SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for "Superwoman" #1, on sale now.

"Superwoman" #1 is one of DC's few Rebirth titles to feature a more-or-less brand-new character; in this case, the arrival of a Superwoman to the New 52. But while readers might think they know what's happening at first as Lana Lang narrates the book starring a super-powered Lois Lane, consider this a warning. There are more doubles, twists and turns lurking in this comic than you might initially expect, including what appears to be the death of a major DC Comics player.

Lois Lane, Ace Reporter

The most obvious double is Lois Lane herself. Thanks to "Convergence" there are actually two Lois Lanes running around the DC Universe. There's the Lois from the pre-"Flashpoint" universe that crossed over into this new world, who is married to that world's Superman and is helping him raise their son Jon Kent while hiding from the rest of the DC Universe. We've seen a great deal of her in current issues of "Superman" and "Action Comics," but it begged the question of what was up with the Lois Lane that is native to the current DC Universe.

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And then there's the New 52 Lois Lane. This Lois was never Superman's wife, though she still played a crucial role in the now-deceased Superman's life. Early on, she was given psychic powers in an encounter with a group of meta-humans named "The Twenty" who had gained their abilities after coming into contact with Brainiac. By the end of the second year of the New 52, though, the Parasite ended up saving Lois's life by draining the abilities that had knocked her into a coma. Most notably, she was the one who outed Superman as Clark Kent to the entire planet in an effort to save Superman from being blackmailed with that knowledge.

In many ways, that was all a set-up for her status at the start of "Superwoman" #1. Present at the death of the Man of Steel in "Superman" #52, she was one of two characters who was struck by a bolt of energy as he died. Superman's death seems to have released his powers for the taking. Lois Lane's abilities as Superwoman include flight, super-strength, super-speed, super-hearing, x-ray vision, and heat vision. It's the set of abilities that people traditionally think of when defining what Superman can do. Her appearance is similar to the classic look of Superman, too, with the traditional blue outfit, red cape, and S-symbol on the chest. But while the pre-"Crisis" Lois Lane was briefly Superwoman (all the way back in "Action Comics" #60 in the mid-1940s), the New 52's Lois hasn't used powers beyond her brief psychic stint. And so, Lois turns to the one person she can trust; Clark Kent's main confident within the New 52 universe. Namely, Lana Lang.

Lana Lang, Superman's Best Friend

In the New 52, Lana Lang's not only Clark's childhood friend (and the main person that he could confide in over the years), but an uber-competent person in her own right. She and John Henry Irons were a major part of the "Action Comics" run by Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder, with the duo serving as technological whizzes who were able to go on adventures alongside Superman and prove to be a strong assist instead of an impediment. Here, Lana Lang is training Lois Lane on how to use her powers, recreating the steps that Clark himself went through in the early days of his own super-powers. It's Lana who first notices that Lois is getting nose bleeds when she uses the power, a hint that just like the last time Lois gained superpowers, they could prove hazardous to her health. But Lana Lang is harboring a new secret of her own. Not only was she the second person struck by the bolt of energy from Superman's death, but, as it turns out, "Superwoman" #1 is introducing a second Superwoman into the DC Universe.

Unlike Lois Lane, Lana Lang's Superwoman is all about the lesser-known looks and abilities of the character. Lana transforms into a character very similar to Superman-Red, crackling with electricity and composed entirely of red and white energy. And while she can fly too, Lana's other abilities involve energy manipulation. She's still learning within this issue just what she's capable, of, but for the moment, she's figured out how to affect anything that responds to electrical fields.

One Final Double

Up until now, "Superwoman" #1 has featured two Lois Lanes and two Superwomans. (Superwomen?) There's one extra double waiting for readers on the final page, though. Readers might find themselves wondering just how the DC Universe can continue to hold two Lois Lanes, especially now that this universe's native Superman is dead. Well, as it turns out, Superman's duplicate Bizarro appears to have a double of his own. This female Bizarro is going to perform a little doubling of her own; following up on the death of this universe's Superman, it seems that the New 52's Lois Lane has just followed suit. The final panel appears to show a dead Lois, though the cover of Issue #2 depicts Superwoman-Lois clawing her way through a pile of skeletons, so chances are it's all a last-page cliffhanger fake-out.

What does this mean for the pre-"Flashpoint" Lois Lane, who presumably can finally come out of the shadows? Lana Lang with only a portion of Superman's powers? And of course, there's also Lois Lane's ominous final words that hint at something much larger going on with all of the power-jumping connected to Superman. Only time -- and if we're lucky, "Superwoman" #2 -- will tell.