Superman opinions you're disdainful towards.

[Sacred Knight]

Superman is just what Clark acts like wearing a cape. But it's still Clark.

That's why its basically all the same guy. Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent. There is no mask unless we're talking the public persona of Clark Kent. That is an act, to the degree that the individual writer wants to accentuate it. But there's never an act when Clark's in private, and there's no acting whatsoever when he's Superman.

That's why there's more truth to the "Clark is the mask" line. It in of itself is not quite honest and marginalizes a more deep dichotomy, but its far truer than saying Superman is a mask. The Clark identity is negotiable, again, it all depends on how deep one wants to go with the act he puts on when in public. But he has to, to some degree. He doesn't have to act at all as Superman and he by no means ever should be characterized as doing so. When he's wearing the costume he's himself. As himself as he'd be able to be just in street clothes as Clark Kent if he had not a care in the world. There is no acting, no theatrics going on there. I'll always will believe that to characterize him in that way to any degree is to have the most basic of misunderstandings of the character. If I had my way no writer who thought that way would be able to get their pen anywhere near the character ever again.

[Kuwagaton]

Small quibble between that and part of the fine point made by Adekis: Superman isn't honest. When he goes to talk to Jimmy, he's hiding Clark. When he gets caught in costume with his wedding band on, he's also hiding Clark. The idea that Superman isn't a man of this world isn't enough to make him Superman with Clark on the side, any more than growing up as a "real" person with parents makes Superman a fabrication.

At one point Clark would range from a deliberately compromised presentation of the man ("Clark, sometimes you seem a good guy to know, but then you just act like a scrub") to virtually a complete lie, making the duality a false premise. But that was over 30 years ago.

[DochaDocha]

Superman's more of a lie of omission, whereas Clark Kent is more of a lie of commission.

[greatmetropolitan]

I might be misremembering this quote, but here goes. I think it was Birthright issue 2 that had Clark about to leave for Metropolis with "Meisner on Acting" under his arm. The quote I have in mind is that acting is "living honestly within a lie", or something to that effect. And that's what Clark has to do. he has a very, very necessary lie he has to tell people, but he lives as honestly as he possibly can within that one mistruth.

Actually, that's a Superman pet peeve of mine that generally came up in Smallville a lot. People getting angry and Clark for not divulging his powerful and dangerous secret to them. Yes. Superman tells a lie. It is entirely necessary and The Right Thing To do to protect the most people. He is not even slightly morally compromised by this.

[Jcogginsa]

That's why its basically all the same guy. Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent. There is no mask unless we're talking the public persona of Clark Kent. That is an act, to the degree that the individual writer wants to accentuate it. But there's never an act when Clark's in private, and there's no acting whatsoever when he's Superman.

That's why there's more truth to the "Clark is the mask" line. It in of itself is not quite honest and marginalizes a more deep dichotomy, but its far truer than saying Superman is a mask. The Clark identity is negotiable, again, it all depends on how deep one wants to go with the act he puts on when in public. But he has to, to some degree. He doesn't have to act at all as Superman and he by no means ever should be characterized as doing so. When he's wearing the costume he's himself. As himself as he'd be able to be just in street clothes as Clark Kent if he had not a care in the world. There is no acting, no theatrics going on there. I'll always will believe that to characterize him in that way to any degree is to have the most basic of misunderstandings of the character. If I had my way no writer who thought that way would be able to get their pen anywhere near the character ever again.

I disagree. I see it like so: Superman is basically three people. he is Clark Kent, Kal-el, and Superman.

Clark Kent is his love of Earth and his family, his relaxation from the pressure of being Superman, the ability to be controversial in ways that he can't in the cape, and his way of connecting to other people on a deeper level

Kal-El is his zest for life, his drive to help other people, his means of exploring his powers and alien heritage

Both of these are things that are a mix between things that are real aspects of him, and things that he creates for the disguise

Superman is the combination of both of those two, and is only seen by people who know the secret.

[Kuwagaton]

Actually, that's a Superman pet peeve of mine that generally came up in Smallville a lot. People getting angry and Clark for not divulging his powerful and dangerous secret to them. Yes. Superman tells a lie. It is entirely necessary and The Right Thing To do to protect the most people. He is not even slightly morally compromised by this.

