Lois & Clark Forums Forums Superman In Other Canon Superman In Other Canon Fanfic FDK: Twelve Steps From Smallville - for multiple chapters

Hey, I've got a lot of short chapters, so let's condense the feedback to one thread for now. Thanks for your comments.

Great start. I can't wait to see where this is going.

Just finished 3 and 4. Very mellow. I really like what you are doing with this and I love the Perry POV.

Really looking forward to more.

I never thought of Clark's red k phase as an addiction in that sense, but I suppose it was - that much power without a sense of responsibility must be incredibly seductive. Good one.

Good idea on consolidating the feedback for all parts that way - think I'll do the same with my five dates story.

I like the sort of paternal role you seem to already be putting Perry in at this stage of the game for Clark. Maybe they can be mutually helpful to each other. Interested in where you take this...

Clark really isn't very good at this yet, is he? Careless with the coffee cup...

Iolanthe,

Perry's on the case! Watch out Clark. He may or may not trust his memory. If he does, you're in trouble.

Ken, I'm in total agreement. I always thought that Perry was more savvy than he showed.

Right you are, Marcus. In his defense, the "Smallville" TV version of Clark is the Clark who has not yet become Superman. He's still growing into the role.

I don't see Lois' dad being very keen on all the name changes - and won't Lucy have something to say about it?

Just got caught up -- Love where you're taking this!

"Smallvillian moments," indeed. I loved that little phrase.

And now we have Perry setting up the Planet the way it should have been all along!

I like the idea of Chloe using Cat Grant as pseudonym -- works perfectly too, with her brush with Lexcorp.

Looking forward to more!

Iolanthe,

This is some twist!

Surely you will straighten things out later. I can see Lois doing the Society (Gossip) column.

This might just work out.

RE: Chapter 10,

Wonderful twist. Hopefully Perry will stay confused and if he confronts them they could deflect by implying that they are in a sexual relationship because a lot of the innuendo could apply that way.

Re chapter 10 - I think Perry will work it out pretty fast.

Yep, in normal circumstances, Perry will. Hmmm... something might happen.

Iolanthe,

What is it with the glasses???

What exactly are they doing?

How do they make everyone dizzy?

The glasses are advanced Kryptonian technology that prevent people from realizing that Clark Kent has another identity as a space alien. (Really!)

Given the widespread Facial Recognition Deficiency Syndrome that runs rampant in the L&C universe, I sometimes wonder if there really was something like that going on with Clark's glasses.

Iolanthe,

Seems kind of counterproductive if it's going to cause everyone to pass out or have vertigo. All that's going to do is draw attention to the wearer.

Ken, it only does that to people who knew Clark Kent back as a youngster in Smallville and knew that there was something "odd" about him then. People like Lex Luthor, for example. (That is, the Lex of the "Smallville" TV show, the one who was so very interested in the teenaged Clark Kent.)

If you never met Clark Kent before, all the glasses do is keep you from recognizing that really, he looks a whole lot like Superman.

Re 15 - Well, there goes Lex's blackmail plan - or whatever it was. I'm sure that it won't be missed.

Okay, I can see using the glasses on Lex, but Chloe.

One thing has me worried, it isn't the name Lois Lane that is key to the relationship that is needed for Clark to fulfill his destiny, it's the person of Lois Lane, the original one, the one calling herself Cat Grant, not Chloe calling herself Lois.

Clark will be so disappointed he missed him!

Iolanthe,

I'm still having a problem with the Clark - Chloe relationship you have going on here.

Yes, they were close in HS. Yes, she had a crush on him. The problem comes in that ultimately, she I'd not the woman for him whether she is calling herself Lois or not, she's still Chloe.

Ken: I hope this doesn't ruin the fic for you, but in this fic, Chloe Sullivan takes the name of Lois Lane and becomes the iconic Lois Lane (Daily Planet reporter, marries Superman, etc.) I did this for two reasons:

1) I really enjoyed the earlier seasons of "Smallville" much better than the later seasons. (I won't go into all the reasons why, but lots of it was that the earlier seasons (in my opinion) had better writing and better continuity.)

