Lana Lang

Lana Lang is a fictional character on the television series Smallville. She has been a series regular since the 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 books by Bill Finger and John Sikela in the 1950s as a romantic interest for 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. In Smallville, Lana is the first main love interest for 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, 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". 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". Kreuk has been nominated for various awards for her portrayal of Lana Lang. Role in Smallville In the first season, Lana and Clark Kent (Tom Welling) are just beginning their friendship, as she is a popular cheerleader dating star quarterback Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson), and Clark cannot get near her without getting sick from the kryptonite necklace she wears. In the 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.