History ComicBook / LoisLane

* OutdatedName: A classic example. "Lois" was a pretty trendy girls' name during the Golden Age of Comic Books, but has underwent a significant drop in popularity since then. By TheEighties, when it dropped out of the top 1000 names for girls, it was associated more with middle-aged women than twentysomethings. Nowadays, you can't possibly say "Lois" without picturing Superman's girlfriend.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: In live action adaptations Lois has been played by an actress slightly older than the actor playing Clark Kent despite the two characters being roughly the same age, or, as was the case in Donnerverse films, Lois being the younger one[[note]]A scene deleted from the theatrical cut of ''Film/{{Superman}}'' (but present in the DVD and television cut) has a teenage Clark run pass a train with a pre-teen Lois on board.[[/note]]. This is probably to reflect her hardbitten, StreetSmart reporter persona against Clark's farmboy naivete.
** Inverted in ''Film/SupermanReturns'', where Lois is played by then-23-year-old Creator/KateBosworth.

* BrainyBrunette[=/=]FieryRedhead: She has both the brains and the attitude and has been depicted as ''both'' over the years, though jet black hair is her most common look.

* BigBraToFill: Lois has been played by actors with different physiques and various hair colors (See: Noel Neill, Creator/MargotKidder, Creator/TeriHatcher, Dana Delany, Creator/EricaDurance, Creator/AmyAdams, and Creator/ElizabethTulloch).

Lois is a career-driven, IntrepidReporter who speaks her mind and goes for [[GoingForTheBigScoop the big scoop]] regardless of the dangers. Her creator Jerry Siegel said he based Lois on the film character Torchy Blane and actress Lola Lane. Her first series, during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks in the 1940s, was ''Lois Lane, Girl Reporter'', which appeared in the Superman comic book and had her defeating bad guys and getting front page stories on her own.

* BigBraToFill: Lois has been played by actors with different physiques and various hair colors (See: Noel Neill, Creator/MargotKidder, Creator/TeriHatcher, Dana Delany, Creator/EricaDurance, Creator/AmyAdams, and Elizabeth Tulloch).

** This became very notable during the final days of the ''Comicbook/New52'' and ''Comicbook/DCYou'' as both the younger ''New 52''!Lois and the older ''Post-Crisis''!Lois being drawn considerably different with the former having sharper features and long black hair and the latter having a rounder face and medium brown hair.

** She constantly changes her hair to black, brunette or auburn.

-->--''Series/LoisAndClark'', "Pilot"

Lois Lane is a reporter and the main {{Love Interest|s}} of Franchise/{{Superman}}. She continues to be an inextricable part of the Superman mythos and appears in virtually every version of the character, be it comics, movies or animations. Lois first appeared in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' #1 (June, 1938), the first published Superman story. She was one of the very first female comic book characters appearing in American superhero comic books.

* ColorCodedEyes: Has '''violet eyes''', and is the only non-super to have them. So if she's undercover in a disguise, or if the story has another brunette woman in civilian clothes but the artist was incapable of drawing different faces (which happens a lot), then the eye color is the tip-off that it's Lois Lane or a different woman.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: While she is always portrayed as competent in her professional life, some stories depict her as this due to the public known her as the woman who cheats on Superman with Clark Kent or Lex Luthor.

* LivingEmotionalCrutch:
** Many modern takes on Lois portray her as serving this for Superman showing that he would fall apart, go insane or evil without her. She provides a loving human and down to earth counterbalance as TheCynic to keep Superman's nature as TheIdealist from hitting a DespairEventHorizon due to his alien origins and troubles as a superhero.

* HalfHumanHybrid: Lois and Clark's son [[HumanMomNonHumanDad Jonathan]].

** The Lois of the ComicBook/New52 gained Superman's powers after ''[[ComicBook/SupermanSuperLeague The Final Days of Superman]]'', and even got her own title, ''ComicBook/{{Superwoman}}''. [[spoiler:[[DecoyProtagonist She's dead by]] [[FirstEpisodeSpoiler the end of the first issue]], as Lana Lang is the true protagonist]].

In UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, Lois had her own standalone comic book series titled ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'', which lasted for 137 issues from 1958 to 1974. The series focused on Lois' adventures and romances and had a very humorous tone, her character becoming less serious and focusing a lot more on romances with Superman or others. Her suspicion that Clark Kent is Superman and her attempt to prove it greatly increased during this period. An adult version of the character ComicBook/LanaLang was also introduced to the book. In some of the stories she became a superhero herself, but only briefly or in imaginary stories that [[WhatIf were not intended as part of the official canon]]. Come the 1970s, the series attempted to modernize Lois by having her be more career orientated, no longer interested in romances, with the stories tackling more serious subjects.

** Many modern takes on Lois portray her as serving this for Superman showing that he would fall apart, go insane or evil without her.

* Main/MostCommonSuperPower: In modern comics, she’s shown as very busty.

* PurpleIsPowerful: Starting since ''[[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries The Animated Series]]'', Lois in both the comics and in animation is nearly always depicted as having violet/purple eyes, and most appearances also have her wearing something that is [[ColorMotif purple or lavender]]. The latter about wearing purple enters into ContrivedCoincidence at times, like when Lois gained acceptance into [[Characters/NewGodsApokolips Granny Goodness' Female Furies]] while marooned on Apokolips during ''Imperious Lex'', and Granny happened to have purple armor available after another Fury's death.

* PurpleIsPowerful: Starting since ''[[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries The Animated Series]]'', Lois in both the comics and in animation is nearly always depicted as having [[PurpleEyes violet/purple eyes]], and most appearances also have her wearing something that is [[ColorMotif purple or lavender]]. The latter about wearing purple enters into ContrivedCoincidence at times, like when Lois gained acceptance into [[Characters/NewGodsApokolips Granny Goodness' Female Furies]] while marooned on Apokolips during ''Imperious Lex'', and Granny happened to have purple armor available after another Fury's death.