Lori Lemaris

Lori Lemaris
Lori Lemaris in her first appearance, in Superman (volume 1) #129, May 1959. Art by Wayne Boring.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Superman #129 (May 1959)
Created by	Bill Finger, Wayne Boring
In-story information
Alter ego	Lori Lemaris (Tritonian name)
Species	Atlantean
Place of origin	Atlantis
Team affiliations	Justice League of Atlantis
Supporting character of	Superman Aquaman
Abilities	Breathing underwater, fast swimming, telepathy, transformation (human-to-mermaid only)

Lori Lemaris is a fictional character in DC Comics' Superman comic books. Lori is a mermaid from Tritonis, a city in the undersea lost continent of Atlantis.

Lori was first introduced in the story "The Girl in Superman's Past" in Superman #129 (May 1959). The story revealed that while attending Metropolis University, Clark met Lori, who was attending as a student and hiding her mermaid identity by posing as a wheelchair-using student with a blanket covering the lower half of her body. Clark and Lori soon fell in love with each other, but Clark started to wonder why Lori would repeatedly cut their dates short every night to return home at 8 PM. Clark eventually decided to propose marriage to Lori, but Lori told Clark that she couldn't marry him, and that she also had to return to her native country. Heartbroken, and growing suspicious of why Lori had to return home every night at a preset time, Clark investigated, and discovered Lori's mermaid secret. Lori, in turn, revealed that thanks to her people's telepathic powers, she knew that he was really Superman all along, but promised to keep the knowledge of his identity a secret. Lori also stated that since the two came from such different worlds, they could never be wed. After a parting kiss underwater, the two bid farewell to each other.

Lori made various appearances throughout the Silver Age Superman comics. Like many other minor DC characters, Lori was killed in the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Lori was soon brought back in a new incarnation after John Byrne's 1986 Man of Steel limited series, which revised Superman's origins. Her post-Crisis incarnation first appeared in Superman (volume 2) #12 in December 1987. Lori's post-Crisis origin story and her relationship with Clark remained similar to the original, except that post-Crisis, Clark had not yet adopted a superheroic identity at the time he was in college. Additionally, in the modern version, Lori also had a mission to discover other cities of the continent of Atlantis, a quest completed when Superman later met Aquaman, who revealed he was a native of just such a city.