LOIS LANE #106 (1970)
by Robert Kanigher & Werner Roth
cover by Curt Swan
This is indisputably one of the most famous-slash-infamous Lois Lane stories ever: the one where she becomes black.
And it’s written by Robert Kanigher, so it could either be surprisingly good or unbelievably stupid: there are no half measures with him!
The teaser page makes it look like the plot is going to revolve around Lois believing Superman prefers black women, but it’s going to be a little more complicated than that.
We actually begin with Lois boasting that she’s going to do a story on “Metropolis’ Little Africa”.
So, uhm… I’m not American, but I’ve NEVER heard that expression. Was “Little Africa” actually a thing in the 70s?
Once she gets there, kids don’t exactly react well to her presence.
And women as well.
It seems like everyone is treating her like she’s the worst person ever.
Could it because of the way she has acted in all the previous issues !?!?
Naaah.
Well okay, to be fair to the Kanigher, I think he’s trying to make a good point (the Planet sent Lois to do a story on a black neighborhood to make a spectacle of it but the media isn’t really interested in their problems).
It’s just that this lacks any sort of subtlety whatsoever.
And that’s why, with her insane troll logic, Lois decides that the best case of action is to ask Superman to turn her black, in a very surprising callback to Lois Lane 90.
So… the cover didn’t lie this time: Lois really did get turned into a black woman.
And she discovers that *gasp* white people are dicks!
This might be worthless coming from a white dude from Italy, but I think Kanigher’s heart is in the right place. Even if, again, he doesn’t really seem to know what subtlety is.
Lois even befriends a neighbor (and her rather creepy looking child), who ends up helping her even though her living conditions are just terrible.
She also befriends a teacher (I think? The comic’s not very clear about what he actually does; he’s also suggested to be an undercover cop), who despite being just a little sexist…
…is also trying to do something about a drug deal.
He gets shot for it, and Superman CONVENIENTLY turns up just a moment too late.
There was a point during the Silver Age where Lois’ blood type kept being a plot point for stupid reasons, so I was quite surprised to see it come up for a legitimate reason!
And O negative is relatively rare (about 7% of people have it), so kudos to Kanigher for getting a science fact right! From the Metal Men writer, that happens surprisingly few times.
So Lois donates blood to save the guy, and while she waits to see if that helps she can go back to the stuff that really matters.
Superman predictably tries to get out of this by bringing up that he’s an alien.
But in a surprising twist, Lois doesn’t just accept that response and brings up the correct retort: he might be an alien, but he looks 1,000% like a white dude!!!
Honestly, Superman’s reluctance to just say “I don’t care if you’re black or white” speaks VOLUMES. I keep telling you that he’s The Worst.
Alright, it looks like we might go somewhere interesting with this… and then Lois turns white again.
Lois is worried that the guy she saved will think ill of her because she’s white… but it turns out that not ALL characters in a Superman story have to be awful.
I’m posting the entire last page because it does something I didn’t expect: there’s no dialogue, no caption, no overwritten moral.
Okay, the story is no masterpiece by any means, but that was kinda sweet.
Historical significance: 0/10
Despite the iconic cover, nothing really comes out of this.
Silver Age-ness: 7/10
Purely on the strength of Superman having a shapeshifting machine basically in his closet.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
This was a tough call. It’s an extremely simplistic and perhaps even patronizing story, yes, and when it comes to “social commentary special issue” this PALES in comparison to what Marvel was doing in the 60s and what DC would do very soon on Green Arrow.
The only thing that rubs me the wrong way is not having the courage to let Superman say ANYTHING even remotely connected to race!
All in all, not a story with a good message and a good heart that doesn’t quite commit to going the whole way.
Stupid Lois Lane moment
I’ll admit it could be a bit of a stretch, but… did Lois realize JUST NOW that black people face discrimination!?