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By Zoomway
"One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell me which thing is not like the others before I finish my song?"
Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane. Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan. Erica Durance as Lois Lane.
Despite the logic of the Sesame Street song, Chlois fans, those Smallville fans who believe Chloe Sullivan is the real Lois Lane, would tell you Erica Durance doesn't belong. They'll tell you that Chloe is the Canon!Lois, or Iconic!Lois. If you wonder where the custom of putting an exclamation point between a word and a name comes from, I can trace it back at least as far as the X-Files where Scully was sometimes Saint!Scully, or Mulder was ClassicDitch!Mulder.
Apparently this comes from how the various Barbie doll themes were listed on inventory sheets -- Malibu!Barbie, Wedding!Barbie and so on. I have no idea if that's true, but back on topic ...
Early into Smallville this theory of Chloe being Lois Lane was hatched. Part of this was due to non-comic book fans finding out that Chloe Sullivan didn't exist in the comic book world, or anywhere else in the Superman universe for that matter. This knowledge coupled with a general loathing of Lana Lang, led to something of a "last laugh" scenario. That is, if Chloe turned out to be Lois Lane, then she'd have Clark in the future and have the last laugh on Lana. Chloe would also be assured a place in the myth under an assumed name.
Unfortunately for Chlois theorists, Lois Lane was introduced at the start of the series' fourth season. Not surprisingly some Chlois fans took an instant dislike to Smallville's version of the character. "ED's Lois," as Erica Durance's Lois Lane is called for short, does have her fans, but she definitely entered a hostile environment in one of the most divided fandoms in TV history. Not only did she draw fire from Chlois fans, but Clana fans (those who are fans of Clark and Lana as a romantic couple), did not welcome her with open arms either.
As soon as ED's Lois entered the picture, the hue and cry from Chlois fans switched from "Chloe is Lois" to "Chloe is the real Lois" and a spate of lopsided syllogisms began.
It's canon that Lois Lane wanted to be a journalist since she was a teenager.
Chloe has wanted to be a journalist since she was a teenager.
Therefore Chloe is Lois Lane.
The problem with citing canon, depending on the era or version, is that there really is no indisputable chronology or history of how Lois actually became a reporter. The only real canon in all versions is that she is one. Yet ED's Lois is bashed because she's not already at the Daily Planet, which seems unfair given Clark is not at the Daily Planet either and nowhere near being Superman.
The Chlois fans gravitate towards current post-Crisis (1985 to the present) comic book canon since it best suits their theory because Chloe and that version of Lois Lane both had youthful dreams of being reporters and working at the Daily Planet. However, that also gives points to ED's Lois because post-Crisis Lois, like Smallville's version, has a combative relationship with her father, has a kid sister named Lucy and is skilled in martial arts.
Lately there's been a tendency by Chlois fans to compare Chloe to Teri Hatcher's Lois, who is also, for the most part, a post-Crisis Lois Lane, but here is where Chlois fans run into trouble taking scenes out of context.
In Smallville's fifth season premiere Arrival, Clark was shocked to learn that Chloe knew his secret, well, at least that he had special powers. He decided to tell her the whole truth about himself since a kryptonite mutant, which Chloe assumed he was, wouldn't have a giant Fortress of Solitude in the arctic.
Chloe was awestruck and thrilled hearing the whole truth and promised she would never reveal his secret. When a bulletin about the second meteor shower hitting Smallville came on the TV, Chloe told him to go, that Smallville needed him more than she did at that moment. He hesitated a moment and then Chloe said, "Go!" more emphatically and Clark whooshed away. After his speedy departure, she said, "Whoa."
Most Lois & Clark fans recognized the scene since it was ripped off from the episode We Have a Lot to Talk About. Shortly after Lois revealed to Clark that she knew his secret, they heard a cry for help. Lois told him to go, but Clark hesitated. Lois said "Go!" more emphatically and Clark stepped back and removed his glasses.
He changed into Superman right before her eyes and whooshed off. Lois breathlessly uttered, "Wow."
