Lana Lang

{{Disambig Lana Lang has traditionally 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.
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 * MainPage               = Lana Lang (New Earth)
 * AltID                  = Insect Queen
 * ImageText              = Lana Lang
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The Image shows the Lana Lang featured in modern DC Comics.


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Publishing History
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 has traditionally 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.

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.

Earth-One
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.

Lana and Lois acquire super powers and fight each other for Superman's love in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #21. Art by Kurt Schaffenberger.During the 1970s and early 1980s, Lana became an anchorperson 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.

Earth-Two
In the early 1980s, with the use of the multiverse system DC had in place, Lana Lang was also shown in one story 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, Lana wound up becoming 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; the next time an insect flew by, Lana was compelled to create a Chitinous golden-brown costume (woven by silkworms under her control) and adopt a villainous alter ego, the Insect Queen. 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)

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

Modern Version
Traditionally, Lana has been Superman's romantic interest when she was the "girl next door" in Smallville and as adults still has a certain amount of romantic tension between them. Lana is a Caucasian girl with red hair and green eyes.

In current comics continuity, Lana found out about Clark abilities when they were children when he saved her life, also most of Clark powers activate for the first time when he is with Lana or when Lana is in danger (when they shared their first kiss it activated Clark's heat vision and when Lana was swept up in a tornado Clark flew for the first time and saved her). Lana is one of the few people who are aware that Superman and Clark Kent are one and the same.

Lana later attended Metropolis University and pursued a degree in Business and became a successful businesswoman. However, Lana later married Pete Ross, and the two settled into a quiet life in Smallville with their son, Clark Peter Ross. In 2000, Pete became Lex Luthor's presidential running mate. When Luthor was forced from office, Pete became President and Lana became the First Lady of the United States. Lana and Pete eventually divorced, with Pete gaining primary custody of their son Clark and returning to Smallville. For a time she was CEO of LexCorp but had her contract terminated by a hologram of Lex Luthor for helping Superman with LexCorp technology.

Lana later befriends a troubled Supergirl and later became Kara's adopted aunt and mentor and offers to help her create a secret identity of Linda Lang, her niece. Lana and Kara currently live in Metropolis in Lana's penthouse apartment in Hammersmith Tower, which overlooks Metropolis. Perry White, meanwhile, was actively pursuing Lana to take over the Business section of the newspaper, which she eventually accepted and became the Business Editor of the Daily Planet. She briefly returns to Smallville to attend Jonathan Kent's funeral. However, unable to muster enough resolve to patch up things with Clark, Lana leaves before giving him her condolences.

While attending a student journalism award ceremony with Jimmy Olsen and Cat Grant, Lana suddenly collapses, with blood pouring out her nose. She later receives a call from her doctor telling her that he has "bad news" for her. At a point before leaving Lexcorp, Lana was kidnapped by the Insect Queen and rescued by Superman. However, unknown to everyone, Lana was infected by the Insect Queen and was herself transforming into a new version of the villain. This happened over a series of months, during which she had been growing steadily more ill, until apparently dying. However, she emerged from death as the new Insect Queen, but was rescued by Supergirl. Lana has since then returned to life as normal.

Lana is currently helping Supergirl reconnect with humanity and helping Cat Grant after Kara witnessed the murder of her mother and father (Allura and Zor-El) and the mass murder of her entire race by Reactron, Lex Luthor, Sam Lane and Lucy Lane as the superpowered villain Superwoman. Lana later offers to help a trouble Supergirl. She offers her advice and friendship. Around the same time, Perry White has been actively pursuing Lana to take over the Business section of The Daily Planet, a position which Lana was afraid to accept, eventually Lana decided to accept the position. Supergirl later took on the secret identity of Linda Lang, niece of Lana Lang. Lana now lives in Metropolis with Supergirl, and is working as the editor of the Business section of The Daily Planet.

Trivia

 * Lana is one of several Superman characters with the initials "LL", including Lex Luthor, Lionel Luthor, 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 and Linda Lee (aka Supergirl).