The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1502: Superman: The Man of Steel #111, April 2001

One of my favourite moments in All-Star Superman is Lois's reaction to the super-formula that Clark gives her for her birthday. "Bring it on," she says. Each time we're presented with Lois as a powered individual, something becomes glaringly clear about her: she's a superhero. I think the powered aspect of the superhero is really only a part, and not always a part, of how we identify such characters. But then, of course, someone like Batman comes along, and it's hard to say he's not a superhero despite his lack of powers. One of the other ways we define the superhero is by their mission. Batman wants to make sure that no one else has to go through what he did. Superman, in his own words, is here to help. Wonder Woman, originally, intended to bring peace to "Man's World." The mission is important, and bound up in mission is drive to complete the mission. This is where we see Lois' "super-ness," I think. She is perhaps one of the most driven characters in the DCU, almost on par with Batman's mania. She'll follow a story, no matter where it goes and who she has to alienate. Her mission is truth, which explains her identity as a reporter. She's actually a super-reporter.

Superheroes are metaphors. I've written about this before, the idea that there are single founding notions for each character, and we're to take those founding notions and try to understand how to deploy them in our own lives, based on the actions and decisions of the characters that emblematize them. Though she may have begun existence as a supporting character to Superman, Lois has had enough time (80 years) to develop, and be developed, into something of her own. She is, in the DCU, the emblem of the rigorous search for truth.

The reason I bring this up is that Lois has cool science fiction powers in this issue, and she takes to them like an old pro. Granted, she's been empowered before, but she never retains the powers. To me, this speaks to the idea that her real power, the seeking of truth, also forces her to realize that what she does, and how she does it, are the real ways she can impact her world, rather than as a brightly-costumed saviour.

Today's quote reminded me far too much of contemporary politics.

"This dark side of Krypton - this lunatic obsession with cultural purity, this ignorant fear of the other, the outsider -"