Superman#70 (1951)
Golden Age Superman comics are an extremely dark portrait of an unhealthy relationship.
Because the only contact Lois and Superman are ever able to have is when he’s saving her, the act of rescue becomes loaded with almost sexual levels of intimacy and baggage, meaning that Superman saving someone else’s lifeis enough to drive her to the point of throwing herself out of windows just to get his attention. Further still, because Superman is always around to save her, Lois’ self-preservation skills are utterly nonexistent, leaving her completely dependent on Superman both emotionally and physically.
Superman, meanwhile, is a compulsive liar who constantly tricks her in weird and complex ways to teach her various lessons. He supposedly cares for her, but he displays little more than annoyance at her constant self-endangerment. He fails to separate his real life as Clark from his duties as Superman, and thus ends up stringing Lois along without ever allowing it to go further.
Seriously, I’m not exaggerating. It’s aterriblerelationship.
I can only hope it gets better in later incarnations…
