Lois & Clark Forums Forums Superman In Other Canon Superman In Other Canon Fanfic FDK: Twelve Steps From Smallville - for multiple chapters

Clark will be so disappointed he missed him!

Iolanthe,

I'm still having a problem with the Clark - Chloe relationship you have going on here.

Yes, they were close in HS. Yes, she had a crush on him. The problem comes in that ultimately, she I'd not the woman for him whether she is calling herself Lois or not, she's still Chloe.

Ken: I hope this doesn't ruin the fic for you, but in this fic, Chloe Sullivan takes the name of Lois Lane and becomes the iconic Lois Lane (Daily Planet reporter, marries Superman, etc.) I did this for two reasons:

1) I really enjoyed the earlier seasons of "Smallville" much better than the later seasons. (I won't go into all the reasons why, but lots of it was that the earlier seasons (in my opinion) had better writing and better continuity.)

I always thought (again, this is only my opinion, mind you) that the show producers had the young Clark, the juvenile Lex, the early Pete Ross and early Lana Lang all there - so wasn't Chloe Sullivan supposed to be sort of the proto-Lois-Lane? After all, her heart's desire was to be a reporter for the Daily Planet. She had sources all over Smallville. She was intent on "getting the story". She certainly had all the characteristics one would expect of a proto-Lois.

"Smallville", in the early seasons, was a story of beginnings, and they gave a beginning for all the major characters in the Superman saga except for Lois Lane. But Chloe Sullivan was like an early Lois Lane, only with a different name.

I read somewhere that that was the original plan of Gough/Millar (the creators of "Smallville"). But they were not able to call this character "Lois Lane" for legal reasons or due to the DC executives getting nervous, or something like that.

Later on, legal permission did come through, but Gough/Millar had left the show by then. (Again, this is anecdotal and I have absolutely no evidence to support this interpretation.)


2) Teri Hatcher is, in my opinion, the best Lois ever. Every other Lois is held up to her standard, and so far, every other Lois hasn't made the cut. I just could not warm up to Erica Durance. I kept on comparing her to Teri Hatcher, and Erica suffered in the comparison.

So, basically, ignore the stuff that happened in Seasons 7 through 10 of "Smallville" with regards to Chloe and Lois. This fic is very AU in that respect.

That's the explanation. I've certainly appreciated your insightful feedback on this fic. If this is a deal-breaker for you, and you don't want to keep reading, I understand.

Hi Iolanthe,

No, that isn't going to chase me away.

I totally agree with you that Teri Hatcher is *THE* Lois Lane and all others must be compared to her. I would say that Erica Durance comes in as second followed by Noel Niell(sp) and then Phyllis Coats. I don't even consider the various actresses that were in the movies.

There is another problem and that is that in neither canon did Clark 'grow up' with Lois Lane. They were not friends through HS although they did bring Erica in and have her spend a week or so in Smallviille High. She was still an outsider.

Yes, Chloe makes a terrific reporter,however, her role as Watchtower was invaluable.

I gather from the way you are taking this that that aspect is being ignored completely since we have already jumped to Superman's debut.

I could just be being picky on the going through school together thing, but I do feel that it is important. A large part of the mystique was all the relationship building that went on and her not knowing his secret.

I would guess that is why you have given her amnesia from that head injury.

Oh well, I hope you don't mind my venting. I'll hang on and see where you are taking this.

Is the website ellyfanfiction.blogspot.com correct? I keep getting a statement that it doesn't exist.

Elly\'s Fanfiction Website

That should be the link.

Ken, you are so right! I could not reconcile the "grew up together" and the "not knowing the secret" in any other way.

Actually, this fic just sort of grew and grew (you'll see that it runs to 57 chapters) and I ended up throwing in a lot of stuff from the movies into it. There is little of the "Lois and Clark" L&C in this fic; more the "Smallville" and the "Superman" movies L&C versions.

Perry has been a character in all TV/movie versions of the Superman mythos so far. It was kind of fun making a reference to all of those portrayals of Perry. You'll see hints of Michael McKean (who appeared on the "Perry" episode of "Smallville"); of Jackie Cooper (still my favorite Perry) from "Superman: The Movie"; and Frank Langella (I didn't like him as much; he was a little too quiet and laid-back) from "Superman Returns". I tried to work in some Lane Smith but he is sui generis.

Thank you. That link works.

I always liked the John Hamilton Perry White from the Superman TV series. Shouting "Great Ceasar's Ghost" the way Lane Smith called on Elvis.

Re part 18 - interesting, I hadn't realised you were mixing the canons that way. Seems an odd way for the Smallville version of Lex to behave, much more the movie version.

Yep, Marcus, as will become evident, I really didn't know where I was going when I started this fic. It turned into a big sprawling cross-canon saga. (There are no page limits on-line. )

Lex changing? Yep, there's certainly quite a difference between the Michael Rosenbaum Lex of "Smallville" and the Gene Hackman Lex of "Superman: The Movie". Their portrayals are almost diametrically opposite.

Umm... let's see.... Clark and Lois sent Lex to prison in between chapters, and Lex got slapped around enough to have a personality change?

(OK, yes, that was lame.)

Re 19 - that's a good way to handle his departure - will Supergirl show up in his absence? Is the Smallville version of Kara around anyway?

Sorry, Marcus. Supergirl does not appear in this fic, whether the Smallville version or another version.

On the other hand, I must say that I've read and admired your "Supergirl Returns" series. Every one has been downloaded to my e-reader. These stories, and others of yours, have collectively given me hours of prime entertainment.

Re 20 - Perry really is good at this when he can bring his mind to bear on it - I hope Clark doesn't mind-wipe him again or something.

Don't worry, Marcus - Clark is past that sort of thing now.

Coffee ought to be interesting...

When is the next part?

Wow, thanks for caring!

RL has been annoyingly time-consuming this week. So here are two parts, Chapters 22 and 23, for your enjoyment.

re 22-3, it's good to see that Clark still likes to show off occasionally - that playful aspect is something that really gets missed from the films.

I hope the mind restoration trick works and Perry isn't unique; Lois' reactions will be interesting if it works...

Re 28-31 - glad Clark and Lois have settled their differences. Now comes the hard part with Richard. Hope he won't be too angry.

And well done Clark for staying out of it when Lex was arrested! Amongst other things, this means it will be easier for him to give evidence without any conflict of interest. But I hope he can find a way to stop Lex joining the dots re Jason's strength etc.