Lana Lang

Lana Lang
File:LanaLang.jpg Lana Lang, as she appears in the VS System collectible card game. Art by Phil Noto.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Superboy #10 (September-October 1950)
Created by	Bill Finger & John Sikela
In-story information
Supporting character of	Superman

Lana Lang is a supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, she first appeared in Superboy #10 (September-October 1950).

Lana traditionally has been Superman's romantic interest when they were teenagers in Smallville. In the Silver Age, she regularly appeared in series featuring the character’s teenaged self, "Superboy". She also often appeared as an adult in Superman series, vying with current love interest Lois Lane for his attention.

In the modern DC Comics continuity, she and Clark Kent were and still are close friends with a certain degree of romantic tension between them. Lana is newly divorced from Pete Ross, Clark Kent's best friend as a youth.

Lana has been featured in most other media adaptations of Superboy or Superman as a teenager, including the recent series Smallville where she is played by Kristin Kreuk. She has also appeared in many adaptations of Superman, although her role is generally smaller. An exception is the 1983 film Superman III, where she was played by Annette O'Toole and was the character’s main romantic interest. Prior to Smallville, Lana was a regular cast member in the half hour live-action Superboy TV series, played by Stacy Haiduk in the entire 100 episode run. Up to this point in time, it was this series that gave the Lana Lang character more exposure than any other media adaptation of the Superman saga. The show ran from 1988–1992 in first-run syndication.

Earth-One Lana Lang

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Lana Lang (left) and Clark Kent (right). From New Adventures of Superboy #4 (March 1980). Art by Kurt Schaffenberger.

In the original Superboy stories, Lana was the girl who lived next door to the Kent family in Smallville, and was a romantic interest of Superboy. In the Silver Age stories, Lana often behaved like a younger version of Lois, spending much of her time trying to prove that Superboy and Clark Kent were one and the same.

At one point, Lana once rescued an insect-like alien trapped by a fallen tree in Smallville. In gratitude, the alien gave her a "bio-genetic" ring which allowed Lana to gain insect (and insect-like, such as arachnids) characteristics. Lana created a yellow honeybee-like costume and mask, and took the name "Insect Queen," under which identity Lana had several adventures.

Lana also had various adventures with Superboy, and several with the futuristic superhero team the Legion of Super-Heroes. Also appearing in some Silver Age stories was Lana's uncle, Professor Potter, an eccentric inventor who had inadvertently created the first Bizarro.

After Clark and Lana graduated from high school, Lana went to college, and eventually became a television reporter; as an adult, she became a rival to Lois Lane for Superman's romantic affection in various 1960s stories, often appearing in the title Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Lana became an anchorwoman for WGBS-TV's evening news in Metropolis, as a co-anchor to Clark Kent. Her attraction to Superman during this time had also died off, leaving Superman to Lois. Lana later became romantically linked to the alien super-hero Vartox. Eventually, she and Clark Kent became romantically involved in stories prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Earth-Two Lana Lang

In the early 1980s, with the use of the multiverse system DC had in place, Lana Lang was also shown in several stories to have had an "Earth-Two" counterpart (Earth-Two at the time the home of the Justice Society of America and DC's Golden Age versions of its characters, versus its mainstream universe of "Earth-One"). In this story, set in the early 1950s, Lana Lang joined the Daily Star staff as a television critic. She relates to Clark Kent that she and her family left Smallville when she was very young, explaining why they hadn't met during their youth unlike the Earth-One versions.

Later, she became an Insect Queen like her Earth-One counterpart; in this case, Lana had received a mystic amulet from her archaeologist father, said amulet having been created to allow a Pharaoh to control and divert the locust hordes that threatened ancient Egypt. Unfortunately, the charm associated with the amulet was set to be energized by the sound of approaching insect wings; by unfortunate coincidence, the sound of Superman's super-speed flying was similar enough to activate the spell. Lana was thus compelled to create a Chitinous golden-brown costume (woven by silkworms under her control) and adopt a villainous alter ego, the Insect Queen. After an initial clash with Superman, the Insect Queen fell under the mental influence of Superman's enemy, the Ultra-Humanite, who kept her under the spell's compulsion and prevented her from reverting to normal. Earth-Two's Superman was able to locate an antidote to the spell, which Lois Lane used to remove the compulsion (Superman Family #213, 1981), letting Lana break free of Ultra's influence and making her able to use the amulet's power at her own discretion. The Earth-2 Insect Queen would later use her abilities to aid Superman in times of need. This version of Lana Lang phased out of existence during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Dark Knight Lana Lang

In Frank Miller's classic graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Lana is The Daily Planet's managing editor. A no-nonsense middle-aged lady, she is Batman's most outspoken supporter, appearing in a series of TV debates in which she and others argue over his methods and influence.

