Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster in 1938, Lois Lane is now one of the most iconic characters in comics, which is no small feat for a woman introduced as a counterpart and love interest to Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent.
During the past 80 years, the character has lived through numerous crises and evolved with her time. If she is famously known as one of the greatest reporters in the DC universe, she worked hard to have that title, beginning as a sob sister, having scoops stolen by Clark Kent, and at some times, confined to the role of the jealous girlfriend.
Lois Lane will rise to the challenge, helped by TV and movie adaptations, to go beyond what was expected of women of her time, to be an inspiring tough, ambitious, fearless woman who never gives up. Here are a few facts about Lois Lane, from her creation to her prolific career on screen:
Jolan Kovacs, later Siegel, was the model for Lois Lane…
Lois Lane made her first appearance in Action Comics #1, released in June 1938. She was then based on Jolan Kovacs, who will later change her name to Joanne Carter, a young woman hired by Shuster to serve as a model for Lois Lane. No doubt that Shuster had a crush on her, as most of his female characters resembled her. But despite a few dates, the relationship will stay on the friendly side, and will even be interrupted completely when Kovacs became Jerry Siegel’s wife in 1948 – before reconciliation in the mid-1970s.
… as well as Torchy Blane
If Kovacs inspired Lois Lane’s appearance, her personality was inspired by several female reporters gracing the big screen during that period, from Margaret Banks (played by Carole Lombard) in Big News (1929) to Ellen Garfield (played by Bette Davis) in Front Page Woman (1935). But the major influence on Lois Lane was Torchy Blane, the main character of nine films between 1937 and 1939, played by Glenda Farrell in seven of them. She was young, intelligent, refined, attractive, and more than determined to have her scoop or interview.
Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane was Lois’s first own ongoing series and a hit
We are in 1958 when Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane’s first issue is published. Lois Lane is now the star of her own ongoing series which will last until 1974. She was, with Wonder Woman, the only woman to headline her own book in the superhero genre and it was a success. Throughout the 1960s, the book was a top-five comic, and at the peak of its popularity in 192, the title was only surpassed by Superman and Superboy in sales. Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane regularly outsold Batman, Justice League of America, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, and Action Comics.
Once Upon a Time, Lois was obsessed with marrying Superman and uncovering his identity
Lois Lane was maybe the star of her own comics, but it was not used to make her the great journalist that she was supposed to be. Since the early 1940s, she was determined to discover Superman’s identity and she already suspected that Clark Kent was the famous superhero. Unfortunately for her, Clark Kent has a head start on that subject and he often proved her wrong, never feeling bad for stealing scoop or humiliating her to make her point. Worse, Superman was often determined to teach Lois lessons about her supposedly reckless behavior while treating her badly as a love interest, as one of her ambition was to marry the Kryptonian. Because of that, she was a rival to Lana Lang.
In the 1970s, Lois Lane had a short feminist revolution
Up until that point, Lois Lane was written, illustrated, and edited by men. It changed when Dorothy Woolfolk, who was the first female editor
at DC, brought her feminist sensibilities to Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane at the beginning of the 1970s. Finally, Lois Lane could be the real star of her own series, quitting the Daily Planet to go freelance and to write about injustices, engaging in more adventures without Superman. It was a short era, but one where Lois Lane proved was kind of character she was capable of saving herself from bad guys. Soon after Woolfolk’s firing, the stories reverted to the previous status quo – and the title was canceled two years later.
Lois Lane is a Pulitzer Prize winner who has written about missing children
It’s established today that Lois Lane is a great journalist, having also won a Pulitzer Prize. And she was established as the owner of a Pulitzer a long time ago too, in 1967’s Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #80, but we don’t know for which story. It’s proof you don’t have to be great at spelling to be a great journalist. And if Lois Lane, maybe didn’t seem to write great pieces for the Daily Planet during the ’60s, she investigated one of her most iconic stories during the ’80s. Written by Mindy Newell and illustrated by Gray Morrow, the two-issue limited series When It Rains, God Is Crying sees Lois Lane investigating missing children cases. It’s one of her most classic stories, as Newell didn’t shy away from the subject’s darkness and the impact it had on the character.
Lois Lane was the first Superwoman
Lois Lane became a superheroine on several occasions and was the first person to assume the identity of Superwoman, in Action Comics #60 in 1943, in a dream sequence. But it will not be the only time Lois will become Superwoman, as other stories will explore the subject. She will even have a short-lived career as the superheroine after gaining superpowers from one of Lex Luthor’s inventions in Action Comics #156. Gaining superpowers is a recurring event in Lois Lane’s life, as she became a Kryptonian Superwoman for 24 hours in the 12-issue comic book series All-Star Superman during the New 52 era, then gained superpowers and became Superwoman again, with Lana Lang, during DC Rebirth, after a solar energy explosion.
Lois Lane, a journalist movie and TV icon
If the comic book world seems sometimes to refuse to depict Lois Lane’s greatest characteristics, it was not the case in other media. The character has also appeared in radio, films, television, animation, and video games. One of the most iconic Lois Lane was played by Margot Kidder in the Christopher Reeve Superman’s films. She was, on the big screen, a witty, attractive, intelligent, and ambitious woman, without being pushy. And she was not the first or the last to offer us a tough and resourceful journalist.
Beyond Margot Kidder, one of the most iconic iterations of the character was in Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000), voiced by Dana Delany, who based her performance on Rosalind Russell’s character in the film His Girl Friday. The character has a great career on the small screen, beginning in the ’50s in The Adventures of Superman (1952–1958), played first by Phyllis Coates and then by Noel Neill. In the ’90s, Teri Hatcher played a stubborn and brilliant Lois Lane in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993–1997), while Erica Durance played a fiercely independent Lois Lane in the teen series Smallville (2004–2010). There have been some missteps like in the 2006 movie Superman Returns where Kate Bosworth played a bland Lois Lane, but the journalist had great occasions to shine on the screen (and continues to do it, right now in the television series Superman & Lois), even when she was not shining on the print.
To know more about the famous Lois Lane, check out Lois Lane: A Celebration of 75 Years to read some iconic stories, and Investigating Lois Lane: The Turbulent History of the Daily Planet’s Ace Reporter to explore the character’s history and representation.
Last Updated on May 8, 2023.