I'm one of those who started liking Superman after JB started writing him (although my affection for the Pre-Byrne version has grown since then).  One of the big things I liked was getting rid of "mild mannered" Clark Kent.  Tradition or no, it just bugged me that he pretended to be like that as opposed to, say, Peter Parker whose occasional awkward moments were sincere, even with the superhero alter ego.  Plus I never understood the whole "triangle" thing, and how Lois is wrong for not falling for what amounted to a fake personality.

Also prefer JB and Wolfman's Luthor, although in hindsight I wish they had opted to just introduce a new character as arch foe, so we could have had both available.

Still in all, I'm glad JB didn't know then what he knows now. :-)

It's weird to me that the only identity "Kal-El" ever knew, given him by the
only parents he ever knew, became "fake"-- but that is largely how Clark
Kent was played in the pre-MOS Superman.

Seems like a Scarlet Pimpernel or Zorro bit that got adopted before things
were really thought through.

Edited by Mark Haslett on 27 August 2010 at 1:18am

"I guess one could argue that Superman uses Lois's reaction to Clark as an indicator that she is fairly shallow and thus unworthy, since she is unable to recognize or appreciate Clark's good traits and is fairly cruel towards his romantic overtures.  And Clark isn't entirely a fake personality.  The timidity and cowardliness are, but the rest of Clark is genuine.  Clark's sentimentality, his occasional insecurity, his selflessness, his small-town values... those are entirely real."

Except that's not really the case, particularly once Schwartz took over.  Lois was frequently attracted to Clark (most notably in a story in Superman #296-299), but frustrated by his inability to stand up for himself, his tendency to run at the first sight of trouble, etc. 

Before that, she was pretty sure Clark was Superman, despite all of the crazy, and sometimes cruel, stuff Superman did to convince her he wasn't.  (Which throws a huge monkeywrench into that whole "Lois was so blinded by Superman's glamour that she couldn't see what she wanted was right in front her (in the form of Clark)" nonsense.)

"At any rate, these stories were written for pre-adolescents, so the old Lois/Clark emotional dynamic isn't something that can hold up against this kind of scrutiny."

I suppose, but it's the adults who tend to feel that "the triangle" is a precious jewel that must be preserved at all costs, so... :-)