Lara (character)

Lara Lor-Van is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Lara first appeared in the Superman newspaper comic strip in 1939. Lara is the biological mother of Superman, and the wife of scientist Jor-El. Lara Lor-Van is Lara's full maiden name, as "Lor-Van" is the name of Lara's father. Most depictions of Kryptonian culture show that Kryptonian women use their father's full name as their last names before marriage. After marriage, they usually are known simply by their first names, though various versions show they use their husband's full name or last name as their married last name.

Lara's role in the Superman mythos has varied over the years, with her treatment and emphasis often depending on the decade in which she was written. Golden Age and early Silver Age stories treated Lara in a lesser role compared to her husband. However, stories from the 1970s onwards depict Lara in more prominent roles; one such example is the 2004 miniseries Superman: Birthright. After constructing his Fortress of Solitude, Superman honored his deceased biological parents with a statue of Jor-El and Lara holding up a globe of Krypton.

Susannah York portrays Lara in the 1978 film Superman: The Movie, the 1980 film Superman II, and the 1987 film Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Ayelet Zurer portrayed Lara in the 2013 film Man of Steel, which is set in the DC Extended Universe. Angela Sarafyan portrayed Lara in the DC Universe (DCU) film Superman. Mariana Klaveno portrayed the character in the television series Superman & Lois.

Lara's first appearance was in the Superman newspaper comic strip on January 16, 1939, where she was named Lora. Her first comic book appearance (after being mentioned in the 1942 text novel The Adventures of Superman by George Lowther, where she was named "Lara" for the first time) was in More Fun Comics #101 in January–February 1945. A 1948 retelling of Superman's origin story subsequently delved into detail about Lara, though her more familiar Silver Age aspects were established starting in the late 1950s and over the next several decades.

After the establishment of DC's multiverse in the early 1960s, the Golden Age version of Superman's mother was stated as having been named "Lora", and lived on the Krypton of Earth-Two. The Silver Age Lara, meanwhile, lived on the Krypton of Earth-One.

A definitive synopsis of the Silver Age Lara's life (summarizing the various stories revealing her history) came in the 1979 miniseries The World of Krypton (not to be confused with the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths late 1980s comic special of the same name).

As summarized in The World of Krypton (and in various other stories), Lara was a promising astronaut in Krypton's space program before it was grounded after Jax-Ur destroyed Krypton's moon Wegthor. Eventually, Lara met scientist Jor-El, with the two having several adventures together before getting married, such as a time-traveling Lois Lane attempting to seduce Jor-El after failing to marry their son in the future. Some time later, Lara gave birth to the couple's only child, Kal-El.

Early in Jor-El and Lara's marriage, the couple are briefly watched by the Guardians of the Universe, who note that they would have made an excellent Green Lantern.