| Sam Lane | |
|---|---|
 Sam Lane as seen inSuperman: Secret Origin #5. Art by Gary Frank. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #13 (November 1959) |
| Created by | Robert Bernstein Kurt Schaffenberger |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Samuel Lane |
| Team affiliations | United States Army United States Senate |
Sam Lane is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics.[1] He is the father ofLucy Lane andLois Lane and the father-in-law ofClark Kent / Superman.
Denis Arndt andHarve Presnell portrayed the character in the seriesLois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,Michael Ironside inSmallville,Glenn Morshower inSupergirl, andDylan Walsh inSuperman & Lois; andJoel de la Fuente voiced him in the animated seriesMy Adventures with Superman.
Sam Lane, along with his wife Ella was introduced inSuperman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #13 (November 1959) as a horse farmer in the town of Pittsdale. He was created byRobert Bernstein andKurt Schaffenberger.
FollowingCrisis on Infinite Earths, Sam was reimagined as a hard-bitten and outspokenUS ArmyGeneral, with an awkward relationship with his daughters. It was explained that Lane had wanted his eldest child to be a boy, so had treated Lois as a surrogate son, when he was present at all. This version first appeared inThe Adventures of Superman #424 (January 1987), the first retitled issue of the formerSuperman title. He became a more significant character following Lois' engagement to Clark Kent, being highly unimpressed with the mild-mannered reporter despite his obvious commitment to Lois.[2]
WhenLex Luthor becomesPresident of the United States, he appoints Sam Lane asSecretary of Defense. This leads to Lois, as an investigative journalist trying to prove Luthor is corrupt, opposing her father, especially during the buildup to theImperiex War.[3]
During the fight againstImperiex, Lane is apparently killed after detonating the nuclear engine of his tank to crack the shell of an Imperiex probe and allowBlack Lightning to attack it.[4] Lucy decides to try and honor her father's memory and give him the soldier he was denied by joining the U.S. Army. Lucy is wounded during theAmazons' attack on Washington, D.C., and is secretly rescued and brought to a secret facility. Sam Lane reveals himself to have survived and become the leader of the covert operationProject 7734. Lucy volunteers to becomeSuperwoman and is given a mystically-powered costume that allowed her to pass as aKryptonian. Lucy is to infiltrateKandor and gathering intelligence on the Kryptonians andNew Krypton. Lucy appears to die battlingSupergirl when her suit is ruptured, but returns to life with Kryptonian powers.[5]
Lane drafts the imprisoned Lex Luthor into a secret operation againstSuperman and the Kryptonians of Kandor. The U.S. government believes the aliens to be a risk for world's security and begins to create countermeasures against them.[5] WhenGeneral Zod declares war on Earth after it is revealed Lex Luthor (through one of his robot doubles) aidedBrainiac in attacking New Krypton, Lane puts his plans into action. The Luthor robot tampers withReactron's body chemistry, causing him to explode. The resulting chain reaction leads to the destruction of New Krypton and most of the remaining 100,000 Kryptonians, including Supergirl's motherAlura.[6]
Under Lane's orders, Luthor transforms the Earth's sun from yellow to red to rob the Kryptonians of their powers.Flamebird neutralizes this countermeasure and the sun reverts to yellow and restores everyone's power. At the same time,Jimmy Olsen and his associates saveNatasha Irons and transmit all of General Lane's activities to news sites all over theWorld Wide Web. The remaining Kryptonians, led byUrsa and Zod himself, begin attacking Earth.[7] When confronted by Supergirl and Lois, Lane commits suicide rather than be made accountable to an international court.[8]
In September 2011,The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Sam Lane is re-introduced in the relaunchedAction Comics where he is seen attempting to catch Superman, believing him to be a menace.[9] Lane later hasKryptonite Man released from custody, believing he is necessary to help keep Superman in check. Kryptonite Man agrees under the condition that Lane helps him locate his wife.[10] Following the death of US Senator Hume, Sam is chosen as his replacement and becomes a member of theUnited States Senate.[11]
In 2016, DC Comics implemented a relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to The New 52. Sam Lane appears as the official U.S. military representative when a nationwide crisis arises. Along withMister Bones,Steve Trevor,Amanda Waller, andFather Time, he attempts to stop the threat with technological means. This fails when a mystically powered alternate universe version ofBruce Wayne attacks and brainwashes the entire group.[12]
InEvent Leviathan (2019), Sam Lane is hospitalized after being injured in an attack byLeviathan. In the hospital, Lane is attacked by an agent who believes him to be a member of Leviathan.Zatanna rescues Lane and teleports him away, but he dies soon after without life support.[13]
An alternate universe variant of Sam Lane appears inAll-Star Superman #1. This version temporarily pulledLex Luthor from prison to work for the U.S. government.[14]
An alternate timeline variant of Sam Lane appears inFlashpoint. This version was in charge of Project: Superman, which involved capturing and studying Kal-El. He attempted to bond with him before Sam pulls an escaped prisoner namedNeil Sinclair into thePhantom Zone. The pair later emerge on a deserted island, where Sinclair murders Sam.[15]
An alternate universe variant of Sam Lane fromEarth 2 appears in the alternate Earth's self-titled series. This version is a member of theWorld Army who works withRobotman to createRed Tornado before he is killed in a cave-in.[16]
An alternate universe variant of Sam Lane appears in theJustice League: Gods and Monsters prequel comic.[citation needed] This version was a war physician who died amidst a battle thatSuperman was involved in.
Chad Derdowski of Mania.com felt that Sam Lane would have been a formidable villain to use for aZack Snyder Superman film, stating that "Lane would provide a little more dramatic oomph for the film, driving a wedge between therelationship of Clark Kent and Lois Lane and turning the whole thing into a family affair."[21]
