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{{Short description|Fictional character from Smallville}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Lana Lang (''Smallville'')}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Lana Lang
| series = [[Smallville]]
|
| first =
▲| image = [[File:Lana_Lang_Smallville.jpg|250px]]
| based_on = {{based on|Lana Lang|[[Bill Finger]]|John Sikela}}
| first = "[[Pilot (Smallville)|Pilot]]"▼
|
| portrayer = [[Kristin Kreuk]]<br>
| first_major = [[Smallville]]
| last_major = Smallville
| last_minor = [[Smallville (season 8)#Episodes|Requiem]]
'''Lana Lang''' is a [[fictional character]] on the [[television series]] ''[[Smallville]]''. She has been a series regular since the [[Pilot (Smallville)|pilot episode]], and has been played continuously by [[Kristin Kreuk]], with two other actresses having portrayed Lana Lang as a child and as an elderly woman. The character of [[Lana Lang]], first created for [[comic book]]s by [[Bill Finger]] and John Sikela in the 1950s as a romantic interest for [[Superboy (Kal-El)|Superboy]], was adapted to television in 2001 by [[Alfred Gough]] and [[Miles Millar]]. The character has also appeared in various literature based on the ''Smallville'' television series, none of which directly continues from or into the television episodes.▼
| first_date = October 16, 2001
| last_date = February 5, 2009
}}
▲'''Lana Lang''' is a
In ''Smallville'', Lana is the first main love interest for [[Clark Kent (Smallville)|Clark Kent]], though, in the first season she is dating [[Whitney Fordman]]. By season two, with Whitney's departure, Lana and Clark begin to grow closer. Clark's dishonesty over the secrets he is hiding causes their relationship to end. Lana then grows closer to [[Lex Luthor (Smallville)|Lex Luthor]], whom she marries and divorces in the sixth season. Eventually Lana learns the truth about Clark and they get back together. After stealing a kryptonite-powered suit from Lex, Lana absorbs an enormous amount of [[kryptonite]] radiation, which prohibits her from getting too close to Clark, and she leaves Smallville for good, but vowed to continue to use her powers to preserve life.
Initially, Lana is characterized as the intelligent "[[girl next door]]".<ref name="Kristin">Simpson, Paul, (Season 1 Companion), pp.116–119</ref> She eventually becomes a tragic figure in ''Smallville'', as the decisions made by Clark and Lex change the character over the course of the show. As Gough explains, by the end of the sixth season, Lana has shown that she can beat Lex at his own game. Over the course of the show, Lana transitions from the girl next door to a more "self-reliant young woman".<ref name="Kristin"/> Kreuk has been nominated for various awards for her portrayal of Lana Lang.
==Role in ''Smallville''==
In the [[Smallville (season 1)|first season]], Lana and [[Clark Kent (Smallville)|Clark Kent]] ([[Tom Welling]]) are just beginning their friendship, as she is a popular cheerleader dating star quarterback [[Whitney Fordman]] ([[Eric Johnson (actor)|Eric Johnson]]), and Clark cannot get near her without getting sick from the kryptonite necklace she wears.<ref name="pilot ep">{{cite episode|title=Pilot|series=Smallville|credits=[[Alfred Gough]], [[Miles Millar]] (writers) & [[David Nutter]] (director)|network=The WB|airdate=October 16, 2001|season=1|number=1}}</ref> In the [[Pilot (Smallville)|pilot episode]], when her parents are killed in the first meteor shower, Lana (Jade Unterman) is adopted by her aunt Nell ([[Sarah-Jane Redmond]]). As the first season progresses, Lana grows closer to Clark, while Whitney begins to distance himself because of his father's medical ailments.<ref name="Shimmer ep">{{cite episode|title=Shimmer|series=Smallville|credits=Mark Verheiden, Michael Green (writers) & D.J. Caruso (director)|network=[[The WB Television Network|The WB]]|airdate=January 29, 2002|season=1|number=10}}</ref> In [[Smallville (season 2)|season two's]] episode "Heat" Lana sends Whitney, who left Smallville for the Marines in the [[Tempest (Smallville)|season one finale]],<ref name="Tempest ep">{{cite episode|title=[[Tempest (Smallville)|Tempest]]|series=Smallville|credits=Philip Levens, Alfred Gough (writers) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=[[The WB Television Network|The WB]]|airdate=May 21, 2002|season=1|number=21}}</ref> a video message breaking up with him.<ref name="Heat ep">{{cite episode|title=Heat|series=Smallville|credits=Mark Verheiden (writer) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=October 1, 2002|season=2|number=2|minutes=42}}</ref> Lana's aunt Nell moves to Metropolis with her fiancé in the season two episode "Ryan", but Lana opts to move in with her friend [[Chloe Sullivan]] ([[Allison Mack]]) so that she may finish high school in Smallville.<ref>{{cite episode|title=Ryan|series=Smallville|credits=Philip Levens (writer) & Terrence O'Hara (director)|network=The WB|airdate=December 12, 2002|season=2|number=8}}</ref>