Yeah, I find it odd that people hold it against the character that he keeps the secret so ardently. It'd be horribly naive for him to think that being good to people meant letting them in. I dislike the idea of say, Jimmy, knowing. Why would Clark go around divulging that sort of thing when it's not necessary? There's no reason Jimmy has to know, which is why in the last 80 years, he'd known for less than one year.

I love the character of Daredevil and the best two stories he had involved his life totally going to hell when the secret slipped. Basically because he told his equivalent of Lois.

Superman's more of a lie of omission, whereas Clark Kent is more of a lie of commission.

You can make distinctions, but they're still lies. Superman just doesn't sit still long enough for people to ask much, but if they did ask he'd do the same type of song and dance to avoid the truth.

[Agent Z]

I might be misremembering this quote, but here goes. I think it was Birthright issue 2 that had Clark about to leave for Metropolis with "Meisner on Acting" under his arm. The quote I have in mind is that acting is "living honestly within a lie", or something to that effect. And that's what Clark has to do. he has a very, very necessary lie he has to tell people, but he lives as honestly as he possibly can within that one mistruth.

Actually, that's a Superman pet peeve of mine that generally came up in Smallville a lot. People getting angry and Clark for not divulging his powerful and dangerous secret to them. Yes. Superman tells a lie. It is entirely necessary and The Right Thing To do to protect the most people. He is not even slightly morally compromised by this.

Protect them from what? They were either in danger from something that had nothing to do with his secret or they were in danger regardless of if he told them do not telling them was pointless

[marhawkman]

But they do know he will put them in body casts and a prison cell.

Yeah, and even idiots like Conduit know what Superman will do if they use humans as distractions.... But....

[Osiris-Rex]

Protect them from what? They were either in danger from something that had nothing to do with his secret or they were in danger regardless of if he told them do not telling them was pointless

It's interesting that in the Arrowverse for Green Arrow, Flash and Supergirl practically all their family and friends, and most the villains, know their secret identity.
Often because those characters are the ones that reveal their secret identity. Or because it really isn't that hard to figure out. Anyone that has been around them
long enough should be able to figure it out. The clues are all there.

[Jon Clark]

I might be misremembering this quote, but here goes. I think it was Birthright issue 2 that had Clark about to leave for Metropolis with "Meisner on Acting" under his arm. The quote I have in mind is that acting is "living honestly within a lie", or something to that effect. And that's what Clark has to do. he has a very, very necessary lie he has to tell people, but he lives as honestly as he possibly can within that one mistruth.

Actually, that's a Superman pet peeve of mine that generally came up in Smallville a lot. People getting angry and Clark for not divulging his powerful and dangerous secret to them. Yes. Superman tells a lie. It is entirely necessary and The Right Thing To do to protect the most people. He is not even slightly morally compromised by this.

I always found his not telling Lois as a criticism to be a bit of a pet peeve. The cliché is to have Lois come off as the wronged party. But I've always wondered just when he is supposed to reveal the secret to her.

If you were Superman you wouldn't let everyone you met in on the secret, so telling Lois 1st day at the Planet doesn't work. By the time he considers her even a close friend (let alone a potential romantic partner) he's probably already committed whatever crime they consider not telling her to be.

[Carabas]

It's interesting that in the Arrowverse for Green Arrow, Flash and Supergirl practically all their family and friends, and most the villains, know their secret identity.
Often because those characters are the ones that reveal their secret identity. Or because it really isn't that hard to figure out. Anyone that has been around them
long enough should be able to figure it out. The clues are all there.

Or because it turns out that when you continuously lie to your friends and family and love interests in something that isn't a comic book, it makes you look like a gigantic prick after a while.
Which is okay for Oliver Queen, but not for the rest of them.

I always found his not telling Lois as a criticism to be a bit of a pet peeve. The cliché is to have Lois come off as the wronged party. But I've always wondered just when he is supposed to reveal the secret to her.

If you were Superman you wouldn't let everyone you met in on the secret, so telling Lois 1st day at the Planet doesn't work. By the time he considers her even a close friend (let alone a potential romantic partner) he's probably already committed whatever crime they consider not telling her to be.

Whatever you do, don't do a silver age Barry Allen and wait until after marriage.

[marhawkman]

I like how it got handled in the 90s Spider-Man cartoons. When he told MJ she was kinda like "yeah now it makes sense". MJ's supposed to be someone who is naturally highly intelligent, she just doesn't use it for academic work.

Then after they got married she actually helped him protect his identity.