I always thought (again, this is only my opinion, mind you) that the show producers had the young Clark, the juvenile Lex, the early Pete Ross and early Lana Lang all there - so wasn't Chloe Sullivan supposed to be sort of the proto-Lois-Lane? After all, her heart's desire was to be a reporter for the Daily Planet. She had sources all over Smallville. She was intent on "getting the story". She certainly had all the characteristics one would expect of a proto-Lois.

"Smallville", in the early seasons, was a story of beginnings, and they gave a beginning for all the major characters in the Superman saga except for Lois Lane. But Chloe Sullivan was like an early Lois Lane, only with a different name.

I read somewhere that that was the original plan of Gough/Millar (the creators of "Smallville"). But they were not able to call this character "Lois Lane" for legal reasons or due to the DC executives getting nervous, or something like that.

Later on, legal permission did come through, but Gough/Millar had left the show by then. (Again, this is anecdotal and I have absolutely no evidence to support this interpretation.)


2) Teri Hatcher is, in my opinion, the best Lois ever. Every other Lois is held up to her standard, and so far, every other Lois hasn't made the cut. I just could not warm up to Erica Durance. I kept on comparing her to Teri Hatcher, and Erica suffered in the comparison.

So, basically, ignore the stuff that happened in Seasons 7 through 10 of "Smallville" with regards to Chloe and Lois. This fic is very AU in that respect.

That's the explanation. I've certainly appreciated your insightful feedback on this fic. If this is a deal-breaker for you, and you don't want to keep reading, I understand.

Hi Iolanthe,

No, that isn't going to chase me away.

I totally agree with you that Teri Hatcher is *THE* Lois Lane and all others must be compared to her. I would say that Erica Durance comes in as second followed by Noel Niell(sp) and then Phyllis Coats. I don't even consider the various actresses that were in the movies.

There is another problem and that is that in neither canon did Clark 'grow up' with Lois Lane. They were not friends through HS although they did bring Erica in and have her spend a week or so in Smallviille High. She was still an outsider.

Yes, Chloe makes a terrific reporter,however, her role as Watchtower was invaluable.

I gather from the way you are taking this that that aspect is being ignored completely since we have already jumped to Superman's debut.

I could just be being picky on the going through school together thing, but I do feel that it is important. A large part of the mystique was all the relationship building that went on and her not knowing his secret.

I would guess that is why you have given her amnesia from that head injury.

Oh well, I hope you don't mind my venting. I'll hang on and see where you are taking this.

Is the website ellyfanfiction.blogspot.com correct? I keep getting a statement that it doesn't exist.

Elly\'s Fanfiction Website

That should be the link.

Ken, you are so right! I could not reconcile the "grew up together" and the "not knowing the secret" in any other way.

Actually, this fic just sort of grew and grew (you'll see that it runs to 57 chapters) and I ended up throwing in a lot of stuff from the movies into it. There is little of the "Lois and Clark" L&C in this fic; more the "Smallville" and the "Superman" movies L&C versions.

Perry has been a character in all TV/movie versions of the Superman mythos so far. It was kind of fun making a reference to all of those portrayals of Perry. You'll see hints of Michael McKean (who appeared on the "Perry" episode of "Smallville"); of Jackie Cooper (still my favorite Perry) from "Superman: The Movie"; and Frank Langella (I didn't like him as much; he was a little too quiet and laid-back) from "Superman Returns". I tried to work in some Lane Smith but he is sui generis.

Thank you. That link works.

I always liked the John Hamilton Perry White from the Superman TV series. Shouting "Great Ceasar's Ghost" the way Lane Smith called on Elvis.

Re part 18 - interesting, I hadn't realised you were mixing the canons that way. Seems an odd way for the Smallville version of Lex to behave, much more the movie version.

Yep, Marcus, as will become evident, I really didn't know where I was going when I started this fic. It turned into a big sprawling cross-canon saga. (There are no page limits on-line. )

Lex changing? Yep, there's certainly quite a difference between the Michael Rosenbaum Lex of "Smallville" and the Gene Hackman Lex of "Superman: The Movie". Their portrayals are almost diametrically opposite.

Umm... let's see.... Clark and Lois sent Lex to prison in between chapters, and Lex got slapped around enough to have a personality change?

(OK, yes, that was lame.)

Re 19 - that's a good way to handle his departure - will Supergirl show up in his absence? Is the Smallville version of Kara around anyway?

Sorry, Marcus. Supergirl does not appear in this fic, whether the Smallville version or another version.

