Justice League Unlimited

Lois put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Of course you're not. I'm just saying you can't serve the public without their confidence. It's a question of trust," she said and then kissed him. "Now what's for dessert?"

At the end of the episode Clark finds Lois still at her computer. "Working late?"

"Hi, Smallville. Just finishing up my Justice League story. How many L's in ambivalent?"

"One. Is that your take on all this, Lois?"

"I've been as tough on the Justice League as anyone. Especially Superman, but that's just because he sets such a high standard. I'm going to cut him a break. He's only human ... you know what I mean."

Clark smiled and adjusted his glasses. "Yeah, I do."

These scenes were good because Lois asked tough questions even though she obviously cares about Superman in a romantic way. She won't compromise who she is or what she believes and doesn't want Superman to compromise what he stands for.

There was the implication that left unchecked, Clark and the Justice League could become tyrants. That has always been a popular theme in the comics. Absolute power corrupting absolutely. In fact, a Superman episode from 1997 may have inspired some of the events and the romance for this episode of JLU.

In Brave New Metropolis, Lois gets pulled into an alternate dimension. There is no crime in that Metropolis, but that's because Superman runs a police state with Lex Luthor at the helm.

When that world's Lois Lane was killed by Intergang, Superman became vulnerable to Lex's suggestion of putting an end to crime by basically instituting a totalitarian police state.

When Lex found out that Lois was alive, or at least another version of her existed, he wanted her killed because he knew the effect she would have on Superman. A quote from another Lex Luthor is apropos, "My talent in life is not making money. It's not juggling companies. It's character assessment."

Lois managed to escape, but the effort left her injured and exhausted. She saw a dark figure approaching and pulled out a gun. "Stop, or I'll shoot! I swear I will."

Superman stepped out of the shadows. "Lois?"

"You?" she said and fainted.

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