By the end of season two, Lana and Clark slowly try and start a romantic relationship, but fear backlash from Chloe because of her personal feelings for Clark.<ref name="Calling ep">{{cite episode|title=Calling|series=Smallville|credits=Kenneth Biller (writer) & Terrence O'Hara (director)|network=The WB|airdate=May 13, 2003|season=2|number=22}}</ref> Just as the two give in to their feelings fully, Clark unexpectedly runs away from Smallville in the season two finale.<ref name="Exodus ep">{{cite episode|title=Exodus|series=Smallville|credits=Alfred Gough, Miles Millar (writers) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=The WB|airdate=May 20, 2003|season=2|number=23}}</ref> At the start of [[Smallville (season 3)|season three]], it is shown that Lana, alongside the Kents, has been spending her time searching for Clark; she ultimately finds him in Metropolis thanks to Chloe's help.<ref name="Exile ep">{{cite episode|title=Exile|series=Smallville|credits=Alfred Gough, Miles Millar (writers) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=The WB|airdate=October 1, 2003|season=3|number=2}}</ref> Clark's actions in Metropolis force the two to rethink their relationship in the season three episode "Phoenix",<ref name="Phoenix ep">{{cite episode|title=Phoenix|series=Smallville|credits=Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson (writers) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=October 8, 2003|season=3|number=2}}</ref> and Lana eventually begins a new relationship with [[
Season three's "Forsaken" reveals that Lana, in order to move on with her life, applies and is admitted into a program to study in [[Paris, France]].<ref name="Forsaken ep">{{cite episode|title=Forsaken|series=Smallville|credits=Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson (writers) & Terrence O'Hara (director)|network=[[The WB Television Network|The WB]]|airdate=May 12, 2004|season=3|number=21}}</ref> [[Smallville (season 4)|Season four]] shows that Lana, while in Paris, began a romantic relationship with [[Jason Teague (Smallville)|Jason Teague]] ([[Jensen Ackles]]). At the beginning of season four, Lana returns to Smallville after receiving a mysterious tattoo on her lower back, which resembles a symbol on the local Kawatche cave walls, when she touched the tomb of Countess Margaret Isobel Theroux.<ref name="Crusade ep">{{cite episode|title=Crusade|series=Smallville|credits=Miles Millar, Alfred Gough (writers) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=The WB|airdate=September 22, 2004|season=4|number=1}}</ref> In season four's "Spell" and "Sacred", the tattoo acts as a doorway for the spirit of Isobel to inhabit Lana's body; each time Isobel takes over Lana's body she sets out to find the three stones of knowledge, which are also being searched for by Clark and [[Lex Luthor (Smallville)|Lex Luthor]] ([[Michael Rosenbaum]]).<ref name="Spell ep">{{cite episode|title=Spell|series=Smallville|credits=Steven S. DeKnight (writer) & Jeannot Szwarc (director)|network=The WB|airdate=November 10, 2004|season=4|number=8}}</ref><ref name="Sacred ep">{{cite episode|title=Sacred|series=Smallville|credits=Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson (writers) & Brad Turner (director)|network=The WB|airdate=February 23, 2005|season=4|number=15}}</ref> In the season four finale "Commencement", Lana is confronted by Jason's mother Genevieve ([[Jane Seymour (actress)|Jane Seymour]]), who is also after the three stones of knowledge, and during a struggle Isobel comes forward and kills Genevieve. The resulting death of Genevieve, who was revealed to have been the cause for Isobel's death centuries prior in the episode "Bound",<ref name="Bound ep">{{cite episode|title=Bound|series=Smallville|credits=Luke Schelhaas (writer) & Terrence O'Hara (director)|network=The WB|airdate=November 17, 2004|season=4|number=9}}</ref> releases Isobel's control over Lana.<ref name="Commencement ep">{{cite episode|title=Commencement|series=Smallville|credits=Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer (writers) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=The WB|airdate=May 18, 2005|season=4|number=22}}</ref>
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During the second meteor shower, Lana witnesses the landing of an alien spacecraft, and two alien beings emerging and killing everyone in sight in the [[Smallville (season 5)|season five]] premiere.<ref name="Arrival ep">{{cite episode|title=Arrival|series=Smallville|credits=Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer (writers) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=September 29, 2005|season=5|number=1}}</ref> The spaceship becomes Lana's primary focus in season five, officially teaming up with Lex Luthor to discover the mystery behind the ship in the episode "Splinter".<ref name="Splinter ep">{{cite episode|title=Splinter|series=Smallville|credits=Steven S. DeKnight (writer) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=November 10, 2005|season=5|number=7}}</ref> When her relationship with Clark hits a breaking point in season five's "Hypnotic",<ref name="Hypnotic ep">{{cite episode|title=Hypnotic|series=Smallville|credits=Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer (writers) & Michael Rohl (director)|network=The WB|airdate=May 30, 2006|season=5|number=16}}</ref> she begins to grow closer to Lex.