10 More Most Inappropriate DC Comics Storylines Ever
3. Lois Lane Became A Black Woman
The phrase ‘tone deaf’ can be utilised all too much throughout the history of comic books, to the point that you can genuinely wonder how the industry ever lasted this long. In particular, the entries on this list qualify for such a saying, but arguably none more so than this one.
Way back in 1970, when Lois Lane was sent to get the inside story of Metropolis’ “Little Africa”, she had a hard time speaking to the people who actually lived there. The problem was that she was white, so she and Superman did the logical thing – hopefully the sarcasm of the previous statement will become clearer with the next.
To better understand why the black community of Little Africa was giving Lois such a hard time, she decided to transform herself into a black woman. The story seemed to exist to highlight the problem of racism, but this was essentially just Lois Lane in Blackface 50 years ago.
Having one cab drive past and ignore you, and believing you now all of a sudden understand “the significance of being Black” is just insulting more than anything. There may have been good intentions behind this story, but it missed the mark by a long shot.