Lane Family

Very little information about the Lane family of Earth-Two has been revealed. The primary family member is of course Lois Lane who worked as a reporter for the Daily Star in the 1930s and 40s. Lois often found herself acting as babysitter to her bratty niece Suzie Tompkins. Late in life, Lois discovered that her co-worker Clark Kent was also the mystery man known as Superman. The two were married and shared in many adventures together, oftentimes referring to themselves as "Mr. and Mrs. Superman". Lois and Clark never had any children, though Lois did come to regard Clark's Kryptonian cousin Kara as a daughter. Lois and Clark both perished during the event known as "Infinite Crisis".

Earth-One

On Earth-One, Ella and Sam Lane were farmers who lived on a ranch in Pittsdale, Iowa. Lois grew up as a farm girl who enjoyed spending her summers riding her father's horses. While Lois grew up to become a headstrong reporter for the Daily Planet, her sister Lucy became an airline stewardess. Lois spent most of her career conspiring to get Superman to fall in love and marry her, but these tactics always ended in failure.

Lois Lane once received a gift of a "magic mirror" from her uncle, Ned Lane, in England. He was one of the world's foremost experts on Arthurian lore.^[1] Lois has a cousin named Louis Lane, who works as a reporter in Iowa.^[2]

Lois never married and had children (with Clark Kent/Superman or anyone else) before Earth-One was destroyed by the Crisis on Infinite Earths. In one known possible future, Lois and Clark did marry and had a daughter named Laura, who was born without super-powers, but started to develop powers when she was sixteen years old. ^[3] Many other possible futures have shown descendants of Superman, but they did not specify (and sometimes deliberately obscured) who Superman's partner was.

New Earth

The Lane Family represents the paternal bloodline of Daily Planet star reporter Lois Lane and her extended family. Although centrally located in the areas in and around Metropolis, the Lanes also have roots in 19th century Lawrence, Kansas. In 1854, John Henry Lane was known as the "Grim Chieftain". He was a political activist, con-man, rogue and womanizer. John Henry Lane once had a chance encounter with Silas Kent, the progenitor of the Kent family line in Kansas. His disreputable history had made him something of a black sheep in the Lane family and future generations of Lanes maintained a safe distance from their controversial cousin. ^[4]

The primary members of the modern Lane family are Ella and Sam Lane and their daughters Lois and Lucy. The Lane family rose to national prominence in 2000 when four-star general Sam Lane was appointed Secretary of Defense during the Luthor administration. A career soldier, Sam Lane moved his family across the country quite a lot while they were growing up and both Lois and Lucy grew up as "army brats". Sam Lane heroically sacrificed his life defending his country against Imperiex probes during the "Our Worlds at War" event. More recently however, it has been revealed that Sam Lane actually survived the war and has been placed in charge of a program monitoring the activity of the super-villain Brainiac.

The Lane daughters have both since married, though Lois still keeps her maiden name for professional reasons. Lois Lane married her Daily Planet co-worker Clark Kent shortly after learning that he was also the infamous super-hero known as Superman. Lois and Clark are still reporters and they currently reside at 1938 Sullivan Place. Lois and Clark, as yet, do not have any children together, though they briefly took care of the young Kryptonian Lor-Zod during his brief stay on Earth. It has been revealed (by Lex Luthor) that Kryptonians are not genetically compatible with human beings, so the possibility of Lois and Clark conceiving a child through natural means is remote. ^[5]

Lois's sister, Lucy Lane married a Daily Planet staff member as well, columnist Ron Troupe. Lucy and Ron had a son whom they named Sam after her father. However, Lucy's marriage and son were later erased from history by the reality-warping event known as Infinite Crisis.

Smallville (TV Series)

The Lanes and the Sullivans play a prominent role in the continuity of the Smallville television series. Sam Lane is a hard-talking, cigar-chomping military commander who earned himself the appropriate nickname "Uncle Sam". His wife died while his daughters Lois and Lucy were still very young, possibly due to lung cancer. Raised under Sam Lane's stern militaristic guidelines, both of the Lane daughters grew into rebellious teenagers. Lois became an irresponsible party-girl who neglected her studies in favor of glam-rock bands, and Lucy became a thief and pickpocket.

Lois and Lucy's cousin is former reporter Chloe Sullivan of Smallville, Kansas. Chloe is the daughter of Gabe and Moira Sullivan. Gabe Sullivan was once a plant worker employed by LuthorCorp. His wife Moira left her husband and daughter when Chloe was only five. Chloe would later learn that Moira had developed a metahuman ability to control the minds of others, specifically, those who gained powers after being exposed to green meteor rock. Fearing that her power might endanger her daughter's life, Moira had herself committed to a mental health facility. It was years before mother and daughter would be reunited with one another. Around this time, Chloe discovered that she too had developed paranormal abilities due to meteor rock exposure.

Chloe Sullivan had once earned the wrath of LuthorCorp's CEO Lionel Luthor when she testified against him in a high-profile murder trial. Sam Lane, fearing that Lionel might try to have them killed, conspired with Lionel's son Lex Luthor to provide them protective custody. Lionel still found them however and had their safe house destroyed. For several months, it was believed that Chloe and her father had died in the explosion. Sam Lane knew the truth however, but never told anyone else, not even his own daughters. This incident prompted Chloe's cousin Lois to come to Smallville to investigate her murder. Lois met Chloe's friend Clark Kent and together they learned the truth and brought the Sullivans out of hiding. Lionel, having since been released from prison, ceased his attempts to kill the Sullivan family.

Lois remained in Smallville and finished her schooling at Smallville High School. Both of the cousins pursued a career in journalism after graduation. Chloe became a reporter for the Daily Planet in nearby Metropolis, and Lois became an amateur reporter for the Inquisitor, a tabloid with a reputation for producing sensationalistic, UFO-oriented stories.

Chloe eventually met and fell in love with a Daily Planet photographer named Jimmy Olsen. Although their relationship has been rocky, the two have committed themselves to one another and intend to marry.

Family Tree

Earth-Two

Earth-One

♂

New Earth

Christopher
(adopted)

Jonathan

Sam

Smallville (TV Series)

Notes

Thus far, there is no known connection between the modern Lane family and that of 19th century vigilante Lazarus Lane, aka El Diablo. This does not necessarily mean however that the two families are not connected in some way.
There also have not been any connections made between Lois Lane's family and the large family of Michael (Azrael) Lane.
Similarly, on Earth-Two there were not any established connections between Lois Lane's family and Miss Melody Lane of Broadway.

Links

None.

Footnotes

[1] Action Comics #269

[2] Superman #349

[3] Superman Family #200

[4] The Kents #1

[5] Action Comics Annual #11

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Lane Family

Contents

History

Earth-Two

Earth-One

New Earth

Smallville (TV Series)

Family Tree

Earth-Two

Earth-One

New Earth

Smallville (TV Series)

Notes

See Also

Links

Footnotes

Fan Feed