In the 1940s, Superman and Action Comics were huge hits for DC Comics, giving readers a stalwart hero during a tumultuous time. DC also found success by giving superheroes teenage sidekicks like Batman’s ward, Robin, who added more appeal for young readers. The savvy next step for DC was to give their indestructible hero even more adventures – only this time as a kid himself in Superboy. Introducing that comic also meant creating several new characters for young Clark/Superboy to interact with – like Lana Lang.

Lana is a regular human being from Smallville and an early love interest for Clark, and later his friend when he became Superman. She was created by Bill Finger and John Sikela who introduced her 75 years ago in Superboy #10 (September 1950). Lana lived next door to the Kents and would often be entangled in Superboy’s exploits. She shares some similarities with Lois Lane and regularly tried to prove that Clark was Superboy.

One of her big adventures came when Lana rescued an alien that resembled an insect, which had become trapped by a fallen tree. To express its gratitude, the alien gifted her with a “bio-genetic” ring that gave her abilities akin to insects and arachnids. She crafted a yellow costume that resembled a honeybee, called herself the Insect Queen, and had her own superheroic adventures.

Her uncle, Professor Potter, appeared in some of Lana and Clark’s stories, often causing problems, however inadvertently. He was an inventor who created all manner of odd devices that backfired, prompting Superboy to save them from harm.

When Lana graduated from Smallville High School, she went to college, then became TV reporter in Metropolis. Now that Lana and Clark were adults, Lois had entered the picture and there were stories in which the two women competed for his attention. By the Bronze Age of comics, Lana had become an anchorwoman for a Metropolis evening news program, with Clark as her co-anchor. She was briefly romantically linked to the alien superhero Vartox, and she and Clark finally got together in the stories that took place before Crisis on Infinite Earths changed much of DC’s continuity.