Lucy Lane

Lucy Lane is a fictional supporting character in DC Comics.[1] She is the younger sister of Lois Lane, and one of several characters who has assumed the Superwoman identity. Maureen Teefy portrayed her in the 1984 movie Supergirl, Peyton List in the television series Smallville and Jenna Dewan in the series Supergirl.

Lucy Lane
Lucy Lane, in Superman vol. 3 #12 (October 2012). Art by Dan Jurgens
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceSuperman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #36 (April 1959)
Created byOtto Binder
Curt Swan
In-story information
Supporting character ofSuperman
Supergirl
Notable aliasesSuperwoman
AbilitiesAs Superwoman:
Artificially induced Kryptonian abilities

Publication history

Lucy Lane was created by Otto Binder and Curt Swan.[2] She was introduced in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #36 (April 1959).[3][4] She is the daughter of Ella and Sam Lane, and the younger sister of Lois Lane.[5]

Fictional character biography
Jimmy Olsen and Lucy Lane, from her debut. Art by Curt Swan and John Giunta.

In the Silver Age stories, Lucy was presented as an airline stewardess who was an on-again, off-again romantic interest of Jimmy Olsen. Lucy's Silver Age appearances often revolved around Jimmy's various attempts at romancing her. A wedding took place in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen issue #100 (March 1967) which was intended to be a permanent change to the comic's status quo, but editor Mort Weisinger changed his mind at the last minute, and had writer Leo Dorfman change the ending to include a sudden annulment of the marriage.[6]

The character was believed to have died in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #120 (March 1972)[7] but was later revived in a story in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #160 (October 1973).[8]

Lucy was reintroduced into DC Comics' continuity in The Man of Steel #5 (December 1986).[9] Lucy was an air traffic controller, but became affected by a mysterious blindness (implied to have poisoned by Lex Luthor) that was cured as a side-effect of the destruction of a Bizarro clone.[10] Lucy returned to her job and had a brief relationship with Jimmy Olsen. After many encounters with super-villains such as Sleez,[11] Deathstroke,[12] and even becoming a vampire bride,[13] she eventually started dating African-American Daily Planet staff member Ron Troupe. When Lucy became pregnant, her conservative father was enraged although Lucy explained "There's not a racist bone in Daddy's body. He hates all his daughters' beaus." Sam Lane eventually overcame his anger when Lucy and Ron were married and their child was born.

New Krypton

After a long disappearance from the principal storylines, Lucy Lane returns in the one shot Superman: New Krypton. Her past with Ron Troupe is unclear, they are possibly estranged (Troupe having resurfaced in the current storylines, working again with the Daily Planet). Her long disappearance is explained by her joining the military, in a desperate, post-mortem attempt to appease her (presumed) dead father's desire to have a son able to carry on his career in the military. Bitter and angrier than in her former appearances, she still blames Lois for General Sam Lane's apparent death during the war against Imperiex. Essentially, she thinks Lois broke his heart by putting her love for Superman before her duties as a daughter.

Lucy references her former appearances, even mentioning her "dating boys in Lois' circle" as failed attempts to live her life through her more successful sister, but she eventually chooses to sacrifice her life and live the military career her father intended for Lois, driving an even deeper wedge between the two sisters. Unbeknownst to her, their father is still alive, and working with the government.

Superwoman
Lucy Lane as Superwoman. Art by Jamal Igle.

Lucy first appeared as Superwoman in Supergirl #35, her costume a nod to that of the Bronze Age Superwoman Kristin Wells and containing a containment field that simulated Kryptonian powers. Lucy's identity was not revealed until near the story arc's end. During her tenure as Superwoman, she was ordered by her father, General Sam Lane, to kill Agent Liberty, who had been spying on General Lane and Lex Luthor.[14] She later attacked Reactron, which tipped off readers that Superwoman was not Kryptonian (in that the villain's Gold Kryptonite power source had no effect on her).[15] Supergirl unmasks Superwoman,[16] and accidentally kills her by rupturing the containment field of her suit, causing Lucy's body to contort and explode.[17]

In Supergirl Annual #1 readers are given the current modern backstory of Lucy Lane. In the story, Lucy, since the moment she was born, has felt overshadowed by her big sister Lois. Lucy always felt that Lois outperformed her, overshadowed her and was more loved by their father. Lucy never blames Lois but she blames her parents Sam and Ella. Feeling that by maybe being closer to Lois her father would pay more attention to her, Lucy moved to the same city but this came at the same time Lois and her father grew apart over Superman. After her father's death, Lucy joined the army. Being a great soldier and a woman, Lucy rose quickly in the ranks. During the Amazon attack on the United States, Lucy was nearly killed by two Amazons but was saved by Codename: Assassin. Awaking in Project 7734, her father is able to convince Lucy to put on the Superwoman suit, which possessed mystical qualities.

