Okay, I'm not the one who should start this comment thread. Because, even though I can see that this story is beautiful, I'm always going to harden my heart against tales like this one. Because this is the one type of Lois and Clark story that I absolutely, absolutely can't stand.


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Lois dying. That's what I've been afraid for for most of my 37 years as a Lois and Clark, or Lois and Superman, fan.

Lois dying. Lois killed. Nothing could be worse. Because it could happen out in the real world, where Superman is an important piece of property and a great financial asset. There are a lot of people out there who would like to boost Superman's money-making ability by re-starting his love life. They would like to do that by getting rid of Lois, possibly by killing her, and by subsequently pairing Clark off with another woman. By contrast, Superman won't ever really be killed. Not for real and for good. He's too good and valuable a brandname for that.

So because Lois's premature death is, to me, not only the worst thing that could ever happen in a Lois and Clark story, but also a terrifyingly real possibility out in the real world where the "official" Superman stories are written, I'm always going to harden my heart against a story like this one. Because it would hurt me more than I could bear if I didn't. And because Clark, too, is completely ruined, and in fact completely uninteresting to me, if Lois dies young. If Clark has to go on without Lois, I can't care about him. Sorry. And the reason for this is that, since Lois is a fictional character, she could never die by accident. She can only die because someone wants her to die, for one reason or another. And really and truly, I think the only valid reason anyone could have for wanting to kill Lois is that the writer thinks it's going to be interesting to explore what Clark is going to feel in that situation. But that, you see, also implies that Lois dies for Clark's sake, to make Clark more interesting. Even toying with that idea, even trying it out in an alternative reality, is too much for me. All I can do is harden my heart against it. Sorry.

Ann