The Triumphant and Tragic History of the Superman Robots

Early in their costumed careers, Kal-El and Kal-L surmised that they would need help in carrying out their super-feats, as Superman couldn't be in all places at once. Especially given his secret identity as reporter Clark Kent, each Superman developed lookalike robots who could substitute for their creator in times of need.

Kal-L of Earth-Two first used a lifelike dummy in 1944, then a remote controlled automaton in 1949 culminating in the robotic Krag in 1952 to combat an alien invasion. By the time he married fellow reporter Lois Lane, Kal-L built Clark Kent and Superman robots with artificial intelligence.

Kal-El of Earth-One first constructed Clark Kent and Superboy robots during his teenage years. As an adult, he gave a remote controlled replica to pal Jimmy Olsen. A Wonder Man robot was used to face an alien horde.

On both worlds, the increase of air pollution caused the Superman robots to progressively begin to malfunction. This led the Supermen into decommisson them, although Kal-El still used them to a limited degrees within his Fortress of Solitude and in his apartment. A couple caused them great trouble.

A Superboy robot escape the self-destruction decree of his master, and perceived that his master was evil for sending he and his "brethren" to an early "death". Secretly protecting Smallville for years, his presence was eventually revealed when Pete Ross and Lana Lang observed the automaton, and Kal-El tricked this robot into destroying itself.

A Clark Kent robot pretended to be his master, even convincing Kal-L's wife Lois until as Superman it began to malfunction. She was able to deactivate the Superman robot, and apparently the other robots were never utilized following this incident.

One remote control robot labeled Powerman was designed by Superman to safeguard his friends Batman and Robin from Lex Luthor who developed a dangerous death-ray. In fact, Kal-El conceived of Powerman's costume from a dream, which in fact was his recollection of an event which occurred decades early on Earth-Two.

On that world, Kal-L faced a Nazi sleeper agent named Heinrich Melch, who was secretly the Kryptonite-powered Atoman, Although the villain didn't have an opportunity to wear this costume, until his later revival in the 1980's, following the conclusion of their epic battles in the mid-1940s, Superman dressed the seemingly deceased Melch in this uniform, then placing him in a coffin. Following his awakening from prolonged suspended animation, Atoman journeyed to Earth-One to battle the World's Finest team of Superman and Batmen before returning with them to Earth-Two when he discovered his Superman was a different man..

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Legendary Lost Loves: Superman’s Shunned Sweethearts

Lost loves of were a common occurrence for the Superman of Earth-One, but not for his older Earth-Two counterpart. The younger version of Clark Kent had his childhood Smallville sweetheart Lana Lang, his college years romance with Atlantean mermaid Lori Lemaris*, his doomed engagement to Kryptonian actress Lyla Lerrol. Perhaps his greatest love was with Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane, although his sense of duty prevented them from uniting in matrimony.

For the Earth-Two Superman, he only met Lana Lang when both were adults after she was hired into the Daily Star. When he was introduced to the Atlantean Queen Octavia Paralea**, she only had eyes for Clark Kent, while he wasn’t interested in kind. Foreign actress Lita Laverne was secretly a spy, with neither party enamored with the other.

Whereas his doppelgänger limited his relationship to his Miss Lane to only dating, the older Superman proved that all along he had one true love… whom he later married… in his fellow Daily Star journalist Lois Lane Kent.

* Interestingly, the Atlantean mermaid and foreign actress of Earths One and Two were brunettes, while their Atlantean queen and Kryptonian actress doppelgängers were blondes.

** The Earth-Two Wonder Woman met the blonde haired Princess Octavia a few years before she was made Queen Paralea. The Earth-One Wonder Woman met actress Lyla Lerrol on Krypton-One shortly after Superman had departed that world and returned to her future era.

Synthetic Supermen Simulate Stupendous Stories

In 1942, a failed cartoonist invented a bio-ray, which he used to bring cartoons of his competitors to life. Calling  himself Funny Face, this man sought vengeance for not being recognized as a talented artist, and sought ill-gotten wealth which his animated creations had stolen for him. Despite this, the golden age Superman was able to defeat he and his manufactured minions. The technology behind his bio-ray would be used soon after with the goal of exposing the Earth-Two hero's secret identity of Clark Kent!

Something similar happened on Earth-One, when Lex Luthor rebuilt a duplication projector, which created an imperfect non-living version of Superman. Known as Bizarro, this creature repeatedly pestered his “twin” Kal-El… while using the duplicator to create Bizarro versions of Lois Lane, Perry White, Luthor and others. They ended up migrating to the squire world of Htrae. Eighteen of their Tales of Bizarro World would be told.

A series of seventeen (actually eighteen, including a published tale in Superman #19 that also saw the debut of Funny Face) animated shorts regarding fictional tales of a cartoon version of Superman were brought to life*. This character had the same backstory as Kal-L, and because the projector which brought him to “life” was similar to the bio-ray, he imitated aspects of Superman’s history. The creator of this medium, writer Jerry Siegel, was also the mastermind behind Funny Face. In these shorts, besides Kal-L, there was a Lois Lane, Perry White, a recurring Mad Scientist foe and others. Why Siegel sought to reveal Superman’s secret identity as Clark Kent to fellow reporter Lois, and the world, is unknown. But then, he tended to do that in stories.