Although seemingly dead, Lucy's remains steal the lifeforce of a man who came too close.[18] When Lucy is recovered by General Lane's forces, they learn that the suit's mystic energies have somehow transformed her into an actual Kryptonian.[19]

Following the War of the Supermen storyline, Lucy is in custody in S.T.A.R. Labs by Kimiyo Hoshi and Gangbuster, who are attempting to remove Lucy's metahuman abilities. After interference by an object that crashes into a Metropolis park, before they leave Lucy's holding cell, it is shown seemingly to have lightly cracked.[20] Later, Lucy is visited by her sister Lois, who wants to talk. Lucy is unhelpful as she has completely given in to insanity.[21] Lois tells Lucy that she is disgusted by her and walks away leaving Lucy in S.T.A.R. Labs custody behind.[22] Although the crack in the cell seemed to hint at Lucy escaping at some point, nothing came of it, and once The New 52 was launched, all storylines in progress in DC were dropped in favor of the new continuity.

The New 52

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Lucy Lane is first seen where she was picked up from the train station by Lois after Clark Kent was unable to fulfill his promise to Lois to do it himself.[23] Later to make up for it, Clark accompanies her, Lois, Johnathan Carrol, and Morgan Edge to the most expensive restaurant in town but is later forced to leave her with the check due to his duties as Superman.[24] Clark later makes it up to her by taking her bungee jumping, an activity which Lucy enjoys.[25] Lucy befriended and later became roommates with Olivia after they met while white water rafting. They also adopted a cat named Simon. Olivia became ill and Doctor Obeshian gave her drugs to take, the drugs having secretly been taken from an alien fungus which would mutate the user into a shapeshifting creature. Lucy and Olivia both took the pills resulting in the former turning into a wolf like creature and the latter into a giant insect-like creature. An organization named the Cartel began kidnapping users of the drug, which had begun circulating on the streets, for detox and they managed to capture Olivia. Lucy convinced Lois to save Olivia. In her insect form Lucy rescued Lois and Olivia from the Cartel's base. The issue ended with Lois comforting a hysterical Lucy.

Powers and abilities

Although Superwoman originally had no inherent powers, her powersuit altered her DNA via a containment field to resemble that of a Kryptonian and as such would potentially make her capable of all the same feats they possess under the yellow sun. The abilities she has used thus far are; vast superhuman strength, speed and durability, invulnerability, flight (normal and interstellar), freeze breath and heat vision. The powersuit protects her from the harmful effects of Kryptonite and grants her the ability to steal the life of someone nearby to resurrect herself. Any other non-Kryptonian abilities the suit may possess have yet to be revealed. Due to the launch of the New 52, it is unlikely that any of the suit's other powers will be revealed unless it makes an appearance in the new continuity.

As a result of her resurrection in Supergirl #50, she is said to have all the inherent abilities and weaknesses of "Those alien races" which were duplicated by the suit as the result of her return from the dead. While the exact number of alien races whose powers are duplicated by the suit are unknown, Kryptonian powers are among the powerset, as she displayed the ability to use Heat Vision shortly after her recovery by Sam Lane's forces when she was reborn. She confirms that she possesses super hearing when she murders a scientist working for Lane, though she does so with some form of energy blast from her hand, a power that is not among the abilities of a Kryptonian. If this statement is accurate, Lucy Lane now shares the inherent weakness to Kryptonite which all Kryptonians possess.

The original suit was destroyed by Supergirl but she appears to have acquired another as of Supergirl #50, and it is unknown if this suit is the same as the one she had been using to masquerade as a Kryptonian, or a non-magical one.

After her mutation due to drugs created from an alien fungus Lucy can transform from her mutated form to her normal form. In her mutated form Lucy can fly and apparently withstand tranquilizer darts.

In other media

Television
  • A young version of Lucy Lane appears in the prologue of "Monkey Fun", an episode of Superman: The Animated Series, voiced by Aria Noelle Curzon. Lucy and her sister Lois are seen in a flashback playing with Titano the monkey during their childhood. Lucy as an adult is never explicitly identified in person. She is mentioned by Lois while Clark is talking about his trouble with Mr. Mxyzptlk's visits.
  • Lucy Lane appeared in three episodes of the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, where she was portrayed by Elizabeth Barondes and by Roxana Zal in one episode. Her most prominent role was in the episode "Metallo" when she dated small-time criminal Johnny Corben before he was identified as new villain Metallo.
Lucy and Lois in Smallville.
  • Lucy Lane first appeared on the television series Smallville in the season four episode "Lucy"; she was played by Peyton List. In this version, Lucy has been attending school in Europe for some time, and has consequently been out of touch with her sister Lois. Lucy is briefly mentioned in the episode "Persuasion" when Lois (under the effects of Jewel Kryptonite crystals that cause Clark to unintentionally influence anyone who hears his words to obey him) believes she is marrying Clark and calls Lucy to tell her she's getting married. Lucy appears in season 10's seventh episode, "Ambush", as she surprises Lois along with General Sam Lane when they arrive on the Kent farm before Thanksgiving. In the episode "Icarus", a VRA file on her sister lists Ron Troupe and Samuel Troupe as their relatives.
Jenna Dewan as Lucy Lane in the CBS TV series Supergirl.

