Superman Returns Lois' memories of Clark

[ArmsHeldOut]

I saw Superman the other day and enjoyed it quite a bit; however, one thing doesn't make sense to me. In Superman 2, Clark revealed his identity to Lois and they subsequently went back to his place and consumated their love for each other. Leaning towards the end of the film, Superman was somehow able to render Lois oblivious to all that previously transpired w/ nothing but a simple kiss.
Fast forwarding to Superman Returns, Lois obviously remembers her relationship with Superman prior to his five year absence, further suggested by the fact that she whispers the true identity of her son's father in a comatose Superman's ear.
With that stated, why does Lois show no recollection of Superman and Clark Kent being one and the same and how the hell did he make her forget key moments of their relationship in the first place?
I know it's just a flic, but I'm curious as to how some of you on here might explain this.

 

[Mentok]

I guess it will be explained with the edited version of Superman 2 coming out.

 

[Andante]

Thank YOU! I have been wondering the same thing! Did he only erase her memory of his true identity? No, that can't be. After the kiss, Lois sitts down at her typewiter. Pecking away at the keyboard she asks, "Wha's going on in the world?" Obviously not remembering the world being taken over by Zod and his friends. I would like an explanation, too.

 

[Dope Nose]

following the "vague history" concept, we could assume that past events didn't play out exactly as we saw in Superman 2, (i.e. no revealing his secret identity) but that at least at some point Superman brought Lois to the Fortress for a little "aawooo, mwrowr, squeak squeak, purrr, pant pant, rrruff, eebeedeebee, hubba hubba!".

at the very least, we've got two adults who share an emotional connection with each other so it's plausible that they slept together more than once, or at least more than what was shown to us in the films.

 

[Dope Nose]

If such is indeed the case, it would seem that past events (Superman 1 and 2) occurred in an alternate reality of sorts, but Singer never said as much. Considering that he went so far in establishing the new film as a direct continuation of the original series (unlike Batman Begins), paying homage to Marlon Brando's Jor-El, unaltering the deceased status of Johnathan Kent, touching on the mysterious crystals again, I am somewhat unconvinced of your alternate reality theory. If Singer wanted to stick with continuity, that is just fine, but doing it half way is confusing and doesn't make sense to anyone who actually saw the first two films.
Great film Singer, but don't turn it into The Highlander. Fans of Highlander will completely understand what I mean by that.

I never actually said that it an alternate reality so the theory is yours if anyone's. the film isn't meant to be a direct sequel, hence the term 'vague history'.

 

[Galactical]

which we have to assume takes place in an alternate reality. I think Arms is saying that it's the natural conclusion that can be made if this vague history thing is meant to be taken seriously. It's pretty clear what they were trying to do by having only some things be in continuity but picking and choosing what's not, and it's confusing... oh no I said it's confusing. yes it is.

 

[Dope Nose]

which we have to assume takes place in an alternate reality. I think Arms is saying that it's the natural conclusion that can be made if this vague history thing is meant to be taken seriously. It's pretty clear what they were trying to do by having only some things be in continuity but picking and choosing what's not, and it's confusing... oh no I said it's confusing. yes it is.

guess I got confused by his "I am somewhat unconvinced of your alternate reality theory." comment.

seriously though, do we really want super memory erasing kissing power in continuity?

 

[Galactical]

guess I got confused by his "I am somewhat unconvinced of your alternate reality theory." comment.

seriously though, do we really want super memory erasing kissing power in continuity?

Maybe there was some confusion. I see what he was getting at in that The alternate reality theory is based on the vague history concept itself so anyone who believes this is part of vague history also assumes it all takes place within an alternate reality with a history similar to the original, but vague... since they were never movies.

I never had a problem with the memory wipe kiss because I can't see why it's so outlandish for a guy who can fly and shoot heat from his eyes to be able to do that, but hey, i'm just one guy at a laptop. What do I know...

