All apologies to Reed and Sue, Peter and Mary Jane, Bat and Cat, and all the rest, but the release of Superman in theaters clinches it: there is no more iconic couple than Lois and Clark.
Played by Rachel Brosnahan and David Corenswet, respectively, in the new James Gunn film, whatever other issues or concerns you might have about the movie, the relationship between the Daily Planet’s best reporter and the Man of Steel is absolutely sizzling. Spoilers for the film past this point, but we first see them together in the Daily Planet offices, sparring about a sub-par story Clark got on the front page of the paper. From there, it turns out the duo have been dating for about three months, and in the movie’s best scene, an anniversary make-out session evolves into an interview about Superman’s actions in a foreign country, to the couple almost breaking up.
The second-best scene in the movie? When Superman takes a break from fighting a fifth-dimensional imp (you know the one) and ends up in a poignant conversation with Lois about how they couldn’t be more different. Lois is, indeed, there to break up with Clark because of this. He ends the conversation by saying “I love you” before flying off to save the day.
The third-best scene? When, after the main action is done, the two giddily run towards each other in the wreckage of Metropolis and very loudly talk about doing a post-game interview over in a private area on the side, where nobody can see them. The rest of the Daily Planet staff isn’t fooled; they know the two are fooling around. But it’s sweet and funny, and the schoolyard romance atmosphere is palpable from Brosnahan and Corenswet.
There are more Lois and Clark moments in the movie, and alongside the more plot-heavy scenes, they provide the emotional backbone for the film. Gunn tries (and you might argue successfully) to make Superman’s parentage the emotional focus, but you can track the arc of the movie on the romance between Lois and Clark.
Lois, by the way, is right: the two of them couldn’t be more different, and that’s exactly what works about the couple, and has through every iteration on screen, and on the comic book page. Lois is often a driven mess, all work and no play. Clark is a bumbling fool in his civilian identity, a big ol’ farmboy nerd. She’s whiskey to his glass of milk, big city to his small town. They should, on the surface, be oil and water, and with that, I’ll stop making juxtapositions.
But Lois is a powerhouse reporter driven by a need to report the news truthfully; Clark is an earnest, good man in a world gone complicated who tries to inspire those around him to strive for more. The thing that connects them is that at their core, they are both good people who believe the world can be better than it currently is. And when they get together, by the sheer force of their personalities, they can make that happen.
Not to get too wide-ranging here, but when two people end up in a couple, things tend to go one of three ways. If both of the people involved are not great, they bring each other down and make each other worse. If one person is not as good as the other person, the couple finds a middle point, bringing the low light up and the brighter light down. But when two people who are great get together, they make each other better. It’s an explosion of romance that can light the whole world on fire, and that’s exactly what Lois and Clark do.
That’s been true ever since Lois was also introduced in Action Comics #1: she’s as foundational to DC Comics as Superman. But through most of the history of the books, it’s either been a will-they-won’t-they, or playing with the love triangle of Lois being in love with Superman, while Clark is in love with Lois. Those approaches have their merits, but ever since the duo married in 1996 (funnily enough, to time out with the on-screen wedding in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), they have been inextricably tied as a married couple – and frankly, the relationship has been better for it.
But putting the comics’ marriage shenanigans aside, take a look at some of the on-screen iterations. Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder in the original movies? Iconic. Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch on The CW’s Superman & Lois? Absolutely the best parents you could ever want. Even Henry Cavill and Amy Adams in the much-maligned Zack Snyder movies have chemistry, and provide an emotional throughline for the films in between, let’s generously say, a lot of other elements.
In animation, too, Superman and Lois have driven the action in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). And to get back to the comics, some of the most legendary moments are driven by Lois and Clark. Think of the cover of The Death of Superman, with Lois cradling Clark’s dead body. Or even the recent blockbuster hit Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong was hooked not on the titanic clash of kaiju, but the question of whether Superman was going to propose to Lois.
What Superman nails about the relationship, to drill into that third and final scene between the two, is that in nearly every situation, Lois and Clark are the adults in the room. Lois is so good at her job that she regularly tells her boss, Perry White, how a story needs to be reported. Superman, by nature of his barrel chest and overwhelming power set, is the de facto leader of any team. But when they’re together (other than when Superman gives Lois permission to slip into reporter mode), they’re two giddy kids in love.
Superman represents the ideal of the physical body; Lois, the ideal of the mind. But what they present as a couple is what likely most of us want from our lives… A fantastic career that impacts others and makes a difference in the world, and a partner that we are hopelessly, head over heels in love with. Lois and Clark embody that, body and soul. They’re not without their problems or arguments, but that makes them even more relatable, powerful, and yes, iconic. She’s Metropolis. He’s Smallville. They are great separately. Together, Lois and Clark are unstoppable.
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