Canon and Chlois Theory

Given Hollywood’s fascination with remaking and adapting books, comic books, and television shows, a lot of the time, we’re blessed with characters that we didn’t know that we’d love until they were onscreen. They were charming, they were lovable, they were our new favourite. And so, sometimes, we wanted that person to end up with our hero, instead of the canon love interest that we knew would probably end up with them. Sometimes it happens, but they always fit the story correctly – changes to canon must make sense within the narrative. But, a lot of the time, what people want to change would result in the story no longer making sense.

It’s much the same with comic book adaptations – most of the time, the events and relationships that make up the comic book are too integral to remove. Doing so would damage them beyond recognition, probably. After all, what would have happened if Uncle Ben hadn’t gone out to that store and then died? We’d have no villain, no with great power comes great responsibility, and no Spider-Man. At least, not the Spider-Man we all know and love. There is something comforting knowing that the heroes we see on the big screen are the ones we saw beginning in our comics.

However, there are always those who wish that the canon be changed when an adaptation happens, because they think it would better fit the story as a whole, the original was extremely unpopular, or they personally don’t like what happened in it, especially when it comes to pairings. That doesn’t necessarily mean they always demand it – a lot of a times it’s just a fun alternative.

There is also a kind of fatigue with knowing exactly where the characters will end up and who they’re going to end up with. This was the case with the Clana vs. Chlark ship war, and then the Clois vs. Chlark one – the audience members knew in both cases that Lana and Lois were the two women who dominated Clark Kent’s romantic life during his comic run, and so knew that those were the women the writers would develop as romantic partners. Chlark shippers, however, argued that it would be fresher if he ended up with someone not in canon.

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