Lois Lane has become an undeniable fan-favorite Superman character over the years, speaking to the power of provocative investigational journalism and representing one of comics' most enduring examples of female empowerment outside the realm of the superheroic.
Several actresses have accepted the challenge of portraying the iconic newswoman on both the small and big screens, the most recent examples being Amy Adams in Zack Snyder's Superman trilogy and Elizabeth Tulloch on the CW's Arrowverse shows and Superman and Lois. While both deliver stunning performances worthy of the storied character they play, there are several ways in which either one or the other stays more true to the source material.
Amy Adams: She Isn't Afraid To Speak Truth To Power
Nearly every appearance of Lois Lane in the comics features her standing up to some big-shot, powerful crime lord, dignified/important military commander, or corrupt corporate executive–more often than not in the form of her confronting them directly and boldly asking them searing, pointed questions about their business.
Amy Adams' character likewise possesses no qualms about asking tough, confrontational questions to people in positions of authority, as in Batman v Superman when she barges in on General Swanwick in a men's restroom to ask him if the military is supplying experimental ammunition to rebels in Africa.
Elizabeth Tulloch: She Never Plays The Damsel In Distress
A crucial complaint voiced by critics of Amy Adams' Lois Lane is that her character too often is used simply as Superman bait/a damsel in distress, seemingly always needing to be scooped up and rescued (literally, in the case of her being thrown off a building in Batman v Superman or ejected out of a Kryptonian spaceship in Man of Steel).
Elizabeth Tulloch's Lois Lane exhibits no such deficiencies and, like her comics' counterpart, may call in the Big Blue Boy Scout when his services are required, but above all knows how to take care of herself and will try to solve the problems she comes across first and foremost using her own faculties and resourcefulness.
Amy Adams: She's Superman's Voice Of Reason
Lois is famous in the comics for providing a leveling influence on Superman's emotions and oftentimes rash decision making, a role that Amy Adams' character fills extraordinarily well in Batman v Superman.
Twice she tries to talk sense into the superheroes in her life–first on the balcony of her Washington D.C. hotel room convincing Clark that the hope Superman represents is "all some people have left", and later during the climactic Batman/Superman showdown when she prevents Bruce from killing Clark by explaining that Superman is seeking help in saving his mother.
Elizabeth Tulloch: She's There For Clark When He Needs It
While Ma and Pa Kent may be the moral and ethical cornerstones of Clark's character, Lois has always been his heart and soul, guiding him through the toughest moments of his personal life and career as a superhero.
Just as Lois comforts Clark after the death of his father in Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, and Gary Frank's Superman: Last Son of Krypton, Tulloch's character in Superman and Lois is integral in showing Clark compassion and sympathy to help him through the death of his mother in the pilot episode.
Amy Adams: She Has Undeniable Swagger
One feature of the comics' Lois Lane that every reader recognizes is the cool, collected swagger with which she conducts herself–whether on the battlefield embedded with military operatives, in the boardroom standing up to Perry White, or out on a date with Clark, Lois Lane exudes an undeniable sense of being on top of the situation and remarkably sure of herself.
Amy Adams perfectly captures this charisma with her performance, as exemplified by her characteristic introduction in Man of Steel where she walks away from a helicopter escort wearing aviator sunglasses and promptly informs the military official sent to meet her that she, "gets writer's block if [she] isn't wearing a flak jacket."
Elizabeth Tulloch: She Passes The Bechdel Test
In terms of female representation and empowerment–crucial aspects of Lois Lane's role in the comics–Tulloch's character has Adams' beat without a contest. For all the laud he's earned as an action director, Zack Snyder has been consistently criticized for his ambivalent portrayals of women, and Man of Steel's Lois Lane is no exception.
Superman and Lois treats Lane with the respect she deserves by placing her in several conversations and scenes with other well-developed female characters whose actions and interactions drive the narrative just as much as their male peers.
Amy Adams: She's All Business
When readers encounter Lois Lane in print, she is very rarely found doing anything other than chasing down a story, interviewing a source, or helping Superman bring someone to justice. Amy Adams' Lane likewise makes the most of her screentime, in the sense that every time the viewer encounters her she is engaged in quintessentially journalistic acts, getting the job done.
Even when she's shown in domestic settings, off the clock, she's often still focused on her work: such as in the bathtub scene towards the beginning of Batman v Superman, where she's shown examining a bullet fired at her in the field while lounging in the tub.
Elizabeth Tulloch: She Has A Life Outside Of Superman
One of the main detractors from the authenticity of Adams' character is that almost all of her appearances and scenes revolve around Superman–whether chasing after his identity, interacting with him, or trying to clear his name.
Superman and Lois corrects this mistake and recaptures the fierce, independent spirit of the Lois Lane of the comics by giving Tulloch's character significant narrative agency and on-screen actions that bear little relation to Superman's exploits–both on the job and at home with her sons.
Amy Adams: She Has A Penchant For Getting Herself Into Trouble
The Lois Lane of the comics is notorious for poking her nose where it doesn't belong and, occasionally, recklessly following story leads at the expense of her own personal wellbeing.
Amy Adams' character fills that role perfectly: within her first five minutes of screentime, she manages to crawl inside an extraterrestrial vehicle in the hopes of snapping some pictures and is very nearly killed at the hands of a robotic servant.
Elizabeth Tulloch: She Has Dark Hair
While an undeniably superficial qualification, Tulloch's hair color nevertheless places her–visually, at least–squarely in line with the vast majority of comic book incarnations of Lois Lane.
Amy Adams may have delivered several striking performances as Lois throughout her DCEU tenure, but the fact that Snyder cast a redhead in the role of such an iconic dark-haired woman still never sat quite right with fans, a mistake that Superman and Lois corrected with Tulloch's casting.