Lori Lemaris

Lori Lemaris
Lori Lemaris
	Lori Lemaris's first appearance inSuperman#129 (May 1959), art byWayne Boring.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Superman#129 (May 1959)
Created by	Bill Finger; Wayne Boring
In-story information
Species	Mermaid
Place of origin	Atlantis
Team affiliations	Justice League of Atlantis
Supporting character of	Superman; Aquaman
Abilities	Semi-amphibious physiology allows her to breathe on land for a period of time as well as morph her tail into a pair of human legs.; Can swim at high velocities and exhibits strength and durability sufficient to survive the deep sea.; Can communicate telepathically with marine life.

Lori Lemarisis amermaidinDC Comics,and a romantic interest forSuperman.^[1]She is from Tritonis, a city in the undersea lost continent ofAtlantis,^[2]and first appeared inSuperman#129.^[3]She was created byBill FingerandWayne Boring.Lori is one of several Superman characters with thealliterativeinitials "LL", includingLois Lane,Lex Luthor,Lana Lang,Lyla Lerrol,Luma LynaiandLucy Lane.

Fictional character biography[edit]

Silver Age[edit]

Lori was first introduced in the story "The Girl in Superman's Past" inSuperman#129 (May 1959). The story revealed that while attendingMetropolisUniversity, Clark met Lori, who was attending as a student and hiding her mermaid identity by posing as awheelchair-using student with a blanket covering her lower 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 proposemarriageto 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 when he saw the tank of water in her room. 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.^[4]

Lori made various appearances throughout theSilver AgeSuperman comics.^[5]She was killed in the 1985limited seriesCrisis on Infinite Earths,along with many other characters.

Modern Age[edit]

Lori was soon brought back in a new incarnation afterJohn Byrne's 1986Man of Steellimited series, which revised Superman's origins. Her post-Crisis incarnation first appeared inSuperman(vol. 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 metAquaman,who revealed he was a native of just such a city.^[2]

In Lori's appearances in the mid-to-late 1990s, she had been magically altered so that she would be human when dry and a mermaid when wet.Lois Laneagreed to let her stay at her apartment for a while during a trip to Metropolis; however, Lori being an old flame of Clark's put a brief strain on Lois and Clark's relationship, though things were soon straightened out. Lori remained a recurring character through the rest of the 1990s. At one point she was accused of being a black market smuggler of underground artifacts and confronted by Daily Planet reporterSteve Lombardand a camera crew. To escape, she dove off a bridge and swam away. Not understanding her nature, Steve and the crew believed she committed suicide to escape the criminal charges leveled against her.^[6]

Lemaris made an appearance inJustice Leagues,aJustice League of Americacomic event in 2001 involving her native Atlantis. In human form, her feet do not touch the ground, instead floating about an inch above it.

Lori was thought to be killed in the 2005-2006Infinite Crisislimited series when the out-of-control, magic-hatingSpectredestroyedAtlantis.She appeared again after the Crisis' reality-altering events in a flashback story shown in 2007'sSuperman Confidential#6-7.

Other versions[edit]

Joker's Wild[edit]

In theTangent ComicsseriesJoker's Wild,a human reporter named Lori Lemaris is one of three heroines masquerading as a heroic version ofJoker.After one of her comrades dies in action, Lori refuses to wear the Joker outfit anymore, instead wearing the recently deceasedManhunter's costume. She also appears inTangent: Superman's Reignseries (March 2008).

Superman: Year One[edit]

Lori appears in the second issue ofFrank Miller'sSuperman: Year Onelimited series, which presents a new take on Superman's origins.

In other media[edit]

Lori Lemaris appears inYoung Justice,voiced byKath Soucie.^[7]^[8]This version is a student of the Conservatory of Sorcery who later becomes a general and representative of the Atlantean city-state of Tritonis.

References[edit]

^Fleisher, Michael L. (2007).The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume Three: Superman.DC Comics. pp. 170–173, 420–421.ISBN 978-1-4012-1389-3.
^^a ^bByrne, John(w),Byrne, John(p),Kesel, Karl(i). "Lost Love"Superman,vol. 2, no. 12 (December 1987). DC Comics.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe.DK Publishing. p. 180.ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
^Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010).The Essential Superman Encyclopedia.Del Rey. pp. 204–205.ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
^Schelly, William (2013).American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s.TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 212.ISBN 9781605490540.
^Superman(vol. 2) #117 (1996)
^"YOUNG JUSTICE: LORI LEMARIS by Jerome-K-Moore on DeviantArt".5 March 2011.
^"Lori Lemaris Voice - Young Justice (TV Show)".Behind The Voice Actors.RetrievedMarch 15,2024.A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.

External links[edit]

Biography about the Silver Age Lori Lemaris
Biography about the modern Lori Lemaris
Supermanica: Lori LemarisSupermanica entry on the pre-Crisis Lori Lemaris.

[1] Fleisher, Michael L. (2007).The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume Three: Superman.DC Comics. pp. 170–173, 420–421.ISBN 978-1-4012-1389-3.

[superman12-2] Byrne, John(w),Byrne, John(p),Kesel, Karl(i). "Lost Love"Superman,vol. 2, no. 12 (December 1987). DC Comics.

[3] Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe.DK Publishing. p. 180.ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.

[4] Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010).The Essential Superman Encyclopedia.Del Rey. pp. 204–205.ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.

[5] Schelly, William (2013).American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s.TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 212.ISBN 9781605490540.

[6] Superman(vol. 2) #117 (1996)

[7] "YOUNG JUSTICE: LORI LEMARIS by Jerome-K-Moore on DeviantArt".5 March 2011.

[btva-8] "Lori Lemaris Voice - Young Justice (TV Show)".Behind The Voice Actors.RetrievedMarch 15,2024.A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]