But the fundamental flaw in her storyline was finding out that Clark Kent was Superman so quickly. Granted, on one hand, she did pretty much figure out who he was via common fucking sense. ("Maybe if I backtrack through all the times/places someone lifted a steel beam with their bare hands, I might just find this guy.") On the other hand, the dynamic between Clark, Lois and Superman is one of the fundamental elements of the Superman mythology. Lois' relationship to the Clark Kent persona is a reflection of how humanity views the "everyman" in comparison to Superman. People joke all the time about how a Pulitzer Award winning journalist couldn't see past a pair of bifocals, but the joke is one that I believe writers have been more conscious of than most are willing to believe. In the context of this fictional universe, Superman is considered the best, the archetype for what a superhero is. He can move planetary bodies and block bullets. Who would EVER believe that he'd want to pretend he was one of us? The thought is so ridiculous that it eludes Lex Luthor, one of the smartest men in the world. So, it's not unbelievable that it might go over Lois Lane's head.
Honestly, I think it could have been a primary element of a trilogy of movies:
Man of Steel: No forced kissing at the end. My ex and I felt weird cuddling when we found out Amy Winehouse died. I have a hard time believing there's enough adrenaline fueled hornyness between the two of them to have that spark after an entire city has been completely leveled. Keep the Zod plotline (though maybe just a little less Jor-El) except when Lois is searching for the "mystery hero" and ends up in Smallville, have the townspeople (who have blatantly seen Clark's childhood super feats) be comically unhelpful. Give two minute flashbacks for a few people she interviews where they remember that time when "someone" pulled them out of the water, or "that blur" that moved them out of the way of that incoming train. Of course, they kinda know it was Clark, but they'd never betray one of their own. Then show how they're a intricate part of the town's infrastructure and they wouldn't have been able to if it weren't for this well-meaning kid. It's stereotypically midwestern, but it manages to show off one of the things that makes him the hero he is: Superman inspires other people to be their better selves. Even when you're a jerk (maybe Pete Ross or Whitney Fordman in this case). Keep the "welcome to the Planet" ending except show more of Metropolis being rebuilt thanks to Lexcorp. Include a shadowy figure staring out the window at the restoration of the city.
Man of Steel 2 (maybe Man of Tomorrow...I dunno): Clark comes to adore Lois in the traditional way we know, but she is either oblivious or just plain not interested. Eventually, keeping the secret becomes tiresome (include some mildly comic moments of Clark using his power without being noticed) and he starts to wonder if it's time to come clean. Meanwhile, Batman comes into town for a team-up (whether he likes it or not) because Lex Luthor is up to something (a smear campaign about how we can't entrust humanity to "them"....which of course means aliens). Batman will have no doubt deduced that Clark is Superman by the end of the first act and sees him pining for Lois. There's an exchange between them where Bruce tells him that men like himself and Clark, who answer to a "higher purpose", don't have time for distractions like love and that keeping his identity a secret is for the better. Meanwhile, have Lex secretly working alongside Solaris, The Tyrant Sun (it's a good nod to All Star Superman, gives the writers an excuse to use red sun radiation against Superman AND shuts up the fan whining about wanting to see a new villain) to create some kind of "faux" machine that will solve the world's energy problem. At the end, once the day is saved, Clark tries to reveal his identity, but Lois, still oblivious, confesses an epiphany that she's doubtful about Superman being "one of us." Upon hearing this, he keeps his secret. This explores the question of whether or not people knowing who he really is would hurt his ability to inspire humanity to its true greatness.
Man of Steel 3 (I don't have another title for this one): Have Lois try to set Clark up on a date with her sister, Lucy, a slightly wilder soul who is a little more perceptive than she is as far as Clark's "convenient" disappearances go. This would make for a hilarious awkward moment where Clark is trying to explain his way out of having to go save someone. Lucy would see through all the excuses that normally work on Lois. Eventually, Lucy turns away Lois' attempts to get them together because she sees that Clark has loved Lois all this time and is too polite to say so "for some reason."
There's a few good choices for a Big Bad here. Despero, Brainiac, Darkseid (except I would honestly save Darkseid for the first Justice League movie), but I would run with Mongul, bringing his colosseum space station/planetoid, War World, to Earth in search of Earth's Greatest Champion. Superman must fight a gauntlet of alien champions or risk Mongul's superior invasion forces destroying the Earth. During his time on War World, Supes notices that the while the arena itself is a beautifully kept technological advancement like he's never seen before, the citizens outside live in terrible poverty with streets in disrepair (thus highlighting the contrast between Superman, a powerful being of human morals that never lets down the little guy versus Mongul, a powerful despot that ignores the little guy "for the good of the realm" who sees himself alone as "the realm") but looks past it at first because he doesn't want to risk the Earth in a slugfest. Of course, upon Big Blue's victory, Mongul later goes back on his word and attacks the Earth anyway. Fearing he may not come back from this fight, Superman finally tells Lois he's Superman and that he loves her "until the end of time" (another All Star reference) before flying off for a ridiculously epic fistfight with Mongul himself. The battle itself should probably reenact some parts of the Doomsday fight in the comics (without actually using Doomsday because he's the most overused element of Superman mythos except maybe kryptonite). Meanwhile, maybe there can be a scene where we see the military reports detail that there are other costumed heroes fighting Mongul's invasion forces in different parts of the world. Don't show them in full view but allude to the usages of the powers. Show Wonder Woman's lasso pulling a spaceship down into the water, the Bat-plane dogfighting in the sky or green arrows taking out troops on the ground. At the end, give us a post credits scene where Batman beams himself and Superman up to the Watchtower and then shows the Justice League in full view and introduces the Martian Manhunter who says something to the effect of "My name is J'onn J'onzz of Mars and I come with a warning. 'He' is coming."
"He" can be Darkseid. Anyway, this is just a basic outline of one way to makes Superman's identity an ongoing theme, but how to incorporate the Justice League for future movies. I threw a good amount of All Star Superman elements because I feel that, honestly, it's one of the best Superman stories that encompasses everything that makes him who he is. Feel free to discuss, approve and/or reject amongst yourselves. Just saying....the shit could work. Then again, I could be wrong.
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