Man Of Steel: 10 Details You Missed About The DCEU’s Lois Lane

No Superman story would be complete without Lois Lane, the hard-nosed and unstoppable reporter of the Daily Planet. Not only is she Superman’s main love interest, but Lois is one of comics’ most iconic and irreplaceable women, with her serving as an inspiration to many young readers.

Unsurprisingly, she appeared in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), portrayed by none other than Amy Adams. While Adams nailed the role perfectly right down to recreating some comic panels, much to fans’ delight, there are some things about her version of Lois Lane that not everybody noticed.

10 Amy Adams Is The 8th Live-Action Lois Lane

For those keeping count, Amy Adams is Lois Lane number eight. Noel Neill (above; left) was the first, starring as Lois in the 1948 black-and-white Superman serials. Before Adams and arguably to this day, Lois Lane number four Margot Kidder (above; right) from the Christopher Reeve-era of Superman movies remains the most beloved incarnation of the iconic reporter.

Before Adams got the role, DCEU producers considered the likes of Rachel McAdams, Natalie Portman, and Anne Hathaway for Lois. McAdams and Portman ended up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Doctor Strange and Thor, respectively), while Hathaway missed the chance to return to DC movies after her stint as Catwoman/Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises.

9 Amy Adams Won The Role After 3 Different Tries

Though only be obvious if one were reading up on the movie’s trivia, Amy Adams really wanted to be Lois Lane. Nowhere is this clearer than the fact that she auditioned for the character thrice. Before scoring the role for Man of Steel, Adams auditioned for Superman: Flyby (J.J. Abrams’ scrapped Superman reboot) and Superman Returns, where Kate Bosworth became Lois.

Additionally, Man of Steel isn’t Adams’ first Superman-adjacent project as she was actually in the long-running Superman prequel Smallville. However, she only appeared once and in a prosthetic suit, with the Kryptonite turning her into a vampire with a giant mouth in the show’s seventh episode.

8 Lois Lane Mirrors Mother Mary

In Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Superman dies fighting Doomsday. The scene right after – wherein Batman and Wonder Woman hoist down his body while Lois mourns – doesn’t only take notes from The Death Of Superman, but classical art as well. Superman takes Jesus Christ’s role, with Lois Lane crying over him in a way that directly reenacts Mother Mary’s actions in iconic art depicting Jesus’ death.

This shouldn’t be surprising, since one of Zack Snyder’s cinematic signatures is the use of classical and religious art as inspiration. But that said, its unsubtle presence in his two Superman movies (especially in Man of Steel) met backlash and ridicule for how pretentious it was.

7 Why Lois Lane Is The Key

In Batman V Superman, The Flash randomly appears in a dream/timestream/something and tells Bruce Wayne that Lois Lane is “the key.” What this means is never explained in any of the DCEU movies, save for the Justice League’s original script. The dark future seen in Batman V Superman happens after Darkseid kills Lois Lane, which is how Justice League’s first movie would’ve ended.

This drives Superman mad, making him susceptible to Darkseid’s control and him ruling Earth as a tyrant. Long story short, Batman keeping Lois alive is the key to protecting the Earth. Unless Snyder gave his script an intense rewrite, it’s highly possible that Lois’ fate will finally materialize in the long-awaited Snyder Cut.

6 Lois Lane’s Justice League Ending Parallels Final Crisis

Though her role in the DCEU’s crossover isn’t that big, Lois still speaks for the human race in Justice League. Nowhere was this clearer in the ending, where her newest piece about Superman’s resurrection and the League’s birth signifying the return of hope. This served as the movie’s closing narration, which is in stark contrast to her resigned attitude in the aftermath of Superman’s demise.

This directly lifts a scene from the crossover event Final Crisis, in which DC’s heroes save the multiverse from certain doom at Darkseid’s hands. In the closing pages, Lois’s writing serves as the narration, citing that the world has reason to hope again even in the face of such Armageddon. Just like in Justice League, this takes place in the Daily Planet that stands tall among the rubble.

5 Lois Lane Is Now A Redhead

Across most of her comic appearances and their subsequent adaptations, Lois Lane is a famously dark-haired brunette. This is a longtime constant that was changed in the DCEU, where Lois is now a redhead. Humorously, the DCEU’s Lana Lang – famously a redhead in just about every Superman story – seemingly switched hairstyles with her world’s Lois, as she now sports the raven-black hairdo commonly associated with the latter.

While this was most probably done for Amy Adams’ benefit since she’s a natural redhead, Lois’ red hair actually has some comic origins. For a while, the Post-Crisis Lois (notably during TheDeath of Superman, a key source material for the DCEU) did in fact sport red hair, though this didn’t really last long.

4 Lois Lane Doesn’t Know Jimmy Olsen

No matter what comic or adaptation, Lois is almost always seen with the young and idealistic photographer Jimmy Olsen by her side. The two have a long, storied professional friendship, with them looking out for the other in their own ways. Man Of Steel doesn’t just change this, but excises it completely because Jimmy the beloved comic relief and photographer doesn’t exist at all.

Jimmy was all but replaced by the Daily Planet intern Jenny Jurwich (above, left) who Lois barely talks to, leading some to think that the DCEU gender-flipped him. Jimmy kind of exists, but he’s that CIA agent who was killed in the opening minutes of Batman V Superman. Not only did the DCEU have Jimmy only in name, but it denied Lois one of her most important relationships.

3 Lois Lane Has No Combat Prowess

Lois is the last reporter anyone should mess with in the comics since she can and will kick anyone’s butt if they’re dumb enough to accost her. The daughter of a career military officer who wanted a son, Lois was trained in different fighting techniques that come in handy in her profession as a journalist.

In the DCEU, Lois is just a regular human journalist. She has no fighting skills to speak of and is practically helpless, only surviving Kryptonian capture in Man of Steel thanks to the Jor-El hologram’s help. This isn’t a bad thing, though, as it emphasizes how human she is in the face of such superhuman power. That, and she more than makes up for this in terms of intellect.

2 Lois Lane Figured Out Clark’s Secret Almost Immediately

The DCEU’s Lois is probably the smartest incarnation of the character, seen in the fact that it didn’t take the entirety of Man of Steel to figure out that Clark Kent and Superman are one and the same. Not even halfway through the movie, she follows her new co-worker Clark all the way to the Arctic where she learns the truth.

In contrast, Lois in literally every other adaptation takes forever to connect the dots – despite her reputation as an intrepid reporter. Usually, Clark just tells her outright who he is, always to her surprise. This has led to countless memes and jokes about Lois somehow always being fooled by Clark’s big nerdy glasses.

1 Lois Lane Falls For Superman Faster Than Usual

A major effect of Lois learning Superman’s identity faster than usual is that it skips the faux love triangle between her, Clark, and Superman. This changes her entire relationship with Clark, with her falling for him faster than normal. Since she immediately unearths his secret, this averts the usual “will-they-won’t-they” hijinks, with Lois gradually empathizing with him before the romantic attraction settles in.

Previously, Lois was torn between the exciting if risky Superman and the boring but safe Clark. When caught in this dilemma, Lois’ insecurities were informed by her needing to make a touch choice between two men she loved. In the DCEU, she worries if she (a fragile human) is enough for her literal god of a husband, despite his reassurances.

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