Justice League Unlimited

In Legacy, the last episode of the animated series, Superman was stripped of his memory by the villain Darkseid, and for the most common reason, to force Superman to help him take over the world. After wreaking havoc on the Army and fellow superheroes, Superman snapped out of Darkseid's control with Lois's help, but not before his reputation was badly damaged.

After Superman defeated Darkseid, Lois found him standing at the top of a skyscraper. He had been listening to people's comments about his out of control behavior. "No one man should have that much power." "He's a traitor and a menace." "I'm locking my bedroom door at night." Only Jimmy's comment came through as a voice in the wilderness of suspicion. "Superman saved the world dozens of times. We owe him a second chance!"

Lois approached Superman. "Don't listen to them."

"No, they're right," he said. "I did lose control and it scares me. If I can't trust myself, how can I win back the trust of an entire planet?"

Lois took his face in her hands and kissed him. "One person at a time."

It was a nice capper to the series and probably helped set the stage for the romance depicted on the Justice League cartoon. Though another Justice League installment titled For the Man Who Has Everything may also have been fundamental.

For the Man Who Has Everything was an adaptation of a Silver Age story in which Superman was kept in a subconscious dream state where he was in love and happy. In truth, however, he was under the spell of a villain's gift that kept him out of conscious commission so that the villain could do the bad things that villains do.

In the old comic he lived on a Krypton that was never destroyed and was in love with a Kryptonian actress named Lyla Lerrol (another double L). In the Justice League cartoon version, the woman was named Loana. Though you'd have to search the credits for her name since it was never spoken in the episode. Perhaps they meant for her to be an amalgam of Lana Lang and Lois Lane, but dropped the name due to the fact that aside from reddish hair color, there was nothing about her that evoked the image of Lana Lang.

The character was a reporter, she was sarcastic and was voiced by Dana Delany, who had been Lois Lane's voice in the Superman animated series. Most viewers just assumed it was Lois with oddly colored hair.

Aside from the leading lady, the story was pretty much the same as the old comic. Superman lived with her and their son on a Krypton that was never destroyed. Even the super dog Krypto lived with them.

This type of story is also typical. It's the theme of the hero longing for a happy life, but due to his responsibilities, never being granted one. Over time it became a stale concept and Superman was finally permitted to have both after the Superman comic revamp in 1986.

It's hard to say if the Superman/Lois romance will continue since there has been such a spotty record, but at the very least they have laid a believable foundation if they do decide to pick up where they left off.

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