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Clark Kent
The Lane Family
Sam Lane
Name: Samuel “Sam” Lane
Relationship: Father
Mini-biography:
Sam Lane is married to Elinor “Ella” Lane. They have two daughters: Lois & Lucy. While growing up, the girls were well aware of their father’s desire for sons. This desire has caused friction between Sam and his eldest daughter, Lois. Now that Lois is an adult, both Sam and his daughter are working to repair their relationship. Sam is hardly impressed with his sons-in-law, Clark Kent and Ron Troupe, both of whom he deems weak. Ironically, he is unaware that, via his daughter Lois’ marriage to Clark Kent, he is the father-in-law of one of the world’s greatest superheroes: Superman. He has served his country in the Army, serving in the Vietnam War and going on to become a four-star general. Sam was hand picked by Lex Luthor to be part of his presidential cabinet as Secretary of Defense. Sam sacrificed his life to stop the imperix probe.
Notes:
In the Silver Age comic book continuity, he first appears in Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane issue #13 (Nov. 1959).
- He makes his first appearance in Modern comics continuity in Adventures of Superman #424 (Jan. 1987).
- Sam appears briefly in the first Christopher Reeve/Margot Kidder Superman movie, admonishing his daughter to sit back after she becomes excited.
- On the 1993-1997 television show, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Sam is a once promising surgeon who is now a get rich quick kind of doctor. Much like his comic book self, L&C’s Sam is estranged from his daughters. Unlike his comic book self, Sam is divorced from Lois’ mother, Ellen.
- On the 2001-current television show, Smallville, Sam is a three-star general who works with a young Lex Luthor to protect his brother-in-law, Gabriel Sullivan, and niece, Chloe Sullivan, from Lex’s evil father Lionel Luthor. Still tough-as-nails, with a contentious relationship with his daughters. His wife, Ella, died of cancer when their daughters were young. He has not re-married.
Actors who’ve played Sam Lane:
- Dennis Arndt (L&C season one, episode “Requiem for a Superhero”)
- Harve Presnell (L&C seasons three & four, multiple episodes)
- Michael Ironside (Smallville season four, two episodes [so far])
- Kirk Allyn (Superman: The Movie; cameo scene with young Lois on the train)
One of the leading generals in the United States military, Sam Lane is also the hard-as-nails father of Lois Lane, ace reporter for the Daily Planet and the wife of fellow journalist Clark Kent.
Making no secret that he wanted a son, Lane always pushed Lois to her limits, and even though she became a reporter and not a soldier, Sam's gruff personality managed to rub onto Lois, as she proved during the early part of her relationship with Clark Kent.
When Lex Luthor was elected President of the United States of America, he appointed Sam Lane as his Secretary of Defense. Lane proved himself worthy of the appointment, but sadly, was killed during Imperiex's invasion of Earth.
Recently, Lois Lane and Clark Kent revealed that Luthor, by way of his association with Brainiac 13, knew of the impending invasion, and could have saved the lives of millions, including that of General Lane. How this will affect his Presidency, has yet to be revealed. But what has not come into question, is the courage displayed by Sam Lane, as he died defending his nation, and the world. Source: http://www.supermanhomepage.com
Ella Lane
Name: Elinor “Ella” Lane
Relationship: Mother
Mini-biography:
Elinor is better known as Ella. She is married to General Sam Lane. They have two daughters, Lois and Lucy. While her husband Sam is tough-as-nails, Ella is his counterpoint in that she’s much more easygoing than he is. Loves both of her daughters equally without question. Ella is the proud grandmother of Samuel Troupe, who is the son of Lucy and Ron. She, too, is unaware that she’s Superman’s mother-in-law.
Notes:
- On the 1993-1997 television series, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Ella is known as “Ellen.” She met Sam while she was employed as his nurse. She and Sam did not have a happy marriage and wound up divorcing. This divorce left her bitter and affected her relationship with Lois, of whom she became extremely critical. She is a recovering alcoholic, and at the end of the series was working towards a reconciliation with her ex-husband Sam.
- On the 2001- current television series, Smallville, Ella is deceased. She died of cancer. She most likely developed cancer from her smoking habit which began while she was in high school. She died when her daughters Lois and Lucy were quite young.
- Appears briefly in Superman: The Movie, telling Lois that she has an over active imagination after Lois sees Clark speed past the train that the Lanes are riding on.
Actresses who’ve played Ella/Ellen Lane:
- Phyllis Coates (Lois & Clark, season one episode “The House of Luthor”)
- Beverly Garland (Lois & Clark, season three and four, multiple episodes)
- Noel Neill (Superman: The Movie, cameo appearance)
First Appearance (Silver Age): Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #13 (November 1959)
(Modern): Adventures of Superman #424 (January 1987)
Details coming soon. Source: http://www.dcuguide.com/MiniWho/Lo.php
Lucy Lane
 
