Spoilers for Checkmate #1 ahead!
Lois Lane is just as powerful, and maybe even more valuable than Superman, a fact confirmed in a new issue of Checkmate. Leviathan, a super-secret spy agency in the DC Universe, comes to Metropolis to recruit Lois, and the fact they went for her over Superman is telling!
This is not Lois Lane, or Superman’s, first rodeo with Leviathan, a clandestine agency dedicated to overthrowing the current world order, or “fixing” it, as they say. Founded by Talia ‘al Ghul, the organization is now led by Mark Shaw, the former Manhunter, who recently embarked on an aggressive campaign of terror against various spy agencies in the DC Universe, such as Spyral and the DEO. This move brought the attention of the heroes of the DC Universe, with Lois actively leading resistance against the group. The organization not only killed her father, Sam Lane but tried to recruit Superman. When readers last saw Shaw and Leviathan, they had taken over the nation of Markovia, still intent on fixing a world they see as broken, but Leviathan is not done with Lois Lane.
Nor is Lois done with Leviathan, as Checkmate #1 from Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, reveals she has brought together some of the DC Universe’s greatest detectives and heroes, such as Green Arrow and The Question, to rebuild Checkmate and oppose Leviathan. Lois is working late one night at the Daily Planet, trying to get information out of the government on Leviathan. Allie, a Planet employee, finds Lois and delivers a message from Shaw and Leviathan: join them. Allie tells Lois that Shaw feels bad about her father’s death and joining Leviathan will make her father’s sacrifice worth it. Leviathan tells Lois that both they and her husband are working towards the same goals. Allie, who reveals she no longer works for the Planet and came specifically for Lois, then teleports away.
Leviathan tried to recruit Superman once, and it failed. The organization is persistent, and the fact they have given up on recruiting the Man of Steel and moved on to Lois, is telling, showing just how powerful Lois can be; she is an award-winning reporter with a keen investigative sense—qualities that could serve a group such as Leviathan well. The organization seeks to reshape the world by force, but through Lois, Leviathan could have a platform for a far more subtle, but no less insidious, method of gaining control: through the press. Lois’ articles could sway opinion in favor of Leviathan’s goals. Furthermore, Lois’s investigative abilities could also spell doom for Leviathan’s enemies. Any hypothetical scenario with Lois joining Leviathan is just that; Lois was incensed over the invitation, especially the group invoking her father.
Like Superman, Lois Lane is a force of nature in the DC Universe, something Leviathan recognizes and seeks her out to join them.