Fans are furious over the latest episode of DC’s anime-inspired romantic comedy My Adventures with Superman, where Lois Lane guilt-tripped Clark Kent into coming clean about his superhero identity.
My Adventures with Superman follows the early days of Clark’s life in Metropolis, as he attempts to balance his secret identity with his developing career as an investigative reporter alongside his roommate/colleague Jimmy Olsen and Lois.
Previous episodes had seen Lois connecting the dots and figuring out that Clark was Superman at the end of My Adventures with Superman‘s fourth episode ‘Let’s Go to Ivo Tower, You Say,’ leading up to the controversial moment when she guilt-trips Clark into revealing his identity.
Sharing a clip from the show’s fifth episode, titled ‘You Will Believe a Man Can Lie,’ @buggy_con simply wrote, “Yeah I’m with Clark on this one. Lois you crazy.”
Yeah I'm with Clark on this one. Lois you crazy. #MyAdventuresWithSuperman pic.twitter.com/z8w9M4cXfo
— Mr.Bug (@buggy_con) July 28, 2023
Instead of thanking Clark for rescuing her, Lois proceeds to accuse him of lying to her — claiming “a secret is another type of lie,” as the Man of Steel explains that he was afraid she would make the secret identity public.
Despite Lois previously lying to Clark when they first met, and denying she would publish Clark’s secrets, she concludes the scene by continuing to paint herself as the victim — breaking up with him for not disclosing his secret.
Fans were furious claiming Lois Lane outing of Superman was an example of the infamous “omission is still a lie” trope, which has become synonymous with Amber in Invincible and Teela in Kevin Smith’s Master’s of the Universe Revelation.
“This is the WORST trope in superhero media,” @DynamoSuperX declared. “Love interest / friend gets mad when they find out they’re partner is a superhero. just like amber on invincible, it’s unrealistic and creates unnecessary angst.”
“Just to be clear, I’m NOT saying Lois is the same as Amber”, they noted. “Amber was much WORSE. I only brought her up because it’s just another example of the same trope. Lena Luthor on Supergirl is probably the worst example of this trope considering she went full villain.”
“I really hate the ‘a omission is still a lie’ line of thinking sometimes used in superhero writing,” @KhairoAetos proclaimed. “Having alter egos is meant to protect those you care for so that your villains don’t attack them, but it just so happens one of those people the hero cares for is always like ‘buh why didn’t you tell me!?’ Because you’re acting like a hysterical b—h you heffer…”
“No, they Dragged Lois to the same depths as Iris West & Mary Jane Watson”, @PassionSod weighed in. “Seriously, when did reporter GF’s throwing themselves of buildings fully expecting their Super BF’s to save them without complication or hinderance become a trope At least the other 2 were done with trust.”
My Adventures with Superman is not the first time Lois Lane forced Superman’s hand into revealing his identity. Other fans compared Lois’ outing of Clark in My Adventures with Superman to previous iterations of the character including Smallville, Richard Donner’s Superman 2, and comic books.
“This scene from #MyAdventuresWithSuperman is kind of in character for Lois but it’s also one of my least favorite aspects of her and I wish writers would stop using that,” @BBalley derided. “It was annoying when done in the comics, it was annoying when done in Superman 2 and it was annoying here.”
Alongside panels from different Superman comics depicting the different stages of Clark and Lois’ relationship, @Black_D_Gamer1 pointed out, “This feels like two love-struck teenagers, trying to awkwardly navigate their way though high school. This is NOT superman! Nor is this Lois Lane!”
“The two always kept a cordial, yet professional ADULT relationship,” he added. “Slowly growing into a romance. Clark should’ve been way more in control of this situation. Even when Lois did finally discover Clark’s secret identity, she handled it pretty wel.”
“Remember in Smallville, when a female love interest found out Clarks secret (at least 3 did) and then they…kept the secret, @NoobicusMaximus recalled. “They didn’t tell clark they knew. They respected his privacy, and his wishes and even helped keep his secret from others. Did no one watch that show?”
“This is such incredibly toxic behavior from Lois, attempting to commit suicide to force his hand and then still reacting like a petty bitch when he revealed his secret to save her f—king life,” @HMBohemond decried. “And what’s worse is the show portrays her as in the right. This is such an bad lesson to be teaching children watching this show, especially girls.”
“And yes I know the Richard Donner movies did similar,” she acknowledged. “It was sh—ty back then too, with Lois acting like a sociopath. But she at least still appreciated why Clark kept it a secret and didn’t guilt trip him for it.”
New episodes of My Adventures with Superman premiere Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT on Adult Swim and Fridays on Max.