Name: Lucy Lane Troupe
Relationship: Sister (younger)
Mini-biography:
Lucy Lane is Lois’ younger sister. Both faced constant criticism from their father, Gen. Sam Lane, simply because they weren’t the sons that he’d hoped for. While Lois tends to favor their father in being strong-willed and bull-headed, Lucy, personality-wise tends to gravitate more towards their mother Ella, in that she’s more laid back and easy going than Lois is. Lucy and Lois enjoy a close relationship. She has had many a career including being a flight attendant. Lucy briefly dated Lois’ Daily Planet colleague James “Jimmy” Olsen. In adulthood, Lucy fell victim to blindness. The blindness drove Lucy to almost commit suicide while she was visiting Lois in Metropolis. She was saved by the first Bizarro Superman, who helped her regain her sight after his atomized remains were sprinkled into her eyes. Lucy later fell in love with and married Daily Planet reporter Ron Troupe. Lucy and Ron have a very young son named Samuel Troupe in honor of Lucy’s late father.
Notes:
- Lucy made her comic book debut in the Silver Age comic Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #36 in April, 1959. Her current comic book incarnation debuted in 1986 after John Byrne’s re-boot.
- While Lucy is never specifically named, Lois makes mention of a sister with a kid in 1978’s Superman: The Movie (starring Christopher Reeve & Margot Kidder)
- Lucy appears in the 1984 movie Supergirl: The Movie and befriends Kara, Clark’s cousin. She also enjoys a flirty relationship with Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure from the Chris Reeve movies).
- In the 1993-1997 series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Lucy appears in the pilot and the next two episodes (“Strange Visitor” and “Neverending Battle”) before she mysteriously disappears. She reappears in the second season for one episode (“Metallo”). That is the last time anyone sees Lucy in the flesh on LnC. She is referred to from then on, but never seen.
- On the 2001- present show Smallville, Lucy makes her debut in the 16th episode of the fourth season, aptly titled “Lucy.” Sam Lane had sent her away to a Swiss boarding school with the hope of giving her a better education. Lucy comes to Smallville looking for Lois when she gets into a spot of trouble. Since the two girls have lost their mother, Lois was in charge of ‘raising’ Lucy. Lucy resented Lois because she perceived Lois as being their father’s favorite (although Lois would beg to differ). She extracted a revenge of sorts on Lois when she double crossed Lex Luthor into giving her $50,000 in order to get her out of a debt that she never really had. Lucy’s co-conspirator, Marcus Becker, was caught, but Lucy escaped ($50,000 in hand) to scam another day. It is unknown if Lucy will be seen on Smallville again.
Actresses who’ve played Lucy:
- Maureen Teefy (Supergirl: The Movie), 1984
- Elizabeth Barondes (Lois & Clark, season 1; three episodes)
- Roxana Zal (Lois & Clark, season 2; one episode)
- Peyton List (Smallville, season 4; one episode [so far])
First Appearance (original): Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #36 (April 1959)
(current): Man of Steel #5 (December 1986)
Details coming soon. Source: http://www.dcuguide.com/MiniWho/Lo.php
The Daily Planet Family
Perry White
 
Editor of the Daily Planet. Born in Metropolis's Suicide Slum area, Perry grew up with a father missing after going to fight overseas. He became a copy boy at the Daily Planet beginning his lifetime career that would make him a successful reporter, and eventually the Planet's managing editor. Perry had met Lex Luthor when they were kids, and later when Luthor began diversifying his holdings in the new LexCorp company, Luthor moved into the Planet building and purchased the newspaper. Although, making the paper profitable, Luthor sold it after deciding to pursue technology and television investments. Perry's exposure to Luthor during this period made Perry suspicious, despite Luthor's public image as a benefactor to Metropolis. Turning down an offer from Luthor to become part of Luthor's new tv station WLEX, Perry found an investor who saved the Daily Planet on condition Perry became editor instead of being a reporter. Perry married Alice Spencer and had a son Jerry White, Jr. Later Perry would learn that Lex Luthor was Jerry's natural father after Luthor had briefly seduced Alice while Perry was reporting overseas. Perry White's newspaper savvy made him hire two talented reporters, Lois Lane and later Clark Kent. After Jerry White Jr died following being shot (see Blaze), Perry and Alice grieved for some time, including having Perry take a leave of absence from the Daily Planet. Later, they helped care for an orphaned boy (Keith Robert) and decided to adopt him. Recently, Perry began having chemotherapy to treat lung cancer, and argued with Franklin Stern over hiring a new columnist. When Lex Luthor bought and shut-down the Daily Planet, Perry went on to teach Journalism at Metropolis University before returning to the Planet when Lex Luthor mysteriously sold it back (SUP #151). First Appearance: MOS #2 (July 1986).
Source: http://www.supermanhomepage.com
Jimmy Olsen
   
