Article: The Many Faces Of...Lana Lang

[Dr. Thong]

The Many Faces Of... Lana Lang
Written by Russ Dimino

You know that cute little girl next door? The one with the kryptonite necklace, whose parents were killed in the great meteor shower of 1989? The girl who manages The Talon? Wears a lot of pink? Of course you do... Or do you? How much do you really know about that little hometown Kansas girl named Lana Lang?

This is the first in a series of features in which we will look at the evolution of some of the main 'Smallville' characters, trace their various incarnations on both the big and small screens, and see what some of the actors who portrayed them are up to today.

The character of Lana Lang first appeared in Superboy #10 in 1950. Long before meeting Lois Lane in Metropolis, Lana was the first girl with 'Double L' initials to capture the heart of the young Clark Kent. She spent much of her time in the early comics trying to prove her theory that Clark and Superboy were one and the same.

The first time Lana was portrayed in live action was in 1961, in the black and white "The Adventures of Superboy," where she was played by Bunny Henning. Sadly, only a pilot episode was ever filmed. Ms. Henning's only other acting roles were an uncredited part in 1967's "The Gnome Mobile," and a single episode of "Petticoat Junction."

The character of Lana also appeared in a few Filmation Superboy cartoons in the 1960's. Her voice was supplied by Janet Waldo, better known as the voice of Judy Jetson.

Lana made the jump from small screen to silver screen in 1978, when Diane Sherry played the role in a brief scene in the first "Superman" movie. Though Lana played only a small part in the initial film, she would play a larger role two sequels down the line...

In 1983, an actress very familiar to Smallville fans took over the role of Lana for "Superman III." Annette O'Toole played a divorced, single-mom Lana who reconnected with Clark at their high school reunion. Margot Kidder's Lois Lane was notably all but absent from this film, due to a dispute with the producers, which led to Lana being Clark's love interest in this installment. Unfortunately, neither Annette nor the character of Lana returned for "Superman IV," but the Lana plotline remains one of the highlights of the otherwise less than memorable third outing of the franchise. Ms. O'Toole has since gone on to appear in many movies and TV series, and she and husband Michael McKean were recently nominated for an Oscar for a song they wrote for "A Mighty Wind." Most notably, of course, Annette returned to the Superman mythos in 2001 when she took on the role of Martha Kent on "Smallville."

The next time we would see Lana in live action would be back on the small screen, when Stacy Haiduk played her on the "Superboy" TV series from 1988 to 1992. In this series, Lana and Clark attended college together at Shuster University, and Lana had a crush on Clark's alter-ego, Superboy: The Boy of Steel. Ms. Haiduk has since appeared on shows like "The X-Files," "ER," and "CSI: Miami." Ironically, she also appeared on "SeaQuest DSV," a show that was in direct competition with "Lois & Clark," the next live action version of the Superman legend.

Speaking of which... Lana was featured in just one episode of "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." There, she was played by Emily Procter, in the 1996 episode "Tempus, Anyone?" This version of Lana, from an alternate reality, was engaged to Clark, and discouraged him from using his powers. Ms. Procter most notably went on to have regular roles on "The West Wing" and the aforementioned "CSI: Miami."

In that same year, Lana made another animated appearance, when "Superman: The Animated Series" premiered. In this series, Lana knew about Clark's double life, and was one of the few people he could confide in besides his parents. In the first episode, Lana was voiced by Kelly Schmidt, and appeared during Clark's teenage years in Smallville, Kansas. Later in the series, an adult Lana was voiced by Joely Fisher. Ms. Schmidt has appeared on "ER," and Ms. Fisher has appeared in the Matthew Broderick "Inspector Gadget" movie, as well as TV series like "Grosse Pointe."

Most fans today are familiar with the most recent incarnation of Lana, played by Kristin Kreuk on "Smallville." It is interesting to note that Kristin is the first brunette actress to play the role (Lana is traditionally a redhead, though, in the case of Emily Procter, she has also been a blonde). With Clark not being Superboy in this modern incarnation, the on-again, off-again relationship between Clark and Lana is a primary focus of the series. Kristin has also starred in the TV series "Edgemont," the made for TV movie "Snow White," and has a small role in the upcoming movie "Eurotrip."

What has remained fairly constant throughout all of these versions of Lana is that image of a childhood sweetheart... that first love that is not meant to last, but touches us in a way that will change us forever. Long before there was Lois, Lana Lang was the first girl to truly capture the heart of the future Superman. But there is something of a tragedy about her character as well, because we know that their relationship is not to be. He will one day go on to bigger things in Metropolis, donning the red and blue tights and saving the world on a daily basis. And yet, she has shaped the man that he will become, because it is Lana Lang who taught Clark Kent what it is to love.


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