On the other hand, I must say that I've read and admired your "Supergirl Returns" series. Every one has been downloaded to my e-reader. These stories, and others of yours, have collectively given me hours of prime entertainment.

Re 20 - Perry really is good at this when he can bring his mind to bear on it - I hope Clark doesn't mind-wipe him again or something.

Don't worry, Marcus - Clark is past that sort of thing now.

Coffee ought to be interesting...

When is the next part?

Wow, thanks for caring!

RL has been annoyingly time-consuming this week. So here are two parts, Chapters 22 and 23, for your enjoyment.

re 22-3, it's good to see that Clark still likes to show off occasionally - that playful aspect is something that really gets missed from the films.

I hope the mind restoration trick works and Perry isn't unique; Lois' reactions will be interesting if it works...

Re 28-31 - glad Clark and Lois have settled their differences. Now comes the hard part with Richard. Hope he won't be too angry.

And well done Clark for staying out of it when Lex was arrested! Amongst other things, this means it will be easier for him to give evidence without any conflict of interest. But I hope he can find a way to stop Lex joining the dots re Jason's strength etc.

Healer Lois is back, and we have a Chekov's gun, I think. Excellent!

Marcus, you are so right. And I'm not even going to make you wait.

Okay, wasn't quite expecting that - hopefully Lois will be able to fix things.

Well done Perry! He's really getting good at covering for Clark.

Re part 44 - that's a very dangerous assumption that Richard is making. Does he think she's an alien?

No, Richard now knows that Lois is a "meteor freak" and because of that is denying her human status. She is not what he thought she was, and he's taking it pretty hard.

To give him credit, he was pretty traumatized by the events of the last few chapters.

Finally, I'm caught up. Between writing eleven short stories for the summer ficathon, going over stuff I have with GEs, working with my betas on a Volume and writing the next one, and reading, reading, reading, I was way behind.

Okay, so now Richard is going to call it all off and step aside for Clark. Jason will find out who his real father is. Will he have siblings?

So Richard's first encounter with Lois after his injury has her doing something he might consider "creepy" with her powers. Does not bode well for the future...

Now Richard has had a chance to adjust he seems a bit more reasonable. Hopefully it will end well.

Caught up again.

Richard is not taking it well. He needs to step aside.

Maybe he'll ask Clark for a mind wipe.

No mind wipe, I see, and he seems to be adjusting quite well; hopefully this will end up with everyone reasonably friendly.

And it did - no murder attempts, people reasonably happy, and everyone behaving well. Excellent!

Iolanthe,

Well done! Excellent blending of Smallville, L&C and the movies.

Aside from my earlier concerns a wonderful story.

You might want to consider changing the icon on part 57 unless you want it to remain incognito.

Are you submitting this to the archive?

When is your next story!

Thanks for the comments!

Ken - icon for part 57 changed to blue arrow.

Meadowrose - I didn't plan on submitting it to the Archive as I believe that's just for L&C stories. But thanks for suggesting it.

Another fic is in progress but I'm very slow-moving on it. /needs to slap self upside the head and get moving/

Thanks for the Spoiler warning at the top of each part. Just what I need.

Just finished Part 4. Interesting to see Clark show up at an AA meeting but it makes sense, being what he went through when he was strung out on Red K.

Perry as Clark's sponsor. That's a twist I wasn't expecting. Well, that's one way to forge a connection in the business, but I guess at this point, Clark isn't in any business but the farm business.

It's nice to see Perry humble enough to take a job at the Met Star. I guess it's a better paper in Smallville's Metropolis than in LnC's.

Part 5 - Right Clark cleaning up Metropolis after Lex and Zod tried to tear it apart. Hmmm. Vague way he called Cloe his girlfriend. Perry saw the Blur! But with his not-so-sharp mind, not a very reliable witness even to himself. Of course, Clark would want to be anonymous. So, Perry's mind is clearing up enough that he starting to remember bits and pieces of his meeting with Clark. Uh-oh. That could be bad for Clark, but I don't think it will be (if canon serves us right in Smallville).

Part 6 - 'Promises' is past where I've viewed so that's it until I've viewed a few more discs. This is a good story and I'm curious where Perry's quest of steps will take him. Either it won't be one step per part, or he'll fall off the wagon and start again at one.