James Gunn’s Superman Broke This Longtime DC Tradition (For the Better)

When the Man of Steel takes to the silver screen, there are certain expectations viewers have. We want to see Superman soar in larger-than-life fashion, pretend to be the bumbling reporter Clark Kent at The Daily Planet, defeat a menacing villain, romance Lois Lane, and inspire hope in all of us. Many DC fans felt that filmmaker and new co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn delivered on the necessary hallmarks of a Superman film and then some. However, Gunn’s Superman broke one cinematic tradition that dates back to the character’s feature film debut. Yet in doing so, he updated the hero’s mythology for the 21st century without compromising on any of the spectacle or action we crave from the Man of Steel.

Although Superman saves countless lives in his most recent theatrical bow and stops a dimensional rift created by Lex Luthor from tearing the world in two, he never directly rescues Lois Lane. In fact, she’s the one who saves Superman from Luthor’s pocket dimension by enlisting the assistance of Mister Terrific, then delivers him to his family home so the hero can recover from Kryptonite poisoning. Furthermore, during Superman‘s climactic battle, Lois evacuates her colleagues into Mr. Terrific’s ship to shield them from the rift tearing Metropolis in two.

Lois’s Independence Doesn’t Sacrifice Her Chemistry with Superman

Since her debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938, Lois Lane has always been a spunky, ambitious, career-driven journalist. Lois’s domain has always been the bullpen at The Daily Planet rather than the kitchen, which was quite the departure given that women still needed a male co-signer to open a credit card at the time. Yet as ahead of her time as she was, Lois still found herself as the damsel in distress in the greater narrative of Superman’s stories. Sure, a major part of the reason Lois needed to be rescued was that she would charge into danger in pursuit of a story. However, at the end of the day, she still needed Superman to save her, and his brave rescues provided so much of the basis of their romance in the comics and in film. Famously, until she’s clued in that Clark Kent and Superman are one in the same, Lois is as nonplussed by Clark as she is smitten with Superman.

This is where Gunn’s writing, direction, and casting in Superman really take flight. Because even though Superman doesn’t save Lois in the movie, we don’t lose an iota of the love and tension between the couple. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan’s chemistry is palpable onscreen, and their final, floating kiss they share at the end of Superman doesn’t just make for cinematic gold, but feels like a well-earned conclusion of the couple’s journey in the film. One of the most memorable scenes in Superman is when Lois interviews the hero and doesn’t pull any punches, causing Superman’s facade to crack and causing a fight between them. The fact that Lois isn’t afraid to challenge Superman, both the hero and her partner, demonstrates how well-matched she is for him, and brings a fresh, truthful dynamic to their relationship that feels lived-in, and only makes their reconciliation later and her profession of love to Superman that much sweeter.

By Not Needing to Be Rescued, Lois Becomes a New Type of Hero

There’s certainly nothing wrong with asking for or needing help – Superman saliently encapsulates this notion when the Man of Steel dispatches the Justice Gang to take on the conflict in Jarhanpur so he can deal with Luthor’s dimensional rift. But the fact that Lois is able to hold her own, save others, and expose Luthor’s international meddling without Superman needing to rescue her allows Lois to become a hero in her own right. Superman is aspirational by design. He’s a god among men, an ideal that we all strive to be. However, Lois’s devotion to integrity and her capability, contrasted with her self-professed trouble with relationships, paints a hero we can all relate to.

And yes, Lois has gotten superpowers like her Kryptonian boyfriend at various points in the comics, but the fact that she’s able to accomplish all that she does in Superman as flesh and blood, just like the rest of us, gives us something perhaps a bit more attainable to strive to in our day-to-day lives (regardless of gender). Though we’re still a year and change out from Superman‘s sequel, Man of Tomorrow, we hope it will include the pair working formally together on the superhero side of things in contrast to the impromptu way Lois’s aid unfolded in the first film. Because in the DCU, Superman and Lois have already proven they make a great team, in every sense of the word.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

Superman Is Hiding a Heartbreaking Easter Egg in Its Final Scene (And Fans Have Found It)