Lang, Lana

Lana Lang is a childhood friend of Clark Kent. The two shared a mutual attraction for each other throughout their youth. Lana is also a rival of Lois Lane to Clark's affection.

## Lana Elizabeth Lang

### Aliases

Insect Queen, Gravity Girl, The Wisp, Sky Girl, Bug-Belle, Super-girl, Cleopatra

### Relatives

Clark Ross (son), Lewis Thomas Lang (father, dead), Carol Lang (mother), Ronald Lang, Alvin Lang, Helen Lang (aunt, dead), Phineas Potter (maternal uncle), Horton (uncle), Ruthford (uncle)Linda Lee Danvers-Lang (adopted niece)

### Affiliation

WMET-TV (formerly), Daily Planet, Galaxy Communications, Superman Family, Manhunters (formerly), LexCorp

### Occupation

Former reporter for the Daily Planet · former anchorwoman for WMET-TV · former anchorwoman for WGBS-TV, Business editor for the Daily Planet · former chief operating officer of LexCorp · former First Lady of the United States

## History

Lana Lang was born and raised on a farm in the midwestern Kansas town of Smallville. During her teenage years, she met her next-door neighbor, Clark Kent, and developed an instant infatuation with him. Her interest in Clark was matched only by her affection towards the local super-hero, Superboy. Lana spent a large portion of her high school years obsessing over Superboy, and she labored intensively to discover his secret identity. One day Lana 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.

After being given a Bio-Genetic Ring by the aliens, Lana created a yellow honeybee-like costume and mask and adopted the codename Insect Queen who occasionally appeared as the crime-fighter. She had various adventures with Superboy and became a reserve member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. By the time she left Smallville to enter college, she had yet to learn Superboy's greatest secret. She would later become a rival of Lois Lane for the affection of Superman, and co-anchor the WGBS-TV newscasts with Clark Kent. Lana's affection for Superman began to drift away and became romantically linked to the alien super-hero Vartox. Lana and Clark Kent became romantically involved in stories prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Lana found out about Clark's abilities when they were children, after he saved her life. Some of Clark's powers activate for the first time around Lana (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.

Years later, Lana eventually got involved with another childhood friend, Pete Ross, and Pete soon proposed to her. Lana was initially reluctant to set a date for the wedding (still pining after Clark) but after an incident with Bizarro and Superman reaffirmed that Clark would never love her the way she loved him, she decided she wanted to marry Pete as soon as possible. Lana and Pete were married in a small, private ceremony at the Kent's house, with only a few guests since Clark and Lois were busy in Metropolis. Lana and Pete then settled into a quiet life in Smallville.

Not long after being married, Lana became pregnant, but complications caused the baby to be born premature. She contacted Superman and asked him to take the baby to a more advanced medical facility in Metropolis, carried in a special traveling compartment. Unfortunately, along the way, Superman is attacked by Brainiac, who then was using Doomsday as a host body. After knocking out Superman, Brainiac/Doomsday takes the baby to his lair, intending to use the baby to grow a new body for himself (as Doomsday's body was beginning to reject his mind). Superman managed to defeat the villain and rescue the baby, discovering that as part of the process of preparing him for Brainiac's experiments, the baby had been aged to term. Returning the child to his parents, Lana insisted on naming the baby Clark Peter Ross.

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. Before moving in, Lana had a talk with Superman, promising that she would keep his secret and announcing she had no feelings for him anymore -- she even went so far as to say that her baby was really named after Martha (her maiden name being Clark).

Luthor was forced from his office, and Pete Ross became president (and Lana the First Lady of the United States). Eventually, Lana and Pete separated and divorced due to Lana's dissatisfaction with Pete and her consistent yearning for Clark, and Lana began to attempt to regain Clark's affections, much to the anger of his (now) wife Lois Lane. However, Pete and Lana reunited after Superman saved them from being killed by the villainous Ruin