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"The Wedding Album": Lois is getting married to a drug lord known as Dr. Rajiv Naga, having been forced to suggest it after she was caught snooping around his operation and was threatened with death. She tries out her wedding dress while on flight to Metropolis and takes advantage of her groom's

Quote1 Let's just say... my fiancée thinks of me as her Superman! Quote2
Clark Kent

Superman: The Wedding Album #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of December, 1996.

Synopsis for "The Wedding Album"

Lois is getting married to a drug lord known as Dr. Rajiv Naga, having been forced to suggest it after she was caught snooping around his operation and was threatened with death. She tries out her wedding dress while on flight to Metropolis and takes advantage of her groom's excitement to incapacitate him and his thugs. Then, she forces the flight captain to go to the authorities. The truth is she has been investigating Naga's activities and her marriage proposal was the perfect way to finally take him down.

At the Daily Planet, Clark and his staff work tirelessly to find Lois, who has been missing for weeks. Clark retreats to his office, thinking about how badly he misses Lois. Ever since he lost his powers, he has trusted in the power of the press to find her. He pulls out the engagement ring he wanted to propose to Lois with out of his pocket and takes a good look at it. Moments later, Lois barges in to the Daily Planet, her wedding dress torn to shreds. She has come to file her story, but Clark wants an opportunity to speak to her in private.

Clark is quick to inform her of recent events: ever since she was gone, Perry has been on chemotherapy, so Clark became managing editor. Lois asks Clark why he didn't tell her, and he replies Perry told him not to. Clark then reaches for a glass of water, only to drop it to the floor. When Lois attempts to help him, she sees his hand bleeding and realizes he has lost his powers. Clark tells her he has been without powers ever since the sun went out. He feels frustrated about every crime and disaster Superman could have stopped since then. Lois comforts Clark, saying he can still help people as a reporter.

She searches his coat for a handkerchief to cover his wound and finds the engagement ring. Clark held onto it for the same reason Lois returned to Metropolis. As much as Lois loves Clark, she is not going to accept a marriage proposal as overdramatic as that, so he makes him do it the right way. Clark finally asks Lois to marry him and she accepts. The Daily Planet staff finds them kissing.

Later, Clark doing exercises at his apartment to keep himself healthy after his power loss while his parents are visiting. He gets a phone call from Jimmy, who wants to be the photographer at his wedding, but Clark already hired one. After Jimmy got work at WGBS, he feels his friendship with Clark has been deteriorating, especially after the story he did on Lori and the Luthor fiasco. Jimmy is determined to save his friendship with Clark.

Meanwhile at Lois' apartment, Lois, her mother and sister are choosing flower arrangements for the wedding. Her father, Sam, disagrees with the wedding and still blames Clark for making her daughter sad, even though Lois tells him to get over it. Then, the Lanes get a visit from Martha, who asks to help Lois pick a dress. While Lois and Martha leave, Lucy and Ella prepare for the bridal shower, causing a shocked Sam to hurriedly leave to rent a tuxedo for the wedding.

Clark and Jonathan have reached the tuxedo store, but Perry and Keith fail to show up. Clark has gotten news that Perry had a bad reaction to the chemo and might not make it to the wedding but Jonathan holds out hope. At the store, they find Sam, who makes no secret of still being angry at Clark. The three men try out suits, but Jonathan does not appreciate Sam's hostility towards Clark. Eventually, they find the perfect suits.

Back at the Lane house, Lucy and her friends Lori, Maggie and Toby have finished preparing the bridal shower and surprise Lois, who has just returned home with Martha. Lois gets various home appliances as wedding gifts and tries out wedding dresses. She does not like any of them, so she asks her clothes designer Jeanette to make a new dress especially for her.

Meanwhile, Clark asks Ronald Winston to modify his wedding ring to include an inscription that says "To Lois. Love, Clark." He also wants to add a Superman symbol to the ring.

At the same time, Lois and Martha search for a suitable apartment for Clark and Lois to move to after the wedding. All the apartments have a major flaw; the last one seems fine but has a huge list of bidders. Later, while having lunch at a restaurant, Lois talks to Martha about how her relationship with Clark has changed her for the better. After that, Lois goes to the license bureau to confirm her upcoming marriage to Clark. As she picks up her wedding license, Lois comes across Maggie, who tells her of an empty building with good apartments and low rents.