<ref name="Oracle ep">{{cite episode|title=Oracle|series=Smallville|credits=Josh Schwartz (writer) & Patrick Norris (director)|network=The WB|airdate=May 4, 2006|season=5|number=20}}</ref> The relationship with Lex eventually leads to marriage in the [[Smallville (season 6)|season six]] episode "Promise", but not before Lana discovers Clark's secret and realizes why he has been lying to her all these years.<ref name="Promise ep">{{cite episode|title=Promise|series=Smallville|credits=Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson (writers) & Rick Rosenthal (director)|network=The WB|airdate=March 15, 2007|season=6|number=16}}</ref> When she learns that Lex set up a fake pregnancy in order to get her to marry him in the season six finale "Phantom", Lana effectively ends the marriage and fakes her own death to escape Lex after he threatens her. She also frames Lex for her murder, to punish him for his betrayal.<ref name="Phantom ep">{{cite episode|title=Phantom|series=Smallville|credits=Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer (writers) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=May 17, 2007|season=6|number=22}}</ref> It is revealed at the start of [[Smallville (season 7)|season seven]] that her effort fails, but as part of the "settlement" of their divorce, Lex makes sure that Lana does not go to jail for her actions.<ref name="Kara ep">{{cite episode|title=Kara|series=Smallville|credits=Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer (writers) & James Conway (director)|network=The WB|airdate=October 4, 2007|season=7|number=2}}</ref>
With Clark's secret no longer an issue, the two begin a real relationship in the season seven episode "Fierce".<ref name="Fierce ep">{{cite episode|title=Fierce|series=Smallville|credits=Holly Harold (writer) & Whitney Ransick (director)|network=[[The CW Television Network]]|airdate=October 11, 2007|season=7|number=3}}</ref> Lana becomes obsessed with making Lex pay for all his
In the [[Smallville (season 8)|season eight]] episode "Bride", [[
==Portrayal==
Creators [[Alfred Gough]] and [[Miles Millar]] were initially trying to find someone for the role of Clark Kent, but Kristin Kreuk was the first to be cast, as Lana Lang. Casting director Coreen Mayrs sent [[David Nutter]], the director of the [[Pilot (Smallville)|pilot episode]], a tape of 69 people and the second person on the tape was Kreuk.<ref name="pilcom">{{cite video|title="Pilot" commentary by Al Gough, Miles Millar and David Nutter|medium=DVD|publisher=[[Warner Bros. Television]]|year=2002}}</ref> They loved her audition tape so much they immediately showed her to the network.<ref name="genesis"/> For one of her auditions, she read the graveyard scene with Tom Welling; the network thought they had "great chemistry".<ref name="genesis">{{cite book|last=Simpson|first=Paul|title=Smallville: The Official Companion Season 1|year=2004|publisher=[[Titan Books]]|location=London|pages=8–17|isbn=1-84023-795-3}}</ref> Jade Unterman and Louise Grant portrayed the character as a child and an elderly woman, respectively.<ref>{{cite
At the time she was cast as Lana, Kreuk had no idea who the character was in [[Superman]] lore. Her uncle, who owned a comic book shop, filled her in on the details and she learned more from the producers. Kreuk realized that the character in the comics and her character on the show were two different people. As a result, Kreuk
Kreuk enjoyed the [[Smallville (season 4)|fourth season]] because it gave her the chance to stretch her acting abilities with Lana's storyline involving the spirit of Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux. According to the actress
==Character development==
===Storyline progression===
One of the early turning points for the character came in season one's "X-Ray", when Lana discovers information about her parents that changes her perspective on them. It began with her mother's graduation speech, which showed that her mother was not as happy as her aunt had led her to believe. Lana's perception of her mother drove the way she led her own life, which was based on the idea of everyone perceiving her in a good light.<ref name="KK1"/> In season two, Lana discovers that her mother had had an affair with a man named Henry Small, and that he was her biological father. This continued the idea established in season one that Lana's perception that her parents were this perfect couple was wrong. According to Kreuk, meeting her biological father allowed the character to realize that she had to create her own life, as the one she had envisioned did not actually exist.<ref name="Kristin"/>
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===Characterization===