James Bartholomew Olsen is a long time friend of Lois Lane and Clark Kent, who encouraged him to take a job at the Daily Planet. Jimmy seems to be a very competent reporter, however his ambition, pride and foolhardiness frequently sabotage his best efforts. He resigned from the Daily Planet in a fit of pique, after he missed a deadline and another reporter wrote "his" story (SUP #103). He was hired by Cat Grant at WGBS (ACT #714), where he began to make a name for himself as "Mr. Action". His need to prove himself however, frequently had him seeking sensational stories and ratings, rather than helping others.
Jimmy was born in Metropolis, and raised by his mother, as his father had disappeared on a military mission. He later found out that his father had been involved in Cadmus. Jimmy has dated a number of women, among them Cat Grant, Lucy Lane and Babe Tanaka. At one point Jimmy was laid off from the Daily Planet, and took a number of temporary jobs, including "Turtle-boy" and free-lancing for NewsTime. He ended up homeless and on the streets, where he was befriended by Bibbo.
His reputation as "Superman's Pal" began when he rigged a watch to emit a hypersonic audio signal to attract Superman's attention. Superman admired Jimmy's inventiveness with the signal watch and became a friend (World of Metropolis #4). This relationship, too, has had its ups and downs; when Superman returned from Outer Space, he inadvertently infected Jimmy with a virus that caused Jimmy's body to gain painful elastic properties, and Jimmy became quite disillusioned with Superman for a while (AOS #458). In spite of that, however, he manages to take part in many of Superman's adventures.
When Superman's powers changed, Jimmy broadcast a detailed report on just what his strengths and weaknesses were (MOS #68). Although he was chagrined that the villains used this knowledge against Superman, he was still pleased with his success. Frustrated with him, Bibbo slugged him on the Whitty Banter Show (MOS #70), making Jimmy the laughing stock of Metropolis. To salvage his reputation, Jimmy prepared to report on who Superman really was. He'd put the clues together quite well, although he decided Superman really was Colin Thornton. At the last minute, however, Clark was able to convince Jimmy that a journalist sometimes has to keep secrets, and so Jimmy declared on TV that Superman was... nobody! This final embarrassment cost him his job at WGBS (AOS #550). He was eventually rehired at the Daily Planet.
Intergang, wanting to know who Superman was, went after Jimmy, but he left Metropolis. He had adventures with Misa, Scorn, and Ashbury before returning to Metropolis, where Misa used a device that made Jimmy invisible to Intergang. When the Daily Planet closed down, Jimmy was invited to work for Lex Luthor's Internet news service, LexCom, along with Lois, Dirk Armstrong, and Simone D'Neige. Jimmy was the resident computer expert, and frequently helped Lois with the technical aspect of her job. However when Lex mysteriously sold back the Daily Planet, Jimmy returned to work on the great metropolitan newspaper as a photographer along with Lois, Perry and Clark. First Appearance: MOS #2 (July 1986). Source: http://www.supermanhomepage.com
For more Jimmy Olsen information, visit Jimmy Olsen : http://www.allaboutcomix.com/joindex.html
Cat Grant
   
Cat Grant met and became friends with Clark Kent when she moved to Metropolis to be a gossip columnist at the Daily Planet following breaking up with Joe Morgan. Grant accepted an offer from Morgan Edge to become a television correspondent at Metropolis' WGBS. There she discovered Edge was head of a secret criminal group known as Intergang. Working with Clark Kent, Grant exposed Edge's activities. Edge's father, Vincent Edge rehired Grant. Despite a dispute with Vincent Edge, Edge offered Grant a job in charge of a WGBS news show where she now works with Jimmy Olsen. Grant's son, Adam, was killed after being kidnapped by a newly psychotic Toyman. Grant is a long time recovering alcoholic. Recently with Jimmy Olsen's help, Grant convinced the WGBS board of directors to fire Vinnie Edge and give her his job.
When Lex Luthor successfully ran for the Presidency of the U.S.A., he named Cat Grant as the White House Press Secretary (President Luthor: Secret Files and Origins #1). First Appearance: AOS #424 (Jan. 1987).
Source: http://www.supermanhomepage.com
First Appearance: Adventures of Superman #424 (January 1987)
Cat Grant's media career really got going when she was the gossip columnist for the Daily Planet, where her writing skills were readily apparent. Since then, her career has been on the up and up, having served as television journalist, presenter and interviewer and now as the president's press secretary. In the past, she was romantically linked, on and off, with Jose Delgado, Gangbuster, and she went through a terrible time when Toyman killed her son Adam. Source: http://www.dcuguide.com/MiniWho/C.php
The Kent Family
 
Jonathan Kent
Martha Kent
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