Up until this point, we’ve praised author Gwenda Bond for deemphasizing Superman in her excellent Lois Lane series. In two previous novels (Fallout and Double Down), Clark Kent was simply a part of the supporting cast orbiting around Lois Lane’s shining star.
But Lois and Superman have been linked (one way or another) since 1938 when they both debuted in the pages of Action Comics #1. Bond knew she couldn’t ignore their shared history forever. At some point she had to bring the two iconic characters together.
And frankly we’re happy to see it finally happen. In Lois Lane: Triple Threat, Lois and Clark bump into each other for the first time on page 166. That’s about halfway through the book. We’re glad Bond didn’t tease their hookup until the final chapter because the pair’s ensuing love story is sweet and funny. Like we mentioned earlier, we enjoyed the first two Lois Lane novels sans Superman. But we have to admit there’s magic in the air when the big city girl and the boy from Smallville team up for romance and adventure.
Superman wasn’t the only big revelation in the latest novel. Not only did it unite three villains who’ve been harassing Lois since she moved to Metropolis, but it also introduced a nascent supervillain named Alexander “Alex” Luthor. In addition, Lois found a little spare time to match wits with deposed crime boss Moxie Mannheim and investigate a quartet of annoying superpowered teens. You have to give the author credit; she was doing a great job of creating a rogues’ gallery for Lois Lane, super girl reporter. The only person missing was her archrival, Lana Lang.
Final verdict: Triple Threat is another enjoyable effort from Gwenda Bond. But we feel compelled to nitpick about a couple of things. We rolled our eyes, for example, whenever Lois stepped into the newsroom of the Daily Planet. We suspect Bond’s scant knowledge of newspaper culture comes from movies like His Girl Friday and TV programs like The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Most troubling, however, Lois veers dangerously close to damsel in distress territory during the penultimate chapter. It’s up to Clark to break into the villains’ secret lair and save her from getting conscripted into a weird science experiment. This final scene will probably make anybody who grew up reading Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane wince with disappointment.
But thankfully the good things in this novel far outweigh the bad. If you’ve ever wanted to be present for Lois and Clark’s first super kiss, for instance, this was the place to be. According to Lois, it was pretty terrific. “Our first kiss was better than fireworks and flying and front-page news all rolled into one.” Team Lois wins again.
[Lois Lane: Triple Threat / By Gwenda Bond / First Printing: May 2017 / ISBN: 9781630790820]
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