Lucy Lane

Publication history

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

Fictional character biography

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

Lucy was reintroduced into DC Comics' continuity in The Man of Steel #5 (December 1986). Lucy was an air traffic controller, but became affected by a mysterious blindness that was cured as a side-effect of the destruction of a Bizarro clone. Lucy returned to her job and had a brief relationship with Jimmy Olsen. After many encounters with super-villains such as Sleez, Deathstroke, and even becoming a vampire bride, 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 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. 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. Supergirl unmasks Superwoman, and accidentally kills her by rupturing the containment field of her suit, causing Lucy's body to contort and explode.

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. 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.

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. Later, Lucy is visited by her sister Lois, who wants to talk. Lucy is unhelpful as she has completely given in to insanity. Lois tells Lucy that she is disgusted by her and walks away leaving Lucy in S.T.A.R. Labs custody behind. 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 The New 52, a reboot of the DC Comics universe, 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. 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. Clark later makes it up to her by taking her bungee jumping, an activity which Lucy enjoys. 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.

Television

Film