I don’t know what’s more thrilling, watching a movie with such great actors in it or watching a movie and instantly recognizing the music. The 1978 version of Superman’s like that. Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, John Williams all make this wonderful story come to life.
Women Who Wow Wednesday wouldn’t be complete without Lois Lane. She’s Superman’s confidant. His girl. His friend. She does get into trouble a lot, but that’s only because her curiosity and her desire to get to a story encourages her willingness to take risks. She’s a firecracker, and Superman’s the one who has come into her life to settle it.
John Williams’ opening theme reigns majestic and heralding. It announces of Superman’s arrival, his illustrious fall to planet Earth and his subsequent conquest of evil. It’s so recognizable a theme that, other than the latest Superman movie, all other films featuring the Man of Steel includes Williams’ music in some form or fashion.
Then there’s Superman himself. Who doesn’t remember the line, “Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound?” His ability to overcome the laws of physics makes him invincible.
But Superman does have a weakness. Kryptonite. That weakness drains him of his power, which then causes him to become more fragile than an ordinary mortal. Knowing this, it begs the question: would Superman purposefully sacrifice his extraordinary power in order to become more human?
For the love of a woman, Superman does just that. That love interest is Lois Lane. What makes Lois Lane so incredible that she would cause even Superman to cast aside his godlike powers to be with her? She must be pretty special.
Much of who Lois is centers as a reporter for the Daily Planet. Her tough-as-nails reporting style captures the attention of Editor-in-Chief Perry White who sends her to scout the most dangerous of stories. Strong-willed, independent, Lois has an appetite for peril. Nothing scares her. She has an uncanny ability to remain focused in spite of everything that may go on around her. What’s more? She’s unbelievably attractive.
As Clark Kent, Superman appears to Lois as a bumbling yet kind-hearted reporter. What Clark lacks in bravery, Lois compliments in attitude. At the same time, Clark’s ability to mask his identity has Lois always guessing who Superman could be. Though it doesn’t stop her from suspecting Clark and Superman are one in the same. Her reporter instincts have yet to betray her in that respect.
No matter how powerful Superman is, he will always meet his match with Lois Lane. She’s motivated, headstrong and sometimes stubborn, but no one can deny her the status as Superman’s girl. After all, he once surrendered all his power for her.
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What do you think makes Lois Lane timeless? How many times have you watched a Superman movie?
Looking to God 
Margo Kidder and Amy Adams both made excellent Lois Lanes. Kate Bosworth seemed a little on the young side for the role though …
I always liked Lois Lane – she was feisty and intelligent. Margot Kidder’s Lois is the standard I hold all the others to, and sometimes they just don’t cut it. She was an excellent role model for (quite) younger me!
She’s a great version of Lois Lane – snappy, intelligent, and not going to take anything. It’s a great balance to the Man of Steel himself.
LL could be a vision of female empowerment. She wouldn’t just yell ” Oh, Superman, save me ! ” unless she was completely well & truly out of options.
I would go so far as to say she inspired the spunky Sarah Jane Smith character on the long – running BBC series ” Doctor Who “.
Reblogged this on Sean Hoade — Puttin' It Out There and commented:
Lois Lane is what keeps Superman tethered to humanity. She is more than a girlfriend, a pal, or a foil — she is the reason Superman endures the heartache of being a hero.
She’s kind of like Doctor Who’s companions. They ground him ( The Doctor ) & keep him from developing delusions of grandeur or god – hood. Lois keeps Superman from thinking he’s a god.
Thank you for reblogging and liking this, Sean!
We watched this again as a family this summer, and I will agree that Lois is a timeless character. She is a strong, no nonsense kind of woman that still has a soft spot in her heart for romance. 🙂 How do you think she compares to Mary Jane?
I wrote about Mary Jane as well a few months back. Both are well-developed characters for their series, and both are timeless in every sense of the word.
Reblogged this on Rare Films & TV Classics on DVD.
Thanks for the reblog, Brian!
Lois Lane – she is courageous, adventurous – sort of like a Nancy Drew character. She was originally written to be every woman, every girl — for all to identify with. Aspire to be, could be, should be … is.
Good question about her being timeless. I wonder if it’s because of her evolution from damsel in distress to capable heroine. She still needs to be saved by Superman at times, but so does Jimmy Olsen. I think with Lois Lane in the movie, it’s the confidence and tenacity of her.
Also, did you know Superman is weak against magic too? I wonder if that gives Wonder Woman an edge.
DC has made use of only Superman & Batman very much. While Marvel has made movies about Spider – man, the Hulk, Fantastic Four, the Hulk, X – Men, Iron man, etc. DC needs to get good writers & get its head in the game ( I’m not counting Halle Berr as Catwoman or Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern ).
Actually, Marvel isn’t behind the Spider-Man, X-Men, and Fantastic Four movies. Spidey is Sony and I think the other two are FOX. DC really is Batman dependent, but they have the better TV shows. Not sure why Wonder Woman keeps getting pushed aside.
I keep forgetting, Marvel got assimilated by Disney. As to Wonder Woman, that pilot for a new telly series pretty much abandoned DC canon because she was portrayed as a cold – hearted vigilante, like a female Batman with a brighter outfit.
I never got to see the Pilot, but they do have Arrow and the Flash. Smallville was great before that. I do wonder what Disney/Marvel could do with the Spider-Man licensing.
