After 29 Years, DC is Righting a Major Superman Wrong -

Warning! Spoilers for Summer of Superman Special #1!It seems like only yesterday that Superman went through a major milestone, a moment that, unfortunately, didn’t get the respect it deserved. After years of back and forth, the Man of Steel finally tied the knot with the love of his life, Lois Lane. And yet, such a major moment felt lacking.

For years, Superman and Lois courted one another, but it wasn’t until the ’90s when DC Comics released Superman: The Wedding Album, a one-shot that had the duo finally tie the knot. But despite the importance to the character’s mythos, Superman’s wedding was incredibly rushed. Now Clark’s attending a new wedding that feels much more earned to fans.

Steel and Superwoman Red Get the Wedding Superman Should Have Gotten

Years of Buildup Finally Pay Off For Fans

In Summer of Superman Special #1 by Mark Waid, Dan Slott, Joshua Williamson, Jorge Jiménez, Belén Ortega, Dan Mora, and Dave Sharpe, it’s John Henry Irons and Lana Lang’s special day. Everyone in the duo’s orbit has come down to Smallville to celebrate and help put on the wedding, including Clark Kent and Lois Lane. However, Lana is starting to worry that something is going to interrupt the wedding and her fears come to light when a portal unleashes the time-displaced villain Validus onto Smallville.

Thankfully, a lot of heroes are in town and Superman springs into action, along with two Steels and two Superwomen. Superman takes the lead in handling Validus while everyone else evacuates the town when a series of tornadoes appear. Unfortunately, the storms and Validus are a lot for the Super Family to handle at once. Thankfully, after the town is evacuated, Superman turns his full attention to Validus, who suddenly disappears into the time-stream. As the dust settles, Steel holds a press conference and announces his intention to use his company to help rebuild Smallville.

There’s dancing, celebration, and wise words from Superman…

But Irons doesn’t just want to invest in Smallville, he wants to make it his home with Lana, who agrees, provided they finally get their marriage underway. So, after a bit of cleaning, the wedding is back on and many of Steel and Superwoman Red’s loved ones celebrate the couple finally tying the knot. There’s dancing, celebration, and wise words from Superman, who reflects on the importance of family and friends before Lana and John finally head off to celebrate their honeymoon.

This Wedding Makes Up for Superman’s Incredibly Rushed Wedding

Clark and Lois’s Nuptials Were a Bit Underwhelming

For those who don’t recall, Superman and Lois’ wedding didn’t get the same amount of attention that Lana and John’s did. In fact, plans to unite the two in holy matrimony were postponed thanks to the television show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which didn’t portray the two as married. To stall for time, DC Comics opted to take the Man of Steel off the board by having him perish in a battle with Doomsday. But not too long after Superman’s revival, the two were finally married in Superman: The Wedding Album.

Superman: The Wedding Album was published the same week as Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman’s season 4 episode, “Swear to God, This Time We’re Not Kidding”, which also featured the couple’s wedding.

While Superman and Lois’ marriage was a huge deal for the two, it’s kind of odd that such a big moment was made in the name of synergy with a television show. Rather than the two getting a longer, more drawn-out story, the wedding was incredibly rushed, and it really threw fans for a loop. And even though Superman: The Wedding Album is a touching tribute, it pales in comparison to the more fleshed-out way DC Comics handled Superwoman Red and Steel’s marriage.

Lana and John have been together since the Rebirth days, and they took a major step in 2023’s Steelworks miniseries, which showed that the two were engaged. Seeing them finally progress all the way to husband and wife was far more satisfying to read than a spur-of-the-moment wedding between two characters (even if it is a fan-favorite couple like Clark and Lois). Thankfully, without the pressure of a television tie-in, DC Comics was able to give fans a super wedding that felt like the culmination of a real relationship.

Learning From Mistakes Can Help Create Better Stories

Superman’s Past Can Improve Weddings for the Future

Not every story is perfectly executed and while Lois and Clark didn’t get a more drawn-out approach to their wedding, they’re one of the few comic book couples who have made it in the long run. What’s important is that DC seems to have recognized how satisfying it is for readers to plant seeds over time and allow them to blossom so that fans can get touching events like John and Lana’s wedding. It doesn’t change Superman’s nuptials, but it shows DC is getting better at handling such important ceremonies.

Summer of Superman Special #1 is available now from DC Comics.