I've never read any Superman comics so I don't know how they handle the issue of Clark not aging as quickly as Lois. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Some fan fiction have addressed it but I don't recall any taking it to this depth, especially Lois keeping the photo of when she began to notice the difference between her and Clark's appearance and certainly not the detail of the thought process that she and Clark went through to get to this point. In most that I remember she ends up just shrugging it off or her aging is delayed by the Kryptonian Aura that surrounds Clark. I am actually surprised that Clark was not there with her unless she was doing this without his exact knowledge. I mean she is doing this expressly to help keep his secret identity safe but maybe they thought it might just draw even more attention to the looks difference so he stayed at home.

By your timeline Lois would have been probably pushing 50 at this time so she would have begun showing her age somewhat by then. I can see that since tell really can't 'age' Clark that they would have to make this decision

Mike

Wonderful!

I've never really thought too much on this topic (and have never gotten into the comics), but your story to me makes a lot of sense regarding the difference in how they age.

Not a lot of women enjoy aging, but in Lois and Clark's case, I can see the situation becoming somewhat dire. I mean, really, can you imagine Clark looking pretty much as he did (when the show ended) and Lois continuing to age naturally up til now? It would definitely create a situation to address.

Then again, like you pointed out, that machine did give Jimmy some of Clark's 'life'...maybe, at some point down the line, that would help?

Loved this!
Laura

There was one Elseworlds graphics novel that did something like this - Lois aged and Clark didn't; he used a hologram (I think) to make himself look old when he was with her. I can't remember the title - it ends with him marrying a magically immortal Lana Lang several hundred years later.

The disparity in lifespan is something that doesn't get considered often enough in my opinion, which is odd because in other fandoms that have relationships like this (e.g. Thor and Jane Foster in the Marvel Cinematic fandom) it's often a major theme of stories. Nan Smith tackled it in her Home series, there really aren't many others.

Great story! At first I was worried that it was going to take the route of Lois solely being vain about her looks, but I was very pleasantly surprised to see that you took it somewhere completely unexpected. I love that Lois is constantly looking out for Clark, even in all the little, easy to overlook, ways. Great job!

That's what I was thinking. That Clark was supportive of Lois but he didn't come to the doctor's office so as not to draw more attention to the more important issue that he wasn't aging.

Joan

You bet! Or STAR labs developing technology to camouflage Clark's appearance. Thanks for reading!

Joan

That's interesting. It is strange that some fandoms address this issue but others don't. Look at Buffy and Angel. The aging disparity was a huge issue. I guess the nature of the fandom would make a difference, some with more angst driven story lines, others more action driven story lines. It just surprises me that the comics haven't addressed this topic more.

Joan

Thanks! I love that too about Lois and Clark - how they look out for each other. Thanks for reading.

Joan

Welcome back to the boards!

This is a fascinating, thoughtfully written premise and one which is not addressed very often on the boards. What will Lois do to fool everyone when it comes to the fact that Clark will age much slower than she does?

Getting botox is a form of insurance against anyone discovering the secret and it also proves what Lois will do for love.

A neat sequel might be having Clark try to find some way to age himself so that they might meet somewhere in the middle.

Thanks Morgana!

Excellent idea. I like the twist that she did it for Clark.
Thanks for sharing.

Other stories on the topic would be interesting.

In many of the comic future stories, Clark gets gray hair and looks older...but he's also functionally immortal. If you look at something like Kingdom Come, he looks like this:



Still healthy and in perfect shape...but grey hair less boyish looks.

Anyways, I enjoyed the story. I guess it might be different in the L&C verse since there are no other heroes. Lots of men and women hold on to great looks into advanced ages. Usually celebrities...but it can happen.