People keep hoping / pushing for a big – screen Wonder Woman movie. If it was done RIGHT, I would love to see it. DC has put their cinematic eggs in 1 basket with Superman & Batman for 2 decades or more for too long.
I liked ” Smallville “, but after Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor left, I just lost interest.
I just never could get interested in ” Arrow ” even with John Barrowman ( AKA known as Torchwood’s Capt Jack Harkness ) as a recurring cast member.
D.C. should bring out more of their line – up to the big screen. I’d love to see how they’d handle the Doom Patrol !
Wonder Woman is in the next Superman/Batman movie, which I think is a bad idea. If the movie is bad then they’ll say nobody wants Wonder Woman in her own film. Doesn’t matter if people praise her, but they’re jamming too much into that thing anyway.
I haven’t gotten to Luthor leaving yet. I heard it was bad for a few seasons, but ended on 2 good seasons.
Honestly, I haven’t really checked out Arrow. I don’t watch a lot of basic TV. I tend to toss in a DVD while I work.
Then the next Superman / Batman movie will be a wreck. They might as well get Michael Bay to produce or direct it to thow in lotsof explosions. If they can give Catwoman ( Halle Berry ) her own film ( she was the only reason I watched it ! ), then they can do it for WW – & not make it a crap – fest, or a complete T & A fest.
I wonder if Catwoman is the reason nobody has tried a female superhero movie. I’d like to see a Black Widow movie too since Marvel should take advantage of their position. I heard that Sony was going to take one of the female characters from Spider-Man to make a movie, but I don’t know if I trust them.
Michael Bay, the bane of pre-existing material.
DC has had several independent super heroines in its line – up for years. With Marvel ( The last time I seriously checked ) most of their heroines were with teams. Advantage – DC.
Michael Bay has an explosion fetish that maybe Sigmund Freud could explain. 🙂 Or Carl Jung.
DC does have the advantage of choices, but most people don’t know any of them beyond the female versions of male heroes. Marvel’s advantage right now is that it has a solid success rate of recent movies. She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel are the only ones who I can think of debuting in their own comic. Yet the others have branched out at times. DC could win if they actually put the effort in, but that’s why they’re behind.
She – Hulk, & isn’t there a Spider Girl ?
I watched a Youtube clip of She – Hulk transforming. She sounded like she was having sex, & I thought ” Is that appropriate for a show primarily for adolescents ? “
There was Spider-Woman first and I think Spider-Girl was an alternate world daughter of Spider-Man. I’m sure there has to be more female heroes with their own comics in Marvel. Wasp is another. It seems many debuted in the days of Astonishing Tales and the non-team era.
She-Hulk is definitely an interesting character. I think I heard she was started as a joke and people loved her, so she was taken seriously.
The last super – heroine movie I saw was ” Aeon Flux “. My friend & I had to imbibe a lot before it made sense.
Does Lara Croft qualify as a ” superheroine ” ?
I’m still not sure about Aeon Flux and I think I own it. Not sure about Lara Croft. I would say you need powers for the ‘super’ part, but Black Widow in the movies is normal. I guess we have to decide if Indiana Jones is a superhero to make a good decision on Lara Croft.
Batman & Batgirl have no ” Super ” powers & yet they’re considered superheroes. Although Batman has a high intellect & an uncanny knowledge of martial arts & how to use them.
Batman also has the superpower of buying off the comic writers even though he doesn’t exist. I swear, I’m sick of ‘Batman can beat everyone’ arguments. (Yes, I had one of those earlier today between someone who said Batman could beat Darth Vader.)
Batman can beat Sarah Palin !! 🙂 ( Especially in a battle of wits ! )
But will he retain his intelligence and sanity during the fight?
Unless Sarah uses her Fox News ray against him !! Nyahahaha. 🙂
I’m sure Batman could simply buy the company. Either that or he’ll have his Fox News Repellent Spray in his utility belt. He always had just the right tool for the job.
Or he could just line his cowl with lead or aluminum foil.
I find the film memorable, but for reasons that I can’t change (even though I liked it at the time) – that is, how both stars ended up. Sometimes it’s too hard to separate the film from the people who make it, and for me this is one of those times. Kind of like watching an old Rita Hayworth film while remembering that she had Alzheimer’s disease at the end of her life. Some things are just too painful to contemplate.
I can’t remember if it was the first Superman film or the second that I saw when it came out at the cinema, but someone on screen said ‘who will save us?’ and a small child in the cinema shouted ‘Superman will.’
I also can’t remember if the Christopher Reeves Superman was given ‘Jesus-like’ qualities like the recent Man of Steel film. Whilst MoS is a better film production wise, those first efforts with Reeves and Kidder are more iconic. Or maybe everything we grow up with becomes more iconic.
Maybe Lois Lane didn’t WANT to recognize that Superman & Clark were the same ? I remember seeing a reproduction of an early comic cover where Superman angrily ripped both Lois & Lana Lang for being oblivious to his double identity for so long a time.
She always seemed quick on the uptake, except for that ONE thing.
Although I have to say it’s been a while since I’ve watched the old Superman series, certain aspects never leave your heart. I really like your “Women Who Wow Wednesday” series. Lois is especially amazing because her strength comes from her determination and willpower, rather then muscles or brawn. This makes her an amazing partner for Superman.