Polite Dissent

Now that’s a cover. It grabs your attention and makes you want to read the comic. The fact that a little of the first page can be seen where Lois ripped off the title is a nice touch.

In Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #80, Lois gets upset when Superman misses her birthday party. She would have understood it if he were out saving the world, but when she discovers that he spent the night crushing cars in a junkyard she becomes absolutely furious. She decides that Superman is “just not that into her” and that it would be best for her to leave Metropolis for good. She randomly chooses a city on the map and ends up moving to Coral City.

Once in Coral City, she decides to support herself by getting a job as a nurse at the local hospital. When she goes to apply for a job, she is dismayed to discover that hundreds of other nurses have shown up for the job as well. Her quick thinking in helping a ten-year-old boy whose toy fell down a storm drain impresses the head doctor and she is hired on the spot. When asked for her name, she tells him, “Lois Lorne.” (How she managed to get a nursing diploma and license under an alias is never mentioned).

As usual, Lois is the über-Nurse. She is an operating room nurse, a physical therapist, a floor nurse and a clinic nurse. One day, a rocket launched from the nearby military base crashes. The pilot, Rand Kirby ( “the handsomest astronaut on base”), is brought to the hospital for emergency surgery.

Doctor: He’s in shock! He’ll need a transfusion! Luckily his dog tag lists his blood type!

Lois rushes down to the blood bank, but the door is jammed and she can’t open it. She realizes that she has the same blood type as Rand and volunteers for a transfusion. The doctor thinks the pilot’s condition is worrisome, but is waiting for the x-rays to be sure (personally, I think the fact that he’s in a coma would be a bad sign.) The transfusion from Lois miraculously brings Rand out of his coma, and when the x-rays show no serious injuries, he is ready to be discharged from the hospital. First, though, he asks Lois out with that classic pick-up line: “With your blood flowing in me veins…there is a sort of special bond between us”

On one of Lois and Rand’s dates, they catch a foreign spy in the act. He escapes, but Superman flies by and catches him. Because the spy hurt his leg in the scuffle, he is brought to the hospital for treatment and questioning. Superman shows up at the hospital as well, trying to persuade Lois to return to Metropolis. At one point, the doctors ask Lois to get the Sodium Pentothal “truth serum” to inject into the patient. Lois gets a brilliant idea: she draws up a syringe of water and pretends it’s the sodium pentothal. She then trips and injects herself with the syringe. Believing that Lois is under the effect of the drug, Superman quizzes her. She lies and tells him that she has no feelings for him anymore. Sadly, he flies off for Metropolis and Lois remains as a nurse in Coral City.

Sodium pentothal (also known as sodium thiopental, thiopentone sodium, and trapanal) is an extremely fast-acting injectable anesthetic. Since it can put people to sleep in less than a minute, it was once widely used as to initiate anesthesia (propofol is used more commonly now, though many anesthesiologists still use the pentothal).

In lower doses, sodium pentothal has a reputation for being a “truth serum.” The idea is that the drug interferes with a person’s judgment and lowers their inhibitions, leaving them open for questioning. The CIA allegedly tested it during their MK-ULTRA project and several governments reportedly continue to use it for interrogations. Realistically, it has never worked well. Much like hypnosis, people under the effects of sodium pentothal have difficulty distinguishing fact from fantasy, are open to subtle suggestions from their questioners, and are unreliable witnesses. Despite what Lois may think, it is certainly possible to lie while under the effect of sodium pentothal.

Ethics is the big issue here. The use of sodium pentothal in questioning is against both federal law and the Geneva Convention. And what about Superman? Questioning Lois while he thinks she’s under the effect of a truth serum — that’s just sleazy and wrong on so many levels.

As for the rest of the medicine in this issue, I just wonder what kind of transfusion can pull a man from a coma. Commander Kirby’s doctors also make one of the most common mistakes in comic book medicine — transfusing a patient without ever figuring out how they lost so much blood in the first place! Maybe medicine was easier in the sixties.

Next Friday, the story of Lois Lorne continues in Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #81.