After 24 Years, DC Just Made Nintendo’s Cursed Superman Game Canon In the Most Unexpected Way Possible

Warning: Spoilers for Superwoman Special #1!One of DC’s biggest surprises in 2024 is the reveal of Lois Lane as the new Superwoman, drastically shifting the balance of the Superman family. Not only that, but the team behind Superwoman Special #1 has thrown a few Easter eggs into Lois’ story for longtime fans, turning the worst Superman video game ever made into a key part of Lois’ superhero training.

Superwoman Special #1by Joshua Williamson, Edwin Galamon, Laura Braga, Nikola Čižmešija, Rex Lokus, and Dave Sharpe reveals how Lois Lane mysteriously finds herself with her own set of Kryptonian superpowers after the events of Absolute Power by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. No longer forced to sit on the sidelines while the rest of her family saves the day, Lois enthusiastically practices her new powers courtesy of a lovely training montage co-starring Clark.

Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that one of Clark’s tests for Lois’ new abilities is suspiciously familiar: she must fly through a set of star-lined green rings, a task taken directly from the notorious video game flop Superman: The New Superman Adventures, also known by fans as “Superman 64”.

Superman’s Worst Video Game Makes Its Comic Debut

To Become Superwoman, Lois Lane Must Master Superman 64’s Infamous Ring Levels

Released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64 console, Superman 64 is a tie-in game to the enormously popular Superman: The Animated Series. The game is infamous for its rushed development and poor optimization, with the in-game excuse of a “kryptonite fog” used to try and explain away the game’s terrible graphics and draw distance. The repeated use of levels requiring Superman to fly through a series of rings was widely criticized, with the game’s strict time limits and poor graphics often leading players to miss a target and lose the challenge.

Despite having a suite of powers seemingly tailor-made for gaming, the Man of Steel has a terrible track record when it comes to video games. Although Superman featured in a glut of titles between 1999 and 2006 such as Superman: Shadow of Apokolips and Superman Returns, the games could not escape the same faults as Superman 64 and offered empty-feeling worlds while struggling to reconcile video game mechanics with a canonically invulnerable protagonist. To date, Superman’s most successful game appearances as a playable character have only been in fighting games such as the Injustice franchise and MultiVersus.

With One Easter Egg, DC Comics Unites Generations of Superman Fans

Superwoman Special #1 Has Something for All Audiences

Although Superman 64’s rings proved terrible from a gameplay perspective, they fit in beautifully as part of Superman’s training regimen for Lois. Not only is it in line with current canon that Superman would have the technology to project such rings, but the resulting obstacle course makes perfect sense as a way to test Lois’ aptitude with her newfound flight powers. It’s both a cheeky nod to readers in the know and an excellent way to translate the attempted gamification of Superman’s powers into comic continuity – without needing to force “kryptonite fog” or some other element into the narrative.

If all holds (and that is always a large “if”), then Superwoman Special #1ushers in a new Superman era, with Lois and Clark acting as equal superhero partners. With all of this new, however, it’s good to see that the creative team hasn’t forgotten the old, and a 25-year-old in-joke about Superman’s “cursed” video game appearance hammers home that this new status quo aims to acknowledge new and old readers alike. It’s a lovely little laugh at the franchise’s past missteps, even as Lois Lane’s time as Superwoman carries the Superman franchise into the future.

Superwoman Special #1is available now from DC Comics.