Film
  • Lucy Lane appears in the 1984 movie Supergirl as a friend and schoolmate of Supergirl's alter-ego Linda Lee. Actress Maureen Teefy portrayed her as a peppy teenager with a burgeoning relationship with Jimmy Olsen vaguely mimicking their relationship in the comics.
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References
  1. Byrne, John (w), Byrne, John (p), Beatty, John (i). "The Power That Failed!" Superman v2, 19: 2/6 (July 1988), DC Comics
  2. Schelly, Bill (2016). Otto Binder: The Life and Work of a Comic Book and Science Fiction Visionary. North Atlantic Books. p. 150. ISBN 9781623170387.
  3. Schelly, William (2013). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 213. ISBN 9781605490540.
  4. Binder, Otto (w), Swan, Curt (p), Giunta, John (i). "Lois Lane's Sister!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 36 (April 1959)
  5. Fleisher, Michael L. (2007). The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume Three: Superman. DC Comics. p. 162. ISBN 1-4012-1389-8.
  6. Wells, John (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 174. ISBN 978-1605490557.
  7. Bates, Cary; Vartanoff, Irene (w), Roth, Werner (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "Who Killed Lucy Lane?" Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane 120 (March 1972)
  8. Dorfman, Leo (w), Schaffenberger, Kurt (p), Schaffenberger, Kurt (i). "The Shadow from the Grave" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 160 (October 1973)
  9. Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 188–190. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
  10. Byrne, John (w), Byrne, John (p), Giordano, Dick (i). "The Mirror, Crack'd..." The Man of Steel 5 (December 1986)
  11. Jurgens, Dan (w), Jurgens, Dan (p), Thibert, Art (i). "Sleaze Factor" The Adventures of Superman 475 (February 1991)
  12. Jurgens, Dan (w), Jurgens, Dan (p), Breeding, Brett (i). "Sins of the Father" Superman v2, 68 (June 1992)
  13. Simonson, Louise (w), Bogdanove, Jon (p), Janke, Dennis (i). "Night Moves" Superman: The Man of Steel 14 (August 1992)
  14. Johns, Geoff (w), Woods, Pete; Guedes, Renato (p), Woods, Pete; Magalhaés, Jose Wilson (i). "New Krypton Part 10: Birth of a Nation" Action Comics 873 (March 2009)
  15. Gates, Sterling (w), Igle, Jamal (p), Champagne, Keith (i). "Who is Superwoman? Part Two: Clashes" Supergirl v5, 38 (April 2009)
  16. Gates, Sterling (w), Igle, Jamal (p), Sibal, Jon (i). "Who is Superwoman? Part Four: Mistakes" Supergirl v5, 40 (June 2009)
  17. Gates, Sterling (w), Dagnino, Fernando (p), Fernandez, Raul (i). "Who is Superwoman? Part Five: Daughters of Krypton" Supergirl v5, 41 (July 2009)
  18. Gates, Sterling (w), Dagnino, Fernando (p), Fernandez, Raul (i). "Second Born: The Secret Origin of Superwoman" Supergirl Annual v2, 1 (November 2009)
  19. Gates, Sterling (w), Igle, Jamal (p), Sibal, Jon; McKenna, Mark (i). "Queen" Supergirl v5, 50 (April 2010)
  20. Gates, Sterling (w), Igle, Jamal (p), Sibal, Jon (i). "Fallout" Supergirl v5, 53 (August 2010)
  21. Gates, Sterling (w), Igle, Jamal (p), Sibal, Jon (i). "Day of the Dollmaker, Part One: Toying With Emotions" Supergirl v5, 58 (January 2011)
  22. Gates, Sterling (w), Igle, Jamal (p), Sibal, Jon; Riggs, Robin (i). "Day of the Dollmaker, Part Two: End of the Line" Supergirl v5, 59 (February 2011)
  23. Giffen, Keith; Jurgens, Dan (w), Jurgens, Dan (p), Merino, Jesus (i). "To Hel and Back" Superman v3, 7 (May 2012)
  24. Jurgens, Dan (w), Jurgens, Dan (p), Merino, Jesus; Cifuentes, Vicente; Hunter, Rob (i). "Combat" Superman v3, 11 (September 2012)
  25. Jurgens, Dan (w), Jurgens, Dan (p), McCarthy, Ray (i). "Home" Superman v3, 12 (October 2012)
  26. Ching, Albert (August 3, 2015). "Supergirl Casts its Lucy Lane". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
  27. Mitovich, Matt Webb (July 18, 2015). "Supergirl to Introduce Lucy Lane AKA Jimmy Olsen's Ex... AKA Superwoman?". TV Line. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
  28. Change, Yahlin and Sullivan, Ted (writers); Freudenthal, Thor (director) (November 23, 2015). "How Does She Do It?". Supergirl. Season 1. Episode 5. CBS.
  29. Lichtman, Cindy and Shukert, Rachel (writers); Fisher, Chris (director) (March 21, 2016). "Manhunter". Supergirl. Season 1. Episode 17. CBS.
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