- "I wanted you to know that by your world's standards, I am a man of honor. And I take no pleasure in what comes next."
- —General Lane when torturing Astra[src]
General Samuel "Sam" Lane is a military general of the U.S. Army. He is also the son of an unnamed man, the brother of an unnamed woman, and the father of Lois and Lucy Lane.
Sam had a complicated relationship with his daughters, and had a strong view on aliens. In 2015, he went to National City with the army to train Supergirl with Red Tornado, a robot that could defeat Kryptonians. The robot fought the heroine and then fled, leaving Sam infuriated. He later attended Lucy's dinner with James Olsen, until the robot attacked them, but they were saved by Supergirl. Later, Sam captured General Astra, but had to release her to retrieve "Hank Henshaw". During Myriad's activation, Sam briefly become the new D.E.O. leader, but rejoined the army when Supergirl defeated Non.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Sam Lane was born in the 1950s; into a military family. When he was a child, his father used to bring Sam and his sister to the movies every Sunday. During one of these occasions, they saw The Day the Earth Stood Still; which strongly impressed and terrified Sam. The film would be one of the catalysts; which convinced Sam that; extraterrestrials were the biggest threat to both the country and the whole planet; since their technology and powers could wipe out the human race in a few moments.[1]
Growing up, Sam followed the family tradition; by joining the U.S. army and climbing the hierarchy; until he earned the rank of general. He fathered two daughters; Daily Planet's reporter Lois Lane and military lawyer Lucy Lane;[2] who also served as a legal attache on his staff. Over the years, Sam's relationship; with Lois became estranged; due to his immorality and control issues over her life.[3]
Due to Sam's strong anti-alien ideas, he viewed even Superman as a potential threat to America. Due to this; Sam had tried to establish a partnership; with the D.E.O.; which he considered inadequate to handle potential alien invaders.[1][3]
Arriving in National City[]
General Lane arrives at the D.E.O.
General Sam Lane came to National City, as he wanted "Hank Henshaw" to transfer Supergirl to his unit. However, Hank could not, as she did not technically work for the D.E.O. Then, he demanded that Supergirl fight their field robot Red Tornado. Supergirl won the battle, breaking off the android's arm with her freezing breath, and causing damage in his system. As Red Tornado flew, Dr. Morrow said his robot activated the self emergency protocol, so General Lane fired Morrow because he did not cope with the task. The next day, the general had dinner with Lucy and James, to whom he told (in an arrogant/disrespectful manner) that James is not worthy of his daughter - that James surrounded himself with special people because he's not good enough himself. Later, General Lane, Lucy and James were attacked by Red Tornado, and Supergirl rescued them but is forced to allow the android to escape in order to diffuse a tornado it caused. Later, "Henshaw" suggested using alien technology that created the hologram of General Lane to draw out Red Tornado, and Supergirl destroyed it.[3]
Acting director of the D.E.O.[]
General Lane tortures Astra.
When "Hank Henshaw" was captured by Astra and Non's army, General Lane returned to National City to temporarily perform his duties as director of the D.E.O.; he tortured Astra by injecting her with liquid Kryptonite to learn the location of their base, but she gave them a false position, which turned out to be a trap. Then Supergirl decided to make an exchange of prisoners; despite the fact that the general was against it, he was forced to retreat as Kara stood her ground. After his return, "Henshaw" (coldly) told General Lane that his presence at the D.E.O. was no longer required, and General Lane and his team left.[1]
Myriad[]
When National City was put under the influence of Myriad, Supergirl contacted General Lane and asked him not to let anyone enter the city as she didn't understand what was happening. Later he called her back saying that he had done his duty and asked her to fulfill hers.[4]
General Lane gives the Omegahedron to Maxwell Lord.
Later, Lucy asked his father to release J'onn J'onzz (whose Martian identity had been previously revealed making him a fugitive), but the general refused to do so. However, he allowed J'onn to go with Supergirl to fight Non and Indigo. After their victory, General Lane told J'onn J'onzz that the President granted him a full pardon and re-instated him as the director of the D.E.O. He then took Non's apocalypse device, the Omegahedron, under military custody and later delivered it to Maxwell Lord.[5]
Housing Daxamite technology[]
General Lane aided in the safekeeping of a Daxamite ship following their invasion. However, after it was hijacked by Robert DuBois, J'onn J'onzz called Lane and gave him a stern talking to, threatening to have his stars stripped from him.[6] It is unknown what became of him after the destruction of the multiverse in the Anti-Monitor Crisis,[7] if he bears any resemblance to his Earth-TUD25 counterpart.
Personality[]
- "I wanted you to know that by your world's standards, I am a man of honor. And I take no pleasure in what comes next."
- —Sam Lane to Astra[src]
Sam is extremely arrogant, self-righteous, short-sighted and disrespectful, although he genuinely cares about the welfare of his country, he is also quite selfish, as never takes responsibility or even admits to his own mistakes, always trying to shift the blame on others, he is incapable of expressing gratitude, even towards individuals who had saved his life, viewing their actions as only acting for their own selfish reasons, his elitist views even proves their nature when it comes to his parenting, regularly outright noting his disapproval of would-be suitors to his daughters that do not meet his overly-high standards. It can be assumed that he does not have a good relationship with his daughter, Lois; due to the fact that he interferes in her relationships with men.[3]
Sam has a strong view on aliens, deeply hating them simply because they are different, regardless whether or not they are a threat to the human race. He even dislikes anyone who associates themselves with aliens, like James Olsen; due to the latter being close friends with Superman.[3] Though he does imply that watching The Day the Earth Stood Still left a haunting impression on him as a child; this fear could explain why he grew up so distrusting of extraterrestrial life.[1]
Sam is quite immoral, as he had Astra tortured with liquid Green Kryptonite to try and get the location of where her comrades were keeping "Hank Henshaw" he displayed no guilt or remorse for this act; proving that; his hatred for aliens goes so far as to believe that; they don't deserve civil rights. Though he admits that; he took no pleasure in it; showing a shred of decency.
Appearances[]
Supergirl[]
Season 1
Season 3
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Comics[]
Adventures of Supergirl[]
- "Nightmares on El Street" (mentioned)
Behind the scenes[]
- In the DC comics, General Sam Lane is an antagonist to Superman, father of Lois Lane and Lucy Lane and husband of Ella Lane. He is a great military leader and believes that people with as much power as Superman prove an ongoing threat to humanity stemming from his natural distrust. A true patriot, he is willing to cross many lines and even go to his death in the defense of his country. This includes working alongside Lex Luthor on several occasions. There is irony in that his daughter is married to Clark Kent, secretly his greatest enemy. Although he appeared to die fighting Imperiex during Our Worlds at War, New Krypton showed that he had faked his own death. Later he committed suicide during the War of the Supermen, though he was later reintroduced following the New 52 reboot. He was also the leader of Project 7734.
- Originally he was introduced as a horse farmer from the town of Pittsdale, before later being reinvented as a U.S. army general.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Blood Bonds"
- ↑ "Fight or Flight"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Red Faced"
- ↑ "Myriad"
- ↑ "Better Angels"
- ↑ "Girl of Steel"
- ↑ "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One"
| Other versions of Sam Lane (Earth-38) | ||||
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| Earth: TUD25 • Inverse World | ||||
| Original multiverse | ||||
| Earth: 38 • TUD22 | ||||
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