It had been theorized that the mystery man behind the mask of Funny Face was Siegel himself, and Superman admitted that the man who conceived the animated tales was also Siegel. This pseudo-Superman was similar to the “handsome” Bizarro which the original created as an “imperfect” version** of himself to date Lois. Just as this second Bizarro had a short lifespan, so too had Funny Face’s later duplicate of Superman, the Flying Tiger (who a now married Clark and Lois created as a cover alias for Superman to help him versus a foe).

* This animated Superman was seen interacting with his real life template, Clark Kent, at the end of his second theatrical tale.

** As film reels are duplicated and distributed to multiple movie theaters across America and later the world, the synthetic sentient Supermen and Lois Lanes in each of these mirrored the additional Bizarro Supermen and Lois Lane clones on Htrae.

The Mystery Son of Clark and Lois-Lane Kent

A mystery developed in February 1976, when writer E. Nelson Bridwell discovered a long concealed truth while interviewing the Supermen of two worlds. During this discussion*, the older Superman Kal-L revealed that he and his wife Lois Lane had a son**!

A legitimate question could be asked… was this a biological or an adopted child for the couple? It would be decades later in the late 1960s when  Kal-L’s long lost cousin Kara Zor-L arrived on Earth-Two, whom they would unofficially adopt. She would later take Superman’s place in the Justice Society as Power Girl, and she never mentioned a super-sibling.

A clue as to the identity of this “son” was a two-part tale (penned by E Nelson Bridwell in Superman Family #218-219), when Clark and Lois created the villain identity of Flying Tiger for Superman to use in his search for a hidden cache of Kryptonite that was being stored by a criminal gang in Metropolis to use against the Caped Crusader. Although pretending to only have the ability of flight through an anti-gravity device, Superman manifested his actual superhuman abilities in this identity.

Some time after this, an actual duplicate of the Flying Tiger was spawned from the criminal Funny Face’s bio-ray projector. The evil clone of Superman disguised as Flying Tiger was subdued and reverted to normal, while his creator Funny Face was captured. In effect, this fabricated Flying Tiger was a brain-child of Clark and Lois Kent brought to “life” from an idea made into reality!

And just as the imperfect Superman clone Bizarro and his wife Bizarro-Lois together made a Bizarro Junior (which was briefly human and raised by Superman and Supergirl on Earth-One, before returning to Junior’s home world of Htrae), Clark and Lois Kent quite likely used the fully functioning bio-ray in their possession to create and raise a new “Flying Tiger” clone. This Clark Junior would have all the same abilities and weaknesses of his father. Why he was recreated*** and what became of him is an untold tale****.

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* During this same interview, certain facts were in error. For instance, Superman-One mentioned that an ancestor of his step-father Jonathan Kent was the masked man known as Silent Knight, who was secretly Brian Kent during the days of Camelot. As revealed in DC Who’s Who the Definitive Directory, Jonathan is NOT listed as a relative of Brian Kent. In All-Squadron, Silent Knight was shown as a resident of Earth-Two. Apparently, the folklore of his exploits was relayed in tales on Earth-One, just as comic book characters had portrayed heroes of other Earths. Jonathan heard of stories passed down from generation to generation about his ancestor... in fact Brian may have been the forefather of Jonathan’s counterpart, John Kent!.

** References to Lois Kent’ pregnancy were mentioned, as was an appearance by Clark Junior (within the Superman Dailies in 1946 and 1949), showing the potential future offspring of Mr. and Mrs. Superman. Since there is no record of this child possessing superhuman powers… in fact his father Kal-L himself hasn’t manifested these until he was an adult… the baby may have had a normal human physiology. As no later record of the lad was mentioned, he may have tragically died of crib death. If so, then the reproduced Flying Tiger Clark clone may’ve been spawned to ease the pain of this loss.

*** There is an established history of the Kent’s adopting a child to raise. In the early 1950s, they briefly sheltered the super-powered Liandly from the planet Rolez after she was accidentally transported to Earth-Two when she inadvertently triggered her father’s teleportation ray (in Superman Family #220). When she was pulled back to Rolez, this left Clark and Lois with a taste of having a child of their own, which a clone would provide them. The Kents would once more have opportunity to raise a teenager when, several years later, Kara Zor-L finally arrived on Earth-Two.

**** This “Clark Junior” could’ve been trained to be a replacement for the malfunctioning Superman robot which Kal-L had previously used (in Superman Family #195). In a text piece the Crisis on Infinite Earths Absolute Edition, it was revealed that Clark and Lois' son ended up turning evil, despite having been trained by the original Man of Steel. This may have explained Kal-L's absence from tales of the Justice Society from their revival in 1963 until 1969, when he rejoined their ranks as an active member. Likely, this heir to Superman would’ve been reverted back to the two- dimensional world he was created within.