Modern version

After the 1985-1986 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths was written, various aspects of Lana's history were retconned, starting with comics writer John Byrne's miniseries Man of Steel, which was designed to rewrite Superman's origin from scratch. In the "post-Crisis" version of events, Lana was a childhood friend of Clark, with a certain degree of romantic tension in the air as Lana had long pined after Clark who had loved her only platonically in return. After they graduated from high school Clark took Lana on a private walk, saying that he had to tell her something important, which Lana honestly expected to be a marriage proposal. He then divulged to her that he had superpowers, displayed by flying her around the world, before explaining that he felt he had to leave Smallville to help humanity as a whole. Kissing her goodbye "like a brother," Lana was left in considerable shock, not only over the revelation of Clark's superpowers, but also over the final realisation that he held no reciprocal romantic feelings towards her, leaving Lana heartbroken and alone. When Lana finally aired her grievance with him years later, Clark felt very bad over how he had hurt her.

When Clark appeared in public as Superman some years later, the lonely and depressed Lana deduced his true identity and became something of a stalker, to the extent that Lex Luthor noticed the frequency with which she appeared in the vicinity of the hero and actually had her tortured in an attempt to gain whatever inside knowledge of Superman she might have. However, Lana bravely kept Clark's identity a secret and upon his rescuing her their relationship became more healthy once again, albeit still at a distance. Unlike the pre-Crisis Earth-One continuity, Lana did not go on to have a journalistic career, compete with Lois for Superman's affections, nor play a significant role in Clark's life in Metropolis. However, one visit to Smallville with Lois created an awkward moment when she discovered them embracing which spurred an impromptu cover story by the Kents of Superman being an adopted sibling to Clark to explain the incident.

Years later, the post-Crisis Lana eventually married Pete Ross, and the two settled into a quiet life in Smallville, with Lana eventually giving birth to their son, whom she named "Clark." In 2000, Pete Ross became Lex Luthor's vice presidential running mate in Luthor's bid to become President of the United States, and after the two won, Lana moved to Washington, D.C. Eventually, Luthor was forced from his office, and Pete Ross became president (and Lana the First Lady of the United States). Recently, Lana and Pete separated with plans to divorce; and Lana began to subtly attempt to regain Clark's affections, much to the anger of his (now) wife Lois Lane. Part of the background to this subplot was that around this time the retcons of Superman: Birthright began to take effect and new references and flashbacks to Clark and Lana's youth in Smallville depicted their attraction as being more mutual, albeit still unconsummated. Pete and Lana briefly reunited after Superman saved them from being killed by the villainous Ruin in Adventures of Superman #647 but have now finalized their divorce with Pete moving back to Smallville to raise their child.

In Superman #654, Perry White reported that Lana had become CEO of Lexcorp following the ouster of founder Lex Luthor.

Other media

Bunny Henning as Lana Lang in The Adventures of Superboy.

In the failed 1961 TV pilot The Adventures of Superboy, Lana Lang made her first live-action appearance, portrayed by Bunny Henning, alongside Johnny Rockwell as Superboy.

Beginning in 1966, Lana appeared in The Adventures of Superboy segments that were featured in the animated series The New Adventures of Superman and other series. She was voiced by Janet Waldo.

In Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie in 1978, Lana Lang had a brief appearance in a scene at Smallville High. She was shown to be a cheerleader at the school with a fairly obvious crush on Clark, even though her current boyfriend was a football player named Brad. She was portrayed by Diane Sherry.

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Annette O'Toole as Lana Lang in Superman III.

In the 1983 movie Superman III Lana was played by Annette O'Toole (who went on to play Martha Kent in the TV series Smallville). In this film, she is a divorcee with a son named Ricky. Lana's former boyfriend Brad, a former jock and Clark's childhood bully, is now a security guard and is still vying for her attention (Brad possibly inspired the character of Whitney in the series Smallville).

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Gerard Christopher and Stacy Haiduk as Superboy & Lana Lang in a Season 2 promotional photo.

In the late 1980s-early 1990s Superboy television series, Lana was played by Stacy Haiduk. In this version, she was a lifelong friend of Clark, who accompanied him to Shuster University (named after Superman's co-creator) and later the Bureau for Extra-Normal Matters, where she and Clark investigated all of the unusual incidents that took place in Capitol City, Florida.

Lana also appeared in the Superman 1988 animated Saturday morning television series produced by Ruby-Spears Productions and had a 13-episode run. It's also notable for being the first appearance of the Superman mythos following John Byrne's major relaunch of the character from 1986. The final four minutes of each Superman episode were devoted to a brief snapshot from the "Superman Family Album." These biographical segments deviated from the contemporary comics to have Clark have his powers fully developed since infancy as opposed to developing as he matured. These stories depicted the Smallville misadventures of the young Kryptonian immigrant as he faces typical childhood trials with his first day at school, an overnight scouting campout, getting a driver's license, his first date, and more. Lana was featured in some of these "Superman Family Album" flashback segments, but never appeared during the regular episode story segment.

Lana made one appearance in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, where she was played by Emily Procter (best known as Calleigh Duquesne in TV's CSI: Miami). Lana's appearance was in an episode set in an alternate universe where Lois was dead and Lana was engaged to Clark, encouraging him to keep his abilities secret. When the mainstream universe's Lois persuaded that world's Clark to become Superman, Lana ended their relationship.

