Lois Lane: The Mom Era

"Don't ever lie to her, son. SHE'LL KNOW."

Lois has had a few traits consistent over the thousands of stories to feature her. She’s a journalist, determined and energetic, drawn to goodness, never intimidated by the extraordinary.

Other traits have been more variable, such as her appearance. She was at first based on Joanne Carter, an artist’s model who dated Joe Shuster and went on to marry Jerry Siegel. (Other inspirations included actresses Glenda Farrell and Lola Lane and real-life ace reporter Nellie Bly.)

That’s still a look the comics often come back to, updated for modern fashions. But the 1980s reboot gave Lois chestnut brown hair, and she’s alternated between brown and black ever since. The 1990s animated series gave her violet eyes, and that aspect filtered into the comics and has stuck around. The Lois from the 2020s My Adventures with Superman is nonwhite, but even she retains the violet eyes.

(You’d think violet eyes might clash with Lois’ down-to-earth vibe. To some degree, they do—no actress who’s played her has had them.)

(But they keep her recognizable through many different art styles. And they go really well with red and blue.)

The variations don’t end with appearance: versions of Lois have appeared at nearly all stages of life. In YA novels by Dwenda Bond and Grace Ellis/Britney Williams, Lois is a teen reporter already sniffing out crime and trouble.

In My Adventures with Superman, Lois and Clark are adults, but barely. This insecure Clark, worried he’s some kind of monster, draws his true strength not from the sun, but from Lois’ fearless, trusting body language.

The Lois of the just-concluded TV series Superman and Lois deals with more middle-aged problems like two sons entering puberty and a double mastectomy.

And the last decade or so of comics have seen Lois and Clark preside over a growing family as well. Just don’t ask how old that makes them (Action Comics #1058).

Jon Kent, like a lot of superheroes’ kids, is now older than he should be due to time-travel shenanigans, but he hasn’t outgrown the need for his mom’s advice and support (Superman: Son of Kal-El #10).

Once again Lois is in a role she never imagined for herself, and has to find her own way through it. Traditional approaches don’t always work in a family with superpowered members.

But that’s more than okay. For Lois, being a “traditional woman” was never an option.

What’s next for the character? The “mom era” has only lasted about ten years so far, so it probably has longer to go, though the Super-family’s presence in the comics ebbs and flows. Just now in the comics, she’s gained powers like Superman’s, taking their partnership to a new level—but whether that’ll still be the status quo in six months is hard to predict.

The 2020s are times that call for both real and fictional feminist heroes. Real and fictional journalist heroes, too. In 2025, Lois seems poised to address the challenges facing journalism today. In the just-published Absolute Superman #2, an alternate Lois rebels against the generative AI that is standard on her dystopian world.

According to Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Lois in the upcoming Superman film, that film will also cover concerns such as (real) fake news. Director James Gunn also said:

The relationship between David and Rachel’s [characters] on screen is something I don't think we've seen in—I hate to say stuff like this—but I don't think it's something we've ever seen any superhero movie ever… It's a complicated relationship, and we really get into it, and there's long scenes that are about their relationship and the way they relate. What it would be like for a person who's this incredibly intelligent, strong-headed, stubborn, skeptical journalist, to have a relationship with someone who can lift a skyscraper?

As discussed in Tim Hanley’s Investigating Lois Lane, Lois has already helped generations of women realize that journalism was a field they could enter. If she can inspire people now to address the challenges of modern journalism—and of finding their own way through unconventional relationships—those would be feats worthy of a Superwoman (Superman v6 #19).

Next: A couple of little pics for Christmastime, then some micross reorg!