Maggie knows of the building because of a previous case involving Superman: Someone had attacked Professor Emil Hamilton with a Kryptonite-powered weapon at the Ace O' Clubs, owned by Superman's friend "Bibbo" Bibbowski. The whole place is on fire and Hamilton and Bibbo are still inside. Since there is Kryptonite at the bar, Superman cannot get in without getting weaker, so he is forced to stay in the sidelines and let the firefighters do the job. Unfortunately, they are hit by a backdraft and forced to stand back. Unwilling to risk any more lives, Superman enters the building and saves Hamilton and Bibbo. Since he is not getting any weaker, Superman discovers someone has taken the Kryptonite away. With Hamilton and Bibbo under medical care, Superman flies off to find the assailant. Unfortunately, the building is still in rough shape, even if the state inspector certified the building as sound, but Lois still thanks Maggie for her help.

After a day of work at the Daily Planet, Clark goes to the electronics shop to pick up his gifts for the ushers, but finds the shop is being robbed by an armed thief. Wanting to help, Clark puts on his Superman outfit and intercepts the robber. Scared, the robber drops his gun and the stolen money and attempts to escape, but is suddenly grabbed by Maxima, who throws him into a wall.

Maxima has come to Earth to give Superman another chance to be his mate, but upon seeing Superman tired and catching his breath, reads his mind and becomes aware of his power loss. Thinking she offered herself to a human, Maxima becomes offended and leaves. Superman reflects his power loss actually did him some good.

Jonathan and Martha visit Perry at his apartment. While Martha and Perry's wife go to the kitchen for a cup of cocoa, Perry thanks Jonathan for convincing him to give up smoking. Even if he has lung cancer, Perry has a chance to survive. Jonathan asks Perry if he is going to come Clark's wedding, and Jonathan happily accepts.

Bibbo throws Clark's bachelor party at the Ace O'Clubs, with Jimmy and Pete Ross attending. Suddenly, Meat, a regular patron, comes in to play pool but Bibbo insists this is a private party. When Meat becomes aggressive, Bibbo throws him out. Seconds later, Jonathan arrives and tells everyone there is a group of bikers outside. The bikers barge in and the party becomes an all-out bar brawl.

Meanwhile, Lois is having her bachelorette party at a restaurant. Suddenly, a man attempts to come on to Lois, but she makes him trip into a pie, much to her and her friends' amusement.

Superman runs across the night streets to reach the Ace O'Clubs until he comes across Naga, the same drug lord Lois had confronted earlier. Naga and his henchmen had barely averted arrest and now they were attempting to return to Bhutran. Since there is no time to call the police, Superman confronts the criminals by himself. Superman defends himself until one of the thugs hits him in the back with a rock. Then, Batman arrives and the two heroes dispose of the criminals together.

As Naga and his men are taken away by the police, Superman and Batman have a private conversation. Batman is curious about Superman's change of mind about getting married and Superman replies he and Lois were miserable without each other and they are happier together. The World's Finest stand on a rooftop and watch as Lois and her friends scare off the guy harassing them earlier at her bachelorette part. Batman now understands why Clark and Lois belong together, and has also taken measures to protect Metropolis while Clark and Lois are on their honeymoon. Under Batman's request, a group of heroes descend upon Metropolis and stand ready to protect the city. According to Batman, they are not aware of Superman's upcoming absence, only that he will be away on a secret mission. And, as his wedding gift, Batman has bought the apartment Lois saw earlier and now, Clark and Lois are the new tenants.

Clark finally makes it to the Ace O' Clubs, where Jimmy asks him why he not asked him to be the photographer at his wedding. Clark replies he already hired a photographer, because he wants Jimmy to be his best man, to which an honored Jimmy accepts.

Later, Clark and Lois have their rehearsal dinner. There, Jimmy apologizes to Lori for televising the story that accused her of trafficking stolen antiques. Lori accepts his apology and advises him not to let ambition get in the way of the important things. Jimmy also catches a glimpse of Perry talking with Jonathan and Martha. When Jimmy talks with Perry, he becomes aware of his chemotherapy sessions. Meanwhile, Lana feels happy Clark has finally found someone to spend the rest of his life with, much like she has done with Pete.

Suddenly, Sam calls out for Clark and vents all his animosity towards him, saying he does not deserve someone like Lois. As Ron and Lucy watch from afar, Ron wonders how will Sam react when he finds out his daughter is dating a black man and Lucy replies Sam is not a racist, he just hates everyone their daughters date. Lois, having just enough of her father's insufferable attitude, says Clark is the man she loves and she will be marrying him, whether her father accepts or not. Even Ella agrees with her daughter's decision, causing a bitter Sam to leave.