1973 Super Bowl VII: Metropolis Meteors & Star Quarterback Steve Lombard

The 1973 Super Bowl pitted the undefeated Miami Dolphins versus their opponents, the Washington Redskins, as the Dolphins finished their perfect season with a 14-7 victory. That was on Earth-Prime. However, on the parallel planet known as Earth-One, two very different teams competed on that occasion.  The victor of that Super Bowl was the Metropolis Meteors, who defeated the Hustlers in a double-digit victory thanks to presence of their star quarterback Steve Lombard.

However, earlier that day, Steve saved the life of a child plummeting off a balcony a few stories above him. The impact of this was reinjuring his bum knees, leaving him unconscious on the street below. However, scientist Frederic Fowe witnessed this, and brought Lombard back to his laboratory. Using his ultra-violet healing ray, which itself was an un-intentional copy of the Purple Healing Ray created by the Wonder Woman of Earth-Two decades earlier, Fowe was able to revitalize Lombard's knees. 

However, a side effect of this procedure was the creation of a phantom quarterback clone of Lombard, composed of radiation from the sun via a solar flare. This creature caused random acts of destruction, however it also fulfilled Steve's conscious desire to win the Super Bowl. Substituting for "Slinger" Lombard, the energy duplicate helped lead the Meteors to a final win for their NFL Football season. 

Soon after, Superman was able to track down the phantom quarterback, sending it back to the sun where it dissipated into energy once more. Lombard, feeling ashamed for taking credit for his team's win for which he wasn't involved, retired from football. WGBS-TV owner Morgan Edge hired Lombard to become his station's nightly news sportscaster... and frequent tormentor of co-worker Clark Kent.

On Earth-Two, Steve Bard evidently didn't have a professional football career himself, having worked for well over a decade as a sports journalist at the Metropolis Daily Star. While he also tormented his world's Clark Kent and irked Clark's alter ego of Superman, Bard was more interested in taunting fellow reporter Lois Lane. Unlike Lombard, who sought to date Lois, Bard sought to outshine Lois as a journalist. Neither met much success.

Into the Superverse: Trio Triads of Lois, Luthor, and the Legend!

Three brave heroes. Three diabolical villians. Three couragous heroines. There was a tale, when all three sets of these three legends came together, across three Earths amidst the Multiverse, and defined both similarities as well as difference between them. The younger couple, in love, yet pulled apart by their individual careers. The older couple, in love, bound together as partners in life. And the couple that never was, given choices in the lives of each. And the three opponents to the paragons of power, each as brilliant as their foes were mighty. There was the young genius seeking revenge upon his childhood nemesis, the older genius seeking revenge upon all humanity including his arch-enemy, and the middle-aged scientist motivated into fighting his new adversary based on love. For your consideration: three men from Krypton, three scientists of Earth, and three famed female reporters in Metropolis

Kal-El, Kal-L and Kal-Ll were rocketed from their respective Kryptons, making the Earth their new home. Kal-El as a young man learned his alien origin, met fellow survivors of his homeworld, and protected that planet's last surviving city. Kal-L as an adult learned his alien origin, only met one other survivor who was a bridge to his lost society, herself the one raised within that planet's virtual remnants. Kal-Ll was aware of the world he was exiled from, a world that still survived but shunned both his existence and that of his long-lost father. These experiences formed each of these men's life choices. Kal-El and Kal-L became a heroic Superman, Kal-Ll a villainous Ultraman. 

Kal-El always felt like an alien, caught between two worlds, and so didn't form the strongest of bonds with humans on Earth-One. Kal-L only knew of life on Earth-Two, and grew extremely close to humans who became his family. Kal-Ll experiences only ostracization from both the world of his birth and Earth-Three leading toward his criminal tendencies. When the three finally met, their divergent personalities would cause each to have an impact upon the others' lives.

Lex Luthor, Alexie Luthor and Alex Luthor each were their world's greatest scientist, and each would ultimately be caught up in perpetual conflict with the caped Kryptonians living on their planets. Lex allowed childhood tragedy to shape his disposition, seeking to strike back at Superboy whom he felt scarred him for life. Alexie sought ultimate power and proved successful, until he finally met defeat at the hands of Superman. Alex wanted only peace and tranquility, and reluctantly came into conflict with Ultraman in order to achieve these goals.

The one constant in these three relationships was the women at the center of them. Lois Lane, on each world, was fearless, sought the truth in her reporting, and became attracted to the noble champions of their worlds. The Lois of Earth-One could never get close enough to her Superman, because he allowed his mission to take priority over his relationships. The Lois of Earth-Two became not only the wife but also the partner-in-life to her Superman, proving invaluable to his blending their relationship with his mission. Lois of Earth-Three found nobility, first in a visiting Captain Comet of Earth-One, and later in Alex.

And it was Alex Luthor whom this Lois encouraged into becoming the first superhero of Earth-Three. Indeed, he would definitely be needed for the looming threat that came to his universe.

Lex utilized a hidden device to exchange himself with Alexie, from within their jail cells. When each Luthor tried to defeat the other world's Superman and failed, the pair next journeyed to Earth-Three. It was there that Alex revealed that he... like his counterpart... knew of the existence of this Earth. Months earlier, while Lex used a device to travel from Earth-One to Earth-S, home of Captain Marvel, Alexie traveled to Earth-Three to create a secret laboratory which included an ion tractor beam. With this device, he planned to merge Earths One and Two together, destroying both including his hated foe, resolved to instead conquer this third heroless Earth.

