THE LOIS LANE AS COSTUMED HEROINE TOUR

She crash-landed into comics history in the exact same issue as Superman, Action Comics #1, 1938, and honestly, she’s been stealing the spotlight ever since. While the Man of Steel was busy bench-pressing cars and catching bullets, Lois was out there being a Pulitzer-chasing, mob-busting, danger-magnet reporter who refused to play damsel in distress.  She’s not just important; she’s essential. Without Lois, Superman is just a lonely alien in tights. With her? He’s got a heartbeat, a headache, and a reason to show up to work.

And yet, somehow, writers just couldn’t resist giving this ace reporter superpowers over and over again. Costume? Check. Superpowers? Frequently. Whether she’s donning a makeshift mask, borrowing Kryptonian abilities, or just weaponizing pure journalistic stubbornness, Lois Lane has been reinvented as a heroine more times than Superman and Batman have supposedly originally met!  Buckle up, because we’re about to celebrate every single time the Daily Planet’s star reporter has played costumed and/or powered heroine.  

THE "WHEN SUPERBOY MET CHARACTERS FROM HIS FUTURE SUPPORTING CAST" TOUR

In the pages of Fawcett Comics, a superhero named Captain Marvel made his debut in 1940. He quickly became the best-selling superhero across all comic publishers at the time. Riding on that success, Fawcett introduced a younger hero in 1942... Captain Marvel Jr. The new character became a hit in his own right, and within just a few months, he was regularly featured in three ongoing Fawcett titles. One of those, Captain Marvel Jr., ran for an impressive 118 issues.

Seeing how popular these younger heroes were, DC Comics decided to create a teenage version of their own biggest star, Superman.  But there was a challenge. Superman’s origin story said he was the only survivor of a destroyed planet, which didn’t leave room for another younger Kryptonian growing up on Earth.  The solution? They rewrote Superman's backstory and introduced the idea that he had actually started his heroic career as a young lad, going by the name Superboy. His first appearance as Superboy came in 1945, in More Fun Comics #101.

Over the years, writers began creating stories that showed young Superboy crossing paths with all sorts of characters who would later become part of Superman’s regular supporting cast. In this tour, we’ll take a look at some of those early, imaginative encounters!

THE LANA LANG LIVE-ACTION TOUR

At the time of this posting (2024), there have been ten actresses who have portrayed the character of Lana Lang on television or film.   This quick tour will take a look at each of them.  How many do you remember?!