The problem with Chlois fans citing this scene as more proof that Chloe is the real Lois, is that they ignore the glaring context differences between the two scenes.
Clark realized Chloe knew the truth about him when she ended up at the Fortress of Solitude and was freezing to death and told Clark she knew he could run faster than a speeding bullet. "Take me along for the ride," she said and he took her to a hospital in the Yukon.
On Lois & Clark, it began with a proposal in the rain. When Clark asked, "Will you marry me?" Lois took off his glasses and replied, "Who's asking? Clark, or Superman?"
On Smallville when Clark found out that Chloe knew about his powers, he asked, "How long have you known?"
In truth, Chloe suspected Clark was different in the episode Jinx, but suspicion was all she had until five episodes later in Pariah when Clark's former psycho stalker and current girlfriend teleported Chloe to a demonstration of Clark's powers.
Chloe watched mesmerized as Clark super sped to the scene of an impending accident, caught a runaway car in midair, set it down gently and then whooshed away. Chloe whispered, "Oh, my God," and was seriously verklempt for a while afterward. Later that season in the episode Blank, where Clark lost his memory, Chloe also found out that Clark had x-ray vision, super hearing and heat vision, but she still assumed he was a meteor mutant until he told her the whole truth.
On L&C, Clark asked Lois how long she had known and how she figured it out.
"How long have I known? Since yesterday. How did I figure it out? When you did this," she said, and placed a hand on his cheek.
Lois was referring to a couple of scenes from the preceding episode And the Answer Is where she told Clark she would do anything to help when she found out his parents had been kidnapped. He was so moved by her empathy that he slipped his fingers through her hair and cupped her cheek. Later, when the kidnapper demanded the death of Lois Lane, she offered to sacrifice herself to save Clark's parents by suggesting to Superman that he freeze her with his breath and then revive her later.
Superman, of course, refused and gave grim scenarios of what could happen to her if anything went wrong. "Lois, you could die."
"Yes, I could die, but Clark's parents will die unless we help them." Then Lois began to plead on Clark's behalf. "Please, Superman, you haven't seen him. You don't know what he's going through. He needs me and I have never needed you more than I do right now. You just can't turn me down. You can't."
This was a great scene, and again, Clark couldn't hide his feelings for Lois even when disguised as Superman. He told her to close her eyes, but he was so overcome by her bravery and sacrifice that he touched her in the same manner he had as Clark earlier in the episode. Lois opened her eyes and her breath caught. "The way you just touched me."
To be honest, Clark and Superman had often touched Lois's cheek throughout the run of the series, but she acknowledged that when explaining to Clark how she figured out his secret. "You've touched me before ... both of you, but I guess almost dying sort of heightened everything ... all my senses," she said and slipped Clark's glasses back on his face. "Sort of like putting on a pair of glasses."
Again, everything comes down to the context. Lois and Clark were in a romantic relationship, which is not true of Clark and Chloe. Lois was hurt and angry with Clark because within the context of a romance it does make a difference compared to how a friend or a parent would react.
Lois and Clark were in a heated argument when Clark was called away to save the day. They were not having a calm conversation as Chloe and Clark were before he was called away. Who knows, they may rip off Lois's reaction and give it to Lana when he tells her the truth, but that's part of my point.
Throughout the run of Smallville they have ripped off Lois and Clark scenes and given them to Lana and Clark. They have ripped off Lois and Clark scenes and given then to Chloe and Clark, but that does not make Chloe the real Lois Lane no more than it makes Lana the real Lois Lane. It just means their writers are creatively bankrupt and nothing more profound than that.
I like ED's Lois and I don't care if she's not at the Daily Planet yet and not even interested in journalism yet. L&C's Lois Lane said she became a reporter to prove her father wrong, not out of some inherent noble love of journalism. The truth is she grew to love it and found out she was very good at it, but it wasn't the least bit necessary for her to leap out of her cradle with a press pass in order to be the real Lois Lane.
The bottom line for me is that I do not want a character invented for a WB teen drama to turn out to be an icon who predates her by 60 years.
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