Lana Lang (Smallville)
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Lana Lang |
| Occupation: | Founder and former manager of Isis Foundation, former manager and co-founder of Talon, formerly high school/college student and waitress |
| Relationships: | Laura and Lewis Lang (parents), Nell Potter (aunt), Henry Small (biological father), Tyler Small (half-brother), Kaitlyn Small (half-sister) Louise McCallum (great-aunt), Dean Winters (uncle), Dex McCallum (great-uncle), Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux and Ezra Small (ancestors) Lex Luthor (ex-husband), Lionel Luthor (ex-father-in-law) Clark Kent, Whitney Fordman, Jason Teague (ex-boyfriends) |
| Fandom: | |
| Other: | Portrayed by Kristin Kreuk |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Lana Lang is a main character on the television show Smallville based off the Superman character of the same name. In the comics she is traditionally Superboy's girlfriend and a romantic rival of Lois Lane; in Smallville she is Clark Kent's primary textual love interest for most of the show. At the end of season 7 she left the main cast, but returned for a few guest spots in season 8 and mentioned in the later seasons.
Fan Responses
Many Smallville fans evinced hostility to Lana, nicknaming her the "Pink Princess" and "Blana". She is accused of being a Mary Sue and the producers' darling[1] and not felt to be very credible in her role as Clark's romantic interest, and much of the fandom quickly became frustrated with the Clark/Lana pairing in the canon. As a result, Lana is a frequent target of character bashing.[2] Even now, it's always the assumption that no Smallville fans actually like Lana and that any good moments she has in canon are the writers trying to "force" fans to like her or pay attention to her.
Although the pairing is unpopular with many fans, Clark/Lana fic exists. Fandom also shipped her with Lex before Lexana became canonical in the later seasons. Some femmeslash stories ship her with her best friend Chloe Sullivan.[3]
Fanon
Lana wore a kryptonite necklace in the first season of the show; from this, it has been hypothesized that she may have been unknowingly mutated. A belief among some fans is that she is a "love mutant", who unconsciously causes people to love her thanks to pheromones or a psychic ability, thus explaining her Mary Sue-like traits.[4]
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfiction
Fanart
Meta
- Smallville's Girl by lexcorp_hope at idol_reflection (Oct 2004)
- Lana Lang, superhero: an unpopular opinion by scrollgirl (May 2011)
- Dead On Arrival (Whitney/Lana) by thelana at ship_manifesto (Sep 2004)
- The Battle of Troy (Lex/Lana) by sarea_okelani and jade_okelani at ship_manifesto (Feb 2005)
Archives & Fannish Links
Resources
References
- ^ A general TV TWoP thread concerning "a common, irritating, and little-remarked-upon phenomenon: producers of what are ostensibly ensemble shows singling out a lone favorite actor for increasing amounts of screen time and story emphasis while the rest of the cast goes begging" was titled The Lana Lang Effect: When TV Producers Play Favorites, started Jan 28, 2006 (accessed 2/18/2009)
- ^ The kill_lana_lang livejournal comm is not the only one of its kind; there was also 1000deaths4lana and die_lana_die to the point where it's practically a requirement in the fandom.(accessed 2/18/2009)
- ^ The Smallville Slash Archive lists 84 Chloe/Lana stories. (accessed 2/18/2009)
- ^ Fanfics exploring this theme include Love Story by RivkaT and As Moths by X-parrot.