Lori Lemaris

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Lori Lemaris
Lori Lemaris.jpg
Lori Lemaris's first appearance in Superman #129 (May 1959), art by Wayne 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
AbilitiesSemi-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 Lemaris is a mermaid in DC Comics, and a romantic interest for Superman. [1] She is from Tritonis, a city in the undersea lost continent of Atlantis, [2] and first appeared in Superman #129. [3] She was created by Bill Finger and Wayne Boring. Lori is one of several Superman characters with the alliterative initials "LL", including Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Lana Lang, Lyla Lerrol, Luma Lynai, and Lucy Lane.

Contents

Fictional character biography

Silver Age

Lori was first introduced in the story "The Girl in Superman's Past" in Superman #129 (May 1959). While attending Metropolis University, Clark Kent meets Lori, who is attending as a student and hides her mermaid identity by posing as a wheelchair-using student with a blanket covering her lower body. Clark and Lori soon fall in love with each other, but Clark starts to wonder why Lori cuts their dates short every night to return home at 8 PM. Clark eventually decides to propose marriage to Lori, but Lori tells Clark that she cannot marry him and is returning home. Heartbroken and growing suspicious of why Lori had to return home every night at a preset time, Clark investigates and discovers that Lori is a mermaid after seeing the tank of water in her room. Lori, in turn, reveals that she learned Clark's identity as Superman using her telepathy, but promises to keep her knowledge secret. Lori also states that since the two come from different worlds, they can never marry. After a parting kiss underwater, the two bid farewell to each other. [4]

Lori made various appearances throughout the Silver Age Superman comics before being killed during Crisis on Infinite Earths . [5]

Modern Age

Lori returns following John Byrne's 1986 Man of Steel limited series, which revised Superman's origins. Her post-Crisis incarnation first appeared in Superman (vol. 2) #12 in December 1987. Her origin and relationship with Clark remained similar to the original, except that in post-Crisis continuity, Clark never operated as Superboy. [2]

In Lori's appearances in the 1990s, she was magically altered so that she would be human when dry and a mermaid when wet. Lois Lane agrees to let her stay at her apartment during a trip to Metropolis; however, Lori being an old flame of Clark's puts a brief strain on Lois and Clark's relationship, though things are soon straightened out. Lori remains a recurring character through the rest of the 1990s. At one point she is accused of being a black market smuggler of underground artifacts and is confronted by Daily Planet reporter Steve Lombard and a camera crew. To escape, she dives off a bridge and swims away. Not understanding her nature, Lombard and his crew believe Lori to have committed suicide. [6]

In the eighth volume of Aquaman (2025), Lori Lemaris reappears as a mercenary and servant of Dagon. [7] [8] [9] [10]

Other versions

In other media

References

  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.
  2. 1 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. Jurgens, Dan  ( w ), Frenz, Ron  ( p ), Rubinstein, Joe  ( i )."Sanctuary"Superman,vol. 2,no. 117(November 1996).DC Comics.
  7. Brown, Tyler (March 12, 2025). "'Aquaman' #3 is a light in the darkness". AIPT. Retrieved August 14, 2025. One of the mermaids hunting Arthur is none other than Lori Lemaris – a one-time romantic partner of Superman. The trio of mermaids kidnaps Arthur to take him to Dagon – something Arion realizes once they've finished forging.
  8. Brown, Tyler (April 9, 2025). "'Aquaman' #4 is a fun step forward". AIPT. Retrieved August 14, 2025. After opening with a flashback/dream sequence, Arthur is rudely awoken by his captor, Lori Lemaris, as the mermaid takes him to her master, Dagon.
  9. Cronin, Brian (April 14, 2025). "Aquaman #4 Review: Aquaman's Turn Into Badassery Really Takes Off". CBR . Retrieved August 14, 2025. In the previous issue, Lori Lemaris and a group of fellow mermaids (remember, all of Atlantis has been stolen away to another dimension, and some time has passed since it happened, so a lot of bad stuff has gone down while they were gone, leading heroic characters like Lori Lemaris to become mercenaries) took Aquaman captive, and are bringing him to Dagon, an old Aquaman villain (who had powers like Mera) that Adams has brought back (after Dagon had just a single appearance many decades ago in an issue of Justice League of America).
  10. Radtz, B. (May 14, 2025). "Aquaman #5: Finding Captain Nemo". Comic Watch. Retrieved August 14, 2025. I love how Adams included Lori Lemaris, Superman's mermaid girlfriend, to being one of Dagon's enforcers, which is something that literally came from left field, but I'm kinda in love with the idea.
  11. "Lori Lemaris Voice - Young Justice (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 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 credits or other reliable sources of information.
  12. Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN . Retrieved July 26, 2024.