Action Comics #597 (February 1988)
Action Comics #597 (February 1988)
That intentionally ridiculous cover is the least ridiculous part of this issue.
In Superman #13, a mind-controlled Lana Lang barged into the Daily Planet offices, ripped open Clark Kent’s shirt, and flew out the window. This got the attention of Lois Lane, who travels to Smallville to find out what the hell happened there. When Lois locates Lana, she finds her being all chummy with Superman – seeing Superman in Clark Kent’s hometown and hanging out with Clark Kent’s friend (who seriously calls him “Cl… er, Superman”) makes Lois start putting two and two together, and she flat out asks him: “Are you Clark Kent?”
Superman is startled by the question. That’s when Ma and Pa Kent come in and “save” the situation: Superman isn’t Clark, he’s Clark’s brother! The Kents admit they found Superman’s rocket when Clark was “three months old” and raised the two oddly similar men together (Superman’s full name is Superman Lawrence Kent). Lois completely swallows the story, but it only makes her angrier – now she thinks Clark and Superman have been playing her for a fool all these years. Which isn’t that far from the truth, actually.
Lois storms out and returns to Metropolis, where she visits her sort-of boyfriend Jose Delgado/Gangbuster in the hospital, now paralyzed from the waist down after his encounter with Combattor in Adventures #437. Superman just happens to come visit Jose too, leading to an awkward encounter with Lois. Superman then offers to fly Lois home, but she goes “No thanks, I’ll walk from now on.”
Plotline-Watch:
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that silly “Superman is Clark’s brother” story will be ignored by future writers. The only real development here is that, while trying to calm her down, Lana tells Lois that Clark is in love with her, another patently obvious thing Metropolis’ top reporter had never realized. We also get some flashbacks of Lois as a kid being told by her dad: “I didn’t get a son, so now I’m gonna treat you like shit.” I’m not exactly sure how they’re relevant to this story, but that is an element that will be expanded in later stories.
WTF-Watch:
Hey, here’s an idea: Why not just tell Lois that Clark is Superman? If Superman said to her “Yep, I’m Clark, but if you tell anyone Luthor will murder my entire family,” I’m sure she’d understand.
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