Warning! This article contains spoilers for Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1Lois Lane and Clark Kent have always been different types of hero - one is a fearless journalist who has toppled crimelords and tyrants with insightful reporting, while the other is a literal Superman who smashes giant robots and beats back kaiju. However, DC's multiverse is infinite, and there are worlds where Lois Lane is the metahuman. Indeed, one of those worlds is Earth-2, where Lois Lane is the Red Tornado. Now, that superpowered Lois is in DC's main reality, here to recruit her 'son' Jon to a deadly mission.
In Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1, the Red Tornado and Superman of Earth-2 arrive to recruit Jon Kent to fight Ultraman - an evil version of his father who is traveling between realities, killing every version of Clark Kent. Jon Kent is half-Kryptonian. Like his father, his alien biology will always partly separate him from the humans he lives among. The regular Lois Lane, being human, has never fully understood the distance that her son and husband feel from humanity, while Superman admits Jon is more connected to Earth than he has ever truly been. In Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 by Tom Taylor, Clayton Henry, Jordie Bellaire, and Wes Abbott, Earth-2's formerly human Lois has powers on par with the Earth-bound Kryptonians, meaning Jon may now be traveling with a mother figure who understands him better than his biological one.
Lois Lane Is the Red Tornado
The Lois Lane of Earth-2 has a similar background to that of the human Lois, but when she died during an alien invasion, her mind was transplanted into the Red Tornado's android body. Now she possesses superhuman strength, the ability to create and control tornadoes, and flight. With power and capabilities not unlike the Man of Steel, Lois of Earth-2 may have a history similar to Jon Kent's Lois, but she has taken on a much different role as Red Tornado. As a member of the Wonders of the World (Earth-2's version of the Justice League), Red Tornado is used to fighting on the front lines against threats to Earth.
Red Tornado Is Jon's Ideal Mentor
Earth-2's Red Tornado was Val-Zod's mentor as he transitioned into the role of Superman, and as Lois Lane, she also helped raise Power Girl. It is likely she would make a good mentor for Jon in ways no-one else can match. Red Tornado knows what it is like to have extreme levels of power and the accountability that comes along with that power, while still being the woman Jon has known since birth.
Red Tornado is a human mind inside a robot's body. This not-quite-human characteristic enables this Lois to share in Superman's lament that he will never feel completely accepted by humankind. This idea is depicted when Jon's mother is yelling at Red Tornado that she cannot take her son away to face Ultraman, the villain that imprisoned Jon for years. Lois reacts to Red Tornado as though she is an uncaring robot, but the android responds, "I wasn't always...this. I lost my life. And I lost my Kal-El. I lost my Clark," proving that she is still human inside. Jon is half-human and doesn't feel as displaced as his father, but having a mother figure that can relate to him as one separate from humanity may bring new depth to his character.
It remains to be seen whether Jon Kent will embrace this almost-familiar presence in his life or reject her. He may have heard stories of Red Tornadoes being used to attack the Justice League, or bad programming that nearly caused the destruction of Young Justice and decide to keep this Lois Lane at arm's length. Or, he may see this as an opportunity to learn from a mentor uniquely placed to understand his complex relationship with the Superman legacy.
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