Hi Michael,
I don't think Carol and I were conspiring to make Clark bad (well, I can't speak for Carol, but I wasn't), but I don't think it's coincidental either.
I was writing the end of this story as Carol was writing OTOH probably about where she is now in posting and I was feeling pretty annoyed at Clark from OTOH and I felt that carry over to my writing. I didn't mean it to, but it was hard. I mean, Clark was being such a jerk! And it was hard sometimes to remember that it wasn't my Clark that was supposed to be the jerk, but Carol's.
I tried to tone it back slightly, but clearly, some of my annoyance at Clark came through.
And yeah, it was pretty stupid of Lex to think he could just push Lois aside, but I see that as one of Lex' weaknesses. He's arrogant and thinks he can do whatever he wants. In the past, that's been the case. He's just never tried to cross Lois Lane before.
So the Alexander Luthor thing. I debated that since it was clearly an unimportant change to the script, but it just seemed to me that Luthor was such a pompous jerk when he got to the Planet and all high and mighty about how he had saved everyone's future. In my experience, men (and women) who are feeling self-satisfied and superior tend to balk at nicknames. Plus, it also gave him a way to look more approachable to the staff of the Planet - first he introduces himself as Alexander, but then tells them they can call him Lex. Isn't he such a nice guy?
- Nancy
