| Lana Lang | |
| |
| Gender: | Female |
| Location: | Smallville |
| Portrayed By: | Diane Sherry Annette O'Toole |
Lana Lang is Clark Kent's friend and teenage love interest during the time he lived in Smallville. Lana is also one of the few people who are aware that Superman and Clark Kent are one and the same. Her family includes her son, Clark Peter Ross and her niece Linda Lang also known as Supergirl. She acts as both Aunt and Mentor to Supergirl, Lana is the Editor of the Business Section at the Daily Planet and lives in the penthouse of Hammersmith Tower in Metropolis with her niece.
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).
In other media[]
Superman: The Movie[]
In Richard Donner's Superman 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.
Superman III[]
In the 1983 movie Superman III, Lana was played by Annette O'Toole. In an interview for the documentary Look Up In The Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, O'Toole states that the producers of Smallville (where she plays Clark's own adoptive mother, Martha Kent) were not aware that she had appeared in Superman III until after she was cast in the TV series. In Superman III, Lana 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. Now, however, she despises Brad for the arrogant, self-centered jerk that he is.
Man of Steel[]
Jadin Gould portrayed Lana Lang in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel in 2013.
Video games[]
DC Universe Online[]
Lana appears in the DC Universe Online video game, voiced by Lorrie Singer.