Superman Wedding 001

Happy couple

The big day finally arrives, with multiple guests coming to the ceremony. Among them are the Riot Girls, an all-girl rock band hired by Lucy, and Jimmy's camera crew. Meanwhile, Lex watches the wedding in his surveillance room, having hacked Jimmy's camera system. Lex still cannot believe Lois is marrying Clark and thinks the only thing worse is if she were marrying Superman. The Alpha Centurion arrives to the ceremony as well, but prefers to be at the rear of the temple in case he has to leave as to not disturb the ceremony.

Clark, having returned to his old hairstyle, gets ready for the wedding. As Jimmy straightens Clark's bowtie, he reveals he knows Clark and Superman are one and the same. But that is not Jimmy, but Mr. Mxyzptlk, who has come to congratulate Clark for his wedding as well. He says it will be fun to mess with both Clark and his wife. Clark asks if Mxyzptlk has something to do with his power loss, but Mxyzptlk denies having anything to do with that. Still, he expresses confidence Clark will get his powers back and disappears seconds later.

Superman Wedding 002

Just married

The ceremony finally starts. All of Clark and Lois' friends and acquaintances are attending. Perry has made it to the wedding, along with his wife. They are seated alongside Ella, while Keith is the ringbearer. And for once, Sam has decided to swallow his pride and attend to the wedding. Without further incident, the wedding goes as planned and the priest pronounces Clark and Lois as husband and wife.

At long last, Superman and Lois Lane are happily married.

Appearing in "The Wedding Album"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Flamin' Skulls (Single appearance)
    • Meat (Single appearance)
  • Mr. Mxyzptlk
  • Rajiv Naga
    • Cor (Single appearance)
    • Cutter (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

Notes

  • Reprinted in Superman & Lois Lane: The 25th Wedding Anniversary Deluxe Edition.

Trivia

  • The issue has Lois mentioning Gloria Steinem, the feminist icon credited with reviving Wonder Woman's popularity, regarding her own feminist character.
  • The priest who performs the wedding ceremony is a nod to Jerry Siegel. In addition to sharing Siegel's features, he has the name Herbert Fine, taken from the pen name "Herbert S. Fine" under which Siegel published The Reign of the Superman, the first story to utilize the name "Superman". Siegel along with Joe Shuster created the DC hero Superman.
  • Superman's wedding had originally been intended to occur much earlier; it had been on DC's schedule ever since Clark revealed his secret identity to Lois in Action Comics #662. However, the schedule had to be changed several times, in both directions:
    • Due to the launch of the live action television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which not only focused on the relationship between its titular characters, but was in fact intended to eventually feature their wedding, the execs at DC decided to postpone the comic wedding so it could occur concurrently with the TV wedding. To bridge the intervening time, the entire "Death of Superman"/"Funeral for a Friend"/"Reign of the Supermen!" story arc was conceived.
    • Following Superman's return, another idea to bide time was to split up Superman/Clark and Lois, which occurred in Action Comics #720. In Superman vol. 2 #115, Lois even leaves the United States to become a foreign correspondent. By this point, the plan was to have a longer story arc which would result in Lois coming to realize that she still has feelings for Superman, eventually resulting in her returning to the USA and marrying him just as the television show would have its own wedding. However, these plans were changed again when the producers of the television show decided to have their wedding take place earlier than previously intended, in season 4's third episode "Swear to God, This Time We're Not Kidding". As a consequence, DC Comics had to reschedule their plots as well, resulting in a rushed conclusion of Lois's quest in Superman vol .2 #118.
    • What further complicated matters was the fact that DC had just had a major crossover event named The Final Night. One of the crossover's short-term ramifications was a temporary loss of Superman's powers, which he was supposed to regain in the subsequent "Power Struggle" story arc. As a result of the short-term schedule change, Superman doesn't have his powers during his wedding and the subsequent "Honeymoon" story arc. While this provides for an interesting dynamic for the "Honeymoon" arc, one of the negative consequences of the short-term schedule change is the complete absence of Lois, as well as any mention whatsoever of Clark being a newlywed husband, from the aforementioned "Power Struggle" story arc, which takes place immediately following the "Honeymoon" arc.
  • An indirect consequence of all of the above is a continuity error in the early stories of the then-current JLA series (namely the Midsummer's Nightmare limited series, the main story of JLA Secret Files and Origins #1 and the main JLA title's initial "New World Order" arc), all of which feature a long-haired, superpowered Superman. This should not be possible, seeing as the new JLA was formed after the events of the The Final Night crossover, and Clark cuts off his hair for his wedding before regaining his powers.
  • Despite the many claims to the contrary, this was not the first time Superman and Lois "actually" got married (i.e. ignoring all the Imaginary Stories where they were married). That honor belongs to the Earth-Two story in Action Comics #484.


See Also


Links and References


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Superman (Volume 2) #118: 1996/46
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