As Superman: Lois and Clark nears its conclusion, each new issue has featured at least one game-changing revelation.
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With the official entry of a major new villain and an unexpected superhero rescuing Lois and Jonathan from near-certain death, the fifth and sixth issues of the eight-issue miniseries are setting up an action-packed and surprise-filled finale.
We caught up with series writer Dan Jurgens to talk about what’s next for the characters as they round the corner into the final battle — one which we now know will provide a major status quo shift for everyone in the book.
There are SPOILERS ahead, so don’t read this until you’ve picked up your copies of Superman: Lois and Clark #5 and Superman: Lois and Clark #6. That said, this interview was conducted prior to last weekend’s Rebirth announcement and does not deal with the revelations that both Clark and Jon will have major roles to play after this summer’s big DC reshuffle.
Okay, so first thing’s first: We see Batman almost immediately in #5. Do you think this world’s Bruce has any idea that there’s another Superman floating around?
Batman has no idea there’s another Superman floating around.
The core concept of this series is that Jon’s safety comes first and foremost for both Clark and Lois. They have done everything possible to see to it that no one would suspect another Superman is on the scene.
Batman might certainly wonder what happened on that roof and he might even connect the melted arrow to someone with heat vision. But connecting it to the idea of another Superman is quite a leap.
Clark saying he misses having others besides Lois he can talk to — is that something we may see playing out in the final issues of this series?
Not really.
Again, I’m really building on the idea that these three people are alone and isolated. No matter how much they love each other, there has to be a certain kind of loneliness that goes along with that. Anyone who’s married generally realizes that it’s good to have friends and contacts outside the marriage that serves as a different kind of friend. Lois has some of that with her publisher, Cora.
For Clark, it’s much tougher. He’s more isolated, though can have some friends as Clark. As Superman, he’s almost totally alone and he misses that.
Did you always plan to put off any mention of Clark’s relationship with Batman until the month Batman V Superman was released?
That was actually a happy coincidence.
I had every intention of building to that scene as it had to be several years into their stay here on earth.
The art in #5 is quite a bit different from Lee’s, but I think it works really well to have such a superhero-y style in an action-driven issue. Was that just luck of the draw or did you plan it that way?
Once again, that was a happy coincidence.
I didn’t realize that was a Khund warsuit. I assumed it was a replica of the big purple Kryptonian one from the post-Crisis, pre-Flashpoint books. Was that an intentional design choice or just a happy accident?
No, that’s a Khund warsuit by design.
Anything we see in the Fortress is a tip to past adventures and encounters, all of which serve to enrich Superman’s stay here.
It’s a reminder that he’s been very active. Plus, we allude to potential future stories as well as past ones.
Are Dratania and Klon characters that longtime readers should recognize, or new ones?
They’re entirely new and unique to this earth and this Superman. However, they seem to suggest some very intriguing past adventures.
Would you saw Henshaw helps him here because of any sense of altruism at all, or is it simply that he had an agenda that didn’t include Blanque?
I would say that Henshaw’s motivations and actions are still cloudy, at best.
If you get the feeling that there’s more here than meets the eye, it’s because there is.
Do you have any plans for Blanque down the road?
I always have ideas for characters down the road.
I mean, I still have ideas from stories I did many years ago!
Heading into #6, I’m really struck by the way Lois talks about her other self. Do you think she’s particularly disappointed in the way she perceives the post-Flashpoint Lois of having betrayed Clark BECAUSE they’re two sides of the same coin?
She can’t help but be disappointed in that world’s Lois.
For her, the notion of revealing Superman’s identity is sheer poison. It’s a horrible concept — one that she can’t possibly justify.
Even is she felt that need to do it for some higher purpose, she’d have found a way out of it. That’s just who that particular Lois Lane is. And she was that way before she ever agreed to marry Clark.
Jon’s story really came to a head — especially with the cliffhanger. Is this the first he knew of his powers, or next issue will we learn more about how that’s been developing?
Well, at the end of the #5 we clearly indicated that Jon’s hearing powers were kicking in, even if he didn’t realize that’s what was happening. In fact, we tipped that off at the end of issue #2.
We still don’t know the full extent of his capabilities, but we can plainly see some type of power set is beginning to emerge.
Do Lois and Clark have some kind of backup plan now that their lives as the Whites are presumably over?
You’ll see more on that as events unfold.
Will we see more of the reality show subplot in #7, or was that really just something to slow Clark down so that we could have the revelation about Jon?
Oh, we’ll have to get back to that in #7. The very idea of something like this is repulsive to Superman.
With Hyathis’s introduction, we have a LOT going on with just two issues left to go. Can you tease a little about the series’ third act?
You’re right. We do have a lot going on!
But it’s all building to a very particular climax and finale that is crucial to who these characters are and what their future might be. Writing these characters has been tremendous fun and Lee Weeks’ work has been nothing short of brilliant.
