The Search for Lois
Superman #157
Displaying all of Superman's powers, Lois fights her husband in the sky above the city, pausing only to write "you're next" on Lex Luthor's office window with her heat vision. Perry White has a mysterious late night visitor in his office when he sees Lois fly by his window.
This Lois Lane reveals that she's really the Parasite in disguise. After coming into contact with Strange Visitor, his powers changed so that he could take other people's shape and memories, and retain stolen powers longer. He reveals that he's kept Lois alive because he had to touch her again every 24 hours. But whatever is making Superman sick is also killing the Parasite, and he collapses in the fight and dies.
When Lois hits him, Clark says he never felt better and I and other readers shared his relief. Watching their marriage deteriorate over the past few months had caused me to feel Superman's raw emotions like never before, and I didn't really care if this new twist was an easy cop out from the difficult character development of actually fixing a relationship.
Adventures of Superman #579
Superman scans the city looking for Lois, but his search is interrupted by the return of the Prankster, who's picked the worst possible time to try to annoy our hero. At the same time, Superman is attacked by a cigar-smoking S&M leather and spike clad adversary who calls himself Adversary. However, when Adversary realizes that Superman is sick, he decides to try to beat him some other time when it's a fair fight. By the end of the book, his condition has worsened so badly that he's turned green with Kryptonite radiation.
Suspecting Luthor is responsible for Lois' disappearance, he tries to break through Luthor's office window to interrogate him. However, the B13 technology at Lex Tower is now secure enough to keep Superman from entering the building.
The Prankster gets a makeover with a new slender body but his practical joke gimmick is still the same. This version of the Prankster would be a recurring villain throughout the next year of DeMatteis' run on this series, then he would mostly disappear again after that. He would not be the last villain in this period to get a face lift with no explanation.
Superman: The Man of Steel #101
Superman seeks medical help from Steel, who conducts some tests on him and uses magnifying lenses to give Superman a concentrated dose of sunlight as a temporary measure. Superman confides in Steel that he can't rest until he finds his missing friend, Lois Lane. Steel decides that he needs more help, and after Superman leaves he makes a call to the JLA.
Feeling a little better now, Superman decides to try to sneak into Lex Tower in disguise as a visitor this time. Though the B13 security detects him upon entry, Luthor lets him inside to see what he wants. Superman finds out that Lex has nothing to do with her disappearance, but in his weakened state Superman is taken down by Luthor's amazon bodyguards, Hope and Mercy and barely escapes out the window. Crash landing on the pavement and dying, Superman thinks the amazons are coming to finish the job but instead it is Batman who finds him and promises they'll find Lois.
Superman: Metropolis Secret Files & Origins #1
Secret Files & Origins issues had replaced annuals by this point, which let DC expand to other concepts, such as villains, time periods, or in this case, cities. This same year Batman would get its own Secret Files & Origins as an introduction to Lex Luthor's rebuilt Gotham City. After a regular-sized main story, most of the books were just character bios. In this one there's also a back-up story to catch up with Strange Visitor's new career as a struggling superhero.
Action Comics #766
The world's greatest detective helps the Man of Steel find his missing wife by following the trail of the Parasite's other victims. In my opinion, this is one of the greatest Superman/Batman stories ever told. Like a buddy cop movie, Batman drives Superman around in the Batmobile and tells him to wait in the car while he uses his own methods to question people. But to Batman's frustration, even in Superman's weakened state he gets better results just by asking politely. This issue focuses not just on how they're perceived differently, but on how their methods differ. Superman resents Batman's detachment to the case by referring to Lois as "the victim," and Batman responds with a visceral explanation for why he can't see his subjects as human until the case is closed. After the team uncovers several of the Parasite's dead victims, Superman has acquired Batman's indifference. They find Lois alive trapped in a cave, but then Superman finally collapses from his Kryptonite poisoning with no sign of life.
After getting off on the wrong foot way back in the Man of Steel miniseries, the World's Finest pair hadn't teamed up as frequently in the post-Crisis era. Their relationship would improve in the Loeb/Kelly era, and in a few years they would once again share a team-up series which would last until the end of the post-Crisis period.
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