At first, Lex hesitated, at this point in his criminal career he wasn't as bloodthirsty, in addition to his familial bond with his sister Lena. Despite this, once the Luthors' and their new ally Ultraman were confronted by the Supermen as well as Alex, Lex joined Alexie in his mad scheme. Although the Supermen defeated the Luthors and saved their worlds, this was the catalyst that later set in motion events to follow 

This encounter undoubtedly led to Lex seeing his cold-hearted counterpart, and thus feeling nothing when Alexie was slain by Brainiac, as this rid Lex of a prime competitor. Meanwhile, Alex continued to act a his world's prime protector for years to come, battling both Ultraman and his allies in the Crime Syndicate.

The three Lois Lanes continued to be the moral compass in the lives of their one true love. The Lois of Earth-Two would continue to provide emotion support... not only for her husband Kal-L... but also by being a surrogate mother to his longlost cousin Kara, Power Girl. The Lois of Earth-Three eventually married Alex, and together they would have a son together before their world was destroyed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Perhaps a seed of nobility was planted in the mind of Kal-Ll after meeting his good counterparts, as he sacrificed his life in the end while trying to save his adopted world. Kal-El learned to open his heart to a long-lasting relationship, only as Clark Kent when he and Lana Lang became engaged. And Kal-L learned to cherish the love in his life, nurturing his wife during her advanced years in times of Crisis.

The Faux-Gotten Superman and Lois Lane: The Actors and Actresses

Superman and Lois Lane are legendary. Full stop...period! And because of their fame, and the dangerous lifes they lead, at times they've had actors and actresses portray them in times of need. Whether they liked it or not!

Gregory Reed was an acclaimed actor who had the part of Superman for quite some time when an accident on set caused him to be disfigured. Using a process to exchange his mind with that of the real Kal-El of Krypton, Reed found he couldn't handle his new found powers. When this process was reversed, Superman offered to assist Reed in recovering his features with plastic surgery performed by the Man of Steel himself. Grateful for this, Greg asked the Last Son of Krypton to make him look like the real Man of Tomorrow. From then on, Gregory Reed used his second lease on life to perform good deeds, performing for charities as Superman.

Over time, he became instrumental in aiding Superman by impersonating him to outwit various threats. These included the Superman Revenge Squad... who sought to make their foe instable by exposing him to an alien ray, which they used half the time on Reed instead... as well as Terra-Man and the Secret Society of Super-Villians. In fact, it was the Society... led by Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luthor, that had mistook Reed for the real deal while the actor was performing in the Japan of Earth-One.

The Gregory Reed of Earth-Two only met the original Superman once, after having been stricken with temporary amnesia while was dressed as the heroic Kal-L. Reed attempted to perform various super-feats only to find he was without power, then discovering his true identity when the real Superman came to rescue him. Together they defeated a handful of crooks, after which Reed retired!

Then there was Sylvia Dewitt and Brenda Manning, Both were identical to the Lois Lane of each woman's Earth. Yet while they appeared to others... including the Supermen... as Lois, they actual dispositions were far milder and gentler then their fiesty reporter "sisters".

On Earth-One, Sylvia Dewitt boarded a cruise ship in order to escape an engagement forced upon her. Unknowingly, she is spied upon by Superman, only not Kal-El himself by a distant cousin of his from the bottled city of Kandor. Having enlarged himself to human size and gaining superhuman abilities like his cousin, Van-Zee saved Sylvia's life and their proposed to her... knowing that Kal-El would not. This is because 1.) Superman thinks this may cause his wife to be a target of his enemies and 2.) she isn't the real Lois. After marrying, Van-Zee developed a serum that his wife ingested which granted her a Kryptonian physiology like himself. After having lived briefly on the planet Venus and having two children, a boy and a girl, the new family returned to Kandor to start a new life together.

On Earth-Two, Brenda Manning was an unemployed actress whom a crooked mastermind known as Check used as a pawn in a game involving him and Superman. Convincing her to pretend to be Lois Lane in order to secure work, she unwittingly played Superman into his hands repeatedly... thwarting Kal-L's attempts to bring Check and his gang to justice. Eventually deducing that this Lois was an actress, Superman was finally able to defeat Check. Lois and Brenda tried later to work together to outwit Clark Kent, but failed in doing so.

Coincidentally, Syliva was later called upon to portray Lois Lane on a few cases while the now Mrs. Van-Zee was a member of the Superman Look-A-Like Squad of Kandor. This team consisted of a handful of Kandorians who looked like their human (or in Clark and Superman's case) rolemodels, and were useful on a few occasions.

I Love Lucy: Said Jimmy Olsen and George Tompkins

A fascinating case study in how Earths One and Two diverged yet still mirrored one another is the example of the sister of Lois Lane. Or rather, each sister of both Lois Lanes. Each woman on the surface appeared to be exact duplicates, as were their famous siblings. But upon closer examination, the life choices of Lucy and Lucille resulted in different eventualities for these two members of the Superman Family.

