Before Superman and Lois Season 1 premiered, one of the biggest concerns many had about the show was that, despite being one of two titular characters, Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) would be relegated to being a love interest for Tyler Hoechlin’s Clark Kent and the twins’ mother.

Given the history of The CW’s Arrowverse and their poor treatment of women throughout the years (e.g. the fridging of Arrow’s Earth-1 Laurel Lance), there was definitely reason to be concerned. Even in the first episode, Lois fell to the sidelines as the focus fell on Clark grieving his mother and the boys, Jordan and Jon, finding out that their father was the famous hero protecting the world. It wasn’t a very promising start.

But things turned around with episode 2, which saw Lois step up to take on a corrupt businessman, Morgan Edge, that had gotten his claws on the Daily Planet, prohibiting Lois from doing her job as “the world’s most famous journalist.” From here, even as the Big Bad stories spiraled out somewhere around episode 10, Lois remained the most consistent character.

Lois Lane’s Relationships

Bitsie Tulloch Superman and Lois
Image via The CW

What helped to make Lois such a strong character over Season 1’s 15 episodes was her immediate relationships being explored with almost all of the show’s main cast. Notably, we saw quite a lot about Lois through her interactions with Clark, Jordan, and Jon.

Having Lois and Clark be so far into their relationship on Superman and Lois was a very smart choice as we were able to see a different side to Clark than we’ve really been able to see in any live-action incarnation of Superman. Lois is perhaps the single person on Earth that Clark allows himself to be completely vulnerable with, which really enhances their relationship and both characters separately.

Throughout the season, we were able to see how Lois handles being married to someone whose life is on the line almost every single day. We saw a bit about how she has dealt with being powerless in a superpowered household. But, above all, we truly got to see Lois’ love for Clark Kent. The season’s flashback episode, “A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events,” showed how Lois fell in love with Clark before she knew he was Superman, which is such a rare take on their relationship.

In the midst of everything, Lois having to deal with a move from Metropolis to Smallville worked in her favor. Moving and having to start over is enough to deal with, but on top of that, Lois had to find a new job and deal with the backlash she was facing for her opinion of Morgan Edge and his plans for Smallville. She tried to rally everyone, but from the start had Kyle Cushing (husband of Clark’s childhood best friend, Lana Lang) fighting back.

This caused tension with Lana and Lois, too, though a friendship was able to grow between them as Edge’s plans became rather sketchy and Lana volunteered to help in the investigation. In fact, we saw more complex interactions between Lana and Lois than Lana and Clark, a fact that is rather disheartening considering the emphasis the writers tried to place on Clark and Lana’s friendship at the end of the season.

RELATED: 'Superman & Lois': Bitsie Tulloch on What Sets Her Lois Lane Apart and Why She Was Hesitant to Sign On

Lois Lane: The World’s Most Famous Journalist

Superman & Lois -- "Heritage" -- Image Number: SML102d_0049r.jpg -- Pictured: Bitsie Tulloch as Lois Lane -- Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW -- © 2021 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Superman and Lois Season 1 shined when focusing on Lois’ career, as well. Focusing on Lois as a journalist proved her to be the only character with clear goals and intentions for the entire season. While everyone else wavered on what they wanted and the writing itself seemed unsure of where the characters were going to end up, Lois chasing the Edge story showed what she’s capable of, what she’s willing to do to find the truth, and how powerful she is. In addition, it made her a great new friend and partner (one of the series’ only real friendships) in the Smallville Gazette’s Chrissy Beppo.

The Morgan Edge story in the beginning, as Chrissy and Lois dug into his secrets and searched for the truth about what happened to the other towns he had invested in, was so much stronger. Morgan Edge should have remained Lois’ villain because his wrongdoings were in her sweet spot and put her to the test as a journalist. As soon as it was revealed that Edge was actually Superman’s half-brother from Krypton, the story fell apart. The tension between Edge and Lois was just so good and they seemed like such an even match, it was exciting to speculate about how Lois would take him down in the end.

The Series Failed Clark

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Image via The CW

Over the course of Superman and Lois Season 1, it became clear that the writers knew how to write Lois Lane, and were doing quite well at developing her. However, things kind of fell apart with Clark.

Largely due to the Superman and Lois writers’ overcorrection because of justified concerns, Lois wound up being the star of the show, while Clark (as both himself and Superman) felt out of place. His only job, besides being Superman, was to assistant coach Smallville High’s football team… for a couple of episodes because then Jon got hurt when Jordan lost control of his powers. He never really succeeded as Superman because the villains somehow kept escaping and unleashing another attack on the world. Plus, his relationships were put second with everyone except Lois and the Big Bad, Morgan Edge, particularly in the latter half of the season.

This is especially true with their twins. Season 1 started strong with the Superman reveal shaking up the family dynamic, and we saw Clark attempt to regain his kids’ trust and nudge them into this new life in a new town after their move from Metropolis. Once Jordan started developing powers, Clark’s interest in Jon essentially faded away.

Clark became fixated on Jordan, while we saw Jon and Lois get closer by being the “normal” people in their home. Lois had years to learn how to deal with this, but it was all being thrust on Jon at once and he really struggled with it. Jon and Lois’ relationship quickly grew stronger, completely overshadowing what we were told about Clark and Jon being incredibly close before the events of the pilot episode. That relationship wasn’t on-screen much at all outside of family scenes, which was such a sharp blow to Clark as a father.

On the other hand, while Clark and Jordan’s relationship started out as something essential, that quickly faded as Big Bad activity increased. Jordan got a better grip on his powers, so Clark didn’t feel the need to be as invested. Instead, Lois (and sometimes Clark) had to deal with how to wrangle a superpowered teenager who wanted anything but to be special.

During “Last Sons of Krypton,” the season finale, Lois was tasked with reaching their son as his body was invaded by a Kryptonian’s consciousness, highlighting what a deep relationship they have and the journey they’re taking together. Clark simply couldn’t have done that in any believable manner because the emotional connection was missing between him and his kids. It all fell to Lois, to their mother, as their guide through these tough times. It’s rather disappointing it came at the cost of Clark’s character, but all of this really helped to solidify Lois as a powerful character in this universe.

While Morgan Edge turned from Lois’ villain to Clark’s, which subsequently ruined the entire story, the reverse happened with the Stranger (AKA John Henry Irons from another universe). He started Superman and Lois as Clark’s primary villain, someone who arrived on this Earth with the intention of destroying Superman. Later on, we find out it's because Superman turned evil in his universe and killed his wife… who was none other than Lois Lane.

While making Edge one of Clark’s relatives backfired, John Henry Irons’ history really lended itself to the story and, once again, made Lois shine. Despite everything, Lois saw the best in him, made an effort to understand and empathize with him, and helped him turn a corner and realize that history was not repeating itself with their Superman. Plus, the season ended with the other Lois and John’s daughter, Natalie, showing up from the other universe, which is yet another relationship that is yet to be explored but will allow Lois to shine.

In the end, Superman had to be around to kick some butt and save the day. Clark Kent was otherwise expendable, while Lois became the undeniable star of the show. Even the weakest moments of Superman and Lois Season 1 were held together by Lois and the connections she shared with, well, literally everyone. Even if the story wasn’t interesting, Lois’ role always commanded the fans’ attention. Everything was better when Lois was involved.

Season 2 needs to do a better job with Clark Kent, for sure, but Lois Lane is now the reason people are watching.

Superman and Lois is streaming on HBO Max on September 17, and Season 2 will premiere in 2022.

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