Just a few years ago, many casual Superman fans probably assumed that Lois Lane was always the one and only love of Clark Kent’s life. Then “Smallville” came around, and introduced Clark’s high school sweetheart, Lana Lang, to a whole new generation of fans. But while Lois and Lana are the most well known love interests of the Man of Steel, they are certainly not the only ones. Throughout the years, there have been many women that Clark Kent has fallen for, and many who have fallen for him. In this column we will take a look at these other women, their appearances in the comics and on the big and small screens, and what each of them have meant to our hero.
Though the comic books have had many ladies chasing after Superman from time to time, there are really only two that stand out as having been serious contenders for his heart. The first was Lori Lemaris (yes, another “Double L”). Introduced in Superman #129 in 1959, Lori was the woman Clark met and fell in love with while attending college at Metropolis University. The two were even engaged to be married, long before Clark ever met Lois Lane. One of the reasons it may not have worked out? The wheelchair-bound Lori turned out to be a mermaid. Yes, a mermaid. As the old saying goes, a bird could marry a fish, but where would they live? Inevitably, the engagement did not last.
The only other serious potential love interest for Superman in the comics has been another superhero, his fellow Justice League member, Wonder Woman. Ever since Superman planted a super kiss on Wonder Woman in Action Comics #600 (hey, he and Lois weren’t together yet!), there has always been more than a hint of attraction between the two. Though these days they keep things on a purely professional level, many comic book “Elseworlds” tales (stories that take place in alternate worlds or in possible futures) often find Superman and Wonder Woman ending up together. Mark Waid and Alex Ross’s “Kingdom Come” and Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Strikes Again” both find Superman and Wonder Woman having a child together, long after Lois Lane has passed away. In Action Comics #761, Superman and Wonder Woman fight a war together in Valhalla that, to them, lasts a thousand years, though only a short time is passing on Earth. During this time, Wonder Woman offers to help take care of Superman’s… er… physical needs… but he turns her down, knowing Lois will be waiting for him when he gets back. Now that’s true love.
In the movies, “Superman IV” introduced Mariel Hemmingway as Lacy Warfield, daughter of the new Daily Planet’s new owner, newspaper mogul David Warfield. Ironically, the wealthy and conceited Lacy was charmed by the clumsy and bumbling Clark Kent, though she found Superman to be rather boring! While “Superman IV” is not held in the highest regard by many fans of the film series, it does contain a fairly amusing scene where Clark has to play two roles at once, when he and Superman have to keep a double date with Lacy and Lois. Though Clark doesn’t seem to have much in common with an upper class party girl like Lacy, a bit of his good nature rubs off on her, and helps to open her eyes to the people around her.
<By the time the TV series “Lois & Clark” came around, it seemed that just as many women were becoming interested in the mild mannered reporter as were interested in the flyboy with the tights and cape. Cat Grant, the Daily Planet’s gossip columnist, was asking who the new “tight end” was the moment Clark first set foot in the newsroom. Played by Tracy Scoggins all throughout the first season, Cat often toyed with Clark and teased Lois for not going after him. Cat even went so far as to tell an amnesiac Clark that they had once been lovers, after he lost his memory while destroying a meteor headed for earth. Unfortunately for the fans, Cat disappeared at the end of season one. Though Clark never fell for Cat’s advances, he did seem occasionally amused by them.
The second season episode “Church of Metropolis” introduced Farrah Forke as Mayson Drake, a lawyer trying to shut down the organized crime ring known as Intergang. Again, providing a contrast with Lois, Mayson fell for Clark Kent, but did not think much of Superman. Clark did have feelings for Mayson, and the two went on a few dates, but Clark was torn by his duties as Superman as well as his undying love for Lois. In the shocking ending to the episode “Lucky Leon,” Mayson was killed by a car bomb, dying in Clark’s arms. Catching a glimpse of the costume under his shirt as she died, Mayson finally understood why Clark could never really be hers.