The first to appear was Lucille of Earth-Two. Both were, at least as adults, brunettes... although it seems that Lucy had blonde hair that darkened later in life. Eventually, the Earth-One Lucy would bleach her hair blonde, and later had platinum blonde follicles. And it seemed that unlike Lucy, Lucille did not have 20/20 vision, as she wore prescription glasses. However, Lucy may also have had poor eyesight, and simply wore contact lenses.

The first time Lucy was shown was when cub reporter of the Daily Planet, Jimmy Olsen, met her. Learning that she was a flight attendant, Jimmy instantly fell for Lucy and hatched various schemes to sway her to him, including pretending to be a famous cowboy and an inventor. Despite his sincere feelings, Lucy could not reciprocate these, as she had a wandering eye. Besides this, she was resolved to never settle down and marry until first her older sister was married. This is the first main difference between the two Lane sisters, their ages relative to each Lois. Lucy's roommate was Lois. But who was Lucille's?

While Lucy was the second born of Sam and Ella Lane, Lucille appears to have been the first born of the Sam and Ella Lane of her world. How would we know this? Because she already had an adolescent child while Lois was still unattached. When Lucille first appeared, she was already a mother completely flustered with that daughter, Susie Tompkins. Although the name of Susie's mom had yet to be revealed, it was evident that this mother of Lois Lane's niece Susie was Mrs. Tompkins. Indeed, Lucille had met and married her George Tompkins in the mid-1940, shortly after her future husband returned to America from Europe where as Tex "Mister America" Thomson he acted as a spy against the Nazis during World War II (and changed his legal name, to protect his family*). Shortly after, George and Lucille had their daughter Susie.

And it was at this wedding that apparently Lucille met a much younger Jimmy, as she was Lois' maid of honor while he was Clark's best man. Given that she was already married and much older than Jimmy... while the Earth-One Jimmy and Lucy were about the same age... this and a future occasion, while celebrating Clark and Lois' anniversary, were the extent of their interactions.

Lucy never had time to marry, as she would adopt a secret identity as actress Sandra Rogers, and nearly married Jimmy's secret agent alter ego of Magi the Magnificent**. Later, while on an undercover mission, Lucy seemingly died in a  remote jungle, but was revived ... only to become an extremely aged woman. Although this process was reversed, the progressive damage done to her toxic relationship with Jimmy led to the couple finally, permanently, breaking up. Perhaps, if Lucy had met Pete Ross when both were young, they would have had the same romantic chemistry as had their counterparts Lucille and George "Tex" Tompkins. As such, Lucille made a career as a housewife and a mother, and Lucy transitioned from being a flight attendant to a nurse.

* There is precedent in the Superman Family for a family changing their legal name to protect its members from evildoers, as the parents of Earth-One's Lex Luthor changed their last name to Thorul. Lex's sister and the Luthor's daughter Lena Thorul became accustomed to this name as a young girl. Like Lena, Susie was unaware of her father's true family name until possibly later in life.

** Another example of how, just like Tex Thomson became George Tompkins, Lucy Lane became Sandra Rogers and Jimmy Olsen became Magi for a brief period.

Lois Lane - Her Other Not Super Alter Egos

 

The Lois Lanes of Earths One and Two had short-lived costumed careers as Superwoman, when each Lois temporarily gained the powers and abilities of her one true love from Krypton. However, these twin reporters had on occasion used other alter egos. And these aliases leaned towards the animalistic, or insect, variety in both substance and style.

The Earth-One Lois had on on occasion adopted the name of Leopard Girl, based on a novel written by friendly rival Lana Lang. While on an assignment in Africa gained amnesia, and so began to believe she was this fictional creation of Lana's, leading a pack of leopards until Superman recovered her and restored her memory. Later, Lois borrowed Lana's bio-genetic ring while the two lived together, and briefly assumed Lang's alter ego as Insect Queen. Although this ring was stolen by a female criminal, once retrieved it returned to Lana who used it on occasion when she was younger.

The Earth-Two Lois had been recruited by her husband Superman into assuming the alter ego of Kitty, the "Cub" of his criminal alias of Flying Tiger. The pair began a  fake crime wave, which in reality was an attempt to curry the favor of the Tycoon of Crime, who was supplying criminals with Kryptonite to disable the Man of Steel. Once capturing both the Tycoon and his malevolent meteorite rocks thanks to Kitty's lifesaving assist, Superman resumed his crimefighting career, later on learning that the Flying Tiger resurfaced! Once more Lois as Kitty came to the rescue as both she and Superman discovered the identity of Flying Tiger clone's creator, Funny Face, and captured him.

Simultaneous Sagas of Surviving Sons from Space: the Supermen

Last Sons of Krypton had similar origins and settings, though divergent histories and circumstances which made them the ideal character studies for a pair of dopplegangers exisiting within the Multiverse. Of course, both Kal-El and Kal-L were initially thought to be the sole survivors of their respective Kryptons, though later tales revealed other survivors.

