An Irishman In Newport

luanna255:

snappilier:

Action Comics #736

I actually have a lot of affection for minty fresh Superman.

So, recently I was reading this book. You might have heard of it. Supergods by Grant Morrison.

Not a bad book. It’s flawed, but it has some solid analysis. And it tells me a lot more about Grant Morrison’s personal life than I wanted to know, but overall, it’s pretty much the book on superheroes you would expect Grant Morrison to write: Biased, enjoyable in places, eyeroll-worthy in others, and trippy as anything (you can just take my word on this.)

There is, however, one thing he said in said book which truly made me angry, and that is: Lois doesn’t truly understand what Clark does.

Morrison gets a lot of credit for how he wrote Lois and Clark in All-Star Superman (which I have read and didn’t see the big deal about, but that’s another matter), but frankly, I question how much any writer who accepts that line of thinking is qualified to write Lois and Clark. Because not only does Lois understand what Clark does, she understands what Clark does better than any other person. Because Lois understands Clark better than any other person, and she understands that what makes Clark special, at the end of the day, is not really his alien heritage or his extraordinary powers or his costume. You could take all of those things away, and Clark would still be Superman. Because what makes Clark Superman is who he is. It’s his heart. His courage. His values. His kindness. His absolute belief in goodness no matter what. His amazing love of humanity. That’s what makes Clark exceptional. That’s what makes him the hero that he is.

And Lois understands that. She sees past every disguise Clark puts up, and sees through to who he really is. The people who are so caught up in, Oh, Lois loves Superman and not Clark could not be more wrong. It’s not about what’s he’s wearing or whether he has superpowers. You think she cares if he’s wearing glasses or a red cape? No. Lois loves this man for who he truly is. That’s never changed. When Clark Kent was his disguise, where he had to hide his true courage and heroism, then yeah, she loved Superman. But when Clark Kent was the one who could show her who he really was inside? Then she loved Clark. She’s always been in love with the same man, no matter what he’s wearing. It’s just a matter of where he’s able to show her his true self. The bottom line is that Lois loves Clark as a person. Not as a superhero.

And she understands him better than anyone else in the world.

Thank you, wish more people would realise this about Clark and Lois and also in relation to why a superhero in a relationship is a Good Thing and not something to be just tossed aside on a whim (Looking at you Quesada with Amazing Spider-Man)