For many of our readers, Superman: Lois and Clark is the most-anticipated series of 2015. Bringing the pre-Flashpoint Superman into the mainstream DC Universe for the first time, the series picks up where Convergence left off, with an older Superman having spent the last nine years in hiding on a new, unfamiliar Earth while raising a child who was born amid the chaos and fighting of Convergence.
Lois is there, too — his wife, and one of the sharpest journalistic minds on the planet — doing her thing, also anonymously. Both of them have a strong sense of justice and a compulsion to make the world a better place — but they must do it in a way that doesn’t reveal who they are and endanger not only their son Jonathan but the world around them, too.
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Dan Jurgens, who has been providing “commentary track”-style interviews for his Batman Beyond series about a time-tossed Tim Drake in the title role, has agreed to merge those with Superman: Lois and Clark into one column that will see these alternate takes on the World’s Finest superheroes shine here at ComicBook.com.
(Better logo pending.)
Please note that these commentary track-style interviews are spoiler-heavy and if you haven’t yet read Superman: Lois and Clark #1, you should head to your local comic shop or buy it on ComiXology before reading any further.
We know from previous conversations that Jonathan is nine when we start the series. Given the five-year gap between Justice League #1 and the rest of the New 52 launch, and the reference to that being days after they arrived, does that mean that the DC Universe has been unfolding more or less in real time since?
In very broad, general terms, that’s roughly about right. I have always looked at comic universes and stories as unfolding in somewhat different terms than that.
The farmhouse: is it theirs or are they still renting by the time the story picks up nine years later? Will we see the farmer or is that just backstory?
You’ll see the owner of the land next issue!
Seriously, all the various aspects of their lives, both past and present, will be addressed as we move forward. The way they live and how they live is very much a part of who these characters are.
Jeff King has already revealed that Parallax will enter the story of Telos from here, but do YOU know where he sent Barry and Kara? Is their story still ongoing?
Yeah, we have some thoughts on Barry and Kara. But we can’t give everything away all at once!
Is there any special significance to the animal names? I mean, obviously I recognize the Apollo and Zeus references but are there DC Comics significances to the choices?
You know what? By the time all was said and done, we probably spent more time on the dog’s name than any other single aspect of the book.
It’s really weird how that can work, but those things take on some level of significance. We debated the concept of Krypto as a name and at one point, even settled on Bibbo for a day or two. I finally woke up one morning and said, “Clark and Lois wouldn’t name the dog— Jon would. And he’d do something more individual, with no allusion to the past.”
We live in a world now where most dogs are confined to a leash or dog park. On their farm, where a dog can run free, well…Ranger was the perfect choice.
Are Clark’s power fluctuations part of a larger story as we go forward, or is it just to throttle his power levels a bit, compared to the post-Flashpoint heroes?
The story of Clark’s power levels and fluctuations will come in to play down the road. Stay tuned.
I like the fact that Lois is keeping a scrapbook that reminds me so much of Ma Kent’s from The Man of Steel. Obviously, that one ended up being something of a source of frustration for Superman. Are there plans for Lois’s?
Of course there are!
I give all the credit to John Byrne on that one. As you noted, Ma Kent was shown doing that in The Man of Steel before he ever donned the cape.
It seems like a real natural here, as well. Not because a mother wants to keep track of her son’s exploits, but because a mother (Lois) wants to keep track of her husband’s exploits so she can one day give it to their son. It feels a bit poetic.
Also: Is the bridge that miraculously holds until all the cars are across the same one in both realities?
Could be! Seriously, that’s my way of acknowledging the source that served as original inspiration.
You go into a fair amount of detail about Henshaw’s background here. Is that because some of it will play a key role going forward, or just because that’s how it felt real for Lois and Clark to discuss and think about him?
It’s really for both reasons.
First of all, it shows how they have to view this world. In so many ways, they have inside knowledge and foresight as to what might or might not happen.
But that’s all it is. Insight. No true knowledge. They have to take what they know and see how it might come in to play on their world.
At the same time, we let new readers know who Hank Henshaw really is.
What made you decide to make Lois such an influential figure in the new world? Is it just a matter of her finally realizing her potential now that she’s not constantly stuck in the middle of cosmic crises?
I followed that track because I truly believe that, one way or another, Lois would be influential.
Given their circumstances and backgrounds, they’re both living with a kind of secret identity and degree of anonymity. But they’re also committed to the idea of making the world a better place.
If you’re an investigative writer, what better way to do that than by writing books that expose wrongdoing, illegal manipulation and corruption?
Is it just me, or does the Excalibur here look a lot like the space plane from The Man of Steel?
I think that’s just you. They seem pretty darn different to me.
Henshaw, meanwhile…are there any intentional homages to previous panels in here? When he emerges and says “help me” weakly, it reminds me of one of the other members of the Excalibur’s crew in The Adventures of Superman #466. Even his body language seems…familiar, but I can’t say from where.
We certainly want echo the past. That past is what’s driving Superman’s interest here, after all.
It’s probably safe to assume that the man in the coat and glasses watching Lois is somebody from Intergang, but what can you tell us about this woman on the final page? She reminds me a bit of Maxima…!
Both will be addressed moving forward.
I will say, however, that the woman seen on the final page is not Maxima.