By the time Lois and Clark finally got engaged on the show, the end of the third season brought about a slight complication. Zara, a survivor from the planet Krypton, arrived to reveal that she and Clark were actually promised to each other at birth, and they were, in the eyes of Kryptonian law, husband and wife. Played by Justine Bateman of “Family Ties” fame, Zara came to Earth with Lieutenant Ching to request Superman’s help in fighting a war on New Krypton, a planet inhabited by survivors of the original Krypton’s destruction. Superman and Zara shared a mutual respect for one another, but they were not in love. By the end of the story arc, they had their “marriage” annulled, and Zara and Lieutenant Ching had fallen for one another.
When “Smallville” premiered in 2001, a brand new character was introduced to the Superman mythos in the form of Chloe Sullivan, played by Allison Mack. Often Clark’s partner in crime-solving, Chloe has long had feelings for her farmboy friend. Even though Clark’s eyes have almost always been on Lana, he and Chloe did share a romantic relationship for a time. Near the end of the first season, Pete Ross clued Clark in to the fact that their blonde reporter friend had a thing for him, and Clark asked Chloe to the spring formal. They almost shared a kiss at the dance, but they were interrupted by news of a twister heading towards Smallville. At the beginning of season two, Clark and Chloe agreed to remain “just friends,” though it’s no secret that Chloe is still very much in love with him.
The second season episode “Red” introduced Red Kryptonite to the series, and also gave fans their first glimpse of “Bad Clark,” an uninhibited version of Clark Kent who lacks his normally strong moral judgment. In this episode, Clark has a fling with a girl named Jessie, played by Sara Downing. Bad Clark is attracted to Jessie’s rebellious nature and take-no-crap attitude, and together they ride around on a motorcycle and dance at a bar in front of a frustrated Lana.
Later that same season, Clark met a young Native American woman named Kyla when he discovered the caves beneath Smallville. Kyla, played by Tamara Feldman, believed that Clark was actually Naman, a legendary character whose coming was foretold by the writings on the cave walls. Clark, after being rejected by Lana for so long, found it refreshing to have a girl be interested in him for a change. “It’s a completely different feeling when the person likes you back,” he explained to Lex. Unfortunately, Kyla turned out to be a Skinwalker, and turned herself into a wolf to attack developers who came onto her people’s land. She died after being fatally injured while trying to attack Lionel Luthor. Clark still has a bracelet that belonged to Kyla, that is supposed to go to the one that Naman is destined to be with.In the third season episode “Obsession,” Clark meets a girl named Alicia Baker, played by Sarah Carter. Like Clark, Alicia also has a secret; the meteor shower gave her the power to teleport. When they both are forced to reveal their powers in front of each other, they bond over the fact that they finally have someone to confide in. Alicia quickly falls for Clark, filling his locker with pictures of herself, and even teleporting into his bedroom at night for a makeout session. Clark, while attracted to Alicia and glad to have someone to share his secrets with, is a little freaked out by how fast she is moving, and also by her resentment of Lana. When Alicia snaps and tries to kill Lana, Clark’s new love interest quickly becomes his new enemy.
With the premiere of the new episode “Unsafe” on Wednesday, January 26th, Alicia will return to “Smallville,” with Sarah Carter reprising the role. Exactly what twists and turns her relationship with Clark Kent will take this time around remain to be seen.
In the third season finale, “Covenant,” Adrianne Palicki played Kara, a supposed survivor of the planet Krypton who had come to bring Clark back to his father, Jor-El. That Kara’s relationship with Clark was portrayed as a romantic one was a bit puzzling, if not disturbing to many fans, seeing as the character of Kara is best known to the comic book universe as Supergirl… Superman’s cousin. We’ve heard of the term “kissing cousins,” but this may have taken it too far. Then again, it was revealed that this Kara was actually a girl named Lindsey, being used as a puppet by Jor-El, so we suppose it is forgivable.
So while Lois and Lana have certainly proven to be the mainstays in Superman’s love life, there have been no shortage of other women who have either been attracted to the glasses or the cape. In each of these other women, perhaps, Clark may have seen a bit of the innocence of his hometown sweetheart Lana Lang, or the fiery independence of Lois Lane. In the end, of course, we all know that Clark ends up with Lois. Sometimes, though, it’s the relationships that don’t work out that teach us the most about ourselves, and what we’re really looking for in that special someone. With Lois, Clark found someone who could love both the farmboy and the superhero.
Note: The views of Russ Dimino don’t necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.