 

[Dope Nose]

unfortunately 'vague history' is really all we've been supplied with in terms of an explanation for the inconsistencies, so I suppose an alternate reality is probably the easiest route to take unless, as Mentok suggested, we get an explanation in Donner's Superman 2 release.

re: the kiss, I think it's always bothered me because it seemed so selective as to which memories were removed. I always felt it bordered on telepathy which is fine as a concept, but I'm not a fan of spontaneoulsy adding powers (i.e. cellophane shield, finger beams).

 

[Dope Nose]

I'm just confused. Poor girl must have thought her pregnancy was an immaculate conception.

either that or she really gets around (see any episode of Maury featuring paternity tests).

 

[Dope Nose]

Kryptonian roofie?

 

[Raiden]

This amnesia of Lois also puzzles me in SR. After her memory wipe by Clark in Superman 2, I assume that she lost all her memories of Clark being Superman, which means she couldn't have recalled that she also slept with Superman at Fortress of Solitude. So when she saw that Jason tossed that piano into the bad guy, shouldn't she have become totally shock by the realization that Jason is in fact the son of Superman, and not Richard? Instead, Lois seemed rather calm about it, and later whispered it to Supe when she visited him in the hospital.

I can't help but think that this is a plot hole, but whatever.

 

[Dope Nose]

so I suppose an alternate reality is probably the easiest route to take

actually, maybe just assuming that they slept together again after the events of Superman 2 but before he left for Krypton is the easiest route.

 

[Raiden]

actually, maybe just assuming that they slept together again after the events of Superman 2 but before he left for Krypton is the easiest route.

I thought the reason Superman was able to sleep with Lois was because he depowered himself to become a moral man, so his powers will not hurt Lois when they sleep together.

And there was no indication that they slept together again after the events of Superman II.

 

[Galactical]

I feel like we're talking about star wars and its connection to the prequels. Those discussions can go on for years...

 

[Dope Nose]

I thought the reason Superman was able to sleep with Lois was because he depowered himself to become a moral man, so his powers will not hurt Lois when they sleep together.

And there was no indication that they slept together again after the events of Superman II.

meh. he sleeps with her all the time in the comics. and yeah, I know there was no indication but assuming it happened off screen might just be the easiest way to ratify the inconsistencies. I'm in no way saying that that's correct. just throwin' it out there.

 

[pwl4life]

I see alot of people confused of the whole "Vauge history" thing. I've always thought of the "Vauge history" in superman returns as being similar to the James Bond Continuity. They're connected, but not really, even though they are, they aren't exactly.

And even though it's out like cyclops, superman 4 showed that lois remembered everything so either the kiss was only temporary, or it didn't work at all. so I think it wasn't neccicarily the kis that eresed Lois' memory but something else.

 

[Galactical]

You could probably say superman 4 is in vague history too... :P

 

[afrayedknot]

This amnesia of Lois also puzzles me in SR. After her memory wipe by Clark in Superman 2, I assume that she lost all her memories of Clark being Superman, which means she couldn't have recalled that she also slept with Superman at Fortress of Solitude. So when she saw that Jason tossed that piano into the bad guy, shouldn't she have become totally shock by the realization that Jason is in fact the son of Superman, and not Richard? Instead, Lois seemed rather calm about it, and later whispered it to Supe when she visited him in the hospital.

I can't help but think that this is a plot hole, but whatever.

I started a thread that asked this same question (which they apparently merged with "The kid" thread) and I haven't read any satisfactory answers. After the "piano scene", when she suspected that Jason is Superman's son, did she think that Superman took advantage of her without her knowledge? How else could she have Superman's baby if she can't recall "sleeping" with him? Is there a legitimate answer to this question, or is everyone just speculating and drawing their own conclusions?

If people on "The Hype" are confused, average moviegoers must be totally baffled. Joe Moviegoer is probably not even aware of a yet to be released Donner's version of Superman II, which some have speculated holds the answer to this question.

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

She might remember he was Clark.