At the start of the show, Lana Lang is characterized as the [[girl next door]]. As Kreuk describes her, she is the "beautiful, popular girl who is really lonely". She has a "hole in her heart", because of the loss of her parents, and feels empathy for everyone.<ref name="Kristin"/>
As Alfred Gough sees it, Lana is a by-product of Clark and Lex's decisions. She will always love Clark, and Clark will always love her, but it was Clark's bad decisions, and Lex's "basest instincts" that make Lana the "receptacle of all of these bad decisions", marking her as a tragic figure on the show.<ref name="KK5"/> While Lana was with Clark, Kreuk characterizes her as a "wimpy, whiny kind of girl"; with Lex, Lana is "strong, powerful, and doesn't have to question, 'What is going on? What does he think? Does he love me? I don't know where I stand.'"<ref name="KK5"/> To clarify, Lana's relationship with Lex brings out a darkness that had not been seen in the character. This is evident in "Nemesis" when Lana manipulates her way into seeing Lionel, only to interrogate him about why he forced her to marry Lex, as well as leaving Lex to die in the underground tunnels. As Gough explains, by the end of the sixth season, Lana has shown that she can beat Lex at his own games.<ref name="KK6"/>▼
▲As Alfred Gough sees it, Lana is a by-product of Clark and Lex's decisions. She will always love Clark, and Clark will always love her, but it was Clark's bad decisions, and Lex's "basest instincts" that make Lana the "receptacle of all of these bad decisions", marking her as a tragic figure on the show.<ref name="KK5"/> While Lana was with Clark, Kreuk characterizes her as a "wimpy, whiny kind of girl"; with Lex, Lana is "strong, powerful, and doesn't have to question, 'What is going on? What does he think? Does he love me? I don't know where I stand
Reviewer Jennifer Malkowski feels that Lana is one of the most gullible characters on television. According to Malkowski, Lana's strong feminist stance, and her request that people should stop protecting her and start telling her the truth, are diluted by her willingness to believe whatever pieces of information she gets, even if they are lies.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jennifer Malkowski |url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/smallvilleseason5.php |title=Season 5 review |publisher=DVD Verdict |date=October 16, 2006 |accessdate=September 15, 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206143509/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/smallvilleseason5.php |archivedate=December 6, 2008 |df= }}</ref> After the series ended, Gough and Millar expressed regret with Lana's characterization throughout the course of the show, which they felt damaged Lana in the audiences' mind. Gough and Millar believed that Lana's behavior toward Clark (for refusing to reveal his secret) made her come across as cold and unsympathetic.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/series/the-writers-room/blog/2014/04/interview-with-smallville-creators-alfred-gough-and-miles-millar |title=Archived copy |access-date=September 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006112413/http://www.sundance.tv/series/the-writers-room/blog/2014/04/interview-with-smallville-creators-alfred-gough-and-miles-millar |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |dead-url=yes |df=mdy-all }}</ref>▼
▲Reviewer Jennifer Malkowski feels that Lana is one of the most gullible characters on television. According to Malkowski, Lana's strong feminist stance, and her request that people should stop protecting her and start telling her the truth, are diluted by her willingness to believe whatever pieces of information she gets, even if they are lies.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jennifer Malkowski |url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/smallvilleseason5.php |title=Season 5 review |publisher=DVD Verdict |date=October 16, 2006 |
===Relationships===
When ''Smallville'' first began, Lana was in a romantic relationship with Whitney Fordman, the star quarterback of the football team. Kreuk believes that Lana truly was in love with Whitney when they first started dating, but by the time the audience first sees her in [[Pilot (Smallville)|the pilot]] she is no longer in that same state of mind. Kreuk believes that by the time of the pilot Lana had grown
The friendship that Lana shares with Chloe was deeply damaged at the start of season three, so much so that not even Kreuk realized how badly until the episode "Truth". Lana is aware that Chloe still has romantic feelings for Clark, but their friendship suffered the most when Chloe revealed that she had known where Clark had been hiding for months. The feelings of distrust for Chloe remained hidden until "Truth"—where Chloe gained the ability to have others speak the truth no matter what—when Lana finally revealed how much she cannot trust Chloe.<ref name="KK3"/> This developing friendship between Lex and Lana puts a strain on Lana's relationship with Clark. Just as Clark is beginning to realize the truth about Lex and his lies, Lana is starting to trust Lex more. Ultimately, it is Clark's own lack of honesty that forces Lana to leave Smallville and go to Paris at the end of season three. In the end, Kreuk believes that Clark is Lana's only true friend, as Lex is more focused on bringing his father to justice and she and Chloe have a tense relationship based on their mutual feelings for Clark.<ref name="KK3"/>
