She immediately goes toe to toe with Lionel and it's a shame that she didn't get to face off with both the Luthors more often. She was never afraid to get her hands dirty, going up against whoever right away, whether they were bigger or stronger than her, but she wasn't just physically tough - she was also emotionally strong. When Clark broke down and almost killed Alicia's murderer, it was Lois who got through to him. They barely knew each other and she was able to stop him from doing something that he'd regret. There's multiple times when he's upset and she metaphorically saves her day, with a bit of comfort and snark and gets him to smile, even when one of those times he had completely lost his memory.
She will put herself in uncomfortable situations to help the ones that she loves, and while school wasn't her thing, she's still shown to be capable and resourceful. In s8 when Chloe is missing, not only does Lois infiltrate the facilities before Oliver and Clark get there, but she's also successfully gone undercover and even saves Clark when he gets caught by the guards. The same way she gets into the fight club that Oliver is in in the s9 opener. Time after time, Lois will do what it takes to protect the ones she loves. In 'Siren', she doesn't realize that Chloe and Clark know that Oliver is Green Arrow and her instinct is to try and cover up for him and by the time season 10 rolls around, of course she'll go the distance to get the proof of Oliver being Green Arrow.
Lois believes in the ones she loves, even when they don't believe in themselves, as shown when she refused to let Tess close the portal, fully having faith that Oliver and Clark will find their way back from the Phantom Zone. She literally got Clark to both float and fly! His journey to the Daily Planet wasn't great (and don't get me started on how s7 could've been so much better) but I do like that it ended up being Lois who gave him the application and got him there in the end.
More importantly, she'll fight for what's right. She's loyal and brave and true to herself. If those aren't heroic traits, what are?
She may not have her own powers, and wouldn't describe herself like this, but there's no doubt she's a hero in my mind and made the show better by just being there. :)
peaked: Smallville / Lois Lane / talk to me about how she's the hero of the story and Clark Kent/Superman is the damsel in distress.NGL, I laughed when I read the way you worded this. Clark did canonically need to be saved now and then (and he's very pretty so he made a pretty damsel too! :D). Unsurprisingly, I have a lot of thoughts! On a semi related note, I find it interesting that, while I can't speak of all DC history, a lot of canons where Superman is evil or has an evil counterpart, especially recently, Lois is either dead or working against him, whether it is Smallville in the Luthor universe, Superman & Lois alternate universe, the Knightmare verse in the DCEU, or as recently as My Adventures with Superman. It would've been easy to have her enamored with him and using the press to help but instead, she's gone or fighting on the right side. As far as Smallville goes, they deviated from the norm immediately - instead of Lois meeting Superman when he rescues her, it's Clark who is in a more vulnerable position. He's naked in a field and has forgotten the human side of him, and it's Lois who takes him to the hospital, and her taking him there leads Martha to finding him too. I always remember how the script for Crusade in the graveyard scene says, "He smiles, never quite met anyone like her before". That really rings true to not only Lois's role in Clark's life, but in the show in general. Even Tom Welling has commented about how she brought out another side of Clark. She arguably has the most consistent characterization as well and the only thing that she was limited by was her screen time.
Lois being heroic is something that is shown from the start. Not only did she not hesitate to help Clark, the reason she comes to town in the first place is because she's seeking justice for Chloe's death. She immediately goes toe to toe with Lionel and it's a shame that she didn't get to face off with both the Luthors more often. She was never afraid to get her hands dirty, going up against whoever right away, whether they were bigger or stronger than her, but she wasn't just physically tough - she was also emotionally strong. When Clark broke down and almost killed Alicia's murderer, it was Lois who got through to him. They barely knew each other and she was able to stop him from doing something that he'd regret. There's multiple times when he's upset and she metaphorically saves her day, with a bit of comfort and snark and gets him to smile, even when one of those times he had completely lost his memory.
She will put herself in uncomfortable situations to help the ones that she loves, and while school wasn't her thing, she's still shown to be capable and resourceful. In s8 when Chloe is missing, not only does Lois infiltrate the facilities before Oliver and Clark get there, but she's also successfully gone undercover and even saves Clark when he gets caught by the guards. The same way she gets into the fight club that Oliver is in in the s9 opener. Time after time, Lois will do what it takes to protect the ones she loves. In 'Siren', she doesn't realize that Chloe and Clark know that Oliver is Green Arrow and her instinct is to try and cover up for him and by the time season 10 rolls around, of course she'll go the distance to get the proof of Oliver being Green Arrow.
Lois believes in the ones she loves, even when they don't believe in themselves, as shown when she refused to let Tess close the portal, fully having faith that Oliver and Clark will find their way back from the Phantom Zone. She literally got Clark to both float and fly! His journey to the Daily Planet wasn't great (and don't get me started on how s7 could've been so much better) but I do like that it ended up being Lois who gave him the application and got him there in the end.
More importantly, she'll fight for what's right. She's loyal and brave and true to herself. If those aren't heroic traits, what are?
She may not have her own powers, and wouldn't describe herself like this, but there's no doubt she's a hero in my mind and made the show better by just being there. :)
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I agree! Erica had the acting chops to go up against Michael and John and it's a pity we didn't get to see Lois go up against the Luthers more. (It's what I secretly wanted!)
Lois really is the heart of the Superman stories, regardless of how big of a player she is in the storyline. Smallville became so much better with her in it, and it's so clear by the examples you gave that she was Clark's north star.
Thanks for indulging me!
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I absolutely agree - I mean, she was created so early in the process that she was never an afterthought to begin with and as the years have gone by, it is hard to argue against the fact that her name is basically intertwined with his. Smallville (and Clark) became a lot more fun when she showed up and yes, she was!
I think you ended up being the one to indulge me by giving me the opportunity to ramble on about one of my favorite characters so I am glad you liked it! :D
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(Note - this is the only Erica as Lois icon I have but the 'ewww' is so not a reflection of your post!)
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Aww, I didn't think that but it's nice of you to clarify. ♥
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