After being raised in Smallville by their adopted parents the Kent, each of them in their civilian identities of Clark Kent began their journalistic careers as reporters for the Daily Planet and Daily Star in the parallel cities of Metropolis. There they worked with George Taylor, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Steve Lombard/Bard, Lana Lang, and with the love of their lives, Lois Lane. Although they would primarily protect this city, they would be guardians of Earths One and Two, and inspire a generation of spandex superheroes.

Each of them faced various villains through their storied careers, though none were as persistent at plaguing them as were Lex Luthor and Alexie Luthor. Lex grew up in Smallville with Clark, and turned to villany out of a sense of revenge. Alexie originated in Europe, a young tyrant whose dreams his foe crushed.

However, there were other malevolent masterminds whose intellect rivaled that of the Luthors. Lex discovered the origins of the second greatest adversary of his arch-enemy Brainiac, an android on the planet Colu-One whom the robot overlords built based on the mental template of a dying human scientist. Sent into space to acquire information of other civilizations that his robot masters could then conquer, Brainiac journeyed to various planets whereby he shrunk each one of their cities then placing them in bottles to later study. One of these cities was that of Kandor, just prior to its world Krypton-One detonating, thus preserving it aboard its captors spaceship until Kal-El first met Brainiac and liberated it.

The first foe of Kal-L was another sinister scientist with a desire to implant his brain into a robotic body, that of the Ultra-Humanite. Born a genetic mutant with an immense intellect, Ultra sought to dominate all he desired, which brought him into immediate conflict with Superman. After several encounters, the Humanite had his mind transplanted into the body of an actress, but only temporarily while he sought to permanently secure it within the metallic frame of Robotman. When this plan failed, Ultra used a series of bodies throughout the decades, whereby he would continue to torment his enemy. Although a human unlike the synthetic Brainiac, Ultra-Humanite was every bit the threat to Superman as was his green-skinned automaton.

Both Supermen encountered Kryptonians, such as the Phantom Zone exiles of Krypton-One and the Evil Three of Earth-Two, preserved alive as part of their punishment. The would later learn that relatives of theirs survived, primarily their cousins Kara Zor-El and Kara Zor-L, who upon arrival to their respective Earths adopted the aliases of Supergirl and Power Girl. While Kal-El also had the bottled city of Kandor, providing him a sliver of his homeworld he could visit, a virtual duplicate of Kal-L's Kandor resided within Kara's rocketship, which apparently only she could access later when revisiting that city.

Among their closest friends were the heroes and heroines whom they teamed up. While Kal-El was initially a member of the large 30th century team team known as the Legion of Super-Heroes, and Kal-L frequently fought alongside a group just as large in the All-Star Squadron, the teams they are best known for being a part of were the Justice League of America and Justice Society of America. As founding members, they each at joined occasionally in adventures alongside these groups at first. Kal-El soon became a regular member, while Kal-L remained an honorary member for decades, later joining full time.

Ace reporter Lois Lane had initially been a foil and rival reporter for Clark Kent, although over time their relationship warmed up. She was always in love with Superman, on both worlds, and their romance would have its ups and downs due to each Man of Steel's commitment to his costumed career. On one occasion, Kal-El lost his super powers when he was dressed as Clark Kent, due to an alien's influence. During this period, a more assertive Clark Kent captured the interest of Lois, with the two beginning to date. Kal-L lost all memory of his alter ego and as Clark Kent gained a more assertive demeanor that captivated his Lois. While the effects were temporary with Kal-El, dooming his relationship with Lois, by the time Kal-L recalled his past, he and Lois were married.

Both Clarks would over time become more than simply star reporters for the Planet and the Star papers.

Morgan Edge, who purchased the Daily Planet and merged it with his Galaxy Broadcasting media empire enlisted Kent into becoming the evening anchorman for WGBS-TV. Given the expierence he gained under the tutelage of his first editor-in-chief George Taylor, and that man's successor Perry White, Clark blossomed in his journalistic skills which motivated Edge's decision. At first a challenge, Kal-El was able to juggle his duties as reporter, anchorman and superhero.

Another, older George Taylor, who had been editor-in-chief of the Daily Star, stepped down from his career shortly after Clark and Lois married. Seeking a successor, Taylor intiated a competion between Kent and the man whom Taylor sometimes used a backup when he was away... Perry White! Winning the contest by losing out on a news worthy scoop, as Clark had planned he became the editor-in-chief, and balanced this out with his caped career as well as marriage.

Despite these divergences in their personal stories, the Supermen each were the pinnacle of powerhouse protection on their parallel planets, and models for other such ones to follow.

Lifeless Lois Lanes Love Legend's Likeness

Lois Lane was always near her one true love Superman, so when copies of him were made, another version of her would likewise stick closer to the alien she adored. Bizarro number one, the imperfect duplication of Superman, sought to fill the void in his life with others of his kind. To that end, he made several duplicates of hiimself who were all equally lifeless and imperfect, expressing an opposite point of view from the original Kryptonitan whom they were cloned from. Similarly, Bizarro used the same imperfect duplicator ray that spawned him and his twins to create matching mates in Lois Lanes. 