While in Paris, Lana begins a new romantic relationship with Jason Teague. Kreuk believes that Lana did love Jason Teague, but she also still loved Clark at the same time. With Clark, it was the "first love" that she never had the chance to discover, and that lingered with her while she was in Paris during the space between seasons three and four. According to Kreuk, before Lana can experience successful relationships with other people she will need to know what it is like to truly be in a relationship with Clark, because of the "intense connection between [the] two".<ref name="KK4">Byrne, Craig, (Season 4 Companion) pp. 116-119</ref> Allison Mack shares her insight into the relationship between Clark and Lana, believing that the pair should have remained apart until they could finally be honest with each other: "There's no honesty in their relationship, and there's no way that they could have a healthy relationship without that honesty […] You can't be with someone if you're not honest with them
{{Quote box
|style=background:#c6dbf7;width:35em;max-width:40%;
|quote= "A part of me feels that she could never really love Lex, and that is why she can be with him: he's not capable of hurting her. She fully loved Clark, Jason, and Whitney. She loved those people. She can care about Lex and want the best for him, but I don't think she could fall blindly in love with him
|source= — Kristin Kreuk on Lana's relationship with Lex.<ref name="KK5"/>
}}
The beginning of season five saw, for the first time, Clark and Lana in a happy relationship together, one that was void of dishonesty and secrets. The return of Clark's powers in "Hidden", as well as the secrets and lies that accompany them, caused stress on their relationship. In the series' 100th episode, Clark finally took a chance and told Lana the truth. When it resulted, indirectly, in her death and he was allowed to live the day over again Clark chose not to tell her his secret. In "Hypnotic", in an effort to stop hurting Lana emotionally, Clark told her that he no longer loved her. This drove Lana into Lex's arms. Writer Darren Swimmer explains that this was not something that just happened in the series, but something that had been hinted at for many seasons. Swimmer believes that Lana started dating Lex as a way of making Clark mad, but the relationship "turned into much more". Kreuk contends that Lana went to Lex because
Even though Lana eventually marries Lex in season six, Al Gough argues that Lana still loved Clark and Clark still loved her. The only reason Lana was with Lex was because Clark forced her in that direction and she ended up getting in over her head.<ref name="KK6">Byrne, Craig, (Season 6 Companion) pp. 116-119</ref> By contrast, writer Caroline Dries feels that Lana did love Lex, and that she did not make any hasty decisions when she agreed to marry him. Dries believes that the progression of the show demonstrates that Lex earned Lana's love. To answer viewers that hated to see Lana marry Lex, Dries contends that
==Reception==
In 2001, Kristin Kreuk was nominated for a [[Saturn Award]] for [[Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television|Best Actress]], as well as Female Cinescape Genre Face of the Future.<ref name="awards">{{cite web|url=http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html#tvsupportingactor |title=Saturn Television Awards |publisher=[[Saturn Awards]] |
|publisher=SF Site|date=February 13, 2004|
DVD Verdict's Brian Byun felt that the casting of the series was "pitch-perfect"
==Other media appearances==
===Young adult novels===
Lana makes her first literary appearance in ''Smallville: Strange Visitors'', published by [[Hachette Book Group USA#
===Comic books===
Lana made a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ninth issue of the show's comic book continuation ''Smallville: Season Eleven'', written by executive story editor [[Bryan Q. Miller]]. Though Clark and [[Bart Allen]] do not notice her, she watches them race over the coast of [[Cameroon]].<ref>''Smallville Season 11'' vol. 1 #9 (January 2013)</ref> Lana returns in a parallel
==References==
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{{Smallville}}
{{Superman characters}}
{{Good article}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Lana}}
[[Category:Superman in other media]]
[[Category:DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds]]
[[Category:DC Comics characters with superhuman strength]]
[[Category:DC Comics characters with accelerated healing]]
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[[Category:Fictional businesspeople]]
[[Category:Fictional cheerleaders]]
[[Category:Smallville characters]]
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