Unlike Batman, who is mostly reserved for the big screen, Superman has been portrayed multiple times on the small screen. The Man Of Steel is currently flying around Smallville again, thanks to the newest Arrowverse series Superman & Lois. This Superman has grown sons too, with one of them even having special abilities like him.
There is also a toned-down version of a character comic fans have known all along. Lana Lang has constantly competed with Lois for Clark's affection in the comics but in the series, she is married to Clark's former high school buddy Kyle Cushing. Lana is a loan officer in the series too, however, comic fans not only know her as a journalist but also as a hero.
She Becomes Superwoman
Lana Lang's introduction in the New 52 comics is a gradual one. She is an electrical engineer who occasionally helps Superman. The Man Of Steel eventually dies with Lana by his side. As life fades away from him, red energy flows out of his body and some of it enters Lana. Soon, she begins developing superpowers.
She has all of Clark's powers with an extra ability to manipulate electricity like Black Lightning. With Superman gone, she decides to use her new abilities to save lives. However, her powers are said to be bad for her. Every time she uses them, her lifespan shortens. She was thus forced to be economical with her heroic acts.
Marriage To Superman's 'Twin'
Lana and Clark's complicated love story has spanned dozens of issues of DC comics. She has also tried to oust Lois as Clark's lover and in Superman #162, both of them kind of win.
In the issue, a chemical accident splits Superman into two identical people. The two Supermen think exactly alike, except for their views on marriage. One claims to love Lois Lane while the other claims he loves Lana Lang. Both go on to marry Lois and Lana in a joint wedding ceremony. Even better, they live happily ever after.
Her Time As Insect Queen
There have been several versions of Insect Queen in the DC universe but the first one was Lana Lang. In Superboy #124, a good-hearted Lana spots an insect-like creature trapped under a tree and goes to rescue it. It turns out that it's an alien and to show gratitude, it gives her a bio-genetic ring.
The ring enables Lana to gain the abilities of insects or arachnids. However, she can only be one specific insect in a day. So, Lana goes on to become the superheroine Insect Queen. The Earth-2 version of Lana in The Superman Family #213 is also Insect Queen but she is antagonistic rather than heroic.
She Was First Lady
After the events of Crisis On Infinite Earths, Lana stops having feelings towards Clark but remains a close friend to him. She begins dating Pete Ross and their relationship leads to marriage.
Pete has political ambitions so Lana moves to Washington DC with him to make his dreams a reality. He becomes a congressman and eventually ends up as Lex Luthor's Vice President. Lex gets impeached, thanks to his schemes, so Pete assumes office with Lana as the new First Lady.
A Huge Batman Fan
Lana's hard work as a journalist appears to have paid off in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. She is now the managing editor of The Daily Planet. She is also in her 50s like Batman.
At this stage of her life, Lana has gotten over Superman and is now a big admirer of Batman. As the boss of a media house, she makes sure Batman is portrayed in good light. As a result, she is frequently called on TV debates to defend her position regarding Batman's brutal methods, something she does gladly.
She Becomes A 'Guardian Of The Galaxy'
The first issue under the Superman & Batman: Generations comic series sees Lana as an immortal metahuman, thanks to constant exposure to magic and biochemicals. She has managed to live for a couple of centuries.
With Superman now living in space, she joins him after searching for him for dozens of years. The two agree to be married and roam together through galaxies to fight enemy forces. Batman, who has also set up a space station, occasionally helps them by providing them with intel.
Alternate European Versions
There have been two alternate European versions of Lana in DC comics. In Multiversity: Mastermen, Lana goes by the name Lena. In this story, Kal-El is also Kal-L, and his Kryptonian rocket lands in Nazi Germany instead of Smallville. The axis powers get their hands on the spacecraft and use it to achieve world domination.
In Superman: Red Son, Lana Lang is Lana Lazarenko. She grows up in Ukraine together with Clark after his vessel lands in the Soviet nation. As an adult, she works as a tour guide in a Krypton museum.
Escape To Prime Earth
After Darkseid and the Parademon army destroy almost everything in New 52: Futures End, Lana and a group of other refugees escape to Prime Earth. In her new home, she gets a job at Cadmus Island.
She then adopts Susan Lang, a super-powered girl who she mentors. The girl begins making efforts to save the world, including trying to defeat Darkseid. With Lana's help, Susan manages to defeat many of Darkseid's allies and restore some order to the chaotic universe.
Inheriting Lex Luthor's Company
Following Lex Luthor's ouster as CEO of Lexcorp in Superman #654, Lana becomes the new boss. Lex was almost running the company into the ground and in an effort to save it, Lana sells Kryptonite to the government in Superman/Batman #49. At the time, this makes her worse than Luthor since Luthor always vowed to keep Superman alive.
Superman and Batman try to talk to her but the meeting bears no fruit. Instead, Lana places caches of Kryptonite all over the world, forcing all Kryptonians to leave Earth. Lana finally realizes what she has done and becomes remorseful.
She Is The First Outsider To Learn About Superman's Powers
While Superman's adoptive parents have always known about his powers, other people didn't know in most of the stories until Lois found out. However, in John Byrne's rebooted comic series The Man of Steel, Lana grows up with Clark and harbors feelings for him though she doesn't tell him.
After their high school graduation, Clark takes her for a walk. Lana thinks he is about to propose but he instead tells her that he has special abilities. He then leaves her telling her he has to go and save the world.