Sam Lane (comics)

Sam Lane
Sam Lane as seen in Superman: Secret Origin #5. Art by Gary Frank.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #13 (November 1959)
Created by	Robert Bernstein Kurt Schaffenberger
In-story information
Full name	Samuel Lane
Team affiliations	United States Army United States Senate

Samuel "Sam" Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Commonly in association with Superman, he is the father of Lois Lane and Lucy Lane, and the father-in-law of Clark Kent/Superman.

Sam Lane, along with his wife Ella was introduced in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #13 (November 1959) as a horse farmer in the town of Pittsdale. He was created by Robert Bernstein and Kurt Schaffenberger. Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, a reboot of the DC Universe continuity, he has been portrayed as a US Army General.

Following Crisis on Infinite Earths Sam Lane was reinvented as a hard-bitten and outspoken US Army General, with an awkward relationship with his daughter. It was explained that Lane had wanted his eldest child to be a boy, so had treated Lois as a surrogate son, when he was present at all.

This version first appeared in Adventures of Superman #424 (January 1987), the first retitled issue of the former Superman title. He became a more significant character following Lois' engagement to Clark Kent, being highly unimpressed with the mild-mannered reporter despite his obvious commitment to Lois. This almost, but not quite, extended to refusing to attend the wedding.

When Lex Luthor became President of the United States, he made Lane Secretary of Defense. This inevitably led to Lois, as an investigative journalist trying to prove Luthor was crooked, opposing her father, especially during the buildup to the Imperiex War. During the War, General Lane was apparently killed by an Imperiex probe, when he detonated the nuclear engine of his tank to crack the shell of the probe and give Black Lightning the chance to get through its armor.