Lana Lang

The Many Loves of Superman (10 items)
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Fictional Characters starting with L (78 items)
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Supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, the character first appears in Superboy #10 (September/October 1950). Across decades of Superman comics and adaptations into other media, Lana has most consistently been depicted as Superman's teenage romantic interest growing up in Smallville; as an adult, she is a distant friend of Superman in his civilian identity as Clark Kent.

Lana is one of many Superman characters with the alliterative initials "LL", the most notable other examples being Superman's principal love interest Lois Lane and nemesis, Lex Luthor. In the Silver Age, she regularly appeared in comic books depicting the adventures of Superman's teenaged self, Superboy, and also appeared as an adult in numerous Superman titles, vying with Lois Lane for his attention. In modern revisions to DC Comics continuity, she and Clark are shown to have remained close friends since their teenage years. The precise story varies across differing revisions of Superman's origin story. For example, in Superman: Secret Origin, Lana becomes privy to Clark's unusual abilities at an early age and becomes his earliest confidant outside of his parents and the futuristic Legion of Super-Heroes.

Lana has been featured in most other media adaptations of Superboy media, typically as a teenager. These portrayals include both the Adventures of Superboy television series, where she is portrayed by Stacy Haiduk, and the WB/CW television series Smallville, in which she is played by Kristin Kreuk. Lana appears in all 100 episodes of Adventures of Superboy, and in Smallville is teenage Clark Kent's primary romantic interest throughout the show's first seven seasons. She has also appeared in many adaptations of Superman stories, although her role is generally smaller. In the 1983 film Superman III, she is played by Annette O'Toole (who would later portray Martha Kent on Smallville).

The character was ranked 91st in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

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. The young Lana was voiced by Kelley Schmidt, and the adult version by Joely Fisher. She mentioned she had a crush on him since the age of three. Lana, as an adult, first appears in "My Girl", as a famous fashion designer who already knows Superman's secret identity. Lana's relationship with Lex Luthor breaks off after she tries to pass information on to Clark about Luthor's plots. She later appears in "Obsession" and a cameo in the ending of the episode "The Late Mr. Kent", providing a cover story for Clark's reappearance after he was presumed dead after an attempt on his life.