LOIS LANE #46 (1964)
Writer unknown, penciler Kurt Schaffenberger
Well what do you know, Lois Lane 34 really did get a sequel!
If you don’t remember that story: this is a timeline where Lex Luthor reformed, married Lois Lane, gave her immortality, and then their son Larry became the criminal known as “Black Luthor”, causing Lex’s death.
Despite the fact that dark glasses should make Lois unrecognizable (hey it works for Clark), Larry immediately figures out that it’s her.
Yes he goes by “Black Luthor” in this story, but I’m still calling him Larry.
He’s supposed to be the worst criminal in the Galaxy, but Lois stands up for her dead husband.
Larry’s pirate ship escapes Superman thanks to its ability to shrink…
…and Larry goes bald, because why would we want to distinguish him from his father?
Once Lois is back to Earth, she’s visited by Superman and his family, which now includes a now super-powered and older Lana Lang…
…and their daughter Joan, who seems to have inherited her father’s powers and her mother’s brain cells.
Yes, Joan is head over heels for Larry Luthor. Entirely based on his looks, apparently.
I mean, who could resist this guy?
Not that I’m surprised. She’s the daughter of Lana, who has been a stalker all her adult life, and Superman, who I remind you is The Worst.
Lois figures out Joan’s plan: when she went into Lex’s lab, she found one of this inventions… the Evil-Removing Chemical (patent pending).
Except it doesn’t work.
Larry has two secret weapons: robot doubles…
…and continuity.
Larry’s crew wants to kill Joan, but he only wants her as a hostage.
Can you say Stockholm Syndrome?
Larry also directly refences Superboy #86. There’s no editor’s note, but it’s unmistakable.
That story was by Jerry Siegel, while I couldn’t find a source for this issue’s writer. Maybe it’s Siegel again?
At first it seemed like Joan was in love with Larry, but she still remembers that he’s the bad guy: they argue and she tries to escape.
You know what? Larry is turning up to be an interesting villain.
Don’t get me wrong, he still deserve to be punched in the d#ck, but he’s a fun bastard.
Larry’s big plan is to take Earth hostage with his Planet-Attracting Satellite ™.
A PLANET-ATTRACTING SATELLITE. The Silver Age, man…
But here’s where the plan fails: one of Larry’s goons betrays him, luring him away with the promise to find some Kryptonite, and leading him into a trap.
Lois rescues him, but she also succumbs to the deadly radiation and they both die.
The end!
Historical significance: 0/10
What else did you expect from an imaginary tale?
Silver Age-ness: 6/10
It’s very silly, but the depressing ending is a bold statement for 1964.
Okay, okay, I’m kidding, it’s just the end of Part 2. We still have a few pages left!
So, part 3:
As Lois is on the brink of death, she dreams about how much better her life would be if she had married Superman.
But… people DID respect Lex after he reformed and married you, Lois! The previous story even told us that Lex became more admired than Superman!
And WOW, Lois dreaming that the son of Superman would automatically be a better person than the son of Luthor is… something.
By the way, how are things with Larry’s plan, now that his henchmen have taken over?
However… remember Lex’s Evil-Removing Chemical (patent pending) ? Larry has weaponized it!
Now Larry is good, he has his hair back, and Lois is alive. Wait, WHAT?
How? He revived her with his Lifetron-Ray ™, of course.
As for Larry being good and having hair: he just took an extra dose of the Evil-Removing Chemical (patent pending), and as we all know if you’re not evil your hair grows back.
So now Larry and Joan can get married.
And so we end, for real this time, with a somewhat sweet reference to Lex.
Note the caption signed “Ed”.
Editor, or perhaps the writer was Edmond Hamilton? It would explain the sheer amount of space opera stuff.
Historical significance: 0/10
No, really, it can’t be anything else.
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
I was tempted to give it a lower score, but then satellites that attract planets and rays that remove evil showed up.
Does it stand the test of time? 4/10
What a rollercoaster! Larry turned out to be far more compelling than anticipated, ESPECIALLY after his lackluster first appearance. There’s legitimate drama and tension, and there was a lot of potential to show Larry learning about his mistakes and paying for his crimes, willing to reform. But unfortunately the ending throws everything away with a preposterous reset button! Props for setting it up from the beginning, but you can’t end a story this way today without being laughed at. With a more nuanced ending, it could even get as high as a 8/10.
Stupid Lois Lane moment
You know what? I’ll give her a pass this time. Lois is noticeably less stupid than her usual Silver Age self here… even if her dream was more than a little cringeworthy.