One of these, deemed Lois Lane number one, became his wife and together they would eventually have a son in Bizarro Junior. On occasion, the Bizarro family and particularly the original would visit Earth-One and interact with their living counterparts, much to the dismay of the real persons whom they were modeled after due to their warped logic and propensity to create problems for them.

In like fashion, on Earth-Two in a separate universe, there was a lifeless although perfect copy created of Superman. Or, to be more precise, a clone of his villianous alter ego... the Flying Tiger... whom the caped crusader used in order to locate the mysterious supplier of deadly Kryptonite to various criminal gangs in Metropolis, which Superman had repeatedly encoutered. After defeating the mastermind behind this distribution network in the Tycoon of Crime, Superman retired the Tiger. 

However, sometime after this the levitating larcenous Tiger reappeared and summarily defeated Superman in battle. Recognizing an artist's signature on his foe's boot, Superman knew that this Flying Tiger was an enlarged version of an artistic rendering in the Daily Star. In order to  ensnare his faux foe, Superman had his wife Lois Lane Kent resume her own double identity as Kitty, the former henchwoman of his Flying Tiger. She then revealed to Tiger and to his creator and master, failed artist turned inventor Funny Face, the location of Kryptonite which could render Superman powerless. However, when Flying Tiger attempted to steal these meteorites from Metropolis' police headquarters, he himself was rendered inert as he not only had the same strength but also weakness of Superman. 

Enraged by this, Funny Face turned Kitty into a two-dimensional lifeless drawing with his bio-ray, which he had done a decade earlier. This same ray that can animate drawings also had a reverse effect on humans. Thankfully as he had done previously, Superman saved Lois leaving Kitty a mere drawing like the Tiger. Another synthetic version of Lois Lane appeared in the animated Superman Fleischer cartoons shortly after Funny Face first appeared in 1942, brought to life on 2-dimensional screens by a projector similar to the bio-ray originating from Funny Face’s alter ego Jerry Siegel.

Superman's Famous Formative Family

Superman started out as an infant alien orphan jettisoned into space when his home world and all its inhabitants, including most of his family, perished in an explosive cataclysm. Despite this, he found family and friends who became a part of his family, some from his native Krypton and others from his new home on Earth. This is the story of the golden age and modern day Supermen born Kal-El and Kal-L.

Kal-El would later meet his parents Jor-El and Lora on the wedding ceremony, after he had accidentally pierced the barrier in time and space which separated him from them, and was with them just prior to when he would be born. Through mishap, he would survive when cast as an actor in a drama, cast adrift in a space ship. 

Kal-L had himself never had knowledge of his past as had his counterpart, as he hadn't been given a memory teacher like his twin to recall key events on his Krypton. Additionally, he was a new born when leaving his world, while Kal-El had lived on that world for a couple years before it detonated and he was sent hurtling to Earth.

As such, when Kal-L sought to track the origin of a green meteorite that criminal Swami Riva used to weaken him, he discovered his parents Zor-L and Lara, although since he arrived at the time that he was born, he appeared on his Krypton as a phantom, since he couldn't exist two places at the same time. Kal-El had the opportunity to interact with his parents, becoming a lab assistant of his fathers and romancing a famous movie star there!

Immediately upon arrival to his new home on Earth-One, the toddler Kal-El who became known as Clark Kent manifested superhuman powers which his adopted parents had to train him to harness responsibly. Although initially an older couple, Jonathan and Martha Kent regained their youthful appearance, and with this had the stamina along with patience to tutor young Clark into becoming the caped crusader known as Superboy. This lad would become his hometown of Smallville's heroic champion, gaining foes in Kryptonite Kid and Lex Luthor, among others.

Superboy would even be recruited into the 30th century teenage team, the Legion of Super-Heroes, as he was their inspiration.

On one occasion during his late teen years, a mishap with a tornado caused Superboy to travel to Earth-Two, decades prior to his own time period, where he met a near identical Clark Kent. This Clark hadn't manifested quite the range of superpowers as had his counterpart, although he did show phenomenal strength in an orphanage before being adopted by the couple who found him. This couple, John and Mary Kent, remained older and thus weren't as prepared to groom their son into a budding mystery man, as superheroes there were called. After attempting a brief career as Masked Wonder, Clark resolved to become Superman after following the example of Superboy.

One of the earliest friends whom Superboy met was his alter ego's next door neighbor, Lana Lang, who along with her family moved in next door early in his costumed career. Lana would begin to have an on again off again romance with Superboy, while scoffing at her clumsy classmate Clark.

While this Lana had a wealth of experience with both identities of Kal-El, her counterpart on Earth-Two didn't have the same opportunity. While Lana on Earth-One had moved to the town along with her father Professor Lewis Lang and her mother, where Superboy resided, this Lana and her parents moved from Smallville before she would have had opportunity to go to school with her world's Clark. As such, Clark met Lana when they were adults, and after he had already married Lois Lane. Because of this, they did not have a romance as had their dopplegangers, and remained plutonic friends. Later, Superman would meet Professor Lang when both sought to free Lana from the influence of a scarab her fatther discovered and gifted to her.

Back on Earth-One, the relationship between Lois and Lana was always a hot source of contention, with each lady attempting to win the right to be the girlfriend and, ultimately, wife of Superman. They even became superheroines on occasion when they had been granted powers. Both shared the bio-ring that Lana had been gifted, each would become an Insect Queen. While Lois also had the alter ego of Power Girl and later Super Woman, Lana beat her to the punch when she was given a pair of alien belts her father found on archeaologist digs, becoming Sky Girl and Gravity Girl.

The older Earth-Two Professor Lang also found an item of power in the form of the scarab broach which transformed his daughter into Insect Queen, who at first was evil but turned good with the help of Lois and her husband Superman. Lois had herself had experience on a couple of occasions as Super Woman, but would gift the Power Girl alter ego to her adopted daughter years later... Kal-L's cousin Kara Zor-L. Unlike that Kara, the Kara Zor-El of Earth-One settled on a name honoring her cousin when she became Supergirl. And she would have parents and cousins who lived in the bottled city of Kandor-One, while the L's only had virtual versions of their Kryptonian kin in a synthetic Kandor-Two housed within Power Girl's Symbioship that saved her life.

Supergirls throughout the Ages and Earths

Several supergirls appeared on Earths One and Two throughout the years:

• Kara Zor-El and Kara Zor-L as Supergirl and Power Girl, cousins of the Supermen and standard bearers for the name.
• Lesla-Lar of Kandor and Kara-Lar of Symbioship, mental maidens fighting each Kara in her own mind.for control.
• Lois Lane and her counterpart, each donned the role of the first Superwomen, their greatest power was stealing Superman's heart.
• Lena Luthor Thorul Colby and Libby Lawrence Chambers were blonde bombshells who did not possess Supergirl's powers but were apt substitutes.
• Luma Lynai and Tharka, each powerless on Earth, tried to capture the attention of the Supermen during visits to their worlds.
• Syreena and Liandly Tyic were the other Super-Girls, lookalikes for the Girls of Steel who gained temporary superhuman abilities (with Ella Leeds and Susan Semple as temporary standins).
• Lea Lindy the Marvel Maid of planet Terra and Jannie of planet Karma were lookalikes with superhuman physiques visiting Earth once.
• Louise-L and Jinal De' Comarr came from 500,000 AD Earth-One and far future of Earth-Two, potentia descendants of the originals.

Of course, another Superwoman... a renegade Amazon of Earth-Three... was her world's Wonder Woman. And several more allies of the Men of Steel would also be classified as stellar supergirls.

Superwomen of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

While the greatest superhero on any world is Superman, the woman... or rather women... behind him goes by the name of Lois Lane. And, on rare occasions, as Superwoman!

Of course, there are the preeminent superwomen in the Supermen's Kryptonian cousins of Kara Zor-El and Kara Zor-L aka Supergirl and Power Girl who would each take up the mantle in one form or another upon reaching womanhood. Then there was Kristin Wells from the 29th century who claimed the name of Superwoman in the late twentieth century, while her counterpart Maria remained in that far future era with her sinister technological twin taking her place.

Then there was the nasty Amazon of Earth-Three known as Superwoman, Wonder Woman's counterpart, who was the sole female member of the Crime Syndicate and found herself exiled in interdimensional limbo with her cronies for years after facing the Justice League and Society on two occasions.  She perished along with her world during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, while trying to save it.

Of course, the most famous Superwomen briefly adopting that alias were the Lois Lanes of Earths One and Two, although their careers were extremely short. For Lois-One, this was when her boyfriend made a device that transferred his Kryptonian powers for a limited period of time to her. For Lois-Two, this occurred when her husband's Kryptonian abilities transferred to her temporarily due to an exotic extraterrestrial plant he had bought her.

In the 30th century, the apparent descendants of both Supermen and Lanes followed in their ancestors' footsteps. Lois 4XR whom Superman met after being sent to the year 2961 by Lex Luthor using technology provided by the Legion of Super-Villains member Cosmic King. 

The Earth-One Lois 4XR had a counterpart in Lois 4XR of 2949 on Earth-Two. Both of these Lois's seemed to have all the powers of their ancestors at the peak of their prowess, however with none of the good judgement or discipline. As such, a grown Superman had to rescue Lois 4XR several times before he returned to the 20th century. Laurel met the teenage Superboy while he was meeting up with his Legion allies. The Boy of Steel initially fell for her before learning her identity, and then returning to his native time knowing that this girl would resemble the woman he would one day marry. 

Laurel Kent was a student of the Legion of Super-Heroes' Academy, due to her young age and that the sole superhuman power was invulnerability. Her mother seems to have been Lois 4XR, whom Superman met years before his earlier self as Superboy had met Laurel.

Jor-L was Laurel’s Earth-Two doppelgänger, an ace agent of the Space Legion. As one of the Federal Men of the 30th century, he was noted for bringing to justice the Bandit Queen, Nira-Q. In the end, it was Jor-L who triumphed.... as witnessed by a 20th century inspiration for the Federal Men in Steve Carson

Later stories seem to indicate in a future timeline that Laurel was in actuality an android agent of the Manhunters originally built by the Guardians of the Universe, sent to infiltrate superhuman societies in the 30th century.