LOIS LANE #66 (1966)
by Leo Dorfman & Kurt Schaffenberger
By the time Lois is done talking, that window washer is going to be a stain on the sidewalk.
It’s a hot day in Metropolis, but Lois Lane is freezing.
I don’t think a doctor’s going to do much for this, Perry.
Lois is so cold that even Death Valley isn’t enough.
This is surprisingly accurate: the surface of Venus has a mean temperature of 464 °C / 867 °F.
Is “throw it into the Sun” Superman’s answer to EVERYTHING?!?!
Silver Age physics aside, this is actually a rather compelling mystery.
Which obviously means that we get rid of it immediately with no explanation!
You know, your regular virus that makes you TOO COLD FOR THE SUN.
No big deal, really.
Then Lois begins eating flowers. Somehow that’s not as exciting as her freezing touch.
Superman is worried about this… because it could make Lois lose her taste.
She’s in love with The Worst, so we’ve already established that Lois has no taste.
But that’s gone too. So the score is:
Pointless scenes 2
Actual story 0
At least the cover scene makes it into the story!
“Don’t worry Lois, this is the Silver Age, no plot has any consequence whatsoever in this book!”
We then cut to THIS:
That panel right there? It’s a perfect example of the Silver Age Moment Of Insanity.
It comes out of nowhere. It makes no freaking sense. And it’s utterly pointless.
Pointless scenes 3
Actual story 0
“One of those new countries that have been established recently”. Remember when Lois Lane was a foreign correspondent!?
You’re not ready for what comes next. Believe me.
First: the princess is an alien.
And all those pointless things that happened to Lois? They’re the standard for her people.
And she falls in love with Superman. Because of course.
She’s been trying to transfer her mind into the body of Lois (!!!) but she only managed to transmit her characteristics (!!!). From another planet. (!!!!).
But now that she’s here in person, she can take over her body.
Pointless scenes 3
Actual story 1
The princess is not very smart.
Once she’s possessing the body of Lois, she fakes having other symptoms so Superman takes her to the Diagnostron ™.
The blatantly obvious trap works.
Well that was certainly worth 15 pages of story.
Even the comic acknowledges that the ending doesn’t make any sense, but at this point I’m just glad this is over.
Historical significance: 0/10
The alien princess is on another planet for the remainder of the Silver Age.
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
Peak Silver Age.
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
How to completely waste any potential in a mystery.
Stupid Lois Lane moment
“It was just a virus that made me too cold for the Sun, no reason to worry”.