Trouble in Paradise

Lois and Clark's relationship goes from bad to worse, and Superman's cough gets worse too.  This month, Superman finally gets a new Fortress of Solitude after it was destroyed a year ago.  Also, the Joker comes to town and Harley Quinn and Mercy have a hilarious fight like they'd had when the Batman and Superman animated series crossed over a few years before.

Superman #156

The Parasite attacks the Superman.  Fortunately, Wonder Woman comes to Metropolis to talk to Superman and can help him beat the Parasite.  Lana Lang also comes to Metropolis to talk to Clark, but unfortunately Lois gets jealous when she finds her husband talking to the two women after the fight.  Lois storms off angrily telling Clark that they had a good thing and he blew it.  However, she shows up in Lex Luthor's office that night, somehow getting past his security, and apparently trying to seduce him.  Perry White narrates this issue, so the reader has no insight into her thoughts or motivations.

At the time, I loved the art on this series but I hated the direction the writing was going.  Every week I was threatening to drop the books if Lois and Clark broke up, but now these next few months of stories are some of my all-time favorites.

Adventures of Superman #578

Superman plans a surprise romantic getaway with Lois to a distant planet.  When they go to the JLA Watchtower to borrow one of the Martian Manhunter's ships, he notices that Superman still has a cough.  Lois can't help but be impressed by all the beauty on alien world, yet despite witnessing the birth of an alien centaur creature, she still complains the whole time.  Sadly, Clark thought the adventure would save their marriage, but Lois spoils the fairy tale romance and asks him to take her home.

Writer J.M. DeMatteis begins his 10-issue run on the series, although he wouldn't actually get to finish his own story line.  Terry Dodson, who had filled in on this series during the Final Night, is this issue's guest cover artist.  He would make a big splash later this same year collaborating on Harley Quinn's solo series with his wife Rachel.

Superman: The Man of Steel #100

Steel helps Superman build a new Fortress of Solitude, which is now a spherical container that the Man of Steel can unlock like a puzzle.  Inside the sphere is a tesseract, an infinite space in a finite container, inside which they're able to restore the remnant of the original "ghost" Fortress, now with an upgraded redesign.  Steel's niece Natasha also sort of helps, reprogramming Superman's servant droid Kelex to speak in teenage colloquialisms.

Luna, the queen of the cybernetic underground called the Cybermoths, plants a stowaway agent as a Trojan horse to get inside the new Fortress.  While Luna just wants to steal Superman's data, her mysterious partner in crime is revealed to be the Cyborg!  It turns out the inter-dimensional city of Kandor survived the destruction of the original Fortress, and its miniature citizens helps Superman defeat the Cyborg.  After securing the new Fortress from its first breach, Superman gives Steel one of his capes with the "S" insignia on it and tells him they're partners now.

This double-sized 100th issue featured a unique tri-fold cover with a reverse, accordion-like fold rather than the usual gatefold.  The front cover shows the new exterior of the Fortress of Solitude and the inside cover shows the interior.  I always wondered if this had been intended to be a die-cut cover that didn't work out as planned, because Superman appears in the same position on the outer and interior covers.  Whatever the case, this is the only cover like it that I know of.

Action Comics #765

The Joker comes to Metropolis to pester Lex Luthor because he feels Luthor invaded his territory by rebuilding Gotham City after the earthquake.  While the Joker endangers the whole city with a giant balloon of Lena Luthor, the three-round fight between Luthor's bodyguard Mercy Graves and the Joker's then-girlfriend Harley Quinn steals the show.  The Joker gets away with diplomatic immunity again, a trick he had used once before to get away with Jason Todd's murder.  Batman does not appear in this issue, but he will in the next.  The Joker would return a few months later in the Reign of Emperor Joker.

Clark Kent is starting to look visibly sick at work, and even though everybody around him (even Lois) is telling him to go see a doctor he continues to ignore it.  Lois hides behind a bush while Superman fights the Joker, and the reader sees her cough now too.  When Clark gets back to his desk, he gets a heartbreaking note from Lois saying that she can no longer face him and she's leaving.  I thought this was one of the best issues of Superman ever when it first came out, and then the next issue came out and it was even better.