Spoilers "Superman & Lois" Season 1 spoiler discussion!
- Thread starter The Realist
- Start date
I'm inclined to agree with @crookeddy here. Waiting for the theory to be disproven.
As I said, you can have serialized story arcs with the characters while still having them deal with individual crises-of-the-week. A lot of shows still do it that way (e.g. Lucifer), although that leads to the unfortunate trope of the weekly cases always coincidentally happening to resonate with whatever's going on in the continuing character arcs that week.
I will never understand why people think of episodic vs. serial as a binary choice. That's not the way it works. Countless shows over the decades have had a mix of episodic and serial aspects. They're not mutually exclusive opposites, they're ingredients in the recipe, and they can be and perennially have been combined in a variety of different ratios.
I will never understand why people think of episodic vs. serial as a binary choice. That's not the way it works. Countless shows over the decades have had a mix of episodic and serial aspects. They're not mutually exclusive opposites, they're ingredients in the recipe, and they can be and perennially have been combined in a variety of different ratios.
I do find it somewhat strange that Lana doesn't know Clark is Superman. Aside from the fact that someone who grew up and was that close to Clark should be able recognize him in the suit, I think 'Smallville' and the Timmverse spoiled me into thinking Lana was one of the first to know Clark's secret.
It was John Byrne's The Man of Steel reboot in '86 that introduced the idea of Lana knowing Clark's secret. Pre-Crisis, Lana's role in Superboy comics was the mirror of Lois's role in Superman comics -- the love interest who suspected Clark was Superboy and that he had to keep tricking and gaslighting to preserve his secret.
Thinking it over, I realize that the DC Animated Universe is the only adaptation that's followed Byrne's lead in having Lana be Clark's first confidante. The 1988 Superboy TV series kept Lana in the dark about Superboy's true identity. Lois & Clark featured Lana only once and was vague about whether she was in the loop. Smallville's Lana eventually found out, but only after years of being in the dark; IIRC, both Pete Ross and Chloe Sullivan were let in on the secret before Lana was.
I was a little surprised that S&L keeps Lana in the dark, since it does seem to be homaging Smallville in a lot of ways. But I guess they figured that since Lois, the boys, and General Lane are all in the loop, they didn't need Lana to be as well, as it would be a bit redundant. Although, given how these shows work, I expect Lana will find out sooner or later.
I believe that at this point the only superhero in the comics whose secret identity has never been made public is Batman. Superman also revealed his own and Daredevil depends on the time of year. Obviously often the revelation is later erased by magic / super science, but now the genius is out of the bottle. I guess it's really hard for the authors to go back to square one after years of lies and subterfuge come to an end and there was finally a clarification with loved ones who had always been hidden the truth. And I think readers today rightly wouldn't like stories where Superman uses his powers to gaslight Lois or Daredevil makes up a twin brother to sidetrack his friends who suspect the truth.
As far as Lois goes, having her in on the secret is always the best choice IMO. It has served the characters’ comics versions well for decades, it was the single best creative decision Man of Steel made, and it obviously is essential to the story Superman & Lois is telling.
Holy cow, yeah, it's been 30 years now, hasn't it? https://www.cbr.com/superman-lois-lane-learned-clark-kent-secret-identity/
I mean, wow, that's the majority of my lifespan to date, but I still think of it as a relatively recent development, the exception to the norm of Lois not knowing. I guess that's because most subsequent screen adaptations have had Lois in the dark at least to begin with.
But yes, I agree, Lois knowing the secret works much better.
I wonder, now that Lara El inhabited her body/mind, that she might have some latent knowledge about Clark reemerge at some point.
I never thought of it as gaslighting before, but - you are right. Superman was a jerk.
I also figure Lana will be let in on the secret - I just hope they don't drag it out, especially all the weird stuff in their childhood + stuff going on with Edge now. I kind of figured it would get revealed in last week's episode what with Kal El's mother's mind in Lana's body.
True story - Tempus actor Lane Davies gave a podcast interview only a few weeks ago in which he confirmed a rumor I had heard years ago. Christopher Reeve himself was first offered the role of Tempus and turned it down. That scene would of have been even more brutal coming from a former Superman actor. I suspect that is why he turned it down.
Is it possible that Lana already knows, and she is only acting like she doesn't know because she's not sure if Lois knows?
Speak for yourself. I still love a good one - and - done.
He was in last week's Batwoman.
I don’t watch that drivel.
Be interesting to see if Superman is faking or if someone indeed has taken over his body. It would be funny if it was Zod.
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