Throughout history, fictional heroes
have always had the damsel in
distress. Whether it was Perseus
saving the fair Andromeda or Robin
Hood saving Maid Marion from the
clutches of Prince John, heroes have
had a way with the ladies. And
Superman is no different. Granted,
no other hero has done it with the
same flair that Superman has and
that probably has led to the
numerous women who found themselves
in the arms of the Man of Steel.
Of course, we all know about Lois
Lane and Lana Lang. There have been
volumes written about those two and
their ability to find danger in the
safest locations. There are times
when I wonder how those two survived
before Superman came along. Think
I'm wrong? Just look at "Superman
the Movie". Here's Lois in the
middle of a desert. A DESERT! What
could possibly happen to someone in
the middle of a desert? Yeah, I
know, no water, rattlesnakes, etc.;
but these things are commonplace
when it comes to deserts. I'm
talking about what could be so life
threatening that it would require
some super-feat to save them? Well,
how about an earthquake? See what I
mean? If I were Lois' sister, I'd
have taken out a million dollar life
insurance policy on her a long time
ago. You know it's just a matter of
time before the law of averages
catches up with her!
But I digress.
Lois
and Lana have been part of the
Superman legend for nearly his whole
career. As I stated in a previous
column, Lois was there in the
beginning, in Action Comics
#1 (1938) and Lana came along
shortly afterward in Superboy
#10 (1950). The debate still rages
as to who is his greatest love. And
both sides have valid points. Since
Lois was there in the beginning,
she's always been identified as his
greatest love. He ended up marrying
her. Superman found in Lois someone
who could surprise him (not an easy
feat for someone who's been from one
end of the galaxy
to the other). She was never
considered a drop-dead beauty but
she was enough to make his heart of
steel go pitter-patter. As for
Lana, she was the first woman he
ever loved (after Martha Kent, that
is). The woman who showed him that,
for all his powers and alien origin,
he was still normal enough to have a
relationship. It could be argued
that Lana is perhaps his oldest and
dearest friend. But, like many
first loves, the two of them grew
apart and could never rekindle the
love they felt for each other.
But what about the other women in
Superman's life? Throughout his
seventy year history, Superman has
had relationships with numerous
women. And I can assure you, it has
been a strange, tumultuous trip.
Lyla Lerrol
Lyla
was a famous movie starlet from the
planet Krypton. Now if you're not
familiar with Lyla, I'm sure you're
asking how could Superman have a
relationship with a woman from his
home planet and I would agree this
is a very valid question. In the
story "Superman's Return To
Krypton", which appeared in
Superman #141 (1960), a strange
accident sends Superman through
space and time only to wind up on
Krypton. Powerless, Superman is
struck by the irony of his escaping
Krypton's destruction only to perish
there years later. While there, he
meets his parents Jor-el and Lara
and becomes Jor's lab assistant,
Kal-el. They introduce him to Lyla,
a famous movie actress on Krypton
and the two fall hopelessly in
love. But Superman's happiness is
tempered by the knowledge that
Krypton is going to explode.
Finally, Jor-el discovers what
Superman already knows and the two
begin work on a rocket which will
save them all. However, fate steps
in and, as the rocket is nearing
completion, it, as well as the city
it is being constructed in (Kandor),
are shrunken and stolen by
Brainiac. Resigned to his fate,
Superman returns to Lyla and
proposes marriage. She agrees to
wed as soon as she finishes the
movie she is working on. Superman
makes a visit to her movie set and
through another strange series of
events, is trapped in a mock-up
rocket which winds up being real.
Superman is shot up away from
Krypton and Lyla. Sadly, the planet
is destroyed before Superman can
return and his parents and Lyla are
lost forever.
The story was written by Superman
co-creator, Jerry Seigel, and is one
of the most poignant of Superman's
career. As Superman noted in this
story "Lois loved me because I was
Superman, but Lyla loves me
for...myself! On this world, I'm
just an ordinary mortal." Although
bittersweet in it's outcome, we
finally get to see Superman in
love. Lyla turned up a few years
later in Superman Annual #11 (1989)
in a special story where Superman
returns to Krypton in "For The Man
Who Has Everything".
Lori Lemaris
Originally
introduced in Superman #129
(1959) and later retold in
Superman #12 (1987), Lori was
attending Metropolis University at
the same time Clark was there.
Clark and Lori fell in love almost
immediately. But when Clark
proposed marriage, Lori refused.
Later, Clark discovered that Lori
was in reality a mermaid, using a
wheelchair to get around with her
"legs" covered with a blanket. Lori
told Clark that she was from
Atlantis and had to return there.
Later, Lori returned and told
Superman she was married to another
Atlantean name Ronal. Ronal had
discovered a magic spell with turned
Lori's fin to legs when she was
dry. Lori attempted to rekindle her
relationship with Clark, but Clark
was in love with Lois. Later, Lois
and Lori became friends and she was
a bridesmaid in Clark and Lois'
wedding. Today, Lori is an undersea
explorer and part-time
super-adventurer.
Maxima
Different
from most of the women in Superman's
life, Maxima was the queen of a
warrior race from the planet
Almerac. She sought a consort who
had the ability to best her in
combat. She found that in
Superman. Maxima went as far as
kidnap Superman back to Almerac.
But Superman rejected her. In an
attempt to appease Superman for her
people's warrior deeds, she joined
the Justice League and fought
Brainiac and Doomsday. Thinking her
heroism would change Superman's
mind, she offered herself to him
again. And again, the now-married
Superman refused. Angered by his
rejection, Maxima threw in with the
Superman Revenge Squad. However,
that alliance would be short-lived
when the forces of Earth and
Apokolips fought the universal
conqueror Imperiex, who had
destroyed Almerac. Maxima perished
when she flew her space ship in the
path of a energy beam fired by
Imperiex which would have destroyed
the universe.
Wonder Woman
In
recent years, especially after
Superman was restarted in 1986, many
writers have tried to pair this
super-couple. Whether in the pages
of their own series, where Superman
and Wonder Woman dated briefly, or
in what-if-type stories like The
Dark Knight Strikes Back, where
Superman and Wonder Woman have a
daughter named Lara, or Kingdom
Come, where they ended up
together, this super-pairing seemed
inevitable if not for the presence
of Lois Lane. And to a certain
extent, it does make sense. Lois
Lane is human and would probably
never survive a night of
super-passion (as detailed in
novelist Larry Niven's paper "Man of
Steel, Woman of Kleenex").
Diana, for those who don't know, is
an Amazonian Princess from a
civilization of eternally youthful,
super-powerful women. She met up
with Superman not long after she
came to the United States on her
mission of diplomacy. While there
were definite sparks between them,
they remained only friends.
However, the press continued to
speculate they were lovers. This
infuriated Lois since she was
married to Clark Kent. Finally, the
two heroes set the record straight
and the rumors died down. But,
since both Superman and Wonder Woman
are virtually immortal, it does
remain to be seen if these two may
one day wind up with each other.
Conclusion
To be fair, there were other women
who captured Superman's heart over
the years; women like Sally Sellwyn,
a wealthy rancher's daughter who
fell in love with Clark when he was
suffering from Red
Kryptonite-induced amnesia; Lyrica
Lloyd, the Hollywood actress who
fell in love with Superman and then
died from a mysterious disease; and
finally, Luma Lynai, an otherworldly
super-heroine who is paired with
Superman only to find that Earth's
yellow sun is deadly to her and she
must return to her homeworld. To
say that Superman has been unlucky
at love (with the exceptions of Lois
and Lana) is an understatement. It
seemed every time there was a
possibility for him to find love,
somehow fate intervened and left him
alone.
But, Superman has finally found love
and happiness with Lois. And it
only took seventy years of
courting. At this rate, it's going
to be another seventy years before
they produce an offspring. But, if
there's one thing we've learned with
Superman, we've got plenty of time.