The pilot episode of Superman: The Animated Series followed the "post-Crisis" comics, with Lana being the first person Clark confided in about his superpowers. Because of this, when Clark became Superman, Lana was able to deduce his secret identity. Lana, as an adult, appeared in later episodes as a world-famous fashion designer. In the episode My Girl, Lana is seen dating Lex Luthor, which eventually places her in danger when she tries to pass information on to Clark/Superman about Luthor's plots; Clark says in this episode that he and Lana dated in high school. The young Lana was voiced by Kelley Schmidt, and the adult version by Joely Fisher.

Smallville

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Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang in Smallville.

In the 2000s television series Smallville, Lana, played by Kristin Kreuk, is again the (often forbidden) love interest of the young Clark Kent, with at least some of each episode devoted to their potentially romantic relationship. Lana's character featured in a number of episodes in which she is exposed to temporarily power-bestowing and/or personality-changing events, or needs to be rescued from life-threatening danger. Template:Spoiler Throughout the series, Clark feels guilt because of the death of Lana's parents, who were killed by the meteor shower that accompanied Clark's arrival on Earth. Lana was watched over by her aunt after their deaths, though she eventually moves out later in the series. She has always had a special interest in the meteor shower, and has a suspicion that Clark knows more about the incident than he lets on.

In a marked contrast to the redhead Lana Lang who appears in the Superman comic books, Kreuk is a brunette with an olive complexion; being part Chinese, part Dutch. Lana is said to be descended on her mother's side from a French witch, Countess Marguerite Isobel Theroux, whose vengeful spirit returns at one point to possess her (in an early draft, Lana's lineage was listed as one-part Native American).

In Smallville, Lana and Clark's relationship is depicted (at least initially) as the complete reverse of the post-Crisis version, whereby it was Clark who long pined over Lana without the other really knowing. This initial scenario also incorporated elements of the 1978 movie continuity by introducing the character of Whitney Fordman, Lana's quarterback boyfriend and Clark's antagonist at the beginning of the series. Although their relationship goes through many permutations in which Lana does develop her own genuine feelings for Clark, the series ongoing premise very much relies on a hitherto unprecedented notion that Clark had been deeply in love with Lana throughout his entire youth.

In the 100th episode of the series, Clark revealed his powers to Lana, and she agreed to marry him. Lex Luthor soon discovered that she knew Clark's secret, however, and chased her down the road in his car while he was drunk, leading to a horrible car crash in which Lana died. Appealing to Jor-El, Clark was able to go back in time and save Lana's life (this time neither proposing or revealing his superpowers). Unfortunately, this came at the cost of Clark's adopted father, Jonathan, whose heart gave out following a tumultuous confrontation with Lex's unscrupulous father, Lionel Luthor.

Following the 100th episode, Lana and Clark's relationship was depicted as being on the rocks, and Clark soon broke up with Lana after telling her that he did not love her anymore. Lana then began a new romantic relationship with Lex Luthor, much to Clark's dismay. In the season five finale, their relationship was tested when Lex unexpectedly developed Kryptonian powers, but Lana ultimately decided to remain loyal to him, not realizing that his identity had been assumed by General Zod.

After Clark defeated General Zod and set Lex free, Lana began living with Lex. Soon after, Lana felt that holding on to the failed relationship with Clark was not helping her develop future relationships as was the case with her current relationship with Lex. After coming to a decision to move on, she had sex with Lex at his mansion.

The sixth season sees Lana becoming something as a minor celebrity as she dates millionaire Lex Luthor, being hounded by paparazzi who have dubbed her "the new Lex Girl." During a November, 2006 Thanksgiving episode, Lana revealed that she was pregnant. At the very end of the following episode, Lex proposed to Lana. Two episodes later, Lana comes to terms with her unresolved feelings for Clark and says "yes" to Lex's proposal, even though she confirmed that she still loved Clark. In the sixteenth episode of the season, "Promise", Lana decides not to marry Lex after finally discovering Clark's secret. However, Lionel intervenes and threatens to kill Clark unless she marries Lex. In a reversal of roles, Lana decides to protect Clark and goes through with the marriage.

On March 22, 2007, the episode revealed that Lana had miscarried, and an episode that aired on the Thursday 19th April 2007 revealed that she had not really been pregnant, but that somehow she had taken pills that stopped her periods, and gave the impression she was pregnant. A previous episode showed Lex burning the medical files relating to her pregnancy and miscarriage.

Trivia

• Lana is one of several Superman characters with the initials "LL", including Lex Luthor, Lionel Luthor, Lightning Lad, Lena Luthor (whose surname was changed to "Thorul" in the Silver Age, to distance herself from her criminal brother), Lois Lane, Letitia Lerner, Lori Lemaris, Lucy Lane, Linda Lake and Linda Lee (aka Supergirl). Notice that a real-life girlfriend of George Reeves, who played Superman on the 1950s TV series, was Leonore Lemmon.
• Annette O'Toole played Lana in Superman III, and plays Clark Kent's mother in Smallville. In an interview for the documentary You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman, O'Toole states that the producers of Smallville were not aware that she had appeared in Superman III until after she was cast in the TV series.

External links

• Lana Lang profile at the Smallville Wiki
• Supermanica: Lana Lang Supermanica entry